Before getting into the nitty gritty, I have to give a huge shout out again to Millpond Records and Books for being able to help pinpoint exactly what I was looking for the last time I walked through their door. What I anticipated being a long journey of searching through the racks only took about 5 minutes with the help of Wendy tracking down just the right things. She's awesome in so many ways, even taught me how to knit last year. I cannot recommend going into this store to enough people. It's awesome on such a higher level. And now on with the show!
Highland Barbarian - Hannah Howell
I'm sure you can tell by the title, and the scantily clad gentleman on the cover of the book that this is a smutty romance book. And to be honest, what more could a woman (or man for that matter) want to read on a hot summer day? The book is all kinds of sexy and is my 20th book for #26in2011.
The scene is split between the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland and includes plenty of intrigue, a touch of violence, and of course all the heaving bosoms you could ever want. Even though I had a bit of a tough time with the name of the lead character (Sir Artan Murray - I mean who names their kid Artan and thinks he's going to be awesome?), I did get a bit of a buzz from reading the book.
I'll be perfectly honest, I like reading sexy stories every now and again. So it did meet that piece of criteria for a good book. There was a hint of religion of course in that there were priests in the story. Of course no good book about the highlands comes complete without at least one murder. The only thing that was really missing was Christmas. Per my husband, this book is therefore not one that I will ever cherish because it doesn't meet all my literary needs - those being Religious, Murder, Sexy Time, Christmas. (Gotta love having a husband with a wild imagination eh?)
Maiden of Inverness - Arnette LambAs you can tell, this is another sexy story based in Scotland. It's true that I've always had an affinity for where my ancestors have came from. I've always heard the name of the village they came from back in 1776, and dreamed of figuring out what clan we belonged to and what colours our tartan would be. I'd go on about this a bit more, but being as this is a book review and not my family history, I'll carry on about the book.
The writing on this one was a little different than most smutty historical romances. The story starts in childhood for the two lead characters. Both came from very different worlds and were thrust together by fate. Well fate and a really insane story involving the King of England and a priest. Showing that right off the bat you have religion. Check one.
The violence of the novel is hinted at early on, as always with a novel written about unsettling times. So let's check off murder.
I would say the only place where it didn't meet my expectations was the sexy time. Oh sure it was there, but it didn't get my blood racing as much as Hannah Howell's book did. This book tried to focus more on the adventure and getting the historical facts accurate (well as accurate as they could be) than being a specific romance novel. Christmas was also missing from the book, although if I remember correctly they did mention the word once.
All in all, I will happily sell this one back to the book store for someone else to read next. It isn't one I need to keep on my book shelves.
The Shadowy Horses - Susanna Kearsley
By the cover, I thought this might be a bit of a romance novel. Instead what I found was that this was more a story where the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. Of the three books in this review, this was by far the best one and it is number 22 in my quest to reach #26in2011.
Set yet again in Scotland, this book is written in modern times. Centered around an archeological dig taking place in Eyemouth, the story weaves in and out of truth and mystery. The characters for the most part are believable and I found that I could see their faces, watch them walking and living through the creepiness that comes when you are surrounded by a spirit that just won't let go.
The murder was always hinted at, but was never really revealed. I'd still check it off the list as if there is going to be a ghost, there is going to be a death right? Oh wait, just remembering now, there was another murder in the book but it didn't really have a huge bearing on the overall story. So yes, definitely check off murder.
Religion wasn't really in the book and in fact, I don't think it was really there at all even though they did mention once about going to church. Still doesn't count enough.
The sexy time had a really nice build to it and as with all good romance novels it had enough tension between the lead character and her leading man so that you could feel it building. I spent a lot of the book just hoping for a little bit more. Saying they kissed and then "she forgot everything for awhile" just doesn't satisfy the heaving bosoms my husband insists I must have in every story. I still count it as sexy time even though it wasn't described in graphic detail.
All in all, this one was a good book. I might want to read it again, as I do like a bit of mystery sometimes and have always liked the idea of ghosts. (Even believe I've seen them on a few occasions.) I would recommend reading this one.
