Highlander's Castle (Highlander Heat Book 1) by Joanne Wadsworth #review

Today I review Highlander's Castle, Book One in the Highlander Heat series, by Joanne Wadsworth.

Pages -  152

Published -  February 16, 2014

Sold by -  Amazon Digital Services LLC

Series -  Highlander Heat Book 1 of 7

Genre -  Historical Romance, Scottish, Time Travel

Language -  2/5

Sexual Content -  5/5

Narrative -  3rd P

Traveling through time...for a Highlander.
Anne MacLeod's identical ancestor has made a wish on the Fairy Flag at Dunvegan Castle, one which sees the two young women swapping places in time and leaving Anne set to handfast with the very man her ancestor wished to escape. Only Anne sees the possibilities, because now she could change the future and ensure her parents never perished in the inferno which took their lives.
Highland warrior Alex MacDonald has made an agreement to handfast with Anne in order to bring a halt to the feud raging between their clans. The last thing he expects though is a woman claiming to come from the future, a woman who stirs him on a physical and emotional level to protect, and to even believe.
When Anne finds herself in her MacLeod chief's presence, she chooses to go with him in order to leave a message for her parents. In full pursuit, Alex wages a battle of the heart, and of the very essence of time. Can he defy the odds as Anne is taken from him...to work his own magic and get her back? 

New York Times Bestselling Author, Joanne Wadsworth, brings you her bestselling Highlander Heat time travel series. Readers are loving it! 

Not this one!

To be honest, she is one of the author's I knew, when I made the decision to read every Highlander novel on my Kindle, I wasn't going to enjoy.

Highlander's Castle proved me right.

This wasn't a Romance in any sense of the word, unless you count the fact that the heroine, Annie, had every intention of traveling from New Zealand to Scotland to 'tour' castles there in order to get her hands on the Fairy Flag so that she could 'somehow' bring her dead parents back to life.

As for this being Romantic in the genre sense of the word, no.

Annie is sucked back 300 years and, not surprisingly, isn't looked upon as being odd, witchy, or an aberration to the locals.

Instead, she just happens to look identical to the Anne who currently resides nearby and is also, coincidentally, betrothed to one of the Lairds.

Speaking with a New Zealand accent, the locals accept her, her odd word choices, strange outfit, and dialect as if it is just something that occurs all the time.

The 'relationship' between Annie and Alex is forced and/or non-existent throughout, but you better believe they had a ton of graphic sex every chance they could.

Even the 'contractual' relationship from 300 years ago is contrived in that it is a Hand-fasting and not a real Matrimonial affair.

I'm not arguing that hand-fasting didn't occur but that the reason for it doesn't make the decision to have them hand-fast as being anything logical, considering it is done to unite two 'warring' clans.

I can only gather that, after a year, when the 'kinda' bride waltzes back home, that the feud would erupt in further and probably more aggravated violence.

There were no instances where Annie and Alex took the time to get to know one another better, and yet they were quick to say the L word between bouts of rabid sex.

ALL THE WHILE, Annie is still plotting to get her hands on the Fairy Flag, say the magic words to bring her dead parents back to life, and then 'somehow' return to 21st Century New Zealand.

The way this is written can be described as dull, and with unrealistic situations that are resolved withing paragraphs of each other, for cardboard cut-out characters with zero depth or personality to them.

Because the author didn't bother to go into as much detail aside from the sexual encounters, and if I was into erotica (which this isn't labeled as being) then I wouldn't argue the point.

It was written in Third Person perspective, but the entire story centered around Annie and her quest to revive her dead parents, so even less of Alex and his inner workings, OR the time period itself, were ever touched upon or delved a bit deeper into so that the reader had a chance to get to know him or it better.

Lazy and thoughtless writing SOME critical reviewers at Amazon compared to a coattails rip-off of The Outlander series.

I don't know because I've never read (nor watched Outlander) but, the fact that it might be possible makes me very angry.

Not at all surprising, but still angry that imagination, skill, and thought are missing from a supposed Best Selling author.

Unless what is really meant is that, aside from this being 'set' in a Scottish land and Alex is, indeed, a Highlander, none of those issues are touched upon or detailed within the story, so why Highlander? Why Scotland?

Except to ride on the coattails of the Outlander series being so popular, of course.

I also don't get why a man graces the cover of this novel, because the entire story centered around Annie's quest to bring back her dead parents in 21st Century NZ.

The entire story occurred within four days when Annie is suddenly returned to the 21st Century and New Zealand, where her parents are alive and well, which takes up about two more weeks of story time.

However (and this isn't a spoiler), she realizes she is pregnant.

I question the ability for any woman to know (without a test) she's pregnant after a mere two weeks.

The writing isn't sophisticated in the least, which is why I don't care for the author's work in the first place.

fragments passed off as complete sentences...

• On the morrow. Noon. Anne, if you will.
• He cupped her cheek, brought her gaze back to his.
• He slid a finger under her chin, lifted her gaze to his.
• Mary tugged on their linked arms, changed their course toward the dust
• Margaret returned to her side, kissed her cheek.
• He stormed to her bed, ripped open her curtains.
• Margaret sat, gave her a nod.

and further confusion...

• Alex played his fingers in her hair,
• who looks so alike you?”
• ask her after she awakes.”
• She should be able to having ensured her parents’ letter
• left by one the maids.
• and a dry pairs of trews
• whenever they’d been a lull in the queue,
• and a lad raced to take his stead.
• wait until once you’re wed

I won't be reading anymore Wadsworth 'romance' novels, nor can I recommend them, but if you are still interested, here are the rest of the novels in this series.

According to the author, each is standalone and can be enjoyed out of sequence.

HIGHLANDER HEAT SERIES 

Highlander's Castle #1 

Highlander's Magic #2 

Highlander's Charm #3 

Highlander's Guardian #4 

Highlander's Faerie #5 

Highlander's Champion #6 

Highlander's Captive #7 (Short story, 11,000 words)