Title: Kissingate Magic Author: Annette Blair In: The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance (Trisha Telep) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Family, Historical romance Dates read: 4th March 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: I know Papa likes me, but I wish he liked Mama enough to keep her and not send her to heaven.
Past lies and mistakes come back to haunt Jacey and Gabe as fate (and a little magic) intervene in their lives.
Romances that show a tragic past and soul mates are some of
my favourites. They’re a reminder that some couples don’t get that love at
first sight, happily ever after tale. And some do (which is why I also like the
other type of tale). From the very beginning, this falling out was a beautiful travesty
of mistakes, miscommunications and misunderstandings. With a happily ever after
in it for all, of course.
I liked the romance aspect of this story, but what I enjoyed
the most was that it was about a family. It wasn’t just about a man and woman rekindling
their past love, but also about a child and what is best for her. As the story
unfolds, it is evident that everything in the world centres around Bridget, and
I love that the romance almost begins to take a backseat to the health of the
child.
Then, there is the mystery of the past. Although some
aspects of the past may be guessed at, there are many more that sneak up on
you.
Desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. Especially when you’re married to a laird who won’t even look at you…
The beginning of this story wasn’t quite what I expected. I
was really expecting a kidnap from the very start that possibly lead to a love
and marriage. Instead it started with a marriage, and the kidnapping doesn’t
occur until about halfway through. Though it works brilliantly and beautifully.
And I turned the last page of this book with a great smile on my face.
This story starts off with an estranged couple, and quickly
fills in the backstory as to their epic failing at being a couple. Even though
it’s pretty obvious that they’re going to reconcile their differences fairly quickly
in this story. After all, it’s in a romance collection. It’s still intriguing
and captivating the ways in which the two stubborn fools manage to make their
relationship work and start on a new adventure… together.
Title: Prince of Shadows Author: Rachel Caine Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Historical fiction, Historical romance, Retellings Dates read: 29th January – 4th February 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: New American Library Year: 2014 5th sentence, 74th page: I was never as gaudy as Tybalt Capulet, but I could hardly leave the house without showing the wealth of Montague in some small way.
Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene…
In the houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honor and – if they survive – marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely.
Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written on the day they are born.
Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his house, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest theif in Verona – and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona… and will rewrite all their fates forever.
I need to start this review by admitting that I’ve never
actually read Romeo and Juliet
before. I have read King Lear, but
not yet had the chance to read the tragic romance… so there’s probably a few things
in this retelling that somebody who had actually read the original play would
have picked up on that I missed. Having said that, I still managed to pick up
on many of the important moments in this story, and you know… fall madly in
love with it.
It took me a few days to read this story, but only because once
I read the prologue I realised that I wouldn’t be putting it down in any rush.
So I waited to continue reading this when I had a few hours to spare. And then
I basically read it from cover to cover. This was an amazing retelling, and
amazing story and absolutely impossible to put down. And I liked that it didn’t
rely too heavily on the reader knowing anything but the basics of Romeo and Juliet.
Although this is a beautiful historical romance, it isn’t
just about the romantic aspects of the storyline. There are conspiracies and betrayals.
Family ties and those of friendship. Everything you need in a fast paced,
action packed historical fiction.
I’ve read a few stories by Rachel Cainenow, and one of the things that I love about her work is the vividness with which she describes her characters. This amazing talent continues on in Prince of Shadows, but with an added benefit. Her description of the setting. Cainedoes such an amazing job of not only describing the streets of Verona, but also the political and social world in which the characters find themselves. I almost felt like I was walking alongside Benvolio as he deals with his cousin and best friend.
This is one of those beautiful, impossible to put down, heart
wrenching, stunning stories. I couldn’t stop thinking about this story long
after I put this story down. It is impossible to forget, and one of those books
that I’ll forever remember reading.
Title: The Laird’s Vow Author: Anne Gracie In: The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance (Trisha Telep) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Scottish romance Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: Perhaps I’ll one day come to rue the day I plucked a wee bog sprite from the mud and married her, but I doubt it.
The Laird wants to protect his inheritance from his spend-happy Uncle. And the only way to do so is to marry. In making a vow to marry the first eligible maiden he meets, he’s either making the greatest mistake of his life… or finding his own happily ever after.
Alright, so I knew that the first woman that the laird meets
in this was going to kind of end up being the woman of his dreams. After all,
it’s a short story in a collection of Scottish Romances. Nothing else is going
to happen but two people meet and fall in love in a wonderfully short period of
time. That isn’t to say that the journey isn’t wonderful. And my heart did that
little skip-a-beat that it does when I find an incredibly sweet and beautiful
tale.
