Customer Reviews

Devil of the Highlands

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When a hero feels all women are witless, silly creatures I get ready for an awesome heroine to make them change their mind. Instead, this woman proves him right over and over. I feel like I'm reading the The Three Stooges and our heroine is playing all 3 parts. It's so ridiculous I can't continue.

I'm less than half-way thru the book but it's basically gone from one over the top act (falling in the river, ridiculous way of drying her clothes, hero and heroine knocking each other off their horses, and don't even get me started on that awful, awful wedding ceremony) - is this supposed to be funny? And - somehow most of these ridiculous situations include our heroine ending up fully or at least partially naked in front of Cullens friends. Again, is this supposed to be funny? Showing everyone "what she does and does not have?"

I could forge ahead if there was an intriging plot, a good mystery or something, anything!, of interest but the rest of the story has been done over and over and over...

From other reviews it sounds like some of Sands other books may be worth reading - I'll just be sure and read the reviews first. I wish I had on this one!

As soon as I started reading the latest historical by Lynsay Sands, I couldn't help but draw comparissons to Julie Garwood's, The Bride, from several years ago. There were too many similarities to name and I couldn't help but think that Julie Garwood had done it much better with her characters. I would find it hard to believe Lynsay Sands had never read Garwood. As I said, way too many similarities.

I spent the rest of the weeked rereading Garwood's, The Bride. It made me laugh and made me realize that when you have read historicals for 2 decades, eventually you will find one that mirrors another. And the first is usually the best.

I liked it enough to try another Lynsay sand book... but it was really one sided from Evelinde's side and I never got to really know or fall in love with Cullen. There was little to no romance between them... he never really had to defend her or stand up for her. It would have been great to see him tell off the step mom! And why did he carry her everytime she got hurt? Stupid. There was one funny scene where they were unloading the wagon... but other then that this was a very boring story with no meat too it. I mean, I wanted a romance... not just a mystery!

I am, admittedly a fan of Sands' historical romance novels. I know some decry her for the history as wallpaper effect, but I enjoy the lightness. Her dialogue is typically sharp and witty, and her characters are usually very likable. I really liked Evalinde and Callun. They had instant chemistry. I know some readers find that off putting, but I like my h/h to like each other. I find it distracting when they spend most of the book disliking each other. That is not the case in this book. My biggest complaint about this book is that most of the story is told from Evalinde's point of view. This isn't a bad thing, as this heroine is intelligent, and likeable. She doesn't veer off into tstl territory. Unfortunately, this gives us little insight into the hero. He barely speaks through most of the book, and until the very end, we are seldom given much insight into his thought processes. There is also a lack of interaction with the h/h. I read this book in one night and I genuinely enjoyed it. It was over too fast, and I am anxiously awaiting her next historical.

Lynsay Sands' books seem to run hot and cold for me. I loved the "The Chase" another scottish romance so I bought this one hoping it would have the funny, smart dialog and warmth along those lines. This book was one of the ones I'd say was ok, but not memorable--a bit ho hum . The Devil, Cullen, was never at all Devilish-in fact the reader never really gets a sense of why he has earned this name. He was so non-talkative that the connection with Evelinde seemed odd. Although, Evelinde was really pretty simple minded, so I guess it did not matter. Basically, I never felt the real attraction between the two--it seemed like their romance was basically they enjoyed "bedsport" and that the marriage meant Evelinde got away from her evil stepmother. I just wanted more.

Well, since I wrote a review for this book over a week ago and it still hasn't been posted, I'm going to try this one more time.

This book was not good at all. The situations were over-the-top, the characters had no chemistry at all, and it was just downright unbelievable. I know, it's romance, but still. In the, what, 1300s, the hero and heroine meet in a meadow and make out. If it had been a contemporary, might have been able to handle it. But, the heroine had previously fell on rocks and was bruised up. Then they ran into each other and fell off their horses (so more bruises and the hero hit his head and passed out for a few minutes). So basically two people (one being a sheltered lady of the house with no idea of sexual matters) covered in bruises and blood, stiff all over from injuries, but remarkably feel good enough to do it in the meadow. And did I mention she had no idea who he was or what his name was. Yeah. Okay. And that's just the first couple of chapters. It gets even better. With the wicked stepmother and the traitorous friends, it's just a barnyard of laughs.

