Sue-Ellen Welfonder's "Seducing a Scottish Bride"

From what I've read so far, this entire story takes place within two or three days.  Maybe even four.




...*slight pause*...

I am actually not impressed with this book.  Then again, I'm not fond of romance mixed with fantasy (and I don't mean delving into paranormal romance, I'm talking about fantasy-world fantasy).

First of all, the heroine (Gelis MacKenzie) is a girl who inherited the gift of "seeing" from her mother.  Due to this power, she sees her future husband (Ronan MacRuari) in several visions.  Well guess what?  It turns out that because of an agreement or some kind of debt her father owes to Ronan's grandfather for saving his life as an adolescent, Gelis has an arranged marriage with Ronan!  And Ronan's not exactly thrilled with this because this is his third marriage...yeah.

Well, when they first meet, Gelis gets all slutty and this is the REAL turnoff for me.  An excerpt from their first meeting shows how she displays herself to her prospective husband - with a lot of other men around, including her own father:

"Not for nothing had she chosen her most flattering gown[...]its dipping front piece made even lower by her own clever hand[...]the bodice displayed the swell of her breasts in all their abundance, including a very deliberate glimpse of the top rims of her nipples."

That was the red flag right there, and it was already on page 65 of the book - still the beginning.  Even more so, this very same girl displays some kind of bauble that draws attention to her vagina.  This girl is desperate and is trying too damn hard.

Welp, the two get married and they haven't even consummated their marriage.  I'm already on page 299 of the book and within the last few chapters, and I still don't get what's going on.  The book jumps from scene to scene that you don't know exactly what's going on, whether someone's having a dream, or if something's real, or if Gelis is having some kind of vision...

Believe me, I got lost.  I'm about ready to toss this book out the window.

Of course there's conflict in here...something about power or mistaken identity and "things that look real that aren't really there."

*twitch*

Fuck it, I already moved onto Brenda Joyce's The Promise earlier today, and I already feel relieved.

I don't think I'll be reading the other Sue-Ellen Welfonder book I have.  Maybe I'll sell these on Ebay.  There are a few romance novels that I absolutely need to get rid of.  Far, far away from me (but that's another story for another time).