Gwen’s review of Highland Fire by Hannah Howell
Historical romance re-released by Zebra 27 May 08
This historical with mild paranormal elements was originally released by Howell’s alterego, Anna Jennet, in Nov 1995. For a peak at the original cover, just run your mouse over the cover to the left. I’m a huge Howell fan, so you know I just had to read this. Am I sad I did? No, but let’s just say it wasn’t on the same level of Beauty and the Beast.
The premise of this book is original – heroine is washed overboard during a storm, hero goes after her, they wash up on a remote shore in Scotland and must make their way across Scotland on foot, all the while avoiding being recognized and avoiding being burned at the stake (more on that later). It’s a cute story and the writing is, as usual, good. The primary and secondary characters are fully fleshed out and interesting. The colloquialisms “weel” and “dinnae” and the like got a little tiresome, but didn’t detract too much from the flow of the writing.
Much is made of superstition in this book. The hero and heroine each have unique “gifts”: he can sense the future a bit, and she can heal with a touch or take away pain (both are mentioned and I’m not sure which is the case). These gifts make them the target of public fear nearly every time they use them. Think – stake burning and Inquisition-like interrogation (yes, I thought of Monty Python a couple of times too). Not so hard to believe about 1400’s Scotland, right? That isn’t the problem I had.
The beef I had with this story was the heroine’s motivation and reaction to the hero’s pursuit – she used this superstition as her excuse to not commit to the hero. Over and over again. She kept moving the bar the hero had to meet in order to commit to her, or that she had to meet to commit to him. They’d overcome one of her hurdles, and she’d think of another one. It was tiring and a teeny bit overdone.
Howell’s later books are much more sophisticated and “adult” when it comes to emotions, but this was a fun pool-side read. Perfect for the summer.
Grade: C+
Summary:
Sailing the churning seas off the coast of Scotland, Moira was on a desperate mission to save her kidnapped cousin. On board was a mysterious older man – a man Moira sensed was not who he claimed to be. Suddenly a fierce storm swept them both overboard, stranding them on the rocky shores of Scotland. With his disguise washed away, Moira discovered that the elderly stranger was actually a ruggedly handsome young man!
Moira was shocked when Tavig MacAlpin revealed the cause for his disguise – falsely accused, he was running from the gallows. But while Tavig’s search for justice was far more treacherous than Moira ever imagined, his fiery touch released a passion within her she hadn’t known existed. For Moira, this was only the beginning of a strange but wondrous journey that would plunge them both into the flames of destiny . . . and into each others arms.
[No excerpt to be found.]
