So yeah, a super disappointing read at the end of the day, but it’s fine as Lynsay Sands goes.Antony Starr For the Dynamite version of the character, see Homelander/Comics. It’s exhausting and kind of not all that interesting. Conran thinks she’s pretty, trips and falls over her, they kiss, and then their very second interaction, he basically seduces her (thinks she’s a widow, but hey, maybe if you don’t skip from kissing to inserting the penis, you could have covered that ground).

I can live with lust disguised as romance but we don’t even have that here. There’s even less emotional connection here. You’re flying from trope to trope, and never stopping to get to know the characters. What I don’t like is a book that has more tropes than depth. I love marriage of convenience stories, governess stories, medieval highlanders…these things are my catnip. And then it’s story trope after story trope. What really disappoints me is that the set up of the characters is good - Conran is even introduced with a bit of an identity conflict (his brothers have something they’re good at and he doesn’t), Evina is capable, smart, and fearless. I mean, if you just want to with a cup of tea, be comfy, and read a book that will probably entertain you but won’t stay with you, this is a good book for that. It actually has a sort of a promising beginning that, for me, never delivers.

The characters aren’t all that interesting, the romance is very uneven, and the plot is all over the place as if Lynsay Sands just hadn’t figured out how to do write this.

But apparently it’s about Conran, who I had no idea existed. I was hoping this book would be about Rory because he’s the only brother, aside from Aulay, that I had any interest it. I couldn’t have told you their names before she started releasing the books.

I was worried when I realized that she was releasing another book about a Buchanan brother - there are like a thousand of them, and they’re all the same. There were some highs and lows, but generally, it’s an okay series as long as you’re familiar with her work. I reread Lynsay Sands’ Highlander Brides series last summer as part of a re-reading project, and it was an interesting experience. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The wrong highlander