regshoe

Hehe, "the increasingly inaccurately named Jacobite trilogy" is a *very* good way to sum it up! It was very interesting to see a review of this book that's more positive than my opinion about it, and I appreciate seeing a less bitterdifferent point of view ;)

I definitely agree with you in that this book (and the previous one) feel quite removed from the original story--"missing its own heart" is really how I saw it too, because the core of Tfoth is the bond between Ewen and Keith. It has many other lovely things, but it wouldn't be the same without it, and it's probably one of the reasons why I found the sequels enjoyable and entertaining enough, but without that same feel, you know?

I'm going to take this as evidence that GitN and TDM actually don't take place in the same continuity as FotH and are just a weird AU, but seriously, I think it is evidence that Broster didn't come up with the idea for the later books until after FotH—which is pretty interesting.

Ohh, that's brilliant and makes perfect sense!

One of the reasons why I didn't enjoy the Ian/Olivia romance at all, was because it felt so forced! Sure, they met by chance, but the whole "Ian has to marry because his brother is dead and so he must now carry forward the family name" was... ugh. It might have been historically appropriate, but so was leaving your property to another family member if you had no children. I may be super wrong here, but the real "Pickle" did this (and so did Ewen in your story so it's totally canon! :D)

I may be super bitter here, so it's not a judgement of Broster's writing but totally a "me" thing... but I felt the "it's right and natural and the way things should be" attitude you mention, all through their plot, actually and it was very unsatisfying to me. And not just because of the disappointing big reveal and resolution of the story! I was never that invested in the romance, and the ending felt rather meh and easy to me.

I did like the themes of letting go of past enmity and looking forward to a hopefully peaceful future, so I guess that's why the MacPhair/Maitland subplot was the best part of the book for me, even if it seemed secondary compared to the romance. I appreciated seeing some sort of justice, and Ewen deserved all the closure. And I preferred the resolution of his subplot, sad as it was, because I felt it was in line with Doctor Cameron's convictions, and his feeling of mercy and forgiveneness. Maybe it's just me, but it felt more realistic, and I wish we had seen more of Ewen's point of view!

Oh, and by the way, didn't the duel in this book remind you a bit of the one in "The yellow poppy"? ;) And about Royalists... no spoilers, but let's just say that "Ships in the bay!" is an interest view of the French revolution! ;)