Thursday, October 15, 2009

Highland Obsession by Dawn Halliday


I had previously read some really good reviews on this book, so when I saw it at Borders AND I had a coupon, I grabbed it! I have to tell you, while it was sort of what I expected, it was also NOT what I expected. The storyline was good, Sorcha, a highland lass, marries Alan, the Laird who has returned home from being away for many years. The conflict in this story was that Sorcha had been having "relations" with Alan's best friend, the Earl of Camden (Cam) before Alan returned, and that Alan thought she was still a virgin. The other problem is that Cam couldn't seem to give Sorcha up. The book opens with Sorcha and Alan on their wedding night, and Cam swoops in and kidnaps her! She manages to escape and return to Alan, but by then he's figured it out and doesn't know if he still wants her.

I was not prepared for the level of eroticism in this book. It was a pleasant surprise; Ms. Halliday went places I've not seen many authors go in my (limited) romance reading experience. I guess this book would be considered erotica? I'm still a bit unclear about where the boundaries lie in the different categories.

The only thing I didn't get was Alan's actions on the night before he went off to battle. He was very jealous of Sorcha and Cam's previous relationship and his actions didn't make any sense to me, nor did his reasons for going off to battle without saying goodbye - I thought he'd exorcised his demons and was accepting of the relationship.

I don't know why, but I liked Cam the best, and am hoping for a HEA for him in the next book. I'd like to get more of a backstory on why the healer hates men, and possibly a story for Sorcha's sister, Moira too.

4 comments:

  1. Nice review Patti! I agree with you, I have seen a lot of reviews about this book. I have yet to pick it up... so, this just make it all that much more that I want it!

    Agreeing with you on the lines of romance/erotica. All I know is that an erotica gone wrong is straight porn. But romance, maybe the do use the words to describe things that an erotica novel would. Or maybe the sex between the characters is not discussed in detail like erotica, maybe. Just my take on it.
    But I am glad that you liked the story!
    Have a great day!

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  2. Hi Patti!

    Great review. I've always liked Ms. Halliday's voice and just read a novella by her that was really good. I'm going to post a review next week.

    For me, the line between women's erotica in literature and erotic romance is very thin. The big thing IMHO is that there is a good story and relationship developed between the H&H that is enhanced by the sensuality.

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  3. Hey Patti, yes, you pretty much summed it up, I couldn't understand him the night before and then his reaction the next morning - huh?

    Great review!

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  4. Great Review Patti! I loved this book, especially the erotica. I don't know, I guess I'm slutty like that but I like my books smoldering if possible. Speaking of which, I would say that HIGHLAND OBSESSION is erotia. For one, it was released in Trade which is a sure giveaway. Well, generally speaking anyway. Plus there's a threesome. But then again, I think publishers do a terrible job labeling their books.

    I remember thinking WTF where you did and I said to myself "If Halliday doesn't resolve this issue, I'm going to not like this book." But I thought she ended it well and I was glad that Alan said why he did what he did.

    Thanks for sharing!

    ;) VFG

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