Lukewarm...
"I thought I'd lost you." The Hawk's face was dark, glistening in the firelight, and it was the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. It took her several long moments to shake loose the cotton stuffing that had replaced her brain. With wakefulness came defiance. Just looking at that man made her temper rise.
"Can't lose something you don't have. Never had me to begin with, Lord Hawk," she mumbled.
"Yet," he corrected. "I haven't had you yet. At least not in the sense that I will have you. Beneath me. Bare, silky skin slippery with my loving. My kisses. My hunger." He traced the pad of his thumb along the curve of her lower lip and smiled.
"Never."
Never say never.
First, a warning for all of those who are in love with the KMM's "Fever" series. If you loved Barrons, you are going to hate this book. At least most of the fans do. Unlike dark, rich, mysterious "Fever" series, this book is lukewarm and shiny, babies and the most of the cliches you can think of regarding the historical romance.
Summary goes something on the line...
Adrienne is taken from 1990's Seattle into the 1513 Scotland by a Fae jester. She is then married under a different name and forced to live with her new husband. All of that was a scheme made by the Fae to undue the Laird Hawk who impressed the Fae queen. Adrienne was chosen because she hated beautiful men and the Fae jester believed she would bring the great womaniser Hawk down with a big NO on her luscious lips.
There are many thing wrong with this book. Most of them are wrong because I expected much more from the great Karen Marie Moning even though this series came before the "Fever". I guess I believe she can do much more and way better.
Cliches:
1. The unwillingly willing heroine. Adrienne is one of those women who keep repeating how they will not fall again and will not be made fool of again and will always hate beautiful men. But in fact, they fall almost right from the start. There is practically no struggle, only rude stubbornness.
2. The virgin heroine. Even though the woman is close to her thirties, was married, is utmost beautiful, she is somehow still a virgin. And not only that, but the hero didn't know until he pushed his large shaft and felt a barrier. Gah...
3. The badass smug hero falls in an instant. Hawk is a man who had thousands (!!!) of women in his thirty something years of life. He is completely detached from them and cares a little. But when he sees Adrienne he is instantly besotted. And since she refused him, it was a done deal. Seal, signature and all. She said no to a man who was never refused and that alone is enough for him to fall in love with her.
4. A dozen babies wish. The hero made a nursery for a dozen babies and when the heroine saw it, her heart melted because she had the same wish. Omg.
Some other thing that bothered me:
1. The inconsistency of the story. It is enough to say that this book is a bumpy road and you must have that in might when you set on your journey. For one, KMM never explained how the Fae travel through time and if there are some repercussions involved. I guess the technical side of this travel wasn't important. It was, poof here and poof there.
2. Hawk. A legendary womaniser. A man who changed women more often than Casanova. He didn't know how to speak properly to Adrienne. He kept purring. And glaring. And denying her anything until she kissed him. He was the opposite of the man who was introduced at the beginning.
3. Adam Black, the Fae jester. It was hard to go through his scenes with Adrienne. I knew as we all know that the only reason he wants her is because he wants to beat Hawk. That is all, noting more. It could have been any other woman. And that is just sad.
4. The language and style used. It is very confusing and enormously different from the "Fever" series.
What I did like about this book was the heroine's preference to stay in 1513 Scotland rather than in 1990's Seattle. I think I would have the same one if in her situation. She had nothing to lose except the usage of modern day science and appliances. But if you have loved ones and enough to keep you warm, safe, fed and cherished, you have more than most of the people in a modern day world.
I love Scotland and the Highlanders. And the romance that goes along. Sometimes even savagery and/or stubbornness. But when you have a great author and a great setting and you get so little in return, you can't help but feel incredibly disappointed.
It was interesting to observe how KMM got involved into the Fae world, even though it was merely on the sidelines in this case. This world that she is slowly researching here will impact many lives later on in her legendary series.
Despite the so-so beginning, I'm looking forward to the next book because I know how much potential KMM has.