I was expecting a lot more resilience to the bride in this
story. Which meant that I was incredibly surprised when it didn’t really come
about. The entire story was mostly about the marriage and then quickly getting
to know one another, and of course, eventually realising that they were in
love. I kind of liked the fact that there wasn’t a lot of resilience to the
union – I was reading another romance at the time which did have a lot of resilience. So it was quite a nice change of pace
to not have to worry about someone not getting their happily ever after.
Kiernan has been in love with the chieftans daughter for his entire life, so when she needs someone to rescue her from an abusive husband, he gladly steps up to the challenge. What follows is a mess of war, conspiracies and the winning of trust.
I was kind of expecting the woman in this to die and become
miraculously bought back by one of the fae, or some equally mysterious being. It
didn’t quite work out like that, but I enjoyed the fact. After all, instead of
being rescued by a mysterious man creature, she was rescued by the man whom she
had loved for a long time and known her entire life. Which I always enjoy in a
story, love doesn’t always bloom in the space of a moment, but over a lifetime
of knowledge.
This is a fun, quick and sweet read that takes you to
another world and another place. I really enjoyed the fact that although there
was a past love between the two leads, the abuse that she had suffered at the
hands of men made her hard of trust. Rather than just falling at the feet of a
strange, new man, she is fiercely independent and that trust must be earnt. Something
that I think speaks to many people across the world.
When Alex takes on a British soldier, he thinks that it is just a young lad out to gain some honour. The woman he finds instead turns his whole world around.
I loved that this story was set during a war – it’s not
something that I tend to read about often, but it worked incredibly
beautifully. Especially considering the strength of character of Alex. Where
there were so many moments for him to act less than honourably, he still
managed to keep this level of honour and respect to everything. Which made this
one of the sweetest stories in this collection so far – it wasn’t fuelled by
lust, but an honourable kind of love.
Historical romance stories are something that I am only just
getting into – they’re just incredibly sweet, and often filled with more hope
than actual lust. Often, not always. And this was just one of those amazing
stories. The type that puts two people together that you know are going to fall
for each other, but fill sit with this sweet, kind falling. Rather than a
passionate, lustful dive (which I quite like as well).
Title: Magick in the Mist Author: Debbie Mazzuca In: The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance (Trisha Telep) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Historical romance, Scottish romance Pace: Fast Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: He crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles flexing, and gave her a look that had caused many a man to quiver in his boots.
Isobel knows that Ewan is fated to be her one true love, but a series of betrothals and mistakes could be a serious threat to her happily ever after.
The theme of fate and love is always something that suckers
me in. The fact that these themes are based within the Scottish highlands in a
time long gone… believe me, I was drawn into this story almost immediately. Especially
since Isobel is obviously a woman with an amazing brain, and one who isn’t happy
to just take what is convenient, but rather what is going to give her her
happily ever after.
One of the things that kind of annoyed me about this is how
much of a douche Ewan is. Alright, he kind of has a good reason… but mostly he
just frustrates me and makes me feel like he’s being pigheaded for no purpose. Luckily,
there is a happy ending for Isobel, otherwise I think I would have tried to
reach through the pages of the book to smack the silly highlander around the face…
Sophia thought that her dalliance in the Scottish highlands was nothing but an amazing, and unforgettable fling. Until Ian, her secret lover decides to come hunting for her…
This was so incredibly sweet a story. Not only is it a nice
historical romance set in England in the 1820’s, it also features a man who
will do anything for his woman. And a woman who, though she loves dearly, will
do anything to protect her son. The amount of passion and love in just a few
short pages was just darling, and the fact that it was set against a romanticised
English backdrop somehow just made it all the more fluid and beautiful.
Ian and Sophia work really nicely in this storyline. I love
that there is a strong woman, and the man doesn’t try to control her, doesn’t try
to stop her from being herself and doesn’t try to prevent her from being who
and what she is. I also loved that the very thing that Sophia is trying to
protect her son from is what ensures their happily ever after… at last.
Rachel is a young Engliswoman travelling with her father through the Highlands of Scotland. What starts out as a typical journey for the secret-wielding young woman quickly turns into a fast paced tale of romance, passion and subterfuge.
This is the very first book in a new collection of stories that I’ve found on my shelf – The Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance. And it is a fantastic way to start it off. I haven’t read much Scottish-themed anything, but this straight away threw me into the subgenre and made me hungry for more. Between the roughness of the highlanders, the cultural and social aspects entrenched in the story, and the glorious setting, Highland Heart is a great way to start and pull you straight into the novel.
Rachel is a great lead character – she rescues herself, bitches at the man she’s obviously attracted to for not really helping her and constantly shows her own strong backbone. I don’t really enjoy any tales that have wilting females as the leads – I just can’t relate, so even though the love story is very quick in this (what do you expect, it’s a short story), Rachel doesn’t wilt. She even manages to save herself in the end when she’s at risk of being killed. Really, her male counterpart is just there to give her a happily ever after and a love that she hasn’t experienced before…
Earth and Skye 