Review: A Kiss for a Highlander by Jane Godman
Historical Romance
Released:  June 9, 2015
Samhain Publishing

Reviewed by Sheena

Stranded in the heart of England after Bonnie Prince Charlie’s hasty retreat, highlander Fraser Lachlan has sworn to stay by his injured friend’s side. But when a kindly English family takes Jack in to be cared for by the governess and healer at their Derbyshire estate, Fraser can only watch helplessly.  It’s just a matter of time before Jack is turned over to the Crown as a traitor, but Fraser’s attempt to rescue his friend is met with the blunt end of a candlestick.

Martha Wantage wears every reason she hates the Scots on her body—in the scars from a violent, fiery attack that killed her family. Now she has not only one unconscious Jacobite rebel at her mercy, but two. And she can’t resist cursing her enemy with the “kiss of hate”.
That kiss unleashes a storm of passion that rages quickly out of control. But with the legacy of Martha’s scars weighing heavy on her mind, and Fraser’s duty calling him to battle at Culloden, it may be too late to explore whether theirs is a desire born of hate…or love.

Favorite Quote: I sound like a true highlander, she thought.  That is what Fraser has made of me.  A fierce pride swept through her, making her lift her chin a little higher.  And, we have made more than that together.

A Kiss for a Highlander was way too slow for my tastes. A good story.  A solid series opener.  Good dialogue. Interesting premise, but it dragged more than it enticed.  Parts of it felt very Diary of Anne Frank- the Scotts- Jacobite edition where the hunted fugitives, Fraser and Jack hid in Martha’s attic when the King’s soldiers came searching. Martha is a character we’ve met before.  Dangerously proud and strong.  Scarred from  a horrid attack, yet has a stoic beauty that belies her injuries.  I liked her well enough and found her staunch determination to positively hate Fraser and all he stands for- the more so comical as she grasped and clung to her prejudice until her walls came tumbling down.  Fraser was charming and very “MAN.”  I appreciated that all the while he thought he finely ‘handled’ Martha- he himself fell in irrevocable love with her as well. Two people, fighting their magnetism, circling one another, stolen glances turn into fire branded  stares that evolve into deep-seated emotional attachment that combusts into no holds barred passion.  I admire how the author allowed for this process to unfold without over complicating or muddying the waters.  Aside from the rescue and healing of his dear friend, the secondary romance between Jack and Martha’s younger cousin, Rosie, was particularly noteworthy.

Pausing in the corridor, she darted back into the shadows as Rosie stepped out of her own room.

Glancing quickly around her, Rosie knocked on the door of Jack’s bedchamber.  The door clicked open, and without a word, Jack gathered Rosie in his arms.

“You shouldn’t be here.  You know you should not,” he said.

There was despair in his voice that echoed that in Martha’s heart.  Martha watched as he drew Rosie inside.

She was failing in her duty as Rosie’s chaperon, but this was no ordinary night.  How can I stand in their way this night, when their world, as well as mine, may come to an end on the morrow?

Beyond the story of falling in love and overcoming deeply rooted political prejudice against Scottish Jacobites, the element of danger of discovery and charges of treason keep a heavy hold on the plot. The King’s men are on the hunt and zeroing in on Fraser and Jack- along with the other fugitives fighting for the Prince’s sword and claim to the throne.   Every moment stolen or not had a feel of desperation and abandon.

[Fraser] was standing by the window, looking out over the darkening loch, just as she had been.  When he saw who it was, he held his arms wide and Martha walked into them.

“I was thinking of you.  Wishing for you.”  He breathed the words into her mouth.

If there was a buzz word for this novel it would definitely be swoon.  Chocked full of sweeping declarations, A Kiss for a Highlander is not as sexually explosive as some of it’s contemporaries, however, if there were an award for the most swoon-worthy  proclamations, author Jane Godman, has the field locked up tight.   For fun I began highlighting them as I read…Lets just say my e-reader clipboard is full!  While terribly romantic, the overabundance of grand, sweeping romantic declarations rode a little too close to the line crossing over to trite.  Maybe didn’t go over the line…but a girl can only take so much before no matter how hot the Highlander is- the eyes are a-rolling.

Simple plot, sprawling romance, gushy love quotables galore and a pretty solid tale of love beyond boarders.  There were a few passages that made my eyes glaze over, in mild boredom, but certainly not bad enough to make me want to put it down.   I would say this is an interesting start to the series and I am open to sticking around to see what Book 2, Taming his Rebel Lady, is all about, later this fall.  Here’s to crossing my fingers, hoping Godman kicks up the plot a notch and pushes beyond the slow story telling that comprised, A Kiss for a Highlander.

Grade: C+