ARC Review: The Highlander Who Protected Me

Title: The Highlander Who Protected Me
Author: Vanessa Kelly
Series: Book 1
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Kensington Books
Page Count: 352
Type of Book: ARC, Kindle Ebook, Netgalley Read
Review Word Count: 400
Rated: 4/5 stars
Notes: This was a fun read for the start of the fall season!

I’m a fan of historical romance, but it’s been a while since I’ve dived into the subject. I’ve been stuck in the fantasy genre for so long that this was a very refreshing change of pace for me. It helped that the story was a fun and fast paced read, and that the characters were all utterly delightful. I particularly liked the heroine, though she seemed to make stupid choices from time to time that just showed how much more human she’d become. While I found Royal to be a bit of an egotistical ass at times, he too proved to be a strong, brave highlander who would stop at nothing to ‘protect his lady’.

Though I enjoyed the whole thing, the feminist side of me couldn’t help but be rather outraged at the whole situation that Ainsley had found herself in, not to mention the few comments that Royal had made towards Ainsley after finding out she was engaged when he first started flirting with her. There was one line in particular that made me want to slap him so hard he’d still be hurting by the next year. But then he makes up for it later, and despite myself I find that I still rather enjoyed reading about the characters.

Warnings: implied rape, pregnancy, males being stupid, women being equally stupid, and lots of drama, plus some steamy scenes between Ainsley and Royal

I do like the name Ainsley. While a bit hard to pronounce, it reads nice. Royal is a strange name, however, I’ve never met a character actually named ‘Royal’ but it suits him. There were other names within that were also unusual, and weird, but it didn’t impact the story at all, and seemed fitting for the time period and place as well.

I’m adding the author to my list of favorites when it comes to writing historical romance. While I didn’t automatically love this story, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself for several hours as I devoured this book in one sitting! 4/5 stars for a perfect fall read, and I eagerly anticipate reading another book from the author quite soon!

Until next time,
-Pass Me That Book.