Part of the reason I enjoy historical romances is the inclusion of, well, history. As part of the backdrop of the story I am reading, it is always nice to hear the name of the current king or queen, or some mention of a far away battle, or some other historical tidbit to give me a little idea of where I am in time.This story seems to be woefully absent of any of those things. Other than the note of rushes on the floor and a few other barely-mentioned blurbs related to the way people lived before, I could just as easily have been reading a modern story.Except for the fact that the author chose to have her characters speak-sometimes-in what I imagine she perceived as a Scottish accent. This speech turns on and off, it seems, with no pattern to it, which leads me to believe that the author either did not read enough historical novels in her time or simply did not do enough research. The story is fairly common: a predetermined marriage contract is fulfilled (somewhat) between a Scottish laird and an English miss. The laird's second makes quite a few comments about the fact that the girl is "English," as though there is something wrong with that-but we have absolutely no historical perspective on which to base his opinion. I mean, during which time period does the story take place? Does she come from a family of traitors to the English crown? Is she a descendant or cousin of Queen Victoria? Give us something to reference so we have a better idea of where we are in time.I would have given this book only one star, except that I really enjoyed Annabel. Something that made this story stand out (and the reason it did not get only one star) is that Annabel is pretty clearly a plus-sized gal-something not prized in England but is worth a lot in the green fields of Scotland. One of Annabel's biggest issues is that the gowns she is given to wear until her new wardrobe can be fashioned are far too tight in the chest. Also, she has a pretty severe complex about her size, complaining about her round figure and too-ample breasts. As I myself am a plus-sized gal, I found it intriguing that an author would choose to make her heroine a bigger gal instead of going with the tiny waist and rounded but definitely small hips, like most other authors do. For this alone I added the extra star, as I believe more historical romances should contain less about skinny missies and more about real-sized women who lived. It must be the Scot in me. :) I'm grading on a curve here (it would have been a 2.5 in another genre).I'm not sure why I continue to read straight romance novels - they're usually pretty bad. I guess I just get in the mood for a little schmaltzy lovin' sometimes. This is one of the better ones as far as writing technique. The sex isn't bad but there's no depth to the characters, hardly anything in the way of historical reference, and most of it is just plain silly. If you like bodice-rippers, go for it.
What do You think about Die Braut Des Schotten (2014)?
Light and fluffy read. Could have used more historical detail but I liked it a lot.
—Aleramos
