This is the first book I've read from Paula Quinn and I'm excited to read the rest of her works. I loved the story, the mystery, and the author's writing style. It really worked for me because I love strong heroines and Neanderthal Highlanders (he isn't annoying though). The fight scenes were good too, and Ms Quinn puts on the gore with some, without explicit details. The love scenes between Davina and Rob were really that - love scenes. They could be tender and rough too and it didn't have to be dirty (though I wouldn't mind that). I'm really impressed with how she wrote those scenes without much detail and yet the passion was there. I love how it ended and can't wait for more! Can something be at the same time bland and cloyingly sweet? Because this book achieved just that.If you're in the mood for something short, simple and devoid of any tension, then this book fits the bill. But if you want something with an intrigue, witty banter and sexual tension between the hero and heroine as they share an exciting adventure, traveling through the beautiful Scottish highlands, then look elsewhere. It's not a bad book, by any means. It's very inoffensive. I couldn't hate it, that I reserve for books filled with misogyny, rape and all around terrible writing, but it's utterly forgettable.The plot is simple and yet convoluted. There are going to be some spoilers, so be warned. Davina Montgomery has lived all her life in a convent, hiding a terrible secret (yes, you've guessed it from the blurb at the back of the book - she's the king's secret daughter, what a non-twist), until one day her enemies find her. All the nuns who lived with her die a horrible death in flames and Davina is mildly sad about that for a few days after she's rescued by Robert MacGregor, eldest son of the clan chief. They instantly fall in love. They just do. No real reason, don't think about it too much.At this point I have to delve into their delightfully unoriginal personalities. Let's start with Davina. She's... well, she's basically a Disney princess, I couldn't help but imagine Snow White in her place. She's perfect and sweet and good and every one who meets her is charmed by her. EVERY ONE. She frolics in the meadows and splashes in the lakes (excuse me, lochs), being delightful. I've highlighted some choice descriptions "a forgiving, guileless angel spun from the harp strings of heaven", "her hair like the sun and her eyes like the sky", "everything about Davina was delicate and graceful, like a pale swan gliding toward him". If this doesn't make you gag, then your stomach is stronger than mine.Then we have Rob. He's tall, strong and muscular (duh), scowls a lot, doesn't like to have fun and constantly sacrifices himself for the clan. That is until he meets Davina. When that happens he throws all caution to the wind and brings her to his home, potentially endangering everyone who lives there. Davina is the king's daughter, there is a chance of a war braking out over her, but any great leader would risk that for a gliding swan of a woman.A huge problem with this book is the fact that there's practically no tensions. Whenever a problem is introduced, the solution is immediately presented. I expected the hero and heroine to angst over their impossible situation, but nope, they get married like, less than 2/3 into the book. Every time there was a possibility of a fight, a battle, some kind of conflict, I felt myself tensing in anticipation, just to be totally and completely underwhelmed and disappointing. The plot is just a flimsy excuse to get Davina and Rob together. There's a lot of telling instead of showing when the author approaches anything potentially thrilling. And I COULD look at it more kindly if the romance was really great, but it just isn't.Sooo. The romance. I firmly believe that there have to be some obstacles for the couple to overcome in order for a book to work. External obstacles, caused by other people, tragic circumstances, separation, or internal ones, caused by the characters themselves, who are stubborn or unsure of their feeling. Here they just fall in love, get married, have a bunch of sex and eventually gain the king's approval. "Sure, sure, my one goal was to ensure a Catholic monarchy, but since you two crazy kids love each other so darn much, the I guess I can't stand in your way. Screw my political plans - be happy with a commoner." That is NOT how a king acts. It was just preposterous. He was written like a modern dad, understanding of his daughter's feelings and accepting her decisions. That ain't how they rolled in this time period.OK. Everything is mediocre. Is the sex any good? No. Not really. I will not try to describe it, but rather let the quotes speak for themselves. "He didn't mount her, though the sight of him, dark and wild for her, riddled her thoughts with stallions ready for mating" (you wanna know what that description riddles my thoughts with? that one documentary about a guy dying, because he had sex with a horse and got his intestines ruptured. mmm-hmm, erotic), "flicking his tongue over her engorged passion, she cried out on the brink of pleasure's pinnacle", "I want to get ye heavy with my bairn and tomorrow (...) I wan to marry ye". Hmmm, how about no? To everything. I have to sto and add a little bit of context. Leaving aside the fact that (at least for me, personally) the impregnation talk is so very unsexy, Davina has spend all of her 24 years in a convent, but is super ready to have premarital sex just after finding out her best friend, who protected her before she met Rob, betrayed her. That's wrong on so many levels. But let's get back to the quotes: "panting her own release until she felt him spurt his precious nectar into her over and over", "he bent his head and tasted the glorious bouquet of her breath", "he broke away from their kiss and looked down into her eyes as he impaled her deeply". I could go on, but I think I've made my point.I'm not even going to get into the secondary characters or rant about how stupid it is that an enemy solider informs Rob about the villain's plan just in time for it to be foiled. The villain, by the way, is of the mustache twirling, cartoonishly evil variety.In conclusion - this book isn't terrible and I can kind of understand why people like it so much, but for me it just falls in the sad 'meh' category.
What do You think about Ravished By A Highlander (2010)?
Love this series! Robert(The Devil's oldest son) and Davina.
—huizhen
Highlander romances are my guilty pleasure!
—nidgod
