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A review by veryreaderie
A Highland Duchess by Karen Ranney
2.0
1.5 stars because it's okay but I didn't exactly like it, either. Still, some of my complaints are probably better directed at the genre than the author. (I don't really read romance, so this was a new experience.)
I liked the historical tidbits that lent legitimacy to the setting, and the time period it was set in (Victorian, when germ theory was being debated) is fascinating. However, the characters' actions didn't seem particularly realistic, and evil male characters with dubious intentions (always centered around gambling and degrading women) abounded. While I wouldn't have minded so many purely evil characters if the main characters were interesting enough, all they did was worry about the same things all the time. Despite that, their thought processes never went beyond a certain brick wall. They were completely innocent except for (of course) their inappropriate lust for one another. A little honesty would have gone a long way, especially since I was forced to slog through pages of feelings that didn't ring true. Still, the fact that I read the whole thing is a compliment to the author - there was some tension there, and good writing when it wasn't flooded with melodrama.
I liked the historical tidbits that lent legitimacy to the setting, and the time period it was set in (Victorian, when germ theory was being debated) is fascinating. However, the characters' actions didn't seem particularly realistic, and evil male characters with dubious intentions (always centered around gambling and degrading women) abounded. While I wouldn't have minded so many purely evil characters if the main characters were interesting enough, all they did was worry about the same things all the time. Despite that, their thought processes never went beyond a certain brick wall. They were completely innocent except for (of course) their inappropriate lust for one another. A little honesty would have gone a long way, especially since I was forced to slog through pages of feelings that didn't ring true. Still, the fact that I read the whole thing is a compliment to the author - there was some tension there, and good writing when it wasn't flooded with melodrama.