The stunning beauty with her golden eyes and fighting spirit make captivity feel like a fantasy. The desire heating up is enough to make them both forget the battle, and surrender to something far more pleasurable. But Douglas has his own dreams for this lovely spot of Scottish land. And he has a proposal that he hopes will convince Elgiva to give up her hard line and give in to him in every way that matters. With a warrior’s will, he’s fighting for his legacy, his heart, and the woman of his dreams.
Comment: I confess being distracted when I got this book, I thought it would be a new book after the wonderful Gentle Rain (my second favorite by the author), released in 2007 and since then no other contemporaries have come out. But this one is not a new book, simply an older title now released in ebook format (thus my mistake). Still, sine I got it, I went ahead with reading it because this author has written three books which are, to me, three of the most wonderful contemporaries ever (Gentle Rain, Charming Grace and When Venus Fell) and of course I'd want to have more.
In this (shorter) book we have Elgiva MacRoth's stoy and how she, along with some other friends kidnap the rich Douglas Kincaid so he can't sign the final papers on a purchase in Scotland. They all know Kincaid only ants the property to sell and build luxury apartments but for them it's not just an historical place, it's the heritage of their Scottish ancestors.
Douglas Kincaid was led to a kidnapping but he will have his revenge. Although being locked in a cell in the stranger's house, he still tries his best to come free and seducing his beautiful host might be easiest way to do so, right?...
I was kind of disappointed...I had some trouble connecting to the characters and focusing on the story. I could see the author's trademark "voice" but now that I can compare, it becomes obvious her talent has improved. This book feels a bit boring and the character's personality and actions weren't always details I enjoyed knowing about because both Douglas and Elgiva were not portrayed in a way I'd want to meet them in person even if I could.
The whole plot revolves around the fact Elgiva and her friends want to keep a propriety in their hands via heir law but Douglas Kincaid has plans for it only for boredom reasons. One would think that serious conversations among lawyers and such would at least let the Scots present an united front and a proposal that could appeal to Douglas' sense of business but apparently kidnapping is always a sure bet. I thought this plot starter to be really childish since it also included a plane travel from one continent to another and no one saw or did anything until a certain point. It just feels like a comedy choice when this book was not meant to be funny. I, for one, didn't think it that.
The way things progress, bearing in mind Douglas is alone in a house with Elgiva, can be sort of predictable and while they fight their sexual/intellectual attraction, they also share some personal things which brings them closer. Of course it's not that easy and on the precise moment they are on the verge of giving up the battle, things take a more negative turn. Surely for the story to keep going.
I just don't feel I warmed up enough to them and despite some personal issues being quite interesting from a psychological POV and how hat would affect their choices, this was barely dealt with and the whole kidnapping and finance differences between Elgive and Douglas always a detail that could be rather annoying to me, so... not totally impressed, no.
Considering this kidnapping scenario, obviously we are meant to understand that they are not true enemies, it's all just a big misunderstanding, otherwise it would be a stockholm syndrome kind of plot and those are never something to joke about, I think. But since we understand this is not a real issue when it comes to the plot development it means that the relationship isn't very balanced and believable. Are they really falling in love or is it just the adrenaline and the situation? When the dynamics change and Douglas is again in his environment, I kept thinking thing were not believable either when it comes to a romantic and balanced relationship, no matter what the characters would say. I keep thinking this was not dealt properly and the dialogues didn't win me over either. Oh well.
I hope the author comes back with books like the ones I've mentioned in the beginning, I think her stronger talents are there...
Grade: 5/10
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