Scan barcode
A review by catisbookish
The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I’m sorry, he shed a tear from his WHAT?
This was just aggressively not for me. Like, very, very aggressively. Which is very surprising, because after chapter 1 I thought it would be 5 stars, but then chapter 2 came and that’s when things began to go downhill.
Can someone explain to me why kidnapping is such a popular occurence in these historical romances?!? At least this time, the author at least tried to have a noble reason behind it, but like, was drugging her and shipping her off ACTUALLY necessary? Personally, I think not.
But alas, I know there’s people out there who will like the brute ruggishness of the hero, who is constantly losing his shit and shattering glasses and generally being a massive dickweed that, at least for me, his tragic backstory simply does not make up for. And I also know that some people will love the fact that she doesn’t realize it’s really him (Dougan being Dougan, not Dorian [this is not a spoiler so don’t come after me {unless you really didn’t guess and in that case I’m sorry}]) until much, much later. For me, it’s a pet peeve as the reader because it’s just too obvious (I mean, I don’t think we WE’RENT supposed to know, but I digress) and so it’s an entire throwaway plot point and didn’t add anything to the story for me. But again, someone else could definitely enjoy that part.
The ONLY reason this isn’t 1 star is because:
- the side characters were super cute and incredibly endearing
- the childhood story was truly beautiful if you ignored everything that happens after
- I nearly shed a tear (from my EYEBALLS, mind you) several times because the love that they had for each other in some moments was so deeply romantic, and I just wish that we had different circumstances that brought us there
So yeah, I’ve established pretty firmly that this series isn’t for me, and that’s okay. Dark romance girlies will definitely eat this up though.
This was just aggressively not for me. Like, very, very aggressively. Which is very surprising, because after chapter 1 I thought it would be 5 stars, but then chapter 2 came and that’s when things began to go downhill.
Can someone explain to me why kidnapping is such a popular occurence in these historical romances?!? At least this time, the author at least tried to have a noble reason behind it, but like, was drugging her and shipping her off ACTUALLY necessary? Personally, I think not.
But alas, I know there’s people out there who will like the brute ruggishness of the hero, who is constantly losing his shit and shattering glasses and generally being a massive dickweed that, at least for me, his tragic backstory simply does not make up for. And I also know that some people will love the fact that she doesn’t realize it’s really him (Dougan being Dougan, not Dorian [this is not a spoiler so don’t come after me {unless you really didn’t guess and in that case I’m sorry}]) until much, much later. For me, it’s a pet peeve as the reader because it’s just too obvious (I mean, I don’t think we WE’RENT supposed to know, but I digress) and so it’s an entire throwaway plot point and didn’t add anything to the story for me. But again, someone else could definitely enjoy that part.
The ONLY reason this isn’t 1 star is because:
- the side characters were super cute and incredibly endearing
- the childhood story was truly beautiful if you ignored everything that happens after
- I nearly shed a tear (from my EYEBALLS, mind you) several times because the love that they had for each other in some moments was so deeply romantic, and I just wish that we had different circumstances that brought us there
So yeah, I’ve established pretty firmly that this series isn’t for me, and that’s okay. Dark romance girlies will definitely eat this up though.