Book Review: Highland Heat by Jennifer Haymore

Scottish heroes in kilts are kind of hot, right? But for whatever reason, I had a hard time getting into this one. It wasn’t until I started playing the “change books every chapter” game that I finally found my pace with this, but once I did, the reading groove did not want to let me go.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Synopsis
An English lady falls in love with a Scottish solder, despite the fact that they both know class differences will not allow them to be together. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Good Stuff
Grace finds Duncan on the battlefield where he’s been wounded and is instantly drawn to him. This is where the story starts, and it feels like a very fast onset of the romance. Right from the beginning though, it’s made clear that Grace is a proper English lady who plans on always being a proper lady, despite the fact that Duncan makes her lady parts tingle.

I feel like Grace could have been a really annoying character, but I liked her. She was sweet, and when she realized she had feelings for Duncan, her conflict between wanting to be with him and wanting to make her father happy was genuine. Her struggle was real.

Not only was there the family conflict, but there was also a bit of intrigue and danger at the end, but fair (trigger) warning, there is an almost rape in this book.

The Romance Factor
I have to say, even though I love the angst of conflict between heroes and heroines, it was somewhat refreshing to have the conflict come from elsewhere. Sure, there’s some anger when one holds to propriety while the other one is trying not to, but for the most part, Grace and Duncan completely understand their feelings for one another. There’s none of that “I don’t love her, I’m just hot for her body” stuff from the hero, nor does he feel that his feelings for her are a weakness. 4/5

The Steam Factor
While this wasn’t the most erotic book I’ve ever read, I thought it held its own pretty well, especially with Grace’s naivete about all things coital. It kind of cracked me up that she went from being a proper lady to suddenly saying “screw it” and sneaking into Duncan’s room frequently to get her freak on. 3/5

Final Thoughts
Even though it had a bit of a slow start, I’m glad this book found its footing for me. I liked the main story and the side story between Grace’s sister and her husband, Duncan’s major. Well written and well paced, this was a good novel, and the epilogue hooked me into wanting to read the next in the series.