Customer Reviews

The Highlander

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have read hundreds of romance novels - the Scottish genre being one of my favorites - do not waste your money on this one. There is no story. The characters' feelings are unbelievable. I could not even finish it.

Our story begins in the mists of 18th century Scotland, when a muscular rogue happens upon the nearly nude body of a beautiful young girl while attempting to enjoy a scenic horseback ride along the beach. Rather than clomping brutally over the unconscious girl's skull and continuing on his merry way (which would have been decidedly more interesting a tale in two or three paragraphs than the entire remainder of the book in itself), the burly stranger picks up said stranded maiden and deposits her at his brother's castle (which is conveniently devoid of other family members, servants or attending staff of any kind). Our lean, mean, kilt sporting hero's handsomeness is rivaled only by that of his rich, powerful sex machine of a brother - James "Jamie" Graham, the Earl of Monleigh. Given the circumstances, it's no surprise that Sophie - our shipwrecked maiden, formerly on the verge of death - and Jamie fall madly in lust with one another and engage in many hours of hot copulation inside the cavernous (and oddly empty) castle. Sadly, their sexual bliss is short lived, as Sophie refuses to divulge the secret of her true identity and feigns amnesia (poorly), causing James to mistrust his sultry French paramour at every turn. Even when it's beyond obvious that he is wrapped tightly around her little finger, Sophie continues to hide the truth from Jimmy for no reason other than to create needless drama (girls are so predictable). She is finally made to suffer the consequences, however, when the earl's jealous ex, Gillian, brings to light her horrifying secret. Sophie D'Alembert is none other than the granddaughter of Louis XIV, the Sun King! (I'll wait a moment here while you try to figure out why, exactly, this is so tremendously shocking. Go ahead.) Attempting to wriggle out of an unsavory arranged marriage to the English Duke of Rockingham, Sohpie boarded a ship bound for Norway and never looked back. The vessel had a date with misfortune, sadly, and our beloved Sophie was the only soul to survive the wreck. Were it not for Tavish Graham's efforts in the beginning of the book, her fate may have been different. For some inexplicable reason, this news infuriates Jamie to the point of insanity, and he breaks off his relationship with the smarmy Sophie - or does he? (The two continue to have sex, seemingly ignoring the fact that each is enraged with the other). An overdramatic self-sacrifice and painfully uninspired ending conspire to make The Highlander a typical "and they lived happily ever after" type of tale, wrapped up in a neat little box, with a frilly bow of some sort decorating the top.

Simply put, this novel was terrible. Despite the fact that Elaine Coffman is allegedly a New York Times bestselling author, which would indicate that she possesses some measure of skill and popularity, I actually found myself dreading the idea of finishing this work. It's a marvel to me that Jamie and Sophie, being the book's only characters for a number of chapters, could be lacking so much in the way of personal development. I never grew to know or understand either of the two and, thus, didn't care a whit whether they professed their love to one another, initiated any more off-putting love scenes, ended up dying, or found themselves being abducted by a hostile race of space aliens bent on taking over the galaxy. (Had the latter actually occurred, I highly doubt even it would have been able to bump this snooze-fest up to "worth reading" status.) The icing on the cake had to be the presence of the cheesy, inconsistent Scottish accents that are an embarrassment to real Scots everywhere, and the story's absurdly contrived ending. This has been my first and last Elaine Coffman experience, and I suggest you elect to be intelligent and learn from my mistake. Don't waste your time tackling this trash.

Tavish Graham thinks he has found a dead woman when he finds a naked form lying in his way. However, Sophie d'Almbert is very much alive and intriguing. She is also a problem he does not want, so he turns her over to his brother James, the Earl of Monleigh. James is not as put off by the lovely foreigner as his brother. Rather, he finds himself all too attracted to her. Since her memory is apparently gone though, for all he knows, she is a commoner, too lowly to even consider marrying. Even if she were high born, Sophie is not the woman he is engaged to marry. She might make a suitable mistress, and that is an idea that appeals to him greatly.

Sophie hides her secrets behind the cloak of amnesia. She is not a low born woman, but a member of the French Royal family, on the run from an unwanted marriage. Her fiance is hot on her heels and Sophie might have to sacrifice herself to him to save the people who have given her refuge and love.

