First, my apologies to Ms. Killion, who sent this book to me ages ago for a review. My Slump From Hell is a really terrible excuse, but it's the only one I have. Highland Dragon is the author's second published book, and unfortunately was a bit of a slog for me to get through. It would be easy to blame my slump, but in reality it was the ol' Bad First Impression problem. After a bang-up prologue, the book started to sink thanks to the heroine. But more on her in a bit....
As a young lad Calin MacLeod witnessed his father's murder. His father made the mistake of falling for the beautiful Lena Kinnon, when she showed up at their home, already pregnant, begging for protection from her vile husband, Laird Baen Kinnon. Naturally Laird Kinnon (AKA The Beast) is none to pleased with his wife running out on him. Shortly after giving birth to their daughter, Akira, she is murdered, along with Calin, and several of his warriors. The only reason Akira escapes the same fate is because Calin sneaks out from his hiding place, spirits the child away, and vows that one day he shall marry her and unite their clans.
Fast forward, and Calin has decided the time has come. He shows up at the Neish household to claim Akira, only to learn she's been spirited away to a slave auction because she's "a witch." So off he goes to rescue her, so he can take her back home and wed her. Besides the small issue of her being kidnapped, the girl also has no idea The Beast is her father. When she learns that bit of truth, it's going to get very sticky indeed.
As I've already mentioned, the prologue of this story is fantastic. The problem comes when the reader meets Akira as a grown woman. Yes, gentle readers, we have one of those heroines. Sigh. Feisty. And not Good Feisty. No, Akira is Stupid Feisty. Instead of lying through her teeth at the slave auction to save her own neck, she "fights" back by opening her stupid mouth. Hell, even the child who was up for auction before her had the sense to LIE! Frankly, heroines with no sense of self-preservation deserve whatever happens to them, says me. Then of course, there's that added hoydenish touch that all feisty heroines have in historical romances - yep, the girl likes to climb trees.
Sigh.
I liked Calin a bit better, although he's one of those romance heroes who just won't come out and tell the heroine what the heck is going on until naturally she hears the truth from a third party. What is it with romantic couples that won't talk to each other?
My bad first impression of the heroine soured this story pretty early on for me, and it made the first half of this book a real slog. I never really felt like the author got a good handle on the conflict until after the couple finally has their wedding. By that point, the two villains (one the dreaded "other woman") start playing a more prominent role, and the conflict picks up a bit. By this point Akira morphs from feisty, to a bit of a Mary Sue - the kind of heroine who lacks self-confidence, and yet has everyone from the hero to small children eating out of the palm of her hand. But at least she stops climbing trees.
It's the villains and the derring-do-style action that picked up the second half of the story for me. One of the characters has a change of heart, and I'm not sure how believable it was, but it did make for compelling reading. The author also writes "hot" very well, so if you're a sucker for sexy medievals, Killion is an author to keep an eye out for on that front.
Also, of note, the author does employ the use of the brogue here. Readers tend to be very passionate on this issue. I generally can't stand it, but I will say that Killion at least employs it consistently, and it's easy to follow. I never had to stop and "think" about the dialogue, trying to decipher what the hell the characters were saying to each other. Also the epilogue is straight up Sunshine Care Bear Rainbows. I'm such a little hypocrite, that I actually sort of expect these in historicals (I tend to despise them in contemporaries though - go figure) and am OK with them. But certainly, this is another issue that readers tend to be quite passionate about.
All and all? This was a totally mixed bag read for me. The hero was OK, the heroine largely didn't work for me, but some of the conflict was interesting. If you're a squeeing fangirl for medievals, this one may be worth a look.
Final Grade = C-
10 comments:
Argh - I hate that kind of heroine too! I can tolerate feisty heroines if their characters are explained and if they have realistic and understandable motivations - i.e. feisty for a REASON and not just feisty for the sake of being feisty or WORSE - feisty because the author really doesn't have a grasp of the period or is dismissive of it to the point where they don't bother making their characters historically accurate.
Heroines like that make me wonder if the author even knows the real meaning of feisty and if they had a seriously repressed childhood. One often reveals a lot about themselves in their writing, after all.
I have this in my TBR pile. I haven't even started reading that I already have an issue with the heroine - her name! Damn it, but Akira to me is a Japanese name ^_^; so what is she doing in a Scottish medieval novel?!?
I have Killion's first book in the TBR pile but I think I'll pass on this one. I can tell from your description that the heroine would drive me up the wall.
Good to know about the brogue since her first book features a Scottish hero. Pet peeve of mine when an author puts in a few Ochs and lassies and calls the characters Scottish.
Feisty and stupid allows a bad combination, and is rarely redeemable.
Entertaining review Wendy. I hate to think that your review is probably better reading than the novel itself, but whenever somebody says they had to 'slog' through something I run for the hills.
You are so funny with this climbing trees business.
I can totally see where you are coming from, but I think I am a little more lienient with medieval heroines. I actually liked Akira's feistiness in the beginning. I liked the playful interaction between Akira and Calin.
When Akira was auctioned off, I tried to keep in mind that she is really the victim in that situation. It's not her fault she was captured and put on the block. I think I was more on her side at that point than anyone elses. Why expect her to understand the ways of men when she was always kept in the dark?
I have to admit that the middle dragged a little. I thought it picked back up when the female villain changed her tune. It put a unique spin on what usually is cliched in romance.
Jill: I certainly didn't expect her to understand everything, especially since Calin *sigh* didn't come out and tell her everything right away - but I do expect heroines to recognize when they're in "unsafe" situations. And her feistyness at the slave auction pretty much finished her for me. If you can't recognize you're in danger and lie - well, that's just not good. Says me.
The parts with the female villain is what I liked too! The book started to pick way up for me then.
Lots of really nice reviews for this book around the Interwebs. I'm definitely in the minority....
I do remember that auction scene and remember sucking in my breath. "Well your in for it now, Honey!" went through my mind while reading it. I see where you are coming from and I think it is fine that we have different perspectives.
Hey, I just read King of Sword and Sky by C.L. Wilson and I seem to be the only one who didn't like that book. When I was searching for other reviews they were all extrememly positive. Go figure! I'd have to be the voice of dissention!
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