My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
2.5 Stars
I highly recommend this book if you are a full-on Lynsey Sands fan. A fast reading, light historical romance.
I am going to be one of the very few fans Of Ms. Sands that thinks that this book was not one of her best. Don't get me wrong, I did finish this ARC, but it was with a lot of eye-rolling that I did so.
Everyone has given you wonderful re-caps of this story, so I am not going to beat around the bush. I had to stretch my imagination just a little too far to believe most of what was happening in this story.
For example, our wonderful kilted hunk hero (and, of course, that is de-rigueur for Ms. Sands series.) has been hurt to the point where he has stitches in his chest, yet even though he has already ripped out one stitch, he is constantly carting around our thoroughly beaten up heroine. (By the way, just when do I get my own kilted hunk?!) The heroine, Allissaid, is hurt quite severely and running from trouble. The descriptions of her injuries are quite graphic, yet it takes what *seems* like days for anyone to give her something for the pain. Of course, once she gets something for the pain, we are in for a bit of humor.
And that is where I have another problem. When this series started out, there was a bit of humor in these books. Over the years, I have seen that humor fade. Of course, I haven't done a re-read of the whole series in quite a while, so that may explain some things.
No matter how I tried, I could just not find a way to like either of these characters. Period. I pitied them, but I didn't like them. The repetition was annoying. Having things explained two, three, and sometimes four times within a chapter was an insult to my intelligence.
The ending was a forgone conclusion, with none of the extra creativity that Ms. Sand is usually known for.
*ARC supplied by the publisher and NetGalley.
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BOOK SYNOPSIS: "For fans of Outlander, New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands' newest installment of the Highland Brides series brings us a sweeping tale of passion as a laird's swim in a loch leads to the love of a lifetime.
An invigorating swim in the loch was exactly what Calan Campbell, Laird of Kilcairn, needed after defeating his enemies in battle. What he didn't need was a thief running away with his plaid while he swam. Calan gave chase and managed to catch the lad, only the lad turned out to be a lass, and obviously a lady. Having hit her head when he'd tackled her to the ground, the woman was now unconscious and couldn't explain how she had ended up bruised and naked in his woods. He'd have to take her back to his castle and tend her wounds to learn that.
Kidnapped and forced to wed her clan's enemy, Allissaid MacFarlane had risked death to escape. But after a struggle over a plaid she tried to borrow, she awakens in a strange bed with a strange man seated in a chair beside her. Unsure if he is friend or foe, she claims not to remember her own name or how she'd come to be in the clearing. However, the more time she spends with Calan, the more she falls for this strong, honorable laird. She soon decides she can trust him with her life. . . but can she trust him with her heart?"