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A review by melbsreads
The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne
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.