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A review by rknitss
Never Cross a Highlander by Lisa Rayne
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