emmdahl's review against another edition
5.0
Such a great read!
I was hooked from the first chapter! I couldn't not voice my frustrations while reading Menas time at the asylum. The characters in this book are so wonderful! Liam's thoughts towards Mena throughout the book were so swoony and lovely. And I loved the epilogue for Jani!
I was hooked from the first chapter! I couldn't not voice my frustrations while reading Menas time at the asylum. The characters in this book are so wonderful! Liam's thoughts towards Mena throughout the book were so swoony and lovely. And I loved the epilogue for Jani!
ufcasey's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts out with some terrible scenes which are hard to stomach but does effectively capture your interest. Both of these characters have some truly horrible skeletons in their closets by the time they meet. I appreciate that even though there is immediate attraction between the characters they are slow to act on them without too much unnecessary drama. Well, there's two things that I thought were a little over the top ( ), but I'll forgive it because otherwise I liked this book. Oh, except I really could have done with a lot less 'Demon Highlander' mentions. Ok but seriously, those are my only small complaints. I did like this!
Spoiler
When he walks in on her naked because he suspects she is sleeping with his son, ew! And when she goes to London and still doesn't tell him who she really isangelicasreads's review against another edition
3.0
I've been on a historical romance kick lately. I probably won't remember any of these characters' names in a few weeks. But, I liked it.
melbsreads's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Trigger warnings: domestic violence, sexual assault, institutionalisation at the hands of a spouse, mentions of war, murder, gun violence, blood, child abuse (in the past), torture, colonialism
Okay so here's the thing: I really love that Kerrigan Byrne - for all the utter ridiculousness of historical romances, with young hot dukes flying around all over the place - addresses more of the gritty realities of life in Victorian England. Loss of independence, your husband's ability to throw you into an asylum for the rest of your life if he can bribe two doctors to sign off on it, being involved in dozens of battles and wars with no therapy or treatment for PTSD etc etc. I love that, I really do.
But.
I'm going to have to solidly place Kerrigan Byrne into the category of American Authors Who CANNOT Write Scottish Characters Ever Again Please And Thank You.
As much as I liked the characters and the dynamic between them, I felt like the word "doona" was used as Scots for "do not" on practically every page. And maybe this isn't Byrne and it is, in fact, US editors and publishers. But doona is NOT a contraction of do not in Scots. *DINNAE* is Scots for do not. Doona is Scots for "down", as in "I'm going doona street tae buy an Irn Bru". So EVERY SINGLE TIME - and believe me, it was *many* - the dialogue said "doona", I wanted to scream. Add in the use of "arena" to mean are not and my left eyelid was twitching by the end. Pal. Mate. Chum. That's already a word in English, and it COMPLETELY changes the structure of your sentence to the point where I had to read it four times to understand what it was supposed to mean.
And don't get me wrong, I liked the romance side of things. But something about the sex scenes in this book felt very...Ms Perky from 10 Things I Hate About You.
Exhibit A: "A steady, incessant throbbing clenched her feminine muscles around pervasive emptiness."
Exhibit B: "Her lithe fingers encircled his turgid shaft, testing the girth."
Exhibit C: "Before she could catch her breath, there was a blunt, heavy pressure against the wet cove of her secret flesh."
Exhibit D: Her clit is described as "an aching cluster of sensation".
So, uh, yeah. It felt a little like Byrne had inhaled a thesaurus and then spewed it across the page in the worst possible way. I've read a bunch of her books before and I swear to God, the sex scenes have never felt so...adjective-heavy.
Ultimately I did very much enjoy it. But I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more if it hadn't involved so many doonas (additionally confusing, as doona is Australian for duvet) and wet coves because yikes.
Okay so here's the thing: I really love that Kerrigan Byrne - for all the utter ridiculousness of historical romances, with young hot dukes flying around all over the place - addresses more of the gritty realities of life in Victorian England. Loss of independence, your husband's ability to throw you into an asylum for the rest of your life if he can bribe two doctors to sign off on it, being involved in dozens of battles and wars with no therapy or treatment for PTSD etc etc. I love that, I really do.
