Review: Heroine will break your heart while hero will steal it
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2014
Claire is an English woman who sees issues in a very stubborn black or white. She grew up in a household that was plagued by an alcoholic father who mentally and physically abused her, hence her passionate temperance views. She is courageous, fervent, and yes, a bit self-righteous in her belief that alcohol should be completely banned. Cameron is a Scot whiskey distiller whose older twin died, effectively making him Laird and responsible for supporting their clan and town. Whiskey is his clan’s lifeblood and he sees no reason to blame alcohol for the weakness of a few. When these two meet, ideals, thoughts, and emotions clash.Your heart is going to ache for Claire. Every time she remembers a hurtful slur or beating from her father, you’ll forgive her for her single-mindedness. She is blinded by the past and clings to the thought that if she could just get alcohol banned, no little girl or woman would have to suffer the way she did. Cameron, ooh Cameron, you’re going to love him. From the moment he teases Claire for accusing him of being a white slaver to him teaching her how to drink whiskey; you’re going to be cheering for him to succeed in opening Claire’s heart and mind. Their interactions are deep and real, although, I did think there should have been more of them. Even though her passion is in direct disaccord with his livelihood, he respects, admires it, and is deeply attracted. They are a pleasing couple to read about.The little problems I did have, involved how the story felt rushed. I mentioned earlier how Claire and Cameron needed more scenes together. Without this extra time, it left their relationship progression feeling hasty. I constantly complain how this needed to be edited or that, but here, I felt the exact opposite, more should have been added or the story shouldn’t have been edited so heavily. There are other story arcs that involve Claire’s friend and possible romance with Cameron’s friend, a jealous woman from Cameron’s past, and sabotage involving the distillery afoot. These plot points actually did add to the story, they needed just a little extra meat to them to feel more whole. If you’re going to edit them to the point that they feel like dangling strings with no tied end, then they should be eliminated completely. The writing here was good enough to support more but I suppose wishing for more story isn’t completely a bad thing.All in all, this was a fresh, new, and intriguing historical romance. If you favor Scottish stories at all the lush landscape descriptions and kilt wearing Laird will make this book for you. Claire will break your heart, while Cameron will steal it. You definitely won’t want to miss how this whisky distiller opens the heart and mind of his teetotaler. I will be on the lookout for future books in this series.