Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Recent Read

Sapphire Dream by Pamela Montgomerie

Why this one: When I closed my eyes and reached in, this was the one I came up with

Steam Level: Warmish

Author Website Blurb:

When Brenna Cameron returns to Castle Stour on the coast of Scotland seeking answers about her past, she can’t imagine that she’ll be transported to a seventeenth-century pirate ship and a crew of dangerous scallywags who haven’t seen a woman in far too long. Nor could she have dreamed of her desires for the captain who comes to her rescue…

Rourke Douglas, captain of the Lady Marie, is immediately enthralled by the beautiful stranger brought onto his ship by a mysterious magic connected to that sapphire jewel around her exquisite neck. All he knows is that the fiery-haired siren he calls “Wildcat” stirs something deep in his wounded soul. But along with burning desire, the captain knows a bone-chilling dread, for if the prophesy of the sapphire is true, then the brazen Brenna will bring about only one thing: his ruin…


My Thoughts: Hmmmm. |This one had some good things and some not so good things going on. It is harder doing a review when it's a more neutral isn't it?

Good things

  • It's a time travel and I've always enjoyed time travel romance and this one has a very interesting twist I've never seen before. I appreciated that.
  • Likeable characters - especially the hero, Rourke Douglas.
  • I thought their pet names for each other were cute.

Not so good things -sadly - this list will be longer

  • The pet names got old after a while. I found myself thinking enough already towards the end when they were still using the nicknames
  • The Scottish dialect. I think Maili has had an effect on me with this one. The 'dinna ken's were annoying.
  • While I wouldn't call her TSTL, Brenna did get annoying with her stubbornness at times.
  • I think I've been spoiled by a couple of other books I read in the same time period, Highland Rebel by Judith James and Beloved Warrior by Patricia Potter. Both of them gave a much better 'feel' for the time.
  • I found there was too much mental lusting. Uusually I don't notice it that much but I seemed to in this book.

I think those who enjoy Scottish Historicals will enjoy this one. It does have enough going for it. But this isn't one of my favourite sub-genres. Still, I read it and if I didn't enjoy parts of it it I wouldn't have kept reading. And I read it through without putting it down - another good sign.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

4 comments:

Erotic Horizon said...

Kristie

You have hit the lowlights spot 0n.. The accent and the pet names did it for me.. too much already...

I love a little mental lusting as well - as females tend to get quite creative with this - but that as well was just "get a room already"


I read this for the time travel and I was not disappointed - it was wonderfully written and the two did have a connection as stubborn as Brenna was...

Nice round up - you've hit all the right notes...

E.H>

Tricia said...

Hi Kristie I enjoyed the review and couldn't agree more its much harder doing a neutral review.

Kristie (J) said...

Erotic Horizon: It's HARD not to give great reviews - I want to love every book I read. Even more I don't want people to not read a book I didn't love because I didn't love it - if that makes sense. And I think this one is good enough that what distracted me, might not distract them.
And as a time travel, I thought it worked very well. Sometimes I've read them and even while the whole idea of time travel can be hard to buy, I can suspend disbelief and buy into how/why it worked (and sometimes I can't) and I could easily buy into this one for the TT aspect.
I liked this one - but I didn't love it.

Tricia: *laughing* It takes being neutral - and I'm not really neutral - as my sisters who call me the "Draa-mma Queen" can tell you!!

orannia said...

Hmmm, I think I'll be avoiding this book - I'm just not time travel fan. Weirdly though, I didn't have a problem with Outlander, although I'm hoping to read it again so that may change ;)