But.
I'm going to have to solidly place Kerrigan Byrne into the category of American Authors Who CANNOT Write Scottish Characters Ever Again Please And Thank You.
As much as I liked the characters and the dynamic between them, I felt like the word "doona" was used as Scots for "do not" on practically every page. And maybe this isn't Byrne and it is, in fact, US editors and publishers. But doona is NOT a contraction of do not in Scots. *DINNAE* is Scots for do not. Doona is Scots for "down", as in "I'm going doona street tae buy an Irn Bru". So EVERY SINGLE TIME - and believe me, it was *many* - the dialogue said "doona", I wanted to scream. Add in the use of "arena" to mean are not and my left eyelid was twitching by the end. Pal. Mate. Chum. That's already a word in English, and it COMPLETELY changes the structure of your sentence to the point where I had to read it four times to understand what it was supposed to mean.
And don't get me wrong, I liked the romance side of things. But something about the sex scenes in this book felt very...Ms Perky from 10 Things I Hate About You.
Exhibit A: "A steady, incessant throbbing clenched her feminine muscles around pervasive emptiness."
Exhibit B: "Her lithe fingers encircled his turgid shaft, testing the girth."
Exhibit C: "Before she could catch her breath, there was a blunt, heavy pressure against the wet cove of her secret flesh."
Exhibit D: Her clit is described as "an aching cluster of sensation".
So, uh, yeah. It felt a little like Byrne had inhaled a thesaurus and then spewed it across the page in the worst possible way. I've read a bunch of her books before and I swear to God, the sex scenes have never felt so...adjective-heavy.
Ultimately I did very much enjoy it. But I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more if it hadn't involved so many doonas (additionally confusing, as doona is Australian for duvet) and wet coves because yikes.
geo_ix's review against another edition
5.0
Liam really got on my nerves in this. I loved him and hated him equally, but the writing was so great I can’t say I didn’t love the book.
I saw the brother coming, the first time she saw eyes in the dark I was like yep that’s him. I saw her hubby finding her at the station or right after (only because there wasn’t much left and it just had to happen lol) but I did NOT see Jani doing what he did. I just thought he was sad about her finding a guy in London. Totally blew me away. Wow.
Spoiler
I could have done without him calling her a whore and thinking she was shagging his 13 year old son. I could have done without his thoughts on taking her when he knew she was a victim of abuse, his thoughts made it sound like he couldn’t stop himself and he was going to take her no matter what and it was cringe.I saw the brother coming, the first time she saw eyes in the dark I was like yep that’s him. I saw her hubby finding her at the station or right after (only because there wasn’t much left and it just had to happen lol) but I did NOT see Jani doing what he did. I just thought he was sad about her finding a guy in London. Totally blew me away. Wow.
monmon517's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
madeleinehelena's review against another edition
4.0
"Acts that would land a man in prison should he enact them out on the streets were all perfectly legal if he perpetrated them on his wife."
The first chapters really need a trigger warning (sexual assault, torture). It's both horrific and also quickly establishes the characters' backgrounds, their histories of being abused.
Once again, Byrne successfully creates villainous characters who are easy to hate.
The relationship between Liam and Mena is a slow burn, both of them dealing with trauma, guilt and shame. It was beautiful to see how they helped each other. However, on several occasions, Liam made quick assumptions about Mena's character and overall, I don't think his possessive nature is ok (no matter the trauma he's been through).
The first chapters really need a trigger warning (sexual assault, torture). It's both horrific and also quickly establishes the characters' backgrounds, their histories of being abused.
Once again, Byrne successfully creates villainous characters who are easy to hate.
The relationship between Liam and Mena is a slow burn, both of them dealing with trauma, guilt and shame. It was beautiful to see how they helped each other. However, on several occasions, Liam made quick assumptions about Mena's character and overall, I don't think his possessive nature is ok (no matter the trauma he's been through).