Atmospheric Time Travel Romance
Cailean Ross has come to the Scottish Highlands to be part of the most famous historical re-enactment around. His skill with a blade lands him at the head table – and then in the past.
I found it a nice twist, for the man to be sent back in the past. Rather than knowledge of the future, his skill with the sword is what sets him apart. Handily, he’s good enough that it saves his life multiple times, but the historical re-enactment makes it harder for him to accept he’s in the past. It takes quite a while for it to click. Therein lies the biggest problem with the book.
It’s so long. The writing is beautiful and atmospheric, but everything takes forever. The plot is so drawn-out that it seems quite insubstantial. There is conflict but it seems unfocussed and open-ended, as if it is part of a larger, longer story. I’m all for multi-book arcs, but each book should have its own standalone plot. I can’t help but feel a good editor could’ve cut it down into a first-class novel.
The romance is nicely paced but has too much outside plot to be the focus of the book. Julianna is interesting and her attraction to Cailean develops believably. The rest of the characters are well-written and charming, but the background cast is almost too extensive to keep track of. Again, a ruthless editor or a persona dramatis could have done a lot to alleviate this.
Overall, this is an interesting romance with flair, but it’s a bit too long to reach its full potential.
Four Scottish Stars
I received a copy of this story from the author through ReadingAlley in exchange for an honest review.
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