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alicejanell

Alice Janell

Whovian Browncoat. Fantasy author. Avid knitter and pretend cooking show host. Please send Milky Way Midnight Minis.

Devil's Own (A Clan MacAlpin Novel)

Devil's Own - Veronica Wolff I won an arc of "Devil's Own" through the Pleasure Me Event on Monica Burns' blog. Historical romances may not be my favorite genre to read, but it's about highlanders...well, I just can't seem to say no.

There's just something about those men in kilts.

...anyway…

Veronica Wolff is a new-to-me author, but after the first few pages, she had me hooked.

Kidnapped and sold into slavery, Aidan MacAlpin returns to his home in Scotland only to feel like a stranger amongst the family he lost so long ago. He keeps his distance from them, hiding a dark secret that they could never understand --- Aidan is out for revenge. He's thought of nothing more than to kill the pirate who sold him into slavery when he was a boy.

Aidan has notes and stolen documents to help him find the pirate, but unfortunately for him, he can't read.

Enter Elspeth.

Elspeth has resigned herself to the life of a spinster. Living alone with her debt-riddled father on a struggling farm, Elspeth is every bit the bookworm and dreamer. As a Book-Addict, I connected with Elspeth right away. Head in the clouds and a deep love for books.

When she agrees to tutor Aidan in exchange for some help around the farm, Elspeth can't help but fantasize about Aidan's tortured past and his life as a pirate. She places herself in the role of a saucy heroine; Aidan's pirate bride.

But when she's forced into a marriage she doesn't want, she's thrown headfirst into a dangerous web of treachery that's nothing like the romanticized heroic tales she's used to reading. And if she's going to survive, she'll need to stop dreaming about being a sexy heroine and actually start acting like one.

The romance between the two was a little different from what I have normally read. The romance is very slow-blooming and at times, very innocent. Elspeth has never known a man other than in her dreams and Aidan has very little knowledge of gentle, honest-to-goodness-kindness from a woman.

This is not the kind of romance where the chemistry all but explodes off the pages. It builds slowly; we see their attraction for one another and we see their hesitation to pursue it further. Though at times the pacing was a bit slow, overall I found that I really enjoyed the slow courtship between Aidan and Elspeth.

Four stars.