*** Daring escapes and mystery fill this book. James and Sophie share a passion that defies all practical considerations. Not only that, but Ms. Coffman creates a panorama of secondary characers who could easily continue her saga. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

I'm a fan of Elaine Coffman's books. I loved the MacKinnon series. I was pretty disappointed when I started reading this book, I couldn't believe Elaine Coffman had written this. I didn't even finish the book, after reading to a hundred pages I was so bored I couldn't find the energy to continue reading. I found that the characters had no depth at all. Enough said I think. If you want good Elaine Coffman go for the MacKinnon series.

In 1740 Scotland, Tavish Graham finds the unconscious, almost naked, body of a beautiful woman. He knew with the cold fog coming that he did not have enough time to take the half drowned lass to the family castle. Instead he travels to the nearby Danegaeld Lodge, his grandfather's abode where currently his brother, James, the Earl of Monleigh and chief of Clan Graham, has gone to for some rest.

The French lass Sophie d'Alembert fears her strange surroundings as much as she is frightened of her host. She hides from James her true identity as the granddaughter of
French King Louis XIV and that she is a pawn being used to marry the abominable English Duke of Rockingham. As James and Sophie become acquainted, they fall in love though he believes she hides much of the truth from him and she feels guilty for doing so. Although she soon trusts him, Sophie fails to reveal who she is before James learns the identity of her grandfather. Now he does not trust the woman he was willing to risk the wrath of two kings to keep at his side.

Eighteenth century Scottish romance readers will want to peruse THE HIGHLANDER, an exciting tale that never slows down from the moment Tavish finds a seemingly dead Sophie on the shore. Though the setting has been over used, the French lass provides freshness as her apparently more cultured society clashes with the rugged Highland lifestyle. James and Sophie are a delightful duo struggling between a growing love vs. duty and secrets, which means that fans will enjoy Elaine Coffman's latest historical.

Harriet Klausner

I couldn't believe the reviewer who wrote that this book was awful. It's one of the best I've read and I read three to four books a week. The love story is beautiful, it's steamy and memorable with wonderful characters and settings so incredibly described that I will never forget them. This book will stay in my heart. Ignore the bad reviews. I guarantee you'll love it.

Although I found the situation in this book quite unrealistic, and some characters left undeveloped. The Story of Sophie and James was one of fantasy and not reality. We all would love a tough guy who becomes exteremly passionate at the sight of us. The tall dark handsom stranger who is commanding, educated and refined, although such a man probably can never exist because of the nature of life and times. It is always nice to imagin. lets face it we all would have loved to been in Sophies place during some of the pages of this book. it is a classically cheezy romance a pink novel if one were to call it as one of my guy friends stated when he saw me reading it. If ever a man like Jamie Graham did exist I would have loved to have been his Sophie. This book turned me onto the Historical Romance Genere.

I read alot of books. It seems I always hit a rut with so-so books at least once a year. This is the first book of Ms Coffman's I have read. It was great. Great characters, good storyline, kept you interested. One of those, stayed up to late reading, books. It was not a waste of money or time. I recommend reading this book. Especially is you like books set in Scotland and/or the Highlands.

I actually read this book like a million times- I just fell in love with all the characters and I've lent it out to all my friends. Buy this!!!!

I decided to go back into my personal library and find a book I'd purchased but hadn't read yet, hence 'The Highlander' pick. Several years ago I read the entire series except for this particular novel which I did not own until recently, so I was excited to go back and start fresh and reread all of them again starting with this one.

I wish I hadn't.

IMHO,This book was horrible right from the get go. So bad in fact, I could not continue reading it, something I hate to do once I've started. If you're an avid reader like myself, you know what I mean. You skim through just to get to the last page and be done with it.

My beef with this book is badly written dialogue (stilted conversational wording... on-again/off-again accents), uninteresting and underdeveloped characters, idiotic behavior(my #1 turn off), and last but not least, a boring, boring plot.

The only people who could possibly think this book is interesting or worth more than one star are the readers who can't get enough of 'multiple descriptive sex scenes', written regardless of story, plot, timing and believeability.

If that's you, then you'll love this book and will probably rate it five stars.

With all this being said, Elaine Coffman is a charming and talented author. I love her other books, but I'm so glad I didn't start with this one or I would have never read anything else by her ever again.