by Genevieve Graham
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Source: sent by publisher and author
My Rating: 4 out of 5 starsSummary from goodreads.com:
My Review:
From Genevieve Graham, author of Under the Same Sky, comes a sweeping romantic historical novel of one man’s strange gift and dangerous battles…
Dougal MacDonnell, a fierce warrior from the Highlands of Scotland, is able to hear the thoughts of other men and dream how the future will unfold. Devastated by the loss of his family during the Battle of Culloden in 1746, he fosters a deep hatred for the English. But when Glenna, the love of his life and a Scottish outlaw, is captured and shipped overseas, Dougal is forced to join an English army made of vanquished Scots. Now fighting on the side of his sworn enemies, he embarks on a journey that will take him across the seas to the colonies. There he will risk everything for the chance to find his true love.
Genevieve Graham's characters really go through the wringer to get to their happy ending!! How much more can these two endure? Yes, there was more violence than I would have liked to read about, but I knew that going into this book. Graham's characters are so strong in their convictions though, you can't help pulling for them through all of their un-ending struggles.
As for the 'big reveal' (no spoilers, you'll have to read it), just wow!! I was really not expecting that to happen. Looking back, there were so so many hints as to what was going on, but my mind was so fixated in another direction, I just did not see it. In a way I'm glad I didn't catch on though, because it made for a really great surprise.
I think I was doing ok with the struggles this time around until Dougal and Glenna were sent to America. I suppose it just didn't seem hopeless until then. At least they still had each other. I wasn't really a fan of the struggles they were still enduring by the end of the book though. I guess I thought they had been through enough and just wanted to read about more of their happiness together.
This book isn't for the faint of heart, but fans of really gritty and real historical fiction will really enjoy it I think. It does have a romance-y cover but I think of it more as historical fiction. The one thing that makes it stand out from (most) historical fiction is that the characters are always true to each other. I feel like in a lot of historical fiction, the woman (and the reader) have to put up with a lot of infidelity. Rest assured that this doesn't happen here, Dougal never strays from Glenna, even when she isn't physically with him. You can read the author's thoughts on historical romance vs historical fiction in her guest post here. I can see her novels appealing to fans of both genres, as long as romance fans know that it's not a typical romance.
Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 3/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line: On one hand, it's a lovely romance about two characters who truly love and respect each other, and on the other hand it's gritty historical fiction with a lot of violence. It's interesting to see these two worlds meet.
If you think you would enjoy this book, you can also check out my review of the author's debut book:
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I do not like infidelity in HR, so I am glad there is none. I want them together, even when they are not together
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