The MacKinnon's Bride

The Highlands, 1118

I'm not going to rehash the synopsis for you.

Ms. Crosby has written in the style of the times, so it was a bit like reading Shakespeare-awkward at times. I was determined not to like this book when I started, but I quickly discovered that she'd written multi-layered characters, survivors, and their adventure together was enough to keep my interest throughout, in spite of arguing for Stockholm's Syndrome and the odd phraseology and "fun" words she felt it necessary to include. The story transcends all of this. It is a well-done Scottish historical complete with clan loyalty, men in kilts, a traitor amongst them and the hated English.

Well worth the read.

Scottish Highlander Iain MacKinnon captures an Englishman’s daughter in retaliation for the kidnapping of his young son. As he bargains for a trade, it becomes clear that the Englishman has no interest in his daughter Page. While Iain gains his son, he also must ponder what to do with the girl. Feeling that no one should be denied by their father, he takes her with him. The bulk of the story encompasses the growing relationship between Iain and Page. This is an old school romance novel with an emphasis on inner dialogue and lengthy love scenes, and I loved it. Iain is a tortured and compelling hero, and Page is a plucky heroine despite the circumstances. The romance was smoldering, and I cheered the ultimate happily-ever-after.

... okay, so first of all I'm going to create a shelf that befits the genre of this book.

Behold, the Sexually Objectified Men-in-Kilts Genre Bookshelf!

I didn't actually like this book. There are some books in this genre that I do really like, but this one just kinda fell flat for me. It was fine, but it was really predictable.

I didn't have high expectations to begin with (I think it was free or really cheap on my kindle), and I like predictable books in this genre, but it almost felt like nothing happened.

There was a running monologue between the two main characters, and then... not a lot of action.

One of the things that I found the most irritating is there's no notion of time. Nights pass, days go by, but I have no idea how long the show more characters are traveling for, so I had no idea how long the characters have actually known each other?

ALSO, SOMEHOW THE FEMALE CHARACTER (who is English) GETS ALONG FINE with an ENTIRE CLAN OF SCOTSMAN after like a day.

Everyone's fine with her.

No big deal. No tension between the two countries in that time, not at all. Nope. (How?)

So yeah, I enjoyed it because it allowed me to giggle inappropriately at lots of things and I laughed at the 'haunting bagpipes' that I've seen more than once in romance novels like these.

Anyway. It helped me fall asleep at night, and it was super cheap. show less

I loved the wit of the heroine in this novel. Page was an only daughter of a man who didn't wan't or acknowlege her most days, and that is why she was outside her family's home the night that Iain and his band of men found her swimming in the river. They kidnapped her and held her ransom, just as her family held his son ransom and Iain believed that it would be a fair tradeoff. Little did he know that the man to whom Page called father was nothing but a bastard and his dealings would net him not only his son back but the feisty wench as well. But Page was led to believe her father was betrayed by the Scot and he really did want her for the first time in her life. But as time went on, she began to see that Iain was not telling her the show more whole truth and he was pitying her more than holding her captive. The two form a relationship built on quick repartee and find themselves falling for each other beyond all odds. show less

One of the downfalls of reading books in the same genre for a little over twenty years, is the repetitive feel they sometimes get. This wasn't bad but it definitely had a been there done that feel to it; it had faint echoes of a Scottish Garwood.

Along with the nothing new feeling I had, the insta-lust and the immature heroine had me skimming some pages. The story arcs of the villain feeling wronged and Page's father not wanting her were ok along with the developing romance between Iain and Page but again, not particularly original. There was never an anticipation or feeling of fun to their journey.

This was a kindle freebie for me and because the writing and grammar was good, I'd say if you're not an old hat to romances, this is show more definitely worth the free download. show less

Page is captured by Iain MacKinnon to exchange for his young son. Even when Iain gets Malcolm back, he keeps Page as her father doesn't want her. They end up married and must learn to love each other while combating the forces who are trying to defeat Iain.
This is a romance, not historical fiction, so I was okay with the anachronisms in the story. I just found the story okay as the ending/the bad guy was telegraphed very early in the book. But the writing was good and it's a quick read.

The heroine is a shrew

I think the writer thought she was making Page sassy but she was a shrew. For most of the book, she argued and said rude things to everyone. That's not sassy, that's just being nasty.

It wasn't all bad but it wasn't up to the standards of what I'm used to in my historical romances.