Doon

A rather engaging exploration of what a Brigadoon land might really be like. I especially enjoyed the way several non-Scottish cultures and peoples were brought in...and that the Christian elements, though essential, were handled deftly and lightly.

Veronica and Mackenna were pleasant contrasts and complements to one another and did the majority of the day-saving. In fact, were it not for Jamie, Veronica's love interest, this probably would've been a four-star read. Pro tip: if your hero is described as pulling an "Edward Cullen routine," it's generally a very good idea for him to be as little actually like Edward Cullen as possible.

Want to say that I have read Outlander. If you have read any of the Outlander books, you may want to stay away from this.

This book was not what I was expecting. It was also written at a lower level than I currently read, so I found myself growing frustrated with that as well.

There were 2 main issues with this novel.

The biggest for me was Kenna. She was awful. I have not read about a more superficial character in a long time. First off, she referred to Prince Duncan as an 'ogre' for most of the novel. As a person who does not care much for Broadway or wannabe actresses in my novels, I disliked her immensely. She was rude, annoying, and over the top in every sense of those words.

The second huge issue was the amount of stereotypical YA show more themes thrown into this novel. I don't mind a love triangle, in fact, I kind of like them. This did not have a love triangle. No. This novel had two best friends (who had NOTHING in common) who go to a mystical land and discover two hot princes. One for each. Seriously, not every character needs to have a match and especially not two best friends falling for two brothers. Could it get any worse? This read less like a romance/fantasy and more like the authors were writing about their school girl crushes and how their lives would be in a perfect world. This also had the YA insta-love that I absolutely detest.

A lesser issue for me was Veronica had unbelievable character development. I saw other reviews mentioned this, but having every person she loves walk out on her and then instantly falling for a prince seems highly unlikely. Also, the end of the novel seemed like a pity party for one.

This could have been amazing. It really could have been a great novel. A few improvements that I would make are having only Veronica's perspective, have her go to Doon by herself, and basically pretend Kenna does not exist.

I am not sure if I will continue this series. show less

Before I discuss plot or characters, I want to address the content. You may have seen in some places that this is a Christian book, though it's not strongly advertised to be such. My first clue was the publisher, which is listed as Zondervan in some places. It's actually published by Blink, a YA imprint of Zondervan, which purports to publish clean books. I would not call this book clean. It's not explicit, but it's way more graphic than I prefer, and there is even some language. After several references to "hot" and "delicious" guys, I knew this wasn't going to be quite what I was expecting, but it really bothered me to see the references to "girly parts." And then it got worse... I won't go into more detail myself, but I think this show more review on Amazon is very comprehensive, even to the point of pointing out things that didn't bother me.

As to the plot and characters, if the above paragraph was my only issue with the book, I might have given it 3-4 stars (though it's hard to say, especially since it really is billed as Christian in some places, and that is a huge problem for me). But to make it worse, I didn't like the characters at all. Veronica is far too concerned about the possible romance with Prince Jamie, to the point where it distracts her from way more important matters. The book is written in 1st person POV, mostly from Veronica's perspective, but it switches to Mackenna sometimes. There's barely any difference in their voices, so it's really hard to remember when the switch has been made. The main difference is that Mackenna is super into musical theater, so much so that she often thinks and speaks imperatives like, "Sweet Baby Sondheim!" and, "For the love of Lerner and Loewe!" (who, by the way, made the musical Brigadoon, of which this book is a retelling, though I really know nothing about that). It's a bit over the top, really...real people don't talk like that. As for the supposedly swoon-worthy princes, as much as I dislike that term, the only way I can really say that they are such is because I'm told. Literally. Right there in the book, it tells me that Prince Jamie makes all of the girls swoon. Okay, so he's unnaturally good-looking...being "swoon-worthy", to me, is about much more than that, and Jamie is mostly just a jerk for much of the book. He has his reasons to keep Veronica at bay, but he also leads her on only to shut her completely out when he remembers that oh, she might be in league with the witch!

