Review: Disappointing
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 17, 2014
I liked the sound of this book and I knew 2 out of 3 authors (Crosby and Witting) so I bought it. I liked the touch of paranormal with the gem and the link between the 3 novellas. Unfortunately I don't think that the authors pulled it all off.The first book by Crosby was a time travel story, with our h being a really modern miss, who through the stone gets transported back in time to 9th century Scotland. She encounters the H as he is burying his father and because of something she says, she is quickly suspected of being a spy. It's a bit of a complicated plot to be fleshed out so quickly in a novellaThe second book by Witting, was the best of the bunch and contained some characters from a previous book of hers, the Devil of Kilmartin. I confess that I had to download and skim through that book quickly, to try and remember who was who. Essentially the h is a healer and ends up going to help the H's laird, who is seriously ill. The 2 main characters had met when they were younger but the h didn't remember the H. She'd had a profound influence on his life and he'd never forgotten her. I was irritated about the ridiculous premise that they couldn't be together because both were needed by their clans.The last book by Campbell, an unknown author to me, was about a young woman 'scientist' stumbling about a disfigured, isolated soldier in 16th century Scotland. The h was like Chuck Norris and could do/make anything and in this way made life for the H better in a few short days. It wasn't a bad story but it really needs fertile imagination.+++Minor Spoiler+++I'm going to go ahead and say something that I haven't done for ages, since it was becoming really repetitive. I just think that this book merits me repeating myself because it kills me in so called historicals when the main characters sleep together without the benefit of commitment. Pregnancy was a real issue back in those days and I found that it lowered the tone of this book. I guess the old chestnut 'sex sells' must be the motivation but I found it unwanted and unnecessary particularly as it happened in all 3 stories.