The Scotsman Book

["The Scotsman" by Juliana Garnett:]

England/Scotland (Battle of Bannockburn) 1313

This is your classic knights of old/damsel in distress romance novel set in times of war on the England/Scotland border. Anyone who enjoys both a good historical accounting with a little embellishment thrown in for the sake of creating the main romantic characters and keeping them "close to" the actual historical figures, will enjoy this tale. When I first started reading, I felt that Garnett drew the characters a bit with a "Julie Garwood" flavor, but then they were quickly distinguished away from Garwood's overall style, as Garnett writes neither the whimsical humor that Garwood sprinkles into her early historicals, nor tampers with history as much as Garwood has been known to do. However, don't take that as a criticism, as Garnett's flare for writing characters and setting that are spot-on historical romance, is some of the best I've read.

Alexander Fraser is much embroiled in the tug-of-war for Scotland between the English and Scots, as a steadfast supporter of Robert the Bruce and the retention of Scotland's independence from England. Having been stripped of his Scottish family's baronial titles by King Edward, Alex has wrested back his familial lands and holdings during this particular Scottish uprising in history, but unfortunately has lost his young 12-year old brother, Jamie, (. . . yes, "Jamie Fraser," who can resist that name! ;), whose been taken hostage by the Earl of Warfield while disobeying Alex's orders to stay put and out of the fray. Hoping, without much success for a ransom deal that could gain Jamie's release, Alex and his men venture stealthily onto Warfield's lands to case the place and assess a possible rescue. With great timing and luck, he happens upon Catherine, the Earl's daughter, having snuck away from the ruthless and suffocating confines of her father's cold and calculating attentions for a moment of solitude in a favorite childhood haunt in the forest outside the castle gates. Alex quickly nabs Catherine, and their battle of both detraction and attraction to each other begins.

Alex is no pushover when it comes to staying on focus with his plan to use Catherine as an "exchange" hostage for his little brother's release, and does a nice job of resisting his inherent attraction to Catherine. However, he feels it's only lust in the long run, and, as it becomes apparent that Catherine's stay in his castle may be more long term than he anticipated due to her cold and heartless sire's lack of value placed on her, he begins to convince himself there would be no harm in sampling Catherine's charms. Although Garnett creates the historically accurate scenario of Alex deflowering Catherine as a normal event/right of her being his "hostage and prisoner," Alex never comes off as ruthless or heartless in his ravishment of her which is truly more of a seduction. Catherine clearly has her own ideas and motivations with regard to submittal to Alex when he acts on his attraction to her, so Garnett never puts the modern-day reader in an emotional vice that makes us have to overlook a "rape" type taking of the heroine and romanticize it. She does a good job of walking the historical reality versus the preferred reading fantasy that all good romance novelists should aspire to when it comes to that type of subject matter.

Catherine is strong willed, but I had no trouble seeing her vulnerabilities, as right away we are clued in to the loveless home she has been brought up in and the view by her quite ruthlessly unemotional father as property for barter and trade to the highest titled ally. With the exception of her brother Nicholas to champion her, she's quite ignored as a valued "child" by either of her parents. Although her mother clearly "cared for" her, her mother's own traditional upbringing and loveless/arranged marriage never allows her mother to focus on anything "better" for her children. All those who reside in the Earl of Warwick's household bow to his ruthless dictates or suffer the consequences at their peril.

The book has great pacing and carries the reader along in a nice gradual romantic arc. Love scenes between Alex and Catherine make sense, and have a great passionate rise and fall to their timing. There are plenty of fleshed out secondary characters that, while not taking the focus away from the lovers, make for a well-rounded story and keep the reader clearly "seeing" the scenes and setting of the times. The battle scenes are quite graphic, so if you're a bit squeamish in those historical details, this may put you off of this book. For me it was a great balance of all the elements I like in a great historical romance without the "bodice-ripper" elements that either put a reader off, or tread on ideological principles for a lot of us, leaving just the good stuff -- a truly romantic feel.

5-star read. Recommended for those who love well respected history with their romance, across the board.
K.

Sexual content mild to medium in graphic depiction/tastefully presented; Violence somewhat graphic in depiction/historically accurate feel; No graphic language; Generally recommended for ages 15 and above with specific parental review/discretion as applicable; . . . Not drowning in Scotish brogue, but enough to give it a nice flavor and remind the reader of the setting!