Highland Heat

by Jennifer Haymore

[Amanda]

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There's nothing really wrong with Highland Heat, but there's nothing that truly stands out with it, either. And that's a good summation of how Highland Heat was for me. A solid three star read. I didn't hate it, but I did find myself putting it down to check my phone and do other things.

The biggest obstacle I had with Highland Heat is that although the characters weren't supposed to be together due to class differences, nothing really stopped them from being together. They seemed to talk about how they weren't supposed to be together more than they were ever really dragged apart. It reduced the tension of their "stolen" moments together.

I also wasn't convinced of Duncan's "reckoning" -- when he's finally convinced he and Grace should be together. Because Grace's sister and brother-in-law sitting him down and saying he should go for it is enough to convince him, even when breaking Grace's heart isn't? Don't buy it.

Duncan was part of a group working for the government to "put down" dissenters, but that only seemed to be relevant to a) keep Duncan and Grace apart for a bit and b) create drama at the end/climax and c) convince Grace's father that Grace and Duncan were supposed to be together. It was almost an after thought, and certainly didn't feel like it was a central part of the overall plot.

I also didn't like how, after Grace had been kidnapped, Duncan saved her just before her captor started raping her. It felt really icky, like it was a severe escalation that only served to show Grace's father how much Duncan really cared for Grace. I don't think it needed to escalate that far to prove the point; women don't have to be nearly raped for men to prove themselves.

That said, Highland Heat was still an likable read. Grace's sister and brother-in-law's romance may have actually been slightly more interesting than Grace and Duncan's insta-attraction, but I didn't dislike this book. Jury's still out on whether I'd read more from this series.