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2.5 stars *sigh* I think I should have left well enough alone when I finished Janet Chapman’s Highlander series. That series is a sentimental favourite of mine, always able to be relied upon to deliver a warm, engaging and enjoyable read. I was delighted to discover that she had started a spin-off series called Midnight Bay, with this being the first book. I think readers have been done a disservice in that it is not indicated anywhere on this book that it is connected to her Highlander series. It is, in fact, so strongly connected that it could have seamlessly been part in that series. Most of the characters have come straight from that series, along with references to events that occurred in that series. In fact, the events of this book take place directly between the 6th & 7th Highlander books. There is minimal explanation provided, so I imagine a reader starting with this series would be quite lost. The back cover stating this is “The sexy first book in a sizzling new paranormal romance series” is quite misleading. But then again, if you’re reading this without having read her Highlander series, you might not realise that this book is lacking in other ways. I experienced none of the warmth and pleasure that I usually get from her books. This one was decidedly lacking in feeling. While Kenzie was nicely written as one of her displaced Highland warriors, Eve (a new character) was not particularly appealing and her whole ‘one man hurt me so all men are bastards’ attitude put me off as well. If that’s not bad enough, the fricken dragon that irritated me so much in Secrets of the Highlander played a starring role in this one. Ugh. He hasn’t improved much. The magic, which has always felt a fairly natural inclusion in the other series, also felt out of place in this one, and it just seemed that everything was a little all over the place. The author did do a wonderful job with Mabel’s character, depicting her symptoms of dementia/Alzheimer’s and the effect this was having on both Mabel and her daughter Eve; and her “Letter from Lake Watch” at the end of the book was a moving conclusion to the story. I’m not sure if I will read the next one, or whether I should wipe this one from my memory and be content with just looking back fondly on her Highlander series. If you’re interested in giving this author a try, don’t start with this series – you won’t be seeing her at her best.

2023-07-19 05:32