Review of The Tartan MP3 Player by C. A. Szarek, a time-travelling historical romance set in 17th century Scotland.
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Synopsis
Claire McGowan finds herself running naked along a cold beach. At first, she thinks she is having a particularly vivid dream, but when she meets Duncan MacLeod it becomes apparent that she is in the Scottish Highlands in the 1600s.
Duncan’s brother, Alex, was captured by the Fae King Fillan six months earlier. Since then, Duncan has been searching for the Faery Stones so that he can enter the Fae Realm and rescue Alex. Now, he has found a strange woman who looks to have come through the very same Stones that he has been looking for. He takes her in, hoping that she knows something that will help him.
After a week of fighting to keep their attraction to each other under control, Duncan insists that they marry. By the time they find the stones and begin their attempt to save Alex, both Duncan and Claire are struggling with their feelings and eminent separation.
Review
The Tartan MP3 Player looks a lot like it started as Outlander fanfiction, especially at the start. A woman is transported back in time through stones where she marries a man that she then falls in love with and stays in the past for. Very Outlander. However, the style is very different and as the story progresses the fantasy element comes out more, the differences become more obvious.
Usually, I don’t like books with a lot of magic or a strong fantasy element. However, the way it was dealt with in this book was quite believable and I found that it didn’t feel strange or unusual. The author managed to weave the Faery world and the real world together in a very convincing manner.
“The Fae might be in stories, but they’re very real, Claire.”
She scoffed, and the water shifted in the tub with her movements, splashing against the side of the tub.
“Ye’ve come through time, yet ye doubt?”
Claire paused, her green eyes boring into him. “True. I was still hoping this is all a dream.”
Duncan smirked. “Nay, lass.”
“So the Fae are real?” Her tone was a combination of curiosity and disbelief.
“Aye, and they hold my brother captive.”
There were a couple of erotic scenes in the middle of the book that were excessively explicit. It wouldn’t have been too hard to tone them down a notch. We don’t need to know that much!
I wonder why Alana, the Fae Princess that Alex married, didn’t leave the Fae realm earlier, perhaps when she first married, or when she had Angus. Of course, if she had there would be no story and this book would be absolutely rubbish. Perhaps she loved the Fae and didn’t want to leave them, but she obviously loves her son and husband.
The writing style is a bit abrupt. There are a lot of short sentences and one-line paragraphs that make it feel jumpy or startling (I’m not entirely sure what word would best convey what I’m thinking). There are also a couple of bits where the author explains things that happened earlier, which seems a bit amateurish.
Despite the above comments (most of which appear to be negative), I got hooked into this book, read it several times in a row, and want to read the other books in the series.
Conclusion
Have you read The Tartan MP3 Player? What did you think? Do you agree with what I’ve said about it? Let me know in the comments.