And so, that leads me to the issues with the plot. The evil witch has been banished from Doon, but is always looking for a way back in to destroy it. Every hundred years (real time), the bridge between the real world and Doon (the Brig o' Doon) opens to allow people from the real world who have been called to Doon to enter and decide whether they want to stay. Because Veronica and Mackenna came 2 weeks before that time (though how the people of Doon know when it's going to open, I don't know, since the amount of time that passes between each Centennial fluctuates in Doon), most of the people of Doon assume they're working for the witch. They used magical rings to get in, rings that had been used to pass through the barrier outside of the Centennial before, but that doesn't matter. The possibility that they might be working with the witch is too high for them to be trusted. Except that while they wait for the bridge to open naturally, so the two newcomers can leave Doon and let everyone feel safe again, they take them on tours of the kingdom, let them spend time alone with the nation's princes, and conveniently forget that they might be evil, so that the romances can progress. And why did no one take note of the incredibly obvious transformation taking place right under their noses?

Add to that the "Calling" angle that is equated to soulmates finding each other, which leaves me a bit puzzled. Are they saying that if two people are brought together by a Calling, then they will have a perfect marriage? Never have to work on it? Never even consider divorce. I don't necessarily have a problem with the general idea of soulmates, as I believe God can and does bring two people together as part of his will (though it's generally much less obvious in real life than the Calling is here, and we can more easily decide not to follow that leading). But it seems to me that two people who meet through a Calling could easily become lazy in their relationship because it was "meant to be" and end up even unhappier than two people who met the normal way. It's a huge flaw in what is supposed to be a romantic story, if you ask me, but I suppose the reader isn't really supposed to think too much past the "happily ever after" at the end of the current story. On the other hand, this series goes on to further books, so maybe the authors will delve into that more. I won't be reading more though, so I'll never know.

I learned long ago that I should avoid contemporary romance, because I rarely like it. Though part of this book takes place in a sort-of-in-the-past land, it's still completely contemporary. Veronica and Mackenna both make sure the reader knows that the other is beautiful and adored by men, while each thinks of herself as plan, hideous, or whatever, which made me roll my eyes. All of the people of Doon have the same accent, yet whenever Jamie says Veronica's name, it's written as "Verranica," yet everyone else just says her name normally...I guess because it's supposed to be romantic? I don't get it, and I didn't really get this book. And I really don't get why it was published by a company that is said to publish clean fiction and is associated with a Christian publisher. show less

Since I was familiar with "Brigadoon," this book was especially fun...with kickass heorines. Nice update from the classic. The tale is told in two voices, which makes it interesting, and the heroes are hunky....with nice transition for the hero. Great book. Fun read.

The base of this book is "Brigadoon "- a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Songs from the musical, such as "Almost Like Being in Love" have become standards. The story involves two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years. Tommy, one of the tourists, falls in love with Fiona, a young woman from Brigadoon. The original production opened on Broadway in 1947 and ran for 581 performances. It starred David Brooks, George Keane, and Marion Bell. Brigadoon then received a West End production opening in 1949 that ran for 685 performances, and many revivals followed. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd show more Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk. Thematically, the musical depicted the contrast between empty city life and the warmth and simplicity of the country, focusing on a theme of love transcending time.

With this citation I also creating the connection to one of the main characters in the book - Mackenna, who is going to accomplish her dream to be an actress on Broadway's stages .

Now for the book - Doon is a out worldly place of contradictions. On one hand , they have modern ways, toilets and showers, combined with the mindset of the ancient world. People have been traveling to Doon throughout history, from our world to theirs through a magical bridge. As a result, Doon has modern conveniences like the aforementioned toilets; it has Asian inhabitants, Indian inhabitants, black inhabitants, as well as sushi and pizzerias. On the other hand, they are still firmly ingrained in the mindset of the past, despite everything they have seen and known. They believe that magic is witchcraft, they believe in predestination, a soul-mate, a Calling. They are still willing to burn witches at stakes. Same as they attribute their continued existence to the Protector.

The main characters are - Veronica (Vee) and Mackenna (Kenna). Vee and Kenna are each other’s biggest fans, as they don't exploiting each others’ weaknesses, but in complement each other, they form a synergistic team. Vee's lifes is going from bad to worst and Mackenna invite her to spend the summer in Scotland in a house that she inherited from her most loved aunt, Grace. Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months, but just a little before this, Veronica has visions of a handsome guy in a kilt. In Grace place they find a journal which ensure Vee about a mythical place there she will find her guy in a kilt. Kenna thought that she is over due with troubles and just hallucinating. She keep believing this, till Vee find two magical rings which transfer them to Doon.

