Before I started this book, I did skim some of the reviews to get a general sense of the book. I have taken to doing this before starting a book for a few reasons. The first is to get an idea of what the story is actually about, since summarizations can be off the mark. Another reason is to get an idea of the story as a whole to see if it is something I want to tackle now. It’s rare I will let a review completely deter me from reading a book. But if I get the sense from various readers that it’s a difficult read, I will put it on pause for a bit. The reviews varied on this book but one of the consistent comments was that it was too drawn out.

After finishing the book, I have to agree with that particular sentiment. This book could have been fifty pages or three chapters shorter at the very least. The last few chapters bordered on unnecessary for me. It almost made it seem like the author had to have a set number of pages for the book to have, and added that to fill the gap. A few of these twists, turns, and plot developments felt cheap, almost to the point of pandering. It’s almost as upsetting to through that as it is a rushed ending. It took half to almost two-thirds of the book for the marriage that was part of the back cover summary to take place. The book would have been shorter had Garrett been honest about what he had to do to get Maddie out of jail. But for whatever unknown or unexplained reason he did not. This resulted in the book being longer than it needed to be. And then an ending that did up feeling a bit cheesy.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that this is how romance writing was in the early 90’s. I can change my mindset to enjoy most romances based on when written and published. But that last part was what changed it from a great to a good read. While as whole it was long-winded, the pacing in the first 80% - 90% was bearable. But the last bit felt too drawn out, especially with the chosen plot devices. That hurt the book in the long run, and is likely why a lot of people felt the way did they.

I still enjoyed it though, as I have Minger’s other books . I would recommend if you like Scottish Highland romances, and who doesn’t love a good one of those? The story is still a good one. The only real complaint is the last few chapters, and then the especially cheesy ending.
*edited*
Upon further reflection this is likely not one I would re-read because of the ending dragging on nor will I keep it. It was still decent but with other books out there I enjoyed more, and feeling there was better from this author, a re-read is not likely.