TEST
The Highlander’s Secret Son has a few things going for it. I liked Jeanine Englert’s style, and her writing – and research – are very good. The book’s real problem is its characters, however. Oo ee, these characters, who betray and think the worst of each other over and over again.
Clan Campbell and Clan MacDonald have been in a feud for centuries. Fiona MacDonald and Brandon Campbell are the latest two to tangle in this endless brawl, a pair of ex lovers torn asunder. Brandon believes Fiona betrayed him and his clan by revealing to her people the existence of a secret tunnel that connected their home castles resulting in a sneak attack and in the death of the wife and child of Brandon’s older brother Rowan. This tragedy plunged Rowan into madness and forced Brandon to become the laird, and their sister Beatrice is faring none too well either.
Brandon cannot forgive Fiona for her part in what happened; but when he comes upon her apparently poaching on his lands, he’s stunned when she informs him that the boy at her side is his son, William. Brandon isn’t ready to immediately believe Fiona, but William bears his clan’s birthmark. There is little Brandon can do but take the boy back to his stronghold, and Fiona as well – as a prisoner.
Fiona wasn’t poaching – she’d been fleeing her people, hoping to find safety with her cousin and got caught in a swamp. She tells Brandon that she sent him letters repeatedly, telling him of her father’s mistreatment and the birth of the baby, but all were lost. They tentatively begin to heal their relationship, but with Brandon’s clan in financial arrears, the clan Campbell filled with hatred for Fiona, and Fiona worried he will marry another to solve their financial issues, the road to happiness will not be a smooth one.
Our leads are plagued by the plot here, though they themselves are no prizes even without the story beats pushing them. As Fiona repeatedly shouts, Brandon is weak and willing to be pushed around by his clan due to his lack of preparedness for the role of laird and his immense guilt over a raid caused by his own lust. Fiona, meanwhile, is a product of her own stubbornness and rashness – her loose lips keep sinking her proverbial ship, but aside from occasional proclamations of guilt of her own, she blames Brandon for not getting the letters she wrote him and for not standing up to the clan on her behalf. For someone as generally active as she is, it’s a bizarre narrative choice. It’s as if the book knows Fiona’s foolishness deserves more blame, but won’t let her bear it as the clan tries to put it on her, as if this might make her unlikable. She’s a good mother or at least tries to be, and Brandon is a good father; she is active and brave, he is generally caring and kind. But I didn’t find either of them terribly likable, however, either individually or as a couple.
This is because a lot of the book’s conflicts are based upon misunderstandings, some left up to fate (the lost letters) others caused by characters eavesdropping on conversations and making snap judgments. Just before the halfway point, Fiona and Brandon sleep together again – only for her to find out the next day that he’s going to marry someone else, a rich woman with the money to refill the clan’s coffers The problem could be solved by a bundle of ancestral jewels Fiona has, but naturally she does not trust Brandon enough to offer them up. And she does not learn any real lessons. By the time Fiona has stomped out of the castle with her infant son in the middle of a storm because she’s tired of Brandon’s inaction, then been captured by her clan – as a plot device to force Brandon into action – I wanted to slam their heads together. It’s as if the second the misunderstanding about the raid is solved other drama must be milled out, and having them talk out their problems like adults is beyond the narrative. The less said about the deus ex machina that results in a change in Fiona’s future prospects, the better.
I liked some of the supporting characters – I’d actually be interested in a romance about Rowan, whose struggle with his PTSD and trauma are interesting. But The Highlander’s Secret Son’s romance is too frustrating and clumsy to earn the book anything other than a barely middling grade.
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Grade: C-
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 12/06/21
Publication Date: 05/2021
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier
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He looks… soft. Does this reflect on him accurately?
Initially, but much of the book focuses on him warrior-leadering up.
It’s a very odd cover look.
Maybe they were going for a Sam Heughan lookalike? (if you squint?)
He does look like the actor from the Outlander series TBH
If Jamie’s favorite thing to do was nuzzle babies and help lambs cross the street….
The first thing I noticed was that it looks like a doctored picture of Jamie from Outlander. Even the outfit looks familiar. It’s definitely meant to catch the eye of Outlander and Sam Heughan fans.
I don’t even watch Outlander or know much about it, but I also recognized the resemblance first thing. Can’t blame a publisher for trying…
Another reminder as to why I generally run a mile from Highlander romances…
I LOVE them, but they have to be well…good.
Clan “birthmark”. Yeah, sure.
That was the point in Lisa’s review that I was pretty certain this one is a no-hoper.
Speaking of clan birthmarks, did you ever see the 1950s Danny Kaye comedy The Court Jester? There’s a running joke about the baby monarch they are hiding bearing the purple pimpernel birthmark, and anyone who sees it has to genuflect to show respect. In other words, they go around flashing this baby’s butt cheek to everyone who then has to reverentially say, “Your Majesty.” Lol. Sorry, but your and Lisa’s comment about the clan birthmark immediately reminded me of that. ;-)
Would that be the one where the pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle and the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true? :P
Yep!
My kids and husband LOVE that movie. I always thought it was too over the top but they adore it.
It’s ridiculously over the top but Danny Kaye is brilliant
Another family here for whom The Court Jester was a favorite. Like Dabney, I always found it OTT, but my husband and kids loved it!
So does every child born to that clan carry its birthmark?
it sounds like all the cattle on a ranch having the same brand.
Yep, allegedly!
Like apparently this never ever changes at all through the generations. Which is possible if you know about royal inbreeding but I don’t think it’s what the author wants us to think of.
I thought “birthmark” stories had gone out favor by the end of the 19th century.
Person in story: “She has the royal birthmark! That means she’s the princess!”
Everyone who has taken biology: “Aaaaaa!”
HAH!