The Highwayman

So conflicted.

Read for Swoon Sisters Live Discussion: December 2021

The beginning hooked me a little bit but I got bored so quick. I honestly didn't care about the characters at all. Dorian is supposed to be like broody and whatever and I get it but the explanation and trauma that caused that is barely talked about. The smut was good so I bumped it from 2 to a 2.5. I don't think historical romances are for me honestly.

The writing is pretty strong and I really felt emotionally connected to the characters. Book started off so strong. This also gave me Beauty and the Beast vibes (complete with the kidnapping lol) and I didn't hate that but it did have some tropes that personally didn't work for me. Specifically, the damaged hero deciding for the heroine that he's not good enough for her. Sooo much of that here.

Still, I'm going to give the second book a shot and maybe even a different series by the author. Not ready to give up just yet!

Sinds ik historische romances ben beginnen lezen ben ik steeds op zoek naar nieuwe auteurs om van te proeven. Gelukkig (of ongelukkig voor mijn portemonnee) staat BookTube vol met filmpjes met aanraders en zo kwam ik bij deze Kerrigan Byrne terecht. Of tis te zeggen, deze specifieke titel, want het leek alsof in elk filmpje dat ik keek dit specifiek boek de hemel in werd geprezen, terwijl het geen zo'n nieuwe publicatie is (van 2015).

De cover deed mij weer met mijn ogen rollen en de korte inhoud leek mij nu niet zo bijster origineel, dus ik begon het boek met de nodige terughoudendheid en twijfel. Maar dan werd ik vanaf de eerste pagina gegrepen. De aard van de proloog heeft me erg verrast en zorgde ervoor dat ik meteen voor de 100% geïnvesteerd was in de rest van het verhaal.

En dat verhaal was een perfecte mix van duisternis en liefdessprookje.
Tot nu toe las ik vooral historische romances van Tessa Dare en haar verhalen zijn enorm luchtig en grappig. Dit boek was bijna het complete tegenovergestelde: dreigend, tragisch, vol angst, melodrama en hartverscheurende gebeurtenissen. Deed me een beetje denken aan Outlander.

Bevat dit boek clichés? Ja.
Is het historisch accuraat? Neen.
Is het ongeloofwaardig? Ja.
Maar mij kan het bij dit soort boeken eigenlijk geen moer schelen. Geef mij de melodrama, de over-the-top liefdesverklaringen en soapwaardige, voorspelbare wendingen in plot. Escapisme pur-sang.

The Highwayman was voor mij een prachtig geschreven historische romance vol emotie, angst, seksuele spanning, met een raadselachtige, gekwelde held, een lieve doch sterke heldin, en een ontroerend verhaal van prille jeugdliefde en tweede kansen.

The story just didn't work for me. It was way, way too dramatic - our hero Dougan had issues with a capital I, and although I can't blame him, seeing that he had a sucky past, I felt it was way over the top. Also, our heroine is a Mary Sue - everyone loves her, she has a heart of gold etc. I wish I could love this book more but, meh.

This was an interesting little book, it won't be for your typical historical romance reader though. I am thinking. It had quite a few dark, kind of scary moments, almost like, whoa I cant believe he went there and this is supposed to be a romance. But, of course, you get the cheese filled HEA, with a little drama in the middle.

The beginning was super cute! Definitely my favorite part of this book, 2 kids coming together and forming a bond. Farah was 11, and Dougan was 13 I think? Something like that, and he was small for his age, but they looked out for each other while they could, the only way they could. Super cute! But then yeah, you meet Dorian, and hes not so cute. He is pretty vicious, and what is it with men in these novels and not being able to stop in the middle of sex? I guess maybe its supposed to show... I dont know, can we please stop with it? A man can stop in the middle. Weird pet peeve.

Absolute perfection! This is historical romance at its best. Really excellent writing, a tortured antihero with a heartbreaking past, an abduction of the heroine by said antihero, delicious sexual tension and steamy love scenes...I have definitely found a new favorite author!