As any good fairy tale it Doon also comes with a build in of a dark side. As I mention before The people of Doon believe that magic is witchcraft. When the protector separated Doon from the rest of the world it killed all its witches, except one that succeed to run away. The witches represented all the evil in their world, and they are sure (and rightly so) that this witch conspire to destroy their kingdom. Destroying the kingdom means that the it will return to the rest of the world or it will disappear into the mists lost forever. In the past, they caught people that the witch used in her attempts to do so. They fear that our girls are another pawns in the witch, because they appear in Doon before the magical bridge was open. This ugly suspicion casts big and dark shadow on the visit and on their relationships.

I must admit that, despite the fact it kind of fairy tale, Vee and Kenna are, certainly, no damsels in distress. They drive the plot, they resolve the conflict and they save the beautiful dudes in distress.

I did love the way the two authors weave the contemporary worldviews of their heroines that are juxtaposed with the fairy tale realities that they encounter. They both turned the reading to pure fun, along with kind of humor, that kept me laughing and turning the pages in purpose to have some more.

I really love to read more about it. show less

An indulgent fantasy set in a mythical Scottish land of Doon, this novel is a lovely treat for YA readers who wish to step out of this world and into a land where soulmates exist and evil comes in the form of witches and enchantments. Two typical teens, Vee and Kenna are on holiday in Scotland. Vee is a cheerleader with a terrible home life, including a pervy almost step-father and a mother with a drinking problem. Kenna has a stable home life with her indulgent father, but struggles to find her place in school, choosing to escape into the fantasy of the theater and dreaming of being on Broadway. The two characters take turns narrating and seem to mirror the strong friendship of the two authors, who claim sometimes they share a show more brain.

The writing is excellent and I adored the relationships and moments shared in this book between the main characters. The romance in the book focuses on the idea in Doon of a "Calling" where soulmates have dreams of each other. Kenna and Vee are forced to decide what they are willing to sacrifice for love.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to devour the next few in the world of Doon. I'd recommend for YA readers, especially those who enjoy fantasy, but not limited to those who enjoy high fantasy, as this book is definitely not too "out there". show less

Well, I can say that I really did enjoy this book. Many parts pretty predictable...Heck, a lot of the book was predictable with a few extra twists and turns here and there...But even with the predictability, it was worth the read. It got a 4/5 for me because I love Jamie, Veronica, Duncan, Fergus & Fiona...It took a bit for Mackenna(Kenna for short) to grow on me...But once she did, I began to love her as a character as well.

There were many times I would just laugh at some of the banter between some of them in the book...I would have to put down the book a couple times because I would laugh so hard (okay, even with the cheesiness of some of it, I still laughed, it doesn't take much to make me laugh!)...The sarcastic banter between show more Jamie, Veronica, Kenna & Duncan were just fun!

Now, I must say..If you aren't one who like the almost insta-love, this book may not be for you. But there is a kind of back-story to that insta-love as well...that you will just have to pick up and read to find out about...Or at least read the summary to get an idea of that back-story...

This book is a world inside a world type of love story between 4, well, actually 6 people...But mostly the 4 are talked about. It's more of a romance than it is anything else. With a little bit of drama and fighting thrown in. It has a lot of that...Should I stay, should I go..Are we meant to be or aren't we...I will let you go but don't want to type of story line..but if you can get past all of that...Especially if you like the tug-of-war type of thing, then this book may be for some...For me personally though, although I am not totally crazy about insta love, and like some level of build up, I can deal with it...because sometimes, the attraction is just that strong...(No, I don't believe in fairy tales, I just know that with billions of people on this earth, some things are possible)...But the tug of war that I mentioned above, can become kind of tedious sometimes...Although I understand that happens with people as well...but sometimes, fiction books do a little too much! lol...

As the cover may be obvious for most, the book is mostly set in Scotland...The world inside the world is, of course, set in a Scottish type land as well...And the way everything is described, a very beautiful land with gorgeous Princes as well! Princes that make you crush hard! One can be a jerk in the beginning but you still root for him! The other brother, you love right off! So yes, I loved them both, even when Jerk Prince was being a jerk! Maybe that was the predictable side showing! :-)

So, if you can get past the almost insta love, the should I, shouldn't I's and the more romance than anything end, then this book could be really enjoyable for many. A little slow paced sometimes but still really good. :-) show less