I wasn't in love with this book and I kept struggling to get into it.  So a third of the way in I just gave up.

I could have just powered through given this is only 63 pages but honestly the writing was kind of clunky and it was off putting. Unfortunate because as someone with insomnia this could have been such a fun read!

I had a really hard time getting into this book.  As much as I would love to learn more about palmistry it just wasn't an enjoyable read.  The book also often made references to other lines/area on a palm, various mounts, that hadn't actually been explained or introduced yet.  Without any illustration for where on the palm that might be.  I think this just wasn't the book for me, or good for my learning style.

I’m not usually a fan or thriller or suspense but I heard great things and thought to give this a try. I was intrigued by the story but ultimately I found Noemi annoying and I think about half through I decided the flirting between her and her cousin’s husband was enough of an ick. So DNF for me. 

The first chapter kind of resolves that the best isn’t actually a brat. And apparently she’s the polar opposite and just too soft and kind to have survived court at all. And of course the hero who hated her a second ago conveniently overhears this whole explanation. It was just giving me an ick. 

I think I just didn’t vibe. There were references to triggering topics and I just wasn’t in the place to explore this collection. 

I received an ARC of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I had to DNF this book at 26%. I was really really looking forward to a highland romance with a Black MMC and FMC, the background and story behind Black highlanders could have been so interesting to read about but the romantic leads were both very unlikable. While it's typical for the MMC to not want to get married or be a rogue they don't usually hate women. Kallum comes across really strong in the first impression as hating women and it was really hard to like him when his internal monologue continued to view women as annoying. Ailsa could have been really interesting but she gave off "not like other girls" vibes. And a little later you find out that she doesn't speak to or engage with any of the other enslaved folks which just reinforced the feeling that she thought she was better than them. I really tried to power through with the hope that I would grow to like them but then the first time Ailsa sees Kallum naked is when he's peeing in the woods, and I guess it's meant to be awkward and funny but it just came across as really unromantic. That was the final ick. I might come back to this and try again, but at the moment I don't think I can do it. 

There were times where I liked the characters but overall I just couldn’t get into it. I just have zero motivation or desire to pick it up again.

I know this is like 30 pages and I should have just lowered through but both the mother and daughter were annoying and I couldn’t do it. 

God this book dragged.  There's also some islamaphobic comments I can't ignore.  I think in general I need to remove a lot of these outdated works from my tbr.  A lot of what's being said has been said better by others in my opinion.  Sometimes the essays didn't even seem to have much of a coherent thought or point.  Also major trigger warning in the first essay.  It felt like the author was relying on shock value.