Quickie Review: Much Ado About Marriage by Karen Hawkins

Publisher: Pocket Star Books (Simon and Schuster)
Format: Mass Market
FTC: Purchased myself

Apparently a rewrite of an older novel published under a pseudonym, Much Ado About Marriage ties both the MacLean curse series and the upcoming Hurst Amulet series together in an Elizabethan romance set in both England and Scotland.

For those really bad with dates, that would be the 1500s aka 16th century. ;)

It's not often I read romances set during the time of Shakespeare. But I think Hawkins pulls this one off for the most part. The ridiculous collars don't seem as out of place. The speech is a nice mix of archaic terms and modern dialogue.

My knowledge of English/Scottish history is...subpar...so I won't even begin to guess about how accurate her depiction of the whole Queen Elizabeth vs. Mary situation was. Or what she tweaked. Clearly she took quite a bit of historical license when describing political events.

I'm pretty sure I haven't read the previous incarnation of this book, but I admit to feeling some serious deja vu while reading it. Maybe it's because I've read the MacLean books, but much of this felt familiar. Not necessarily bad, but a tad distracting.

What I loved about this book was the humor. The heroine, Fia, is a handful. She gives as good as she gets. And knows just how to irritate our hero, Thomas Wentworth, into speechlessness. Much of the humor is characterization and dialogue. Which makes me very happy. There's been a dearth of light-hearted books lately in my reading and this was a welcome change.

My Grade: B

The Laird Who Loved Me by Karen Hawkins

The finale for the MacLean series has arrived, and it does not disappoint. Of all of the books, this one was perhaps the most serious. It was definitely less light-hearted than Hawkins's normal style. But given the long history between the two main characters and the serious nature of the oldest MacLean, that's to be expected.

Aside from the extremely yummy cover (<---), what makes this book intriguing for me is the tiny touch of paranormal that is included in the overall plot. The ability to create storms through loss of emotional control or temper is a wonderful plot device--and helps add depth to the heroes throughout this series. I particularly liked how Hawkins manages to make two characters who were unappealing to me in previous stories seem so compelling in this one without changing their overall personalities or providing excuses for their obvious character flaws. Taking place in both England and Scotland, this book also ties the series up in a nice, neat bow. I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpse of Honoria and Marcus from Lady in Red. Although it could be read as a stand-alone novel, it would be best served by--at the very least--reading the novel preceding it in the series: Sleepless in Scotland.