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A review by reading_historical_romance
Angel of Skye by May McGoldrick
Did not finish book.
I wanted to love it. A historical romance set in the 1500s on the Isle of Skye? The summary hit on everything I was looking for, but the actual book had too many problems for me to continue. **Some mild spoilers ahead**
-- The POV switches. So. many. POV. switches.
-- I would have had no idea this novel was set on the Isle of Skye if the characters didn't say that was where they lived. A few throwaway mentions of forests and heather-covered hills does not a setting make. The setting was not a character in the story at all, but it was marketed as if it should have been.
-- I would have had no idea the characters were early 1500s Scots if they hadn't been described as wearing kilts and tartans, and all were given a last name of "Mc___". I think the author thought that if the characters used the words "Aye" and "lass" in nearly every sentence, that would give them a pass for what was otherwise not even an attempt at culturally accurate, period dialogue?
-- The characters were not developed. For example, we were told that the heroine made friends and volunteered in a local (small and secretive in the middle of a deep forest) leper colony, and then we are told she was a legendary woman known and loved all over the island (attaining near mythological status) as being an "angel" foretold of in ancient prophecies because of all of her good, selfless deeds.
Other than being told that our hero is a hulking (and incredibly handsome) Scottish warlord who got his heart broken by a scheming woman at court and has spent the last 4 months on the island trying to make peace with the locals, I don't know why we are supposed to care about him.
-- The heroine was raised from the age of 5 in a convent and believes she is supposed to be a nun. But she practically begged the hero to take her within a matter of days.
-- The sex wasn't hot or a fantasy first time. We were told that our near-nun angel of mercy was a virgin, but when the relationship was consummated our handsome hulking Scottish warlord didn't even talk to her. There was no pre, mid, or post first time talking at all. If an author is not comfortable writing a first time sex scene where there are actually feelings acknowledged and discussed (physical and/or emotional), please, for the love of God, dear author, FADE TO BLACK.
-- I'm 65% in and nothing has really happened except that we've met a lot of characters, a handful of good people almost died at the hands of a handful of bad people who are now dead themselves, the hero and heroine ride horses and have finally done the deed, and the scheming woman at court who broke the hero's heart awhile back is still out there and is, in fact, the cousin of the heroine. And the heroine's deceased mother may or may not have been murdered 15 years ago. So far, this is ultimately a really simplistic trope-heavy plot mired in about 125k words.
I got this one as a free Kindle download sale -- had I paid anything for it I would have soldiered on, but as it is, I'm moving on to a different author.
-- The POV switches. So. many. POV. switches.
-- I would have had no idea this novel was set on the Isle of Skye if the characters didn't say that was where they lived. A few throwaway mentions of forests and heather-covered hills does not a setting make. The setting was not a character in the story at all, but it was marketed as if it should have been.
-- I would have had no idea the characters were early 1500s Scots if they hadn't been described as wearing kilts and tartans, and all were given a last name of "Mc___". I think the author thought that if the characters used the words "Aye" and "lass" in nearly every sentence, that would give them a pass for what was otherwise not even an attempt at culturally accurate, period dialogue?
-- The characters were not developed. For example, we were told that the heroine made friends and volunteered in a local (small and secretive in the middle of a deep forest) leper colony, and then we are told she was a legendary woman known and loved all over the island (attaining near mythological status) as being an "angel" foretold of in ancient prophecies because of all of her good, selfless deeds.
Other than being told that our hero is a hulking (and incredibly handsome) Scottish warlord who got his heart broken by a scheming woman at court and has spent the last 4 months on the island trying to make peace with the locals, I don't know why we are supposed to care about him.
-- The heroine was raised from the age of 5 in a convent and believes she is supposed to be a nun. But she practically begged the hero to take her within a matter of days.
-- The sex wasn't hot or a fantasy first time. We were told that our near-nun angel of mercy was a virgin, but when the relationship was consummated our handsome hulking Scottish warlord didn't even talk to her. There was no pre, mid, or post first time talking at all. If an author is not comfortable writing a first time sex scene where there are actually feelings acknowledged and discussed (physical and/or emotional), please, for the love of God, dear author, FADE TO BLACK.
-- I'm 65% in and nothing has really happened except that we've met a lot of characters, a handful of good people almost died at the hands of a handful of bad people who are now dead themselves, the hero and heroine ride horses and have finally done the deed, and the scheming woman at court who broke the hero's heart awhile back is still out there and is, in fact, the cousin of the heroine. And the heroine's deceased mother may or may not have been murdered 15 years ago. So far, this is ultimately a really simplistic trope-heavy plot mired in about 125k words.
I got this one as a free Kindle download sale -- had I paid anything for it I would have soldiered on, but as it is, I'm moving on to a different author.