I've got to say I am very disappointed in the author. She has been a favorite of mine over the last few years, but the last three historicals (including The Brat - ugh - and Love is Blind) have just been downright bad. I think that she's so focused on that vampire series (which I have read two of and was not impressed with either) her other genre, and the one she's best at, is suffering. If you want to read one of her good books, check out The Chase or The Switch.

I love Lynsay Sands, but this novel of hers is boring. I had to skip and skim to get to the end. The beginning was okay up to the point where the heroine kept running into accidents...so it kinda got boring...the hero was not charming enough towards the heroine and audience. And when I skip a book instead of reading every page, then it means, the book was not good or interesting enough to capture my undivided attention. However, if we were to compare this particular Sands's novel to other author's novel, Sands writing is much more captivating than others. I am not as disappointed in her as I am of others. Try it out if you're a fan of Sands, just keep your expectation low, then the novel will be good.

I'm completely disappointed in this book. Sands is a wonderful historical romance author and many of her books (Sweet Revenge, Love Is Blind (Leisure Historical Romance), The Key etc) have made it onto my keeper shelf. But Devil Of The Highlands lacks her trademark comical element. It has a completely average plot with average characters. Nothing to distinguish itself from any other Highland romance book. And its not like there isn't plenty of opportunity to do so. Those so-called accidents that plague Evelinde are not even funny (as opposed to the hilarious scrapes Clarissa causes in Love Is Blind). The hero, Cullen, should have been named Sullen for his silent treatments. I mean I understand that he's an action verses words man. But come on! At least half of the the problems would have been solved if he had just spoken up a little. Or maybe Sands could have twisted it around and made Cullen's silence somehow comical -but it wasn't. That was a major problem for me.

There are so very few romance authors who do can do comedy well, and even fewer who do historical romance comedy. I grab Sands book's when I want a break from the dark/brooding Alpha-type hero's found in many historical romances. Her previous books have set a president. When I want to read about lords/ladies/lairds and have a good laugh, then I don't have to look any further. Sands comedy is completely unique in the genre and is tops IMHO with Cindy Holbrook (and she doesn't even publish anymore). But this book doesn't fit the bill. So unfortunately I can't recommend it to fans of historical romance comedy. If your looking for just a regular Highland romance, then this one is OK. If you want comedy then skip it.

Funny historical romances (other than above listed) I've enjoyed-
Bliss
The Country Gentleman
Simply Scandalous (Zebra Debut)

I read this book in one day over a month ago and put off writing a review so I could read the "The Bride", by Julie Garwood. I did that because of some of the reviews for this book suggested that the author had used nearly the same story for this book. If that had turned out to be the truth I was going to be very disappointed with both the book and the author. I am happy to report that those tales of this story being copied from that of Ms Garwood's are false. I have just finished reading The Bride (really just finished...like 5 minutes ago) and they are two different stories. Are there a couple of similarities. Yes. A couple. But this book is not a copy of Ms. Garwoods's story. I suppose if you have read as many books as I have you could find similarities in all stories. Specially as we get further and further into the history of the written word. I really liked this book. I really liked The Bride. My suggestion is read them both. You will not have wasted your time if you close either one of them with a smile on your face. After all, isn't the purpose of reading a book to give yourself some enjoyment and take you away from your own life for awhile. Or maybe that's just me. :)

I saw the reviews and they were about 50/50 in good and bad. Some said there was no depth and others loved it. I found that I enjoyed the book a great deal. It had rather funny elements to it, but other serious ones as well. I like to have an even amount of conversation and descriptions. It wasn't all descriptions, but it wasn't all dialogue either. I have read quite a few Highland romances recently and have found that this one actually made me laugh, while the others tend to often be way too serious. Enjoy!!