Liz (Bent Bookworm)
Written on Jul 21, 2018
This is me at the end of the book. This is a huge improvement over the me in evidence about 60 pages in, which was more like:
Let me explain.
Good things first. The writing is smooth, descriptions are detailed but not too much. I could see the places Emma was going in my mind, I could picture the people she was meeting. Great! Also I love all things Scotland, but I try really hard to keep a real and not touristy view of the country, and I think Dyer did a great job of bringing this out in the book. The story - once a certain amount of suspension of disbelief was applied - was amusing. I laughed out loud several times. The author is good at making even secondary characters different enough to remember (even if a couple of them turn out more caricature-like than I would prefer).
It's a fluffy, fast read. Actually, this is the first non-academic book I've finished in months, and I finished it in one evening (stayed up almost three hours past my usual bedtime to do so). So, if fluffy, ridiculous, entertaining books are your thing or you need a break from your usual thing, this book might do it for you. Please bear in mind, it pretty much reads like a fanfiction. Because...well, it is! It was approved/allowed by Diana Gabaldon, due to the heavy influence of her Outlander books on the writing. Ahem. I.e., FANFICTION. If you haven't read at least the first Outlander book, much of this one will make absolutely no sense and no doubt engender even more eye-rolling than it did for me (I love the Outlander series with a passion).
Now the reason for the Anger. Please excuse my undeniable urge to use caps.
WHAT THE EFF CENTURY ARE WE IN, THAT OUR MAIN CHARACTER DEDICATES HER ENTIRE LIFE TO FINDING A MATE?!? Are you freaking kidding me right now?!?
I think Emma needed a counselor more than she needed a trip to Scotland. She was clearly suffering from a horrible lack of self worth due to constantly comparing herself to her highly successful (and younger) sister, and by a chronic tendancy to derive her self worth from the amount of male attention she received or could obtain.
What, exactly, has Emma been doing with her life? I tried to figure it out, as just because one works at Starbucks at the age of 30 does not mean one has wasted one's life. Things happen, circumstances change...maybe I just missed it, but Emma seems unable to have pursued anything other than boyfriends with any real vigor.
No. Just no. Okay, so I still love a good HEA and cutesy romantic stuff as much as the next person...sometimes. When it is warranted. In this case, I chose to finish the book and suspend by disbelief/outrage/horror at Emma's underlying reasoning for "searching for her Jamie," and was able to somewhat enjoy the rest.
I gave three stars because of the quality of the writing, but I wouldn't read it again. Give me a book with a female MC with LIFE GOALS, not man goals.
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