Series: Clan Kendrick, #4
Traits & Tropes: protector; road trip; opposites attract; slow burn
Publication Date: 07.27.21
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; Glasgow/Highlands, Scotland, 1823
Heat Level: 2
Rating: 2/5
Though she’s from a titled family, Kathleen Calvert’s behavior is certainly not indicative of her aristocratic upbringing. She wants nothing more than to return to her family’s beloved estate in Ireland and tend to the gardens and horses and she couldn’t care less if she ever marries. Her stepmother disagrees, however, so when her wild antics threaten to ruin her reputation, she’s banished to her cousin’s estate in the Scottish Highlands where they hope she’ll learn some decorum. She’s off to a lackluster start, especially one of her escorts is a handsome, but unfortunately staid Highlander.
Grant Kendrick had plenty of misadventures during his youth and has now shocked his family by becoming the most reliable and respectable member of Clan Kendrick and a wildly successful businessman. He’s attracted to the lovely Kathleen, but unfortunately, she immediately judges him to be the most boring man she’s ever met. Fortunately for him, their journey to the Highlands affords him opportunities to show her just how interesting he can be, but Grant will have his work cut out for him keeping Kathleen safe when their remote village is threatened by a gang of thieves, as well as convincing her that a life with him is just what she wants.
This was quite the romp through Glasgow and the Highlands, and I enjoyed that aspect of the plot. I think Grant made for a lovely hero and definitely the sort of man you’d want by your side. Unfortunately, I cannot say I found the heroine to be equally likable. Kathleen was insipid and immature and of course her sixteen-year-old stepsister, Jeannie, was much worse and got just as much page time. Jeannie was a spoiled brat who got entirely too much leeway time and again and her antics took up entirely too much page time. Kathleen at times was just as reckless, nonsensical, and immature as her sister. Kathleen is supposed to be a ‘scandal’ but for the most part she did nothing but snipe at Grant for either being too boring or for not observing proper proprieties. This made her seem very wishy-washy in her characterization. This inconsistency wasn’t helped by her snapping at him for nearly three quarters of the book, then suddenly being in love with him, claiming to have been in love with him for some time and refusing to deny it any longer. This is the sort of behavior you’d expect from children who tease their crush because they don’t know how to act around them, not from a grown woman.
Kathleen griped about the childish things Jeannie said and then said essentially the same things herself. She wanted her own way just for the sake of it, even when she knew others knew better than she did. Kathleen was so hot and cold with Grant that I was just frustrated much of the time with this story. Jeannie was just idiotic in her behavior, and no one ever held her to account. Even when she herself was in danger, Kathleen could think about nothing but her sister, showing her own inability to be rational and sensible. I enjoyed the mystery element thrown in here, even if it was easy to pick out the villain, but I wish it hadn’t come with the price of making the Kendricks look like incompetent fools.
I was also annoyed by the wild overuse of words such as henwit, ninny, booby, etc., to indicate displeasure or lack of intelligence. Once or twice might’ve been fine, but these and others were constantly thrown in and it just got on my nerves, as well as the adults referring to each other as ‘old boy’ and ‘old girl’ and especially the oft repeated phrase ‘aye that.’ All of this probably bothers no one but me, but I found it annoying.
It was frustrating to me how quickly Kathleen judged Grant before even knowing him and how long it took her to see how good of a man he was when that was patently obvious to everyone else. I honestly felt bad for him having to put up with the people around him and I don’t think he ever received fair credit for the fact that he was essentially the glue holding the family together, instead he just kept getting described as boring and that frustrated me. Between the antics of Jeannie and Angus, and the irregularity of Kathleen’s behavior, this never felt like a real romance to me and I’m still not really sure how Grant fell for her. Really, I was more moved by the connection between Grant and his twin brother Graeme than anything. This was too much of a slow burn and I don’t think Kathleen and Grant had enough page time together to make their love believable. After my high hopes for this one, I’m a bit letdown by it, though I’m sure the light-heartedness of this one will appeal to many.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4032338431
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/21670304
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