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chaoticgirlie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
ronnienatasharenee340's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jaxatta's review
This book is poorly written and edited. I couldn't focus on the story because the language was so poor. Author over used words like 'bratchet' and kept adding the letter a as a prefix to perhaps make their prose sound more old fashioned or Scottish? Afore, abed, etc. I just couldn't deal with this hot mess anymore when lemmings were mentioned on page 96, which were NOT a widely known thing in the era of this book, having come to popular knowledge in the mid 1900s due to a bogus Disney filmmaking scene.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
gieselleusc's review
5.0
I loved this! This was a little long for a romance book but I felt like the pacing and adventure in the book made it totally worth it. I loved Ailsa and her fire, and I loved Kallum and how he cared for and protected Ailsa. They were both such strong, vibrant characters and this book kept me on my toes. I can’t wait to read more from this author and I hope she does more historicals!
romanceandraindrops's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
labyrinth_witch's review
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was a very satisfying read. I LOVE the grit of the female protagonist and the slow-burn growth of the male protagonist. And I love that he loved her for her fight. I won’t spoil the ending, but I loved that for once, the “natural” evolution of the story ended with female leadership. Love love love.
audiogirl511's review
3.0
Took a while to get into this. The first half was very slow but I was intrigued to see how everything unfolded. It was predictable but not disappointing.
rknitss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Read this for a buddy read with some friends. We trusted Storygraph's recommendation with almost no research on our parts, so a lot of my problems with the book are 100% my fault for not knowing what I was getting into.
I really like the fact that this was #OwnVoices and that it touched on the actual history of people of color in ye old United Kingdom. I thought the animosity that Ailsa faced was well described. I could really feel the distrust. Kallum was an interesting character and I thought his motivations were well developed despite him being a typical historical romance hero who has only felt rage until he meets his heroine (at which point he feels rage and confused love/lust). So why only 3 stars?
I don't like the Medieval setting in romances. I don't even like when Julie Garwood does it. I thought, from the admittedly lacking description on Storygraph and my general expectations based on my usual reading, that this book would take place in the Georgian/Regency. These are the times of Netflix's Bridgertons after all. So I was supremely disappointed when I found out that was not the case. Again, this one is a me problem.
And a lot of my other complaints are just off-shoots of that. In my experience, regardless of how spunky and contrary a heroine is in a Medieval Romance, she's going to get SA'd and she's going to need to be rescued. This book plays into that trope, I'm afraid. Another frequent occurrence in the subgenre is the lack of immediate chemistry - Ailsa and Kallum butt heads and have loads of banter but we're told that they are getting closer emotionally rather than shown. We also have an enemies to lovers plot that doesn't seem like it means much of anything for a reeeeeaaaaaly long time.
The pacing felt slow. There was a lot of pontificating. The race of our main characters was extremely important to the actual plot, which was good, but the frequent asides to explain and re-explain the history wore on me. I was hoping for more black joy and black pleasure and less black trauma.
The last 30-50 pages were incredible. Truly bonkers. Full banana, as they say on the Fated Mates Podcast. I loved it and that saved this from a lower rating.
I wouldn't not recommend this book to people who like Medieval/Highlander romances, but I would caution them that the pacing isn't really steady and that the tropes are definitely there. I would also recommend this without reservation to people who want more black historical romance that doesn't gloss over the icky history.
I really like the fact that this was #OwnVoices and that it touched on the actual history of people of color in ye old United Kingdom. I thought the animosity that Ailsa faced was well described. I could really feel the distrust. Kallum was an interesting character and I thought his motivations were well developed despite him being a typical historical romance hero who has only felt rage until he meets his heroine (at which point he feels rage and confused love/lust). So why only 3 stars?
I don't like the Medieval setting in romances. I don't even like when Julie Garwood does it. I thought, from the admittedly lacking description on Storygraph and my general expectations based on my usual reading, that this book would take place in the Georgian/Regency. These are the times of Netflix's Bridgertons after all. So I was supremely disappointed when I found out that was not the case. Again, this one is a me problem.
And a lot of my other complaints are just off-shoots of that. In my experience, regardless of how spunky and contrary a heroine is in a Medieval Romance, she's going to get SA'd and she's going to need to be rescued. This book plays into that trope, I'm afraid. Another frequent occurrence in the subgenre is the lack of immediate chemistry - Ailsa and Kallum butt heads and have loads of banter but we're told that they are getting closer emotionally rather than shown. We also have an enemies to lovers plot that doesn't seem like it means much of anything for a reeeeeaaaaaly long time.
The pacing felt slow. There was a lot of pontificating. The race of our main characters was extremely important to the actual plot, which was good, but the frequent asides to explain and re-explain the history wore on me. I was hoping for more black joy and black pleasure and less black trauma.
The last 30-50 pages were incredible. Truly bonkers. Full banana, as they say on the Fated Mates Podcast. I loved it and that saved this from a lower rating.
I wouldn't not recommend this book to people who like Medieval/Highlander romances, but I would caution them that the pacing isn't really steady and that the tropes are definitely there. I would also recommend this without reservation to people who want more black historical romance that doesn't gloss over the icky history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment