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The Scottish Boy
1333. Edward III is at war with Scotland. Nineteen-year-old Sir Harry de Lyon yearns to prove himself, and jumps at the chance when a powerful English baron, William Montagu, invites him on a secret mission with a dozen elite knights. They ride north, to a crumbling Scottish keep, capturing the feral, half-starved boy within and putting the other inhabitants to the sword.
But nobody knows why the flower of English knighthood snuck over the border to capture a savage, dirty teenage boy. Montagu gives the boy to Harry as his squire, with only two don't let him escape, and convert him to the English cause.
At first, it's hopeless. The Scottish boy is surly and violent, and eats anything that isn't nailed down. Then Harry begins to notice that, as well as Gaelic, the boy speaks flawless French, with an accent much different from Harry's Norman one. That he can read Latin too. And when Harry finally convinces the boy – Iain mac Maíl Coluim – to cut his filthy curtain of hair, the face revealed is the most beautiful thing Harry has ever seen.
With Iain as his squire, Harry wins tournament after tournament and becomes a favourite of the King. But underneath the pageantry smoulder twin Harry and Iain's growing passion for each other, and Iain's mysterious heritage. As England hurtles towards war once again, these secrets will destroy everything Harry holds dear.
But nobody knows why the flower of English knighthood snuck over the border to capture a savage, dirty teenage boy. Montagu gives the boy to Harry as his squire, with only two don't let him escape, and convert him to the English cause.
At first, it's hopeless. The Scottish boy is surly and violent, and eats anything that isn't nailed down. Then Harry begins to notice that, as well as Gaelic, the boy speaks flawless French, with an accent much different from Harry's Norman one. That he can read Latin too. And when Harry finally convinces the boy – Iain mac Maíl Coluim – to cut his filthy curtain of hair, the face revealed is the most beautiful thing Harry has ever seen.
With Iain as his squire, Harry wins tournament after tournament and becomes a favourite of the King. But underneath the pageantry smoulder twin Harry and Iain's growing passion for each other, and Iain's mysterious heritage. As England hurtles towards war once again, these secrets will destroy everything Harry holds dear.
564 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2020
About the author
Alex de Campi
255 books256 followersAlex de Campi is a New York-based writer with an extensive backlist of critically-acclaimed graphic novels including Eisner-nominated heist noir Bad Girls (Simon & Schuster) and Twisted Romance (Image Comics). Her most recent book was her debut prose novel The Scottish Boy (Unbound). She lives with her daughter, their cat, and a Deafblind pit bull named Tango.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,253 reviews
April 26, 2021
read this if you want: a soft enemies-to-lovers romance, political scheming, vengeance, jousting tournaments and other knightly activities, representation, and poetic writing.
dont read this if you want: historical accuracy.
that pretty much sums it up. lol.
↠ 4 stars
dont read this if you want: historical accuracy.
that pretty much sums it up. lol.
↠ 4 stars
June 27, 2020
I'm sort of hesitant to give a mostly negative review to a book that hasn't properly come out yet, but I was really, really disappointed by this book. I borrowed it from my dad, who got an early copy from helping to crowdfund it, so I didn't really know what it was going to be about, but I liked the premise of historical fiction set in 1300s England featuring a romance between two men. Unfortunately, the book executes this premise poorly, and ends up being a mediocre-to-bad romance novel with a slightly unusual setting.
Ostensibly, this is an enemies-to-lovers story about Harry, an English knight, who falls in love with Iain, a Scottish boy whose family is murdered by English knights. You might think, then, that the conflict between Scotland and England would be a major part of this book. Perhaps there would be tense confrontations between Iain and Harry over the losses of their respective families in the war. Perhaps Harry would be forced to confront his perception of the Scottish people as "fierce savages" and reckon with the immense harm done by the English conquest. You would be wrong, because this book is allergic to meaningful conflict or doing anything interesting with its premise.
The first sign that this book has no interest in dealing with substantial conflict is how quickly Iain and Harry get together. They're friends by the end of the first part (of four), and they have sex for the first time a little past the quarter mark in the book. After that point, they certainly have conflict, but it's so petty and meaningless that it seems to exist mainly to pad out the book. They'll be together for a while, then Iain will get mad at Harry because Harry doesn't love him enough or because there was a miscommunication or any other stupid reason that doesn't actually challenge Harry as a character, and then they'll break up. Harry will moan about how lost he is without Iain for a chapter or two until they meet back up, have reunion sex, and everything goes back to normal. Harry continues to describe all the Scottish people as fierce savages, but it's okay now because he sort of respects them a little while he's murdering them.
Speaking of which, Harry is the most boring, one-note protagonist I've read in a while. Harry is a Good Guy. He's honest, brave, noble; he cares about his vassals and wants the best for everyone around him. He doesn't mean to hurt anyone, and no matter how much harm he actually does, every good character in this book will eventually respect him and want to be his friend. He can make mistakes, but only if they're well-intentioned mistakes that he deeply regrets and is easily forgiven for. God forbid anybody actually dislike him or hold him responsible for his flaws, because then we might lose valuable time that could be used for describing how madly in love he is with Iain for the millionth time.
Iain is marginally more interesting than Harry, but he too suffers from having maybe one and a half character traits. Iain, you see, is angry. He's also fierce, savage, primal, animalistic, dangerous, predator-like, and anything else the author thinks is hot. But, you see, he's not fierce and savage and dangerous around Harry, because he's madly in love with him for no discernible reason. In fact, once he and Harry have started boning every other page, any motivations besides "protect Harry" and "have sex with Harry" take a backseat for the rest of the book. The few scant moments when he does pursue his own goals and leaves Harry behind are some of the most interesting parts of the book, but never fear, he soon returns to Harry and confesses that he hates being away from him and was never really mad at him in the first place. By the second or third time this happens, you may begin to suspect that the plot of this book is mostly a pretext for Iain and Harry having sex. You wouldn't be entirely wrong.
Also, the sex scenes. They're bad. And there's so, so many of them. Your mileage may vary, but I was mainly just bored and waiting for the scene to be over about 90% of the time. There's also some truly cringeworthy writing in some of them, like the constant use of sentence fragment paragraphs, e.g.:
Almost every sex scene has a section like this, by the way. It's physically painful to read.
The best of the sex scenes in this book is probably the scene near the beginning where they don't actually have sex. Iain taking advantage of Harry's vulnerability to attempt an escape was genuinely interesting! It built conflict! If more of their relationship had conflict like this, I would have enjoyed reading about it a lot more.
Honestly, though, I am being a little harsh on this book. I think I could have enjoyed it more if it was shorter and/or if I knew better what to expect going in. The writing itself is competent if not particularly good; if you've read "Witchmark" or "The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue", it's at about the same level. I enjoyed both of those books more than this one, though, at least in part because 500 pages is a long time to put up with mediocre writing.
Some additional miscellaneous complaints:
- the use of the phrase "his slanted, Asiatic eyes." Unclear whether its describing a person or the dragon he has tattooed on his chest, but either way, not sure how that one made it past editors.
- the presence of not one, but two evil priests who are specifically noted to have large, hooked noses. I assume this is a case of not thinking too carefully about the implications of a hooked nose being associated with evil, but it's pretty gross, especially when one of the priests is specifically doing evil things because of his greed.
- Alys, like Iain, suffers from "no motivations that don't center around Harry" disease. She's also the only major female character, so it grates a bit more with her.
- lack of moral complexity. Every character in this book is Good or Bad, and you will absolutely know which they are almost instantly. Harry comes the closest out of anyone to gray morality, but his mistakes are so quickly forgiven it's hard to take them seriously as flaws.
- repetitiveness. A lot of the book blurs together because the same events and descriptions are repeated with slight changes over and over again.
- pervasive sense that this book really isn't meant to be read by gay/bisexual men. This is difficult to quantify or prove, but it just feels voyeuristic, like we're not meant to be trying to relate to these characters, we're meant to be ogling them. It's frustrating as a gay reader, but it's kind of to be expected when reading romances between two men at this point.
EDIT: raised it from one star to two after thinking about it a bit more
Ostensibly, this is an enemies-to-lovers story about Harry, an English knight, who falls in love with Iain, a Scottish boy whose family is murdered by English knights. You might think, then, that the conflict between Scotland and England would be a major part of this book. Perhaps there would be tense confrontations between Iain and Harry over the losses of their respective families in the war. Perhaps Harry would be forced to confront his perception of the Scottish people as "fierce savages" and reckon with the immense harm done by the English conquest. You would be wrong, because this book is allergic to meaningful conflict or doing anything interesting with its premise.
The first sign that this book has no interest in dealing with substantial conflict is how quickly Iain and Harry get together. They're friends by the end of the first part (of four), and they have sex for the first time a little past the quarter mark in the book. After that point, they certainly have conflict, but it's so petty and meaningless that it seems to exist mainly to pad out the book. They'll be together for a while, then Iain will get mad at Harry because Harry doesn't love him enough or because there was a miscommunication or any other stupid reason that doesn't actually challenge Harry as a character, and then they'll break up. Harry will moan about how lost he is without Iain for a chapter or two until they meet back up, have reunion sex, and everything goes back to normal. Harry continues to describe all the Scottish people as fierce savages, but it's okay now because he sort of respects them a little while he's murdering them.
Speaking of which, Harry is the most boring, one-note protagonist I've read in a while. Harry is a Good Guy. He's honest, brave, noble; he cares about his vassals and wants the best for everyone around him. He doesn't mean to hurt anyone, and no matter how much harm he actually does, every good character in this book will eventually respect him and want to be his friend. He can make mistakes, but only if they're well-intentioned mistakes that he deeply regrets and is easily forgiven for. God forbid anybody actually dislike him or hold him responsible for his flaws, because then we might lose valuable time that could be used for describing how madly in love he is with Iain for the millionth time.
Iain is marginally more interesting than Harry, but he too suffers from having maybe one and a half character traits. Iain, you see, is angry. He's also fierce, savage, primal, animalistic, dangerous, predator-like, and anything else the author thinks is hot. But, you see, he's not fierce and savage and dangerous around Harry, because he's madly in love with him for no discernible reason. In fact, once he and Harry have started boning every other page, any motivations besides "protect Harry" and "have sex with Harry" take a backseat for the rest of the book. The few scant moments when he does pursue his own goals and leaves Harry behind are some of the most interesting parts of the book, but never fear, he soon returns to Harry and confesses that he hates being away from him and was never really mad at him in the first place. By the second or third time this happens, you may begin to suspect that the plot of this book is mostly a pretext for Iain and Harry having sex. You wouldn't be entirely wrong.
Also, the sex scenes. They're bad. And there's so, so many of them. Your mileage may vary, but I was mainly just bored and waiting for the scene to be over about 90% of the time. There's also some truly cringeworthy writing in some of them, like the constant use of sentence fragment paragraphs, e.g.:
Harry nearly blows his load right there and then.
Because.
Iain's right. It's like.
Nothing. It's never.
Been. Like this.
Oh. God.
Almost every sex scene has a section like this, by the way. It's physically painful to read.
The best of the sex scenes in this book is probably the scene near the beginning where they don't actually have sex. Iain taking advantage of Harry's vulnerability to attempt an escape was genuinely interesting! It built conflict! If more of their relationship had conflict like this, I would have enjoyed reading about it a lot more.
Honestly, though, I am being a little harsh on this book. I think I could have enjoyed it more if it was shorter and/or if I knew better what to expect going in. The writing itself is competent if not particularly good; if you've read "Witchmark" or "The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue", it's at about the same level. I enjoyed both of those books more than this one, though, at least in part because 500 pages is a long time to put up with mediocre writing.
Some additional miscellaneous complaints:
- the use of the phrase "his slanted, Asiatic eyes." Unclear whether its describing a person or the dragon he has tattooed on his chest, but either way, not sure how that one made it past editors.
- the presence of not one, but two evil priests who are specifically noted to have large, hooked noses. I assume this is a case of not thinking too carefully about the implications of a hooked nose being associated with evil, but it's pretty gross, especially when one of the priests is specifically doing evil things because of his greed.
- Alys, like Iain, suffers from "no motivations that don't center around Harry" disease. She's also the only major female character, so it grates a bit more with her.
- lack of moral complexity. Every character in this book is Good or Bad, and you will absolutely know which they are almost instantly. Harry comes the closest out of anyone to gray morality, but his mistakes are so quickly forgiven it's hard to take them seriously as flaws.
- repetitiveness. A lot of the book blurs together because the same events and descriptions are repeated with slight changes over and over again.
- pervasive sense that this book really isn't meant to be read by gay/bisexual men. This is difficult to quantify or prove, but it just feels voyeuristic, like we're not meant to be trying to relate to these characters, we're meant to be ogling them. It's frustrating as a gay reader, but it's kind of to be expected when reading romances between two men at this point.
EDIT: raised it from one star to two after thinking about it a bit more
February 28, 2023
Just as devastating and crushingly beautiful the second time around, if not more so because you know what’s about to happen 😭😭😭
Iain and Harry have my soul forever 💖
Harry never had a friend and the depth of his loneliness really hit hard when re-reading this 💔
(I also forget how insatiably HORNY these two are for each other because damn 🥵🥵🥵🥵)
“Their home is on fire. It’s fitting in a way, you burn a pig boy for loving his friend by piling up hawthorn around him and throwing his torches into it. You burn a lord for loving his friend, by setting his manor alight.”
🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲
I'm going to re-read this next week because I can't remember a thing about it, except that I loved Harry and Ian with my whole soul, and maybe one part.......
Sorry about it 🤭🤭🤭
Iain and Harry have my soul forever 💖
Harry never had a friend and the depth of his loneliness really hit hard when re-reading this 💔
(I also forget how insatiably HORNY these two are for each other because damn 🥵🥵🥵🥵)
“Their home is on fire. It’s fitting in a way, you burn a pig boy for loving his friend by piling up hawthorn around him and throwing his torches into it. You burn a lord for loving his friend, by setting his manor alight.”
🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲
I'm going to re-read this next week because I can't remember a thing about it, except that I loved Harry and Ian with my whole soul, and maybe one part.......
Sorry about it 🤭🤭🤭
June 4, 2024
*4.5* So close to perfection. This book is set against the rich backdrop of medieval Europe (a terrifying time to be a gay man) with settings that span from the Scottish Highlands to the courts of England and France.
The story opens with such an accurate visual of a young man dreaming of being a knight, and then discovering how horrific and unhonorable some of the battles actually are.
Beautifully written gay love story
Enemies to lovers
Medieval setting
Jousting/fighting matches
Intimate and graphic sexual scenes
Court politics/manipulation
Homophobia
Wonderful supporting characters
I was captivated by the writing and the heart that went into this story. The first 50% flowed so well, while the second half stumbled a bit.
One of the most frustrating aspects for me was the lack of communication between characters, which leads to a Had I not been forewarned about this plot point, it could have soured the story for me. The lack of communication felt unnecessary and out of place, especially after they opened their hearts to each other.
Overall, this is a near-perfect read for those who enjoy beautifully written love stories set in a vividly imagined medieval world. Despite its imperfections, the heart of the story shines through.
Thank you Dan for the recommendation, and the emotional support while I read it!
The story opens with such an accurate visual of a young man dreaming of being a knight, and then discovering how horrific and unhonorable some of the battles actually are.
Beautifully written gay love story
Enemies to lovers
Medieval setting
Jousting/fighting matches
Intimate and graphic sexual scenes
Court politics/manipulation
Homophobia
Wonderful supporting characters
I was captivated by the writing and the heart that went into this story. The first 50% flowed so well, while the second half stumbled a bit.
One of the most frustrating aspects for me was the lack of communication between characters, which leads to a Had I not been forewarned about this plot point, it could have soured the story for me. The lack of communication felt unnecessary and out of place, especially after they opened their hearts to each other.
Overall, this is a near-perfect read for those who enjoy beautifully written love stories set in a vividly imagined medieval world. Despite its imperfections, the heart of the story shines through.
Thank you Dan for the recommendation, and the emotional support while I read it!
October 1, 2026
You know how everyone has that ONE book on their TBR that is just gathering dust? Like you are mostly sure that you are going to love it, but its such a beloved book in its genre that you are almost too scared to pick it up because you worry that it wont live up to its hype? That was this book for me because I feel like it is an absolute JUGGERNAUT in the historical queer romance space.
I can report back that this book 100% deserves its flowers. Spanning six years, it is a fantastic story full of the high stakes of war, the twists and turns of political machinations, the yearning and pining that accompanies a forbidden romance, an epic enemies to lovers story of deep loyalty and devotion and an incredibly hard won HEA.
In 1333, the newly knighted Sir Harry de Lyon, fresh off the Scottish battlefields, finds himself on a mission of great secrecy and importance into the depths of Scotland alongside a group of elite and powerful knights. Except that when they arrive at their destination, instead of the dreams of glory Harry expected, he is witness to the senseless slaughter of an impoverished household and the abduction of a wild and mysterious young man.
Harry is given the young captive as his squire and is told in no uncertain terms that he is to keep the boy alive, captive and not to allow him to escape. However, as time passes, and Harry gets to know the mysterious Iain Mac Mail Coluim, not only does the depths of his affection for the man grow, but more questions about his identity and purpose start to arise; questions which may have far reaching consequences not just for Harry, but for all of England.
I adored the romance between Harry and Iain. Initially I wondered how they would be able to grow a romance out of the circumstances they meet in, but the progression from hatred, to a begrudging affection, to loyalty and love felt very organic. I especially enjoyed, early in the relationship, witnessing Iain grapple with his anger at how much he liked Harry, when he was so desperate to hate him.
This was also substantially more spicy than I was expecting it to be. The chemistry between these two was delicious. I love when a book manages to balance just the right amount of emotional devotion with physical intimacy.
I listened to the audio whilst reading the book and I didn’t mind it? I kind of feel like the narration didn’t have quite enough weight to it and the way the narrator’s cadence changed for passionate scenes wasn’t my favourite, but it was still fine.
The fact that this began life as a Stucky fic is genuinely the greatest thing ever. The amount of time I spent on the Ao3 reading Stucky fic back in the day? Crazy work. I have no idea why more Stucky fic hasn’t been picked up by trad pub? Such a missed opportunity and I can promise you I will be front of the line for any more that are ever announced.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book. These opinions are my own ❤️
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August 3, 2022
A perfect holiday read. A historical m/m romance, sweet, steamy, and full of action. The rep is also great, nothing is labeled, but there’s at least gay, bi, and ace rep.
I sat next to the swimming pool and savored The Scottish Boy in just a few days. I immediately loved Iain—I have a soft spot for brooding and intense characters— and I only wanted Harry to accept his love for Iain. And I need to mention Alys. She was a breeze of fresh air in the book.
The story is written in third person/present tense, my least favorite. In my opinion, only really talented writers can use this writing style, and you know what? Alex de Campi just has squeezed herself between authors like Casey McQuiston and Fredrik Backman, masters in writing third person/present tense.
Last but not least, the place I lived in from the day I was born until I was two years old, is in the book! My parents visited it (Sluis, in the book Sluys) last week because of their wedding day 💜!
Read this if you want to swoon over a couple who will give you butterflies or if you want to read a story with hints of The Song of Achilles—highly recommended!
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I sat next to the swimming pool and savored The Scottish Boy in just a few days. I immediately loved Iain—I have a soft spot for brooding and intense characters— and I only wanted Harry to accept his love for Iain. And I need to mention Alys. She was a breeze of fresh air in the book.
The story is written in third person/present tense, my least favorite. In my opinion, only really talented writers can use this writing style, and you know what? Alex de Campi just has squeezed herself between authors like Casey McQuiston and Fredrik Backman, masters in writing third person/present tense.
Last but not least, the place I lived in from the day I was born until I was two years old, is in the book! My parents visited it (Sluis, in the book Sluys) last week because of their wedding day 💜!
Read this if you want to swoon over a couple who will give you butterflies or if you want to read a story with hints of The Song of Achilles—highly recommended!
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August 14, 2024
3.5 stars ✨
I'm glad this book didn't fall into the category of historical romances, which I detest for having too many descriptions of things I'm not interested in. I was enthralled with the intricate details and the evident extensive research the author had done to bring this tale to life.
The court politics and warfare were disliked by many, but I that was what I liked about it the best. Although the smut scenes are wonderful, I really liked seeing their relationship grow. I also fell in love with so many of the characters, Annie and Alys who were so openminded and caring.
The biggest problem for me is that none of the issues the characters encountered had an outcome. Any possible negative effects were eliminated fairly immediately. As a result, I didn't feel that the characters' temporal stakes were increased for me as a reader. This meant that the resolution was abrupt and disappointing.
____________
This book had me bawling my eyes out at 4 am in the morning. IAINHARRY FOREVER>>>> 🫶🏻
I'm glad this book didn't fall into the category of historical romances, which I detest for having too many descriptions of things I'm not interested in. I was enthralled with the intricate details and the evident extensive research the author had done to bring this tale to life.
The court politics and warfare were disliked by many, but I that was what I liked about it the best. Although the smut scenes are wonderful, I really liked seeing their relationship grow. I also fell in love with so many of the characters, Annie and Alys who were so openminded and caring.
The biggest problem for me is that none of the issues the characters encountered had an outcome. Any possible negative effects were eliminated fairly immediately. As a result, I didn't feel that the characters' temporal stakes were increased for me as a reader. This meant that the resolution was abrupt and disappointing.
____________
This book had me bawling my eyes out at 4 am in the morning. IAINHARRY FOREVER>>>> 🫶🏻
March 12, 2026
1.5 ⭐️ i don’t wanna talk about it. *proceeds to ramble on about it*. lmao, where do i even begin with this? i’m still a bit flabbergasted by the whole experience that i’m chuckling as i type this, because - WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?
i had really high hopes for this and it actually had something of a strong start. i was rather intrigued for the first 15% or so of it. the devolution has to be studied though - sheer and utter discombobulating madness. i probably should have dnfed it when i saw where we were going here, but curiosity done killed the cat as they say - sometimes i get wrapped up in needing to see how these trainwrecks end and so that i can hate in something of a holistic manner, having full knowledge of all the tomfoolery that’s transpired up to the bitter end 🤣.
on those high hopes and that strong start, the premise was interesting. i almost thought i was going to find another captive prince-leaning read with this. it’s a historical story set in the 1300s, where political tension between england, scotland and france is running rampant. we follow an english knight and his scottish squire — this squire initially being a political prisoner in the knight’s custody after said knight and a group of the king’s men take him hostage following a raid on his household during some unclear-to-the-knight mission. his orders, subsequently, are to keep the prisoner with him and the prisoner becomes his squire and, well…more.
i was expecting something of a gradual antagonists to reluctant allies to friends to eventual lovers arc, but one that burned slow and steady given the circumstances under which the two love interests first meet and the whole captor-captive thing. i was also expecting the romance to be embedded as more of a subplot, and for the story to have a more prominent A-plot in some politics or court antics or SOMETHING.
this was, vehemently, not the case.
instead, i got a meandering, tedious, repetitive cycle of the most banal countryside chronicles, some lengthy jousting tournaments i did not care about, and cheeks clapping and sword handling already inside the first quarter, continuing in earnest beyond. the sheer amount of fertilization happening in here was cause for concern.
perhaps producing a numbered list of complaints will make this review feel a bit more organized, before i, myself, devolve into a chaotic rant (although, this could still very well read like one).
1) the main characters were, quite honestly, insufferable in their own unique ways.
— harry (the knight) was so bland. i’m talking mind-numbingly uninteresting. as unseasoned as a raw frozen chicken leg. the double homicide of a crime here is that on top of being boring as hell, he was also incredibly HORNY. why are you constantly thirsting for your prisoner turned squire? get a grip on reality, it’s certainly lost to you. his arc was terribly crusty as well. he was a very passive character that just had a bunch of things happen to him, rather than being a real player moving the story forward in meaningful ways. his woe-is-me navelgazing was getting a bit too much for me too, i fear. i just couldn’t empathize or connect with any of his struggles in this book. the audacity on him was bordering on hilarious as well because he was holding someone captive and being surprised that they were nasty back to him. i’m like — dude. be serious for a second. he was supposed to be this good, noble guy but he made some terrible choices and lacked so much presence and personality. it’s a shame too that the whole story is told from his perspective (in third person though), so him driving the narrative was making me want to pull my wig off because of how utterly dull he was - which also made the book feel like it was dragging.
— iain (the prisoner-turned-squire) was a touch more alluring. while his big secret was really predictable from the beginning, at least he had a bit of a story going for him and a touch more personality compared to other dude. i also had a bit more sympathy for him because he was done dirty - repeatedly - throughout this story, including from harry, his supposed love interest. that being said, he just did a bunch of really annoying things as well which rendered him unlikable to me when all was said and done. his feral act and barking at people, and just being rowdy and messy got old very quickly. i also hated what he does around the 325 page / 67% mark that has an adverse impact on the romance - this alone made me drop my rating down from my mental 2 star at the time, to 1.5. where his character arc ends up going shortly after this, more so HOW it ends up going the way that it goes, genuinely made no sense to me either. it wasn’t written in a way that felt all the way logical to me, and it relied too much on me making some assumptions rather than having things be laid out on the page.
2) the plot was so thin. i was expecting so much more, but the story fell all the way flat. i just did not care. about anything. if i had to read more inane descriptions of clothes, surroundings, 60-page chapters about boring jousting tournaments and other silly factoids and happenings of no real consequence, i would have clawed my eyeballs out. the character development also didn’t really feel like it could compensate for the lack of a solid plot, because the characters weren’t doing it for me, nor did their development hit home either. the plot does somewhat remember to wake up in the last quarter of the book, introducing some battles and political machinations worth paying a bit of attention to - BUT i have to even caveat that because it bordered on telling instead of showing. why were 6 years crammed into the penultimate chapter when chapters of a similar length earlier on in the story only spanned a month? the pacing was so inconsistent.
3) the romance was awful. terribly paced. uninspired and one-dimensional. bad development of it in some of the things that transpire between the two characters. there was minimal actual yearning, and what little there was felt so performative and inorganic. some things were also just hella melodramatic too - i was like calm tf down, please 😅. the shifts from being “enemies” to best friends to having sex (all in the first quarter(ish), mind you) felt very contextually abrupt and choppy. and then, it was just lechery with a few little weak yearns here and out-of-left-field realizations of being in love there. also, the little bit of pining there was felt lustful anyways without me really seeing a well-documented emotional connection anywhere in this thing. i just wasn’t feeling it 😭. which brings me to my next point…
4) there was WAAAAAAAY too much smut in this (including mental lusting). now, i did actually become aware that this may be the case but only after i started reading. about an hour into the book, something made me look this up a bit more (i be rawdogging things a little too much), and i found out that the spice level on this was rated explicit and plentiful on a website i like to check to gauge this sort of thing to manage my expectations sometimes. i couldn’t really see how that would be the case from the little bit that i’d read so i still wanted to keep giving this a chance - especially if i ended up liking the chemistry and tension between the characters that a few too many spicy scenes wouldn’t really deter or bother me, maybe i’d even slurp them right up if i happened to be loving the dynamic. that was not the case here. the sex got too overwhelming in its frequency, and honestly - some of it was incredibly cringy. i would quote some lines and spell out some strange scenarios, but i just want to erase the whole thing from my memory and spare anyone who may be reading this review. it didn’t help that i didn’t care about the romance or the characters, and felt like they had no chemistry - so i was absolutely being clobbered over the head with all that sex.
5) there was a touch too much unnecessary cruelty and suffering in here, to the point where i felt like it wasn’t really driving the plot (what little there was of it anyways) or the character development. there were a couple scenes i just felt could have been left out because they were disturbing for no real pay-off. one sequence of events, in particular, involving a horse didn’t sit well with me. you may want to steer away from this one (or skip over the scene) if animal cruelty and suffering upsets you. while i don’t consider it a trigger for myself, i was like this is just nasty and gratuitous.
6) did i mention a 60 page chapter on jousting? lmao. if i have, it’s worth mentioning AGAIN. what was the reason? snoozefest.
7) the chapters were too long, and it annoyed me to no end. 40-60+ page chapters on average was just a bit much. i also don’t looooove short 2-5 min chapters (according to my reading speed anyways), but serve something inbetween. some of these chapters had my kindle clocking an hour+ to get through them. the book only had 12 chapters, yet its page count is pushing 500 pages. that should explain it all.
8) the last stretch of this somehow felt like the weakest and most rushed, yet also incredibly dragged out resolution?! i couldn’t explain how both these things are true at the same time either. they just are.
my ONLY positives to this, earning the extra half star above abysmal, are that:
— i do think the style of writing was good - skilled in the technique and just flowery enough (jury’s out on the plotting, pacing and content though - but the style was pretty readable, a bit poetic in parts as well)
— there were a few likable side characters - particularly in annie and alys (i liked the representation in alys a lot as well). the rest? nah. the villians in this story were also painfully boring and uncharismatic. give me actual players who are clever and formidable and INTERESTING, instead of whatever the bad guys in here were supposed to be.
— the historical setting was also enjoyable. one comment i’ll make on this though is that, while i’m by no means an expert or well-read in the genre or time period, i felt like some things in this couldn’t have been particularly accurate or even close to (down to some of the language used in the dialogue). a few things definitely took me out of the story because i was having too many wtf moments around these inserts. i found out post-read that this is repackaged fan fiction, so suddenly some of this…err…whatever…made a bit more sense 😅.
— there was some cute art between the chapters.
this rating could very well boil down to user error - my expectations did not match what the book served. if you want a queer historical romantic fiction that approximates porn with little plot and some jousting or whatever (which is fine) - have at it, it may be very pleasing in that regard. i didn’t want that though. i wanted more story (especially one with more political intrigue, action and cunning), characters i could root for and a gradual romance with a more convincing enemies-to-lovers arc - so i’m left wholly dissatisfied by the meal here.
need this off my currently reading shelf with the quickness!
i had really high hopes for this and it actually had something of a strong start. i was rather intrigued for the first 15% or so of it. the devolution has to be studied though - sheer and utter discombobulating madness. i probably should have dnfed it when i saw where we were going here, but curiosity done killed the cat as they say - sometimes i get wrapped up in needing to see how these trainwrecks end and so that i can hate in something of a holistic manner, having full knowledge of all the tomfoolery that’s transpired up to the bitter end 🤣.
on those high hopes and that strong start, the premise was interesting. i almost thought i was going to find another captive prince-leaning read with this. it’s a historical story set in the 1300s, where political tension between england, scotland and france is running rampant. we follow an english knight and his scottish squire — this squire initially being a political prisoner in the knight’s custody after said knight and a group of the king’s men take him hostage following a raid on his household during some unclear-to-the-knight mission. his orders, subsequently, are to keep the prisoner with him and the prisoner becomes his squire and, well…more.
i was expecting something of a gradual antagonists to reluctant allies to friends to eventual lovers arc, but one that burned slow and steady given the circumstances under which the two love interests first meet and the whole captor-captive thing. i was also expecting the romance to be embedded as more of a subplot, and for the story to have a more prominent A-plot in some politics or court antics or SOMETHING.
this was, vehemently, not the case.
instead, i got a meandering, tedious, repetitive cycle of the most banal countryside chronicles, some lengthy jousting tournaments i did not care about, and cheeks clapping and sword handling already inside the first quarter, continuing in earnest beyond. the sheer amount of fertilization happening in here was cause for concern.
perhaps producing a numbered list of complaints will make this review feel a bit more organized, before i, myself, devolve into a chaotic rant (although, this could still very well read like one).
1) the main characters were, quite honestly, insufferable in their own unique ways.
— harry (the knight) was so bland. i’m talking mind-numbingly uninteresting. as unseasoned as a raw frozen chicken leg. the double homicide of a crime here is that on top of being boring as hell, he was also incredibly HORNY. why are you constantly thirsting for your prisoner turned squire? get a grip on reality, it’s certainly lost to you. his arc was terribly crusty as well. he was a very passive character that just had a bunch of things happen to him, rather than being a real player moving the story forward in meaningful ways. his woe-is-me navelgazing was getting a bit too much for me too, i fear. i just couldn’t empathize or connect with any of his struggles in this book. the audacity on him was bordering on hilarious as well because he was holding someone captive and being surprised that they were nasty back to him. i’m like — dude. be serious for a second. he was supposed to be this good, noble guy but he made some terrible choices and lacked so much presence and personality. it’s a shame too that the whole story is told from his perspective (in third person though), so him driving the narrative was making me want to pull my wig off because of how utterly dull he was - which also made the book feel like it was dragging.
— iain (the prisoner-turned-squire) was a touch more alluring. while his big secret was really predictable from the beginning, at least he had a bit of a story going for him and a touch more personality compared to other dude. i also had a bit more sympathy for him because he was done dirty - repeatedly - throughout this story, including from harry, his supposed love interest. that being said, he just did a bunch of really annoying things as well which rendered him unlikable to me when all was said and done. his feral act and barking at people, and just being rowdy and messy got old very quickly. i also hated what he does around the 325 page / 67% mark that has an adverse impact on the romance - this alone made me drop my rating down from my mental 2 star at the time, to 1.5. where his character arc ends up going shortly after this, more so HOW it ends up going the way that it goes, genuinely made no sense to me either. it wasn’t written in a way that felt all the way logical to me, and it relied too much on me making some assumptions rather than having things be laid out on the page.
2) the plot was so thin. i was expecting so much more, but the story fell all the way flat. i just did not care. about anything. if i had to read more inane descriptions of clothes, surroundings, 60-page chapters about boring jousting tournaments and other silly factoids and happenings of no real consequence, i would have clawed my eyeballs out. the character development also didn’t really feel like it could compensate for the lack of a solid plot, because the characters weren’t doing it for me, nor did their development hit home either. the plot does somewhat remember to wake up in the last quarter of the book, introducing some battles and political machinations worth paying a bit of attention to - BUT i have to even caveat that because it bordered on telling instead of showing. why were 6 years crammed into the penultimate chapter when chapters of a similar length earlier on in the story only spanned a month? the pacing was so inconsistent.
3) the romance was awful. terribly paced. uninspired and one-dimensional. bad development of it in some of the things that transpire between the two characters. there was minimal actual yearning, and what little there was felt so performative and inorganic. some things were also just hella melodramatic too - i was like calm tf down, please 😅. the shifts from being “enemies” to best friends to having sex (all in the first quarter(ish), mind you) felt very contextually abrupt and choppy. and then, it was just lechery with a few little weak yearns here and out-of-left-field realizations of being in love there. also, the little bit of pining there was felt lustful anyways without me really seeing a well-documented emotional connection anywhere in this thing. i just wasn’t feeling it 😭. which brings me to my next point…
4) there was WAAAAAAAY too much smut in this (including mental lusting). now, i did actually become aware that this may be the case but only after i started reading. about an hour into the book, something made me look this up a bit more (i be rawdogging things a little too much), and i found out that the spice level on this was rated explicit and plentiful on a website i like to check to gauge this sort of thing to manage my expectations sometimes. i couldn’t really see how that would be the case from the little bit that i’d read so i still wanted to keep giving this a chance - especially if i ended up liking the chemistry and tension between the characters that a few too many spicy scenes wouldn’t really deter or bother me, maybe i’d even slurp them right up if i happened to be loving the dynamic. that was not the case here. the sex got too overwhelming in its frequency, and honestly - some of it was incredibly cringy. i would quote some lines and spell out some strange scenarios, but i just want to erase the whole thing from my memory and spare anyone who may be reading this review. it didn’t help that i didn’t care about the romance or the characters, and felt like they had no chemistry - so i was absolutely being clobbered over the head with all that sex.
5) there was a touch too much unnecessary cruelty and suffering in here, to the point where i felt like it wasn’t really driving the plot (what little there was of it anyways) or the character development. there were a couple scenes i just felt could have been left out because they were disturbing for no real pay-off. one sequence of events, in particular, involving a horse didn’t sit well with me. you may want to steer away from this one (or skip over the scene) if animal cruelty and suffering upsets you. while i don’t consider it a trigger for myself, i was like this is just nasty and gratuitous.
6) did i mention a 60 page chapter on jousting? lmao. if i have, it’s worth mentioning AGAIN. what was the reason? snoozefest.
7) the chapters were too long, and it annoyed me to no end. 40-60+ page chapters on average was just a bit much. i also don’t looooove short 2-5 min chapters (according to my reading speed anyways), but serve something inbetween. some of these chapters had my kindle clocking an hour+ to get through them. the book only had 12 chapters, yet its page count is pushing 500 pages. that should explain it all.
8) the last stretch of this somehow felt like the weakest and most rushed, yet also incredibly dragged out resolution?! i couldn’t explain how both these things are true at the same time either. they just are.
my ONLY positives to this, earning the extra half star above abysmal, are that:
— i do think the style of writing was good - skilled in the technique and just flowery enough (jury’s out on the plotting, pacing and content though - but the style was pretty readable, a bit poetic in parts as well)
— there were a few likable side characters - particularly in annie and alys (i liked the representation in alys a lot as well). the rest? nah. the villians in this story were also painfully boring and uncharismatic. give me actual players who are clever and formidable and INTERESTING, instead of whatever the bad guys in here were supposed to be.
— the historical setting was also enjoyable. one comment i’ll make on this though is that, while i’m by no means an expert or well-read in the genre or time period, i felt like some things in this couldn’t have been particularly accurate or even close to (down to some of the language used in the dialogue). a few things definitely took me out of the story because i was having too many wtf moments around these inserts. i found out post-read that this is repackaged fan fiction, so suddenly some of this…err…whatever…made a bit more sense 😅.
— there was some cute art between the chapters.
this rating could very well boil down to user error - my expectations did not match what the book served. if you want a queer historical romantic fiction that approximates porn with little plot and some jousting or whatever (which is fine) - have at it, it may be very pleasing in that regard. i didn’t want that though. i wanted more story (especially one with more political intrigue, action and cunning), characters i could root for and a gradual romance with a more convincing enemies-to-lovers arc - so i’m left wholly dissatisfied by the meal here.
need this off my currently reading shelf with the quickness!
June 7, 2020
As the blurb outlines, this is a historical intrigue/romance with a gay couple as the core characters, set in the 1300s mostly in England, Scotland and France. The queer rep includes: the two main characters are queer, there is another important character written as being sex averse aro/ace, a further male gay couple, some same-sex interactions between minor characters. Trigger warnings for: violence, war, murder, slave/captive situations, injury/maiming, cheating, bereavement, homophobia and mention of rape although no on-page descriptions.
This is a difficult book to review. Any one of my friends will know I have been begging for a gay romance set in this time period with fighting and intrigue since forever - in fact one said 10/10 this is up my alley.
The time period isn't one I've had the pleasure of encountering in fiction very often. Most stories tend to focus on more exciting time periods either later (by far the most common) or sometimes earlier. It was extraordinarily well captured here. The fashion, the buildings/rooms, the lifestyle... But even more impressively in my opinion was how accurately the life of a knight of that time period was captured. Horsemanship, knight skills, jousting, swordsmanship, archery, tournaments and battles... it was realistic as hell. The amount of detail we were given was perfect - it was enough to build a vibrant world and at the same time not so much that it ends up being an info-dump. It was always dynamic.
The writing is remarkable, poetic and thoughtful but also sharp and fast when it needs to be. I do think the pace stagnated a couple of spots in the story but it wasn't a huge issue.
So why did I take a star out?
For me the main issue was how some of the power dynamics were handled. Or maybe not handled. I think the author's intent was to have things happen organically rather than consciously but I did think that it was never ever acknowledged that Iain was actually completely at Harry's mercy for most of the story. This is after all a captor/prisoner romance, and in fact I would argue it's a master/slave relationship because Harry does not pay Iain anything. Iain owns literally nothing other than his own body and one shirt (that eventually wears so thin it ends up being thrown). Anything else he obtains is on Harry's goodwill. Iain is depicted as strong willed but at the end of the day he is massively fragile. And my problem is that Harry never actually came to the realisation or reflected on Iain's inherent lack of power in their relationship. Maybe I'm too picky, but I wanted Harry to be more conscious of the power imbalances rather than simply be well-meaning and eventually get there just out of kindness.
I definitely had some question marks over how Iain's adjustment to his losses and captivity at Dartington was depicted.
Finally, the sex scenes. I read LGBTQ erotica regularly (as in, every day pretty much). But I did find myself wondering if we did need all of the sex scenes and if some of it wasn't too much on the gratuitous side. The fetishising of queer men for straight female readership is a big issue and I did feel that some of the sex ran on the edge of doing that. The story did however redeem this because the characters were very much presented as humans, their struggles and their motivations very much at the front of this story. The inclusion of the homophobia of the time period was also done carefully, I feel. There is some graphic violence but it had a place in the story, it wasn't ever romanticised.
Having gotten that far, I will say that for all that this was clearly meticulously researched on most topics, there were some jarring inconsistencies where it really felt like we were just 21st century people wandering through the 14th century. One of those was the consideration of "sodomy" - I think we forget that it historically meant a whole host of things on top of what we nowadays think it means. I also felt that a lot of the social structure we saw felt more contemporary than as per the time period.
That said, this was a solid debut. So, if your interest is in medieval knights, intrigue, vengeance, and LGBTQ romance? This is a book for you. It isn't perfect. But it's a powerfully presented story.
Edited to add: Trung's beautiful illustrations! My god I don't know how I forgot to mention his work but goddamn the illustrations are S T U N N I N G. Trung also has his own work and book out there so do check him out.
This is a difficult book to review. Any one of my friends will know I have been begging for a gay romance set in this time period with fighting and intrigue since forever - in fact one said 10/10 this is up my alley.
The time period isn't one I've had the pleasure of encountering in fiction very often. Most stories tend to focus on more exciting time periods either later (by far the most common) or sometimes earlier. It was extraordinarily well captured here. The fashion, the buildings/rooms, the lifestyle... But even more impressively in my opinion was how accurately the life of a knight of that time period was captured. Horsemanship, knight skills, jousting, swordsmanship, archery, tournaments and battles... it was realistic as hell. The amount of detail we were given was perfect - it was enough to build a vibrant world and at the same time not so much that it ends up being an info-dump. It was always dynamic.
The writing is remarkable, poetic and thoughtful but also sharp and fast when it needs to be. I do think the pace stagnated a couple of spots in the story but it wasn't a huge issue.
So why did I take a star out?
For me the main issue was how some of the power dynamics were handled. Or maybe not handled. I think the author's intent was to have things happen organically rather than consciously but I did think that it was never ever acknowledged that Iain was actually completely at Harry's mercy for most of the story. This is after all a captor/prisoner romance, and in fact I would argue it's a master/slave relationship because Harry does not pay Iain anything. Iain owns literally nothing other than his own body and one shirt (that eventually wears so thin it ends up being thrown). Anything else he obtains is on Harry's goodwill. Iain is depicted as strong willed but at the end of the day he is massively fragile. And my problem is that Harry never actually came to the realisation or reflected on Iain's inherent lack of power in their relationship. Maybe I'm too picky, but I wanted Harry to be more conscious of the power imbalances rather than simply be well-meaning and eventually get there just out of kindness.
I definitely had some question marks over how Iain's adjustment to his losses and captivity at Dartington was depicted.
Finally, the sex scenes. I read LGBTQ erotica regularly (as in, every day pretty much). But I did find myself wondering if we did need all of the sex scenes and if some of it wasn't too much on the gratuitous side. The fetishising of queer men for straight female readership is a big issue and I did feel that some of the sex ran on the edge of doing that. The story did however redeem this because the characters were very much presented as humans, their struggles and their motivations very much at the front of this story. The inclusion of the homophobia of the time period was also done carefully, I feel. There is some graphic violence but it had a place in the story, it wasn't ever romanticised.
Having gotten that far, I will say that for all that this was clearly meticulously researched on most topics, there were some jarring inconsistencies where it really felt like we were just 21st century people wandering through the 14th century. One of those was the consideration of "sodomy" - I think we forget that it historically meant a whole host of things on top of what we nowadays think it means. I also felt that a lot of the social structure we saw felt more contemporary than as per the time period.
That said, this was a solid debut. So, if your interest is in medieval knights, intrigue, vengeance, and LGBTQ romance? This is a book for you. It isn't perfect. But it's a powerfully presented story.
Edited to add: Trung's beautiful illustrations! My god I don't know how I forgot to mention his work but goddamn the illustrations are S T U N N I N G. Trung also has his own work and book out there so do check him out.
November 3, 2022
Audio - 5 Stars
Story - 5 ++++
Story - 5 ++++
December 6, 2020
Just as enjoyable on rereading. This book still hits all my buttons in terms of an m/m historical – fascinating time period (I mean, really, who wrote the rule that all historical romance has to be either Regency or Victorian?), equal attention given to plot, worldbuilding, and character/relationship development, heaps of drama and political scheming, great side characters, lots of excellent emotional resonance, super-hot smut.
On top of that, it gets away with its anachronisms because they never feel lazy or uninspired; the things that make it more accessible, like the modern dialogue, still manage to feel organic in the story’s historical context. I am genuinely impressed, for example, by how the author manages to make her main characters, despite some modern sensibilities and decidedly modern language, to feel like pretty authentic characters of their time. Take their ages, for example: At the beginning of the book, Harry is nineteen, Iain seventeen. They start out as enemies who live in dangerous times and accordingly, their lives are filled with peril. But never once was I tempted to roll my eyes and think of them as dramatic teenagers in a medieval cosplay. They are authentic characters credibly embedded in their 14th century lives, Harry with his responsibilities as an impoverished knight who depends on tournaments and warfare not as a means of chasing fame but for his livelihood and the welfare of his dependents; and Iain as a young man who’s grown up fully aware that he is a dangerous political pawn and not likely to survive unless he becomes extremely good at politics and manipulation. All that is down to some excellent attention to detail when it comes to the historical context, and some very accomplished interweaving of historical accuracy with fiction. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with “just” being a historical romance, but all too often the historical setting is so much window-dressing. I really enjoyed the emphasis on the era and its volatile politics so much here.
The one fanfic-based thing that did bug me a bit was the third person present tense; I still think it would have worked better in past tense. But not a big deal.
Also, the side characters, whether fictional or real historical persons, are fantastic, especially the women. I love Annie and Alys, and I even appreciated that the book didn’t shy away from the existential necessity for someone in Harry’s position to make a good marriage and have heirs in order to keep protecting his people. I get that that’s not something a lot of readers want to see in their m/m, but it made for a nice change to have a main character in a historical who can’t simply handwave away all societal obligations by way of “I’m a Duke, I can break the rules.” Alys was fantastic, her friendship with Harry was wonderful, and I loved the casual ace rep, making theirs an ideal marriage of convenience – good friends who trust each other, are comfortable with each other, and protect each other’s secrets, with no sexual tension whatsoever to complicate things. I just wish Alys and Iain had got to spend a bit more time together, as they’ll clearly get on like a house on fire.
The last 100 pages are still nailbitingly agonising, even if you already know how it ends. I’m just going to float away on the happy ending and staunchly ignore the fact that the book ends in 1340, a mere eight years before the advent of the Black Death, lol. The thirteen hundreds! Never a dull moment!
Original review below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4.5 stars, rounded up because sometimes you gotta, and I'm going by level of emotional engagement. I picked this up on a complete whim after a very brief glance at the blurb and going "14th century Scotland? Hell yeah, let's go!", somehow managed to miss the fact that it's a queer romance as well as a historical (I know, I know, it's right there in the description), and as a consequence of this very inattentive book buying, was not prepared for the sizable onslaught of feels this story swept me up in. Absolutely no complaints, mind; perhaps I should grab books at random more often.
This story just hit lots of buttons for me. It's set during a historical period that I find absolutely fascinating (the thirteen hundreds, a.k.a. arguably the shittiest century in the past millenium! Plague, famine, war, the start of the Little Ice Age, ALL THE AWFUL THINGS! lol), and while not all those events featured, I enjoyed the depth of the world-building a lot. It didn't skimp on politics and the intricacies of court life and tournament culture, while also spending lots of time on what it meant to be a knight but impoverished and struggling to take care of your people at the time. Several historical figures of the time feature heavily (and Isabella of France, whom I adore madly, has several cameos, wooo!) and I really enjoyed how the author blended real historical events with fiction (like the whole existence of Iain). It's also casually inclusive, with multiple POC characters and some ace rep, always a plus.
What absolutely sold me on this, though, were the characters. I am an absolute sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers dynamic, and I LOVED that this didn't rush past the "enemies" part and gave the relationship plenty of space to evolve. Both Harry and Iain were wonderfully written characters and I adored them and their fraught, tender and insanely hot romance. (If you're not a fan of lots of very explicit smut, though, this is probably not for you, lol).
The style is pretty expository and zooms in and out a lot between close-up scenes and summary-type narration in between. You don't see that a lot these days, but I thought it really worked for this particular story, especially once we get to the various war machinations and political manoeuvring. I did think the dialogue was pretty modern-sounding and the occasional anachronism snuck in, but it didn't really bother me, as I was enjoying myself too much.
There were some minor pacing weirdnesses (I get why the development towards the end was necessary, but it did throw me off pace a bit) and a too-sudden ending; it could have done with just a bit of lingering on. Still, overall an absolutely delightful way to have my heart wrenched and make me alternately shout and sniffle at fictional people for a few very immersed days!
On top of that, it gets away with its anachronisms because they never feel lazy or uninspired; the things that make it more accessible, like the modern dialogue, still manage to feel organic in the story’s historical context. I am genuinely impressed, for example, by how the author manages to make her main characters, despite some modern sensibilities and decidedly modern language, to feel like pretty authentic characters of their time. Take their ages, for example: At the beginning of the book, Harry is nineteen, Iain seventeen. They start out as enemies who live in dangerous times and accordingly, their lives are filled with peril. But never once was I tempted to roll my eyes and think of them as dramatic teenagers in a medieval cosplay. They are authentic characters credibly embedded in their 14th century lives, Harry with his responsibilities as an impoverished knight who depends on tournaments and warfare not as a means of chasing fame but for his livelihood and the welfare of his dependents; and Iain as a young man who’s grown up fully aware that he is a dangerous political pawn and not likely to survive unless he becomes extremely good at politics and manipulation. All that is down to some excellent attention to detail when it comes to the historical context, and some very accomplished interweaving of historical accuracy with fiction. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with “just” being a historical romance, but all too often the historical setting is so much window-dressing. I really enjoyed the emphasis on the era and its volatile politics so much here.
The one fanfic-based thing that did bug me a bit was the third person present tense; I still think it would have worked better in past tense. But not a big deal.
Also, the side characters, whether fictional or real historical persons, are fantastic, especially the women. I love Annie and Alys, and I even appreciated that the book didn’t shy away from the existential necessity for someone in Harry’s position to make a good marriage and have heirs in order to keep protecting his people. I get that that’s not something a lot of readers want to see in their m/m, but it made for a nice change to have a main character in a historical who can’t simply handwave away all societal obligations by way of “I’m a Duke, I can break the rules.” Alys was fantastic, her friendship with Harry was wonderful, and I loved the casual ace rep, making theirs an ideal marriage of convenience – good friends who trust each other, are comfortable with each other, and protect each other’s secrets, with no sexual tension whatsoever to complicate things. I just wish Alys and Iain had got to spend a bit more time together, as they’ll clearly get on like a house on fire.
The last 100 pages are still nailbitingly agonising, even if you already know how it ends. I’m just going to float away on the happy ending and staunchly ignore the fact that the book ends in 1340, a mere eight years before the advent of the Black Death, lol. The thirteen hundreds! Never a dull moment!
Original review below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4.5 stars, rounded up because sometimes you gotta, and I'm going by level of emotional engagement. I picked this up on a complete whim after a very brief glance at the blurb and going "14th century Scotland? Hell yeah, let's go!", somehow managed to miss the fact that it's a queer romance as well as a historical (I know, I know, it's right there in the description), and as a consequence of this very inattentive book buying, was not prepared for the sizable onslaught of feels this story swept me up in. Absolutely no complaints, mind; perhaps I should grab books at random more often.
This story just hit lots of buttons for me. It's set during a historical period that I find absolutely fascinating (the thirteen hundreds, a.k.a. arguably the shittiest century in the past millenium! Plague, famine, war, the start of the Little Ice Age, ALL THE AWFUL THINGS! lol), and while not all those events featured, I enjoyed the depth of the world-building a lot. It didn't skimp on politics and the intricacies of court life and tournament culture, while also spending lots of time on what it meant to be a knight but impoverished and struggling to take care of your people at the time. Several historical figures of the time feature heavily (and Isabella of France, whom I adore madly, has several cameos, wooo!) and I really enjoyed how the author blended real historical events with fiction (like the whole existence of Iain). It's also casually inclusive, with multiple POC characters and some ace rep, always a plus.
What absolutely sold me on this, though, were the characters. I am an absolute sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers dynamic, and I LOVED that this didn't rush past the "enemies" part and gave the relationship plenty of space to evolve. Both Harry and Iain were wonderfully written characters and I adored them and their fraught, tender and insanely hot romance. (If you're not a fan of lots of very explicit smut, though, this is probably not for you, lol).
The style is pretty expository and zooms in and out a lot between close-up scenes and summary-type narration in between. You don't see that a lot these days, but I thought it really worked for this particular story, especially once we get to the various war machinations and political manoeuvring. I did think the dialogue was pretty modern-sounding and the occasional anachronism snuck in, but it didn't really bother me, as I was enjoying myself too much.
There were some minor pacing weirdnesses (I get why the development towards the end was necessary, but it did throw me off pace a bit) and a too-sudden ending; it could have done with just a bit of lingering on. Still, overall an absolutely delightful way to have my heart wrenched and make me alternately shout and sniffle at fictional people for a few very immersed days!
May 10, 2024
I feel so late to the party with this but it was exceptional. I listened on audiobook and the narrator did such a great job of bringing these characters to life: was really well acted IMO.
Will definitely buy on paperback because this is the type of story you can read time and time again.
I do wish the author had made Ian 18 from the start, I don’t love a romance where spicy scenes take place before both characters are 18 regardless of the time period it’s set in to be honest. Like she made him 17 and could have aged him by a few months to avoid this 🤔
That being said, the spice was 🥵 like I just didn’t expect it. It was fucking hot and raw and wow.
This book hits you with all the feels and all the drama but also has a surprisingly large amount of cosy wholesome scenes that were entertaining without the stress and it just felt really well balanced.
I loved every second and can’t recommend it enough. I was rooting for Ian and Harry all the way through and although their HEA was hard earned, it was a lovely satisfying ending 🩵
Will definitely buy on paperback because this is the type of story you can read time and time again.
I do wish the author had made Ian 18 from the start, I don’t love a romance where spicy scenes take place before both characters are 18 regardless of the time period it’s set in to be honest. Like she made him 17 and could have aged him by a few months to avoid this 🤔
That being said, the spice was 🥵 like I just didn’t expect it. It was fucking hot and raw and wow.
This book hits you with all the feels and all the drama but also has a surprisingly large amount of cosy wholesome scenes that were entertaining without the stress and it just felt really well balanced.
I loved every second and can’t recommend it enough. I was rooting for Ian and Harry all the way through and although their HEA was hard earned, it was a lovely satisfying ending 🩵
May 24, 2024
PERFECTION!
This “knightly tale“ was right up my alley.
Utterly captivating, romantic & hot af. 😍
- Medieval setting with jousting & fighting
- Epic love story
- Courtly politics
- Lovely drawings
- Great secondary characters (Alys ❤️)
- The sex scenes …? Chef’s kiss 🔥
This novel goes straight onto my favorites shelf.
Please give me more books like this! Any recommendations? 👀
This “knightly tale“ was right up my alley.
Utterly captivating, romantic & hot af. 😍
- Medieval setting with jousting & fighting
- Epic love story
- Courtly politics
- Lovely drawings
- Great secondary characters (Alys ❤️)
- The sex scenes …? Chef’s kiss 🔥
This novel goes straight onto my favorites shelf.
Please give me more books like this! Any recommendations? 👀
September 18, 2020
I don't think I can be objective about this book because I loved it too much. It's a very long and immersive historical novel set in the fourteenth century and tells the story of a chivalrous English knight and a mysterious Scottish prisoner. There's a lot of intrigue and tournaments and violence and sex, but at its heart - it's an aching romance between two lost boys and I really, really enjoyed it. I could nitpick, because nothing's perfect, but I'm not going to. I think it was beautiful and I'm glad I came across it.
May 15, 2020
A well-researched historical novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2024
The Scottish/French/feral/sad boy bites, kicks, betrays, and literally tries to kill the other MC until they fall in love (eat your heart out, contemporary dark romance). Ignore the use of modern language in this medieval book — we’re here for a good time, not an accurate time. Dislike the idea of a young man jerking off onto a rock by a pond and fertilizing the moss? Better skip this one because it’s mentioned a lot. I enjoyed this book because I could pretend I learned a ton about war in the 14th century and that made me feel smart; I didn’t necessarily enjoy the 80 pages I skimmed because honestly it’s just too long. If you like thatched roofs, give it a shot.
August 5, 2020
this is perfection
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April 27, 2024
5+++ Stars
Well, this is basically a perfect book for me. I know I've been a generous reviewer up to this point, but I feel like that's about to change because now I will be comparing every book to The Scottish Boy and I don't see how anything else could measure up?? What am I even supposed to do now that this book is over?!?! Seriously. Alex de Campi, if you are reading this, could you please write more books like this?? Please?? 😭😭😭
This takes place in 1300s Scotland, England, and France, and it is loosely based on the life of Edward III. I have no idea what is historically accurate and what is made up and I don't care. de Campi masterfully selected whatever historical details worked for the book and then changed or left out what she needed to.
There is plenty of action and political intrigue, as well as some incredible detail about jousting, armor, and other knightly things, but the relationship between Harry and Iain is front and center. And their relationship is just...it is heartbreaking and angsty and romantic and super hot (but I'll get to that- because the smut in this book deserves its own separate rave). It is enemies-to-friends-to-lovers and it's just perfect.
Harry is an innocent catholic virgin squire who rides off to war thinking it will be "just like the tournaments". He is horrified by what he sees in Scotland, and soon he is quickly and unceremoniously knighted and given Iain as his own personal, very stabby prisoner, who is constantly trying to escape. Harry also finds that he has some new and confusing feelings for his prisoner.
The character arcs and the development of the relationship is just... I mean.. it will destroy your soul and then put it back together again. There is a 2nd AND 3rd act breakup, and then . Don't worry, there is a HEA, and it is so incredibly satisfying because it is a HARD WON HEA. Like, I am exhausted. I feel like I was the one who went to war.
I also want to mention that there are some great side characters. I especially loved Alys and I loved that
Finally, I did say I was going to talk about the smut, so here we go... it's A-MAZING. I mean look, I read lots of books that have great smut but with writing that leaves a lot to be desired, and I still love them. I also read books that have great plot/characters/writing, but no smut, and I love those too... But it's SO rare to find a book that has both, and The Scottish Boy literally HAS 👏 IT 👏 ALL 👏. Iain and Harry are so horny and passionate, and basically can't keep their hands off each other. It starts pretty early on and basically just kept getting better. There's a lot of detail and variety and exploration.
If you have seen my book shelves, you've probably noticed that I'm very much into masturbation scenes, and there are SEVERAL in this, and they are good. So yeah, I was a happy camper. There's also some great dirty talk. I mean, this was just hot. You could literally just read this for the sex and be happy, but then it has all the other amazing stuff too, so yeah I don't know how I'm supposed to read other books after this.
Also, I made a playlist on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4v3...
Well, this is basically a perfect book for me. I know I've been a generous reviewer up to this point, but I feel like that's about to change because now I will be comparing every book to The Scottish Boy and I don't see how anything else could measure up?? What am I even supposed to do now that this book is over?!?! Seriously. Alex de Campi, if you are reading this, could you please write more books like this?? Please?? 😭😭😭
This takes place in 1300s Scotland, England, and France, and it is loosely based on the life of Edward III. I have no idea what is historically accurate and what is made up and I don't care. de Campi masterfully selected whatever historical details worked for the book and then changed or left out what she needed to.
There is plenty of action and political intrigue, as well as some incredible detail about jousting, armor, and other knightly things, but the relationship between Harry and Iain is front and center. And their relationship is just...it is heartbreaking and angsty and romantic and super hot (but I'll get to that- because the smut in this book deserves its own separate rave). It is enemies-to-friends-to-lovers and it's just perfect.
Harry is an innocent catholic virgin squire who rides off to war thinking it will be "just like the tournaments". He is horrified by what he sees in Scotland, and soon he is quickly and unceremoniously knighted and given Iain as his own personal, very stabby prisoner, who is constantly trying to escape. Harry also finds that he has some new and confusing feelings for his prisoner.
The character arcs and the development of the relationship is just... I mean.. it will destroy your soul and then put it back together again. There is a 2nd AND 3rd act breakup, and then . Don't worry, there is a HEA, and it is so incredibly satisfying because it is a HARD WON HEA. Like, I am exhausted. I feel like I was the one who went to war.
I also want to mention that there are some great side characters. I especially loved Alys and I loved that
Finally, I did say I was going to talk about the smut, so here we go... it's A-MAZING. I mean look, I read lots of books that have great smut but with writing that leaves a lot to be desired, and I still love them. I also read books that have great plot/characters/writing, but no smut, and I love those too... But it's SO rare to find a book that has both, and The Scottish Boy literally HAS 👏 IT 👏 ALL 👏. Iain and Harry are so horny and passionate, and basically can't keep their hands off each other. It starts pretty early on and basically just kept getting better. There's a lot of detail and variety and exploration.
If you have seen my book shelves, you've probably noticed that I'm very much into masturbation scenes, and there are SEVERAL in this, and they are good. So yeah, I was a happy camper. There's also some great dirty talk. I mean, this was just hot. You could literally just read this for the sex and be happy, but then it has all the other amazing stuff too, so yeah I don't know how I'm supposed to read other books after this.
Also, I made a playlist on spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4v3...
August 2, 2023
4,5 stars rounded up. I’ll explain when I’m ready to write a full review. For now I have to swoon over Iain and Harry a little while longer.
There was no trade yet with African countries in the 14th century
Not likely to have heard of elephants let alone know what one looks like and
it’s very unlikely that there would be glass windows installed in Harry’s new built manor. Glass wasn’t used regularly until the 17th century.
And those are the reasons for taking off half a star.
I think many readers won’t care about inaccuracies like this and I often can put them aside as well, but for some reason I couldn’t while reading this book. When you write historical novels, the least you can do is research and check. It’s not that difficult.
Having said that, the overall feeling this book gave me, was that of pure enjoyment. Despite the small annoyances, Iain’s and Harry’s story - told from Harry’s pov- transported me right back in time, and the first images that came to my mind were those of “Braveheart”, Mel Gibson’s epic movie about the Scottish wars and William Wallace in particular. I couldn’t really get rid of those while reading this book, but I didn’t consider that a bad thing. Maybe it even helped with placing me in this rural time of English and Scottish history.
Anyway, I loved Harry. He was this kind, generous man, which seemed to be rather exceptional among these English Lords.
He takes interest in the mysterious boy captured in a cage after a raid on a Scottish castle. When circumstances force them together, the boy piques his curiosity even more, specially since he seems to be destined for escape each time an opportunity arises, no matter how small or impossible. When finally the boy, whose name is Iain, gives up, a friendship develops and Harry’s physical attraction towards Iain - which had been part of his curiosity from the beginning - becomes stronger. But it’s a dangerous attraction, one he can’t give into because it could cause both their lives if someone found out.
It wouldn’t be a love story if both men kept denying each other’s feelings, and so a dangerous affair begins. The bedroom scenes are hot! These men have great chemistry and it burns right off the pages!
There’s a lot going on in this book, mystery’s and jealousy and friendship, some of the things maybe written a bit too much while looking at it with a 21st century eye, but I did love the secondary, strong female characters such as Annie and Alys, though they were a little too modern I suppose.
Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. I love historical romances, but this was the first one I read that was set in this era. I kind of like to think it won’t be the last.
There was no trade yet with African countries in the 14th century
Not likely to have heard of elephants let alone know what one looks like and
it’s very unlikely that there would be glass windows installed in Harry’s new built manor. Glass wasn’t used regularly until the 17th century.
And those are the reasons for taking off half a star.
I think many readers won’t care about inaccuracies like this and I often can put them aside as well, but for some reason I couldn’t while reading this book. When you write historical novels, the least you can do is research and check. It’s not that difficult.
Having said that, the overall feeling this book gave me, was that of pure enjoyment. Despite the small annoyances, Iain’s and Harry’s story - told from Harry’s pov- transported me right back in time, and the first images that came to my mind were those of “Braveheart”, Mel Gibson’s epic movie about the Scottish wars and William Wallace in particular. I couldn’t really get rid of those while reading this book, but I didn’t consider that a bad thing. Maybe it even helped with placing me in this rural time of English and Scottish history.
Anyway, I loved Harry. He was this kind, generous man, which seemed to be rather exceptional among these English Lords.
He takes interest in the mysterious boy captured in a cage after a raid on a Scottish castle. When circumstances force them together, the boy piques his curiosity even more, specially since he seems to be destined for escape each time an opportunity arises, no matter how small or impossible. When finally the boy, whose name is Iain, gives up, a friendship develops and Harry’s physical attraction towards Iain - which had been part of his curiosity from the beginning - becomes stronger. But it’s a dangerous attraction, one he can’t give into because it could cause both their lives if someone found out.
It wouldn’t be a love story if both men kept denying each other’s feelings, and so a dangerous affair begins. The bedroom scenes are hot! These men have great chemistry and it burns right off the pages!
There’s a lot going on in this book, mystery’s and jealousy and friendship, some of the things maybe written a bit too much while looking at it with a 21st century eye, but I did love the secondary, strong female characters such as Annie and Alys, though they were a little too modern I suppose.
Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected. I love historical romances, but this was the first one I read that was set in this era. I kind of like to think it won’t be the last.
May 23, 2024
I have no brain matter left to conduct a proper review, but let it be said: the writing! The banter! The fights! The drawings! The kids! The turmoils! The pining! THE PINING!!!!
December 27, 2024
I made a grave mistake and chose to pick up this book during the busy holidays.
Because… this is one of those books that sucks you in and doesn’t want to let you go. Makes you stay up way past your bedtime and sneak out of family time to read, read, read just five more minutes.
Takes up permanent space in your brain and makes you nod along to your uncle talking about motorcycles during Christmas dinner, while actually reliving the latest jousting tournament, fantasising about stolen moments at secret lake shores, plotting the next steps in court politics and rooting so hard for these two beautiful, unique, deserving men to find their HEA in each other even though it seems hopeless at times. So yeah, one of those books, y’know?
This was simply amazing and utterly captivating and I strongly recommend picking this one up, if you haven’t already. But be smarter than me and choose a weekend where you don’t have anything going on, because believe me: you won’t be able to put it down.
🚨Possible spoiler ahead re: OP drama🚨
One thing to mention is that this book contains one scene where one of the MCs takes part in a blowjob with another person as the result of jealousy and revenge. It is on page and explicit and it does hurt to read this part, even though you kind of understand why it’s happening. It’s quickly eclipsed by much bigger problems and obstacles for the couple though, and you sort of forget about it, but I thought you should know.
Because of this and because I wanted more ✨simple, loving domesticity✨ at the end after the long and painful separation: 4,5⭐️ rounded up because this was such an exciting, swoony, hot adventure overall 🥰
Because… this is one of those books that sucks you in and doesn’t want to let you go. Makes you stay up way past your bedtime and sneak out of family time to read, read, read just five more minutes.
Takes up permanent space in your brain and makes you nod along to your uncle talking about motorcycles during Christmas dinner, while actually reliving the latest jousting tournament, fantasising about stolen moments at secret lake shores, plotting the next steps in court politics and rooting so hard for these two beautiful, unique, deserving men to find their HEA in each other even though it seems hopeless at times. So yeah, one of those books, y’know?
This was simply amazing and utterly captivating and I strongly recommend picking this one up, if you haven’t already. But be smarter than me and choose a weekend where you don’t have anything going on, because believe me: you won’t be able to put it down.
🚨Possible spoiler ahead re: OP drama🚨
One thing to mention is that this book contains one scene where one of the MCs takes part in a blowjob with another person as the result of jealousy and revenge. It is on page and explicit and it does hurt to read this part, even though you kind of understand why it’s happening. It’s quickly eclipsed by much bigger problems and obstacles for the couple though, and you sort of forget about it, but I thought you should know.
Because of this and because I wanted more ✨simple, loving domesticity✨ at the end after the long and painful separation: 4,5⭐️ rounded up because this was such an exciting, swoony, hot adventure overall 🥰
July 17, 2024
This book was very good but damn was it tough! So much heartache. I couldn’t bear to put it down but also I was dreading more pain. And the author really holds out to the last minute! I needed more happiness at the end or less separation, things were so bleak there for a long while. Interesting 1300’s war-time setting - very Outlander vibes. I enjoyed the jousting tournaments and wonderful supporting characters. Intriguing storyline but it left me with a feeling of sadness. I can’t say the second half of this gave me a great deal of enjoyment but it’s a very captivating and emotional story with a surprising amount of steam amongst the violence and betrayals.
February 15, 2023
Oooohhh so good!
It was epic! Full of pain, growth, love, sex, sex, sex, heartbreak & redemption.
Great narration & highly recommended!
It was epic! Full of pain, growth, love, sex, sex, sex, heartbreak & redemption.
Great narration & highly recommended!
January 24, 2022
4.5/5 stars
I could’ve happily read another 100 pages, I did not want it to end. This was a whirlwind of emotions, and kept surprising me at every turn. Its an enemies to friends to lovers but only one of them ever hates the other and they can’t help but fall in love with each other against their own wishes.
Even though it’s a historical book, they speak in a modern way which I always prefer. There’s a fair bit of political talk which I might’ve skipped a few lines of at times but it was easy to understand and didn’t actually require any knowledge of England, Scotland or France back in the 1300’s.
The romance was honestly so beautiful and don’t let that cover fool you like it did to me, this book has a lot of explicit scenes which I honestly was not expecting but am definitely not complaining about 😂 but they were so filled with emotion that I teared up a lot of them.
Even if you’re not usually a fan of historical like I am, I think this is so worth the read. The lack of “ye olden days” language really made it so much easier to read, and even thought at times it seems like everything is going to shit, I promise there is a HEA.
I could’ve happily read another 100 pages, I did not want it to end. This was a whirlwind of emotions, and kept surprising me at every turn. Its an enemies to friends to lovers but only one of them ever hates the other and they can’t help but fall in love with each other against their own wishes.
Even though it’s a historical book, they speak in a modern way which I always prefer. There’s a fair bit of political talk which I might’ve skipped a few lines of at times but it was easy to understand and didn’t actually require any knowledge of England, Scotland or France back in the 1300’s.
The romance was honestly so beautiful and don’t let that cover fool you like it did to me, this book has a lot of explicit scenes which I honestly was not expecting but am definitely not complaining about 😂 but they were so filled with emotion that I teared up a lot of them.
Even if you’re not usually a fan of historical like I am, I think this is so worth the read. The lack of “ye olden days” language really made it so much easier to read, and even thought at times it seems like everything is going to shit, I promise there is a HEA.
August 10, 2023
"Nothing is important anymore"
"The hurt is all he has left. Once it's gone, he won't feel anything at all"
All the stars for this amazing story, The Scottish Boy is what historical fiction is all about. Honestly, this is my second time reading this book and even though I already knew what was coming, I still felt giddy, excited, and then later sad and depressed just like Harry.
It made me cry so hard and my heart felt so broken for so many pages, but damn! I am so glad I had the strength to finish this book. I could read a thousand epilogues about Harry and Iain being domestic forever.
“Harry tries to smile, tries to pretend he's excited for the reasons they would be excited. Not for a different reason. Not because he's in love with Death, and keen to chase him across the French countryside.”
Plus this time around the addition of the narrator's voice gave more depth to Harri's nativity and despair over Iain as well as his heartbreak and Iain's anger.
"It feels like I left you yesterday. As if the years apart existed only as a terrible dream"
"The hurt is all he has left. Once it's gone, he won't feel anything at all"
All the stars for this amazing story, The Scottish Boy is what historical fiction is all about. Honestly, this is my second time reading this book and even though I already knew what was coming, I still felt giddy, excited, and then later sad and depressed just like Harry.
It made me cry so hard and my heart felt so broken for so many pages, but damn! I am so glad I had the strength to finish this book. I could read a thousand epilogues about Harry and Iain being domestic forever.
“Harry tries to smile, tries to pretend he's excited for the reasons they would be excited. Not for a different reason. Not because he's in love with Death, and keen to chase him across the French countryside.”
Plus this time around the addition of the narrator's voice gave more depth to Harri's nativity and despair over Iain as well as his heartbreak and Iain's anger.
"It feels like I left you yesterday. As if the years apart existed only as a terrible dream"
December 4, 2022
4.5 stars.
What a magnificent book.
Let me start with: For me, this was not similar to Captive Prince as some would say. Totally different feel imo.
As for the book:
Great MCs: lovable, nuanced, sweet. They have a great development as the plot goes along. I appreciated that they didn't stay the same and they let the situations in the book shape them.
Very interesting and well thought out plot.
Great world building, with attention to details and historical inspirations.
Very sexy steam. These two are DIRTY in bed. Their dirty talk is 🤌🏻
The ending was SOOO SATISFYING. Loved loved loved.
The narration was GREAT. I loved the narrator's voice and his inflections.
Now... the reason I took away half a star is because I was blindsided with a trigger of mine.
I'll add a spoiler tag for anyone who might be interested:
What a magnificent book.
Let me start with: For me, this was not similar to Captive Prince as some would say. Totally different feel imo.
As for the book:
Great MCs: lovable, nuanced, sweet. They have a great development as the plot goes along. I appreciated that they didn't stay the same and they let the situations in the book shape them.
Very interesting and well thought out plot.
Great world building, with attention to details and historical inspirations.
Very sexy steam. These two are DIRTY in bed. Their dirty talk is 🤌🏻
The ending was SOOO SATISFYING. Loved loved loved.
The narration was GREAT. I loved the narrator's voice and his inflections.
Now... the reason I took away half a star is because I was blindsided with a trigger of mine.
I'll add a spoiler tag for anyone who might be interested:
May 31, 2020
oh alex de campi, i love you and your wholly inaccurate historical fiction
May 8, 2022
4.25 stars
The world building was superb, atmosphere you could scoop up with a shovel, very well edited. The enemies-to-lovers trope is a favorite and beautifully done in this novel. The prose was gorgeous, lush, magical. I was seduced into the early 14th Century and wanted to stay... through the battles, trials, tribulations, heart breaks, and jubilations... until the conclusion of Harry and Iain's story.
Why not five stars? It was at least a hundred pages too long. There was a *ridiculous* amount of sex, bits of 21st Century dialogue/jargon, a bit too historically inaccurate, and the ending was too rushed.
All in all, it wasn't perfect, there were warts, but it was perfect for me. Yep, overall I loved it and will be keeping an eye on this author.
EDIT: I did try to listen to the audiobook, but the narrator had no vocal range and, I knew as soon as Iain was out of "short pants", the narrator's high tenor was just going to become annoying. Switched to the book, which I loved.
The world building was superb, atmosphere you could scoop up with a shovel, very well edited. The enemies-to-lovers trope is a favorite and beautifully done in this novel. The prose was gorgeous, lush, magical. I was seduced into the early 14th Century and wanted to stay... through the battles, trials, tribulations, heart breaks, and jubilations... until the conclusion of Harry and Iain's story.
Why not five stars? It was at least a hundred pages too long. There was a *ridiculous* amount of sex, bits of 21st Century dialogue/jargon, a bit too historically inaccurate, and the ending was too rushed.
All in all, it wasn't perfect, there were warts, but it was perfect for me. Yep, overall I loved it and will be keeping an eye on this author.
EDIT: I did try to listen to the audiobook, but the narrator had no vocal range and, I knew as soon as Iain was out of "short pants", the narrator's high tenor was just going to become annoying. Switched to the book, which I loved.
Did Not Finish
December 13, 2022dnf @ 23%
I just can’t take any more of Harry’s immature, whiny voice, moping about his lot in life while surreptitiously perving on his powerless prisoner. Yuck. Pass.
I just can’t take any more of Harry’s immature, whiny voice, moping about his lot in life while surreptitiously perving on his powerless prisoner. Yuck. Pass.
September 17, 2024
Update: I'm changing my rating bc I'm still thinking about how uncomfy this made me.
This is very obviously a fan fiction that was once tagged: mostly porn no plot. I can't in good conscience give this above a 3 because my grandad would have my head and it would have absolutely nothing to do with the gays.
Now, I will preface this by saying my expectations for this story were completely wrong. I was under the impression this would be something equivalent to the song of Achilles, but it was more reminiscent of a mills and boon historical romance.
I have to ask the question why the author chose a real-life setting for this? It does the bare minimum to qualify as historical fiction, and honestly, I take a bit of an issue with the way Harry is portrayed in this. The dynamic is uncomfortable as is but when you refuse to write the captor as morally grey and instead want us to think Iain should be grateful because Harry let's him eat and walk around (chained up might i add)..... wellllll that's kinda crazy. William Wallace would be rolling in his fucking grave bc he didn't get his dick chopped off for Harry to expect Iain to act like his dog.
Ok moving on, The first half of this is very much giving Stockholm syndrome and if Harry had his way it would have stayed that way. These 2 never communicated. They just fucked. And it made it really hard to buy the whole soul mate star crossed lovers shit everyone is talking about. They had cute moments but it lost value with the back to back fanficfion type smut they had going on. Like I love that shit as much as the next girl but 3 scenes back to back when we have bigger fish to fry is crazy.
I did truly think the priests burning sodomites thing would be a greater plot but that seemed to be a theme with this. Alot of abandoned plots. Then we get to a point when they're finally in love and guess what? Harry is still massacring Scotsmen..... EVEN THOUGH HES IN LOVE WITH ONE.
Also everyone complains about the cheating... Harry deserved it. If I was dating you and you didn't even tell me you were publicly proposing to a woman I'd be out to get your ass too 💀
I did love Annie and Alys. The ace rep was a nice touch, and this does have nice pacing. All things considered, it is just a mess when you really deconstruct what the point of it is. These characters didn't develop, change, or learn to communicate, and it left a really 1 dimensional story. I didn't even cry, and I literally cry over everything. Overall, I was left disappointed by this one.
Anyway, I'm going to blast Flower of Scotland from my speakers until I feel whole again. I really feel like many of the people who loved this truly don't have a concept of the history here.
Also the word fuck and cock did not exist for sex in 1330 just sayin'
Ratings:
⭐️⭐️.5
🌶🌶🌶.5
This is very obviously a fan fiction that was once tagged: mostly porn no plot. I can't in good conscience give this above a 3 because my grandad would have my head and it would have absolutely nothing to do with the gays.
Now, I will preface this by saying my expectations for this story were completely wrong. I was under the impression this would be something equivalent to the song of Achilles, but it was more reminiscent of a mills and boon historical romance.
I have to ask the question why the author chose a real-life setting for this? It does the bare minimum to qualify as historical fiction, and honestly, I take a bit of an issue with the way Harry is portrayed in this. The dynamic is uncomfortable as is but when you refuse to write the captor as morally grey and instead want us to think Iain should be grateful because Harry let's him eat and walk around (chained up might i add)..... wellllll that's kinda crazy. William Wallace would be rolling in his fucking grave bc he didn't get his dick chopped off for Harry to expect Iain to act like his dog.
Ok moving on, The first half of this is very much giving Stockholm syndrome and if Harry had his way it would have stayed that way. These 2 never communicated. They just fucked. And it made it really hard to buy the whole soul mate star crossed lovers shit everyone is talking about. They had cute moments but it lost value with the back to back fanficfion type smut they had going on. Like I love that shit as much as the next girl but 3 scenes back to back when we have bigger fish to fry is crazy.
I did truly think the priests burning sodomites thing would be a greater plot but that seemed to be a theme with this. Alot of abandoned plots. Then we get to a point when they're finally in love and guess what? Harry is still massacring Scotsmen..... EVEN THOUGH HES IN LOVE WITH ONE.
Also everyone complains about the cheating... Harry deserved it. If I was dating you and you didn't even tell me you were publicly proposing to a woman I'd be out to get your ass too 💀
I did love Annie and Alys. The ace rep was a nice touch, and this does have nice pacing. All things considered, it is just a mess when you really deconstruct what the point of it is. These characters didn't develop, change, or learn to communicate, and it left a really 1 dimensional story. I didn't even cry, and I literally cry over everything. Overall, I was left disappointed by this one.
Anyway, I'm going to blast Flower of Scotland from my speakers until I feel whole again. I really feel like many of the people who loved this truly don't have a concept of the history here.
Also the word fuck and cock did not exist for sex in 1330 just sayin'
Ratings:
⭐️⭐️.5
🌶🌶🌶.5
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