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Ingrid Explains Hottie McScotties
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This month on the podcast, we're talking about Hottie McScotties and why Ingrid loves Highlander Romances.
We buddy read The Making of a Highlander by Elisa Braden
Show notes at smutreport.com/podcast
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Smart Report Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
One. You know what? I'm not going to do one because if I number it and then I start going to letters, people going to really start judging me.
00:00:10
Speaker
Report! Well, hey there. Welcome to the podcast. This is the Smart Report and I am Ingrid. I'm Holly. And I'm Erin.
Topic Introduction: 'Ingrid Explains Hottie McScotties'
00:00:20
Speaker
And today we're here for Ingrid Explains Hottie McScotties. This is a fun feature where we talk about kind of a sub-genre group theme of books and kind of pick apart common trends and what what that sub-genre looks like.
00:00:36
Speaker
Is that, am I hitting the nail on the head here guys? yeah well and so previous versions were aaron explained polyamory oh that's right yeah yeah spoken wheel oh spoken wheel sorry a specific type of polyamory yeah and i explained meta romance ah yes meta right the infuriating i had strong feelings about that one and then i think i infected My fellow smart reporters with same strong feelings. Yeah. But Ingrid, basically, whenever she finds ah Highlander romance, she has to read it I do. It's like the law. It's a policy.
00:01:12
Speaker
It's a policy. And so Ingrid's going to explain them to us. Yeah. So while Erin and Holly picked something that was kind of cerebral and something chewy for their brains, I picked something that was pretty much a very visceral gut instinct thing, which is I just like Highlander romances.
00:01:28
Speaker
And I feel like we should talk about them because they're really fun. Focusing on the id stroking. Yeah. Yeah. it is a romance I Let's not think too hard about it.
00:01:40
Speaker
But also let's kind of think too hard about it because that's what we do. But. Okay. But can I can I just say a speaking of thinking too hard, can I make a request for me
Artistic Elements Over Historical Accuracy
00:01:50
Speaker
and Aaron? Yeah.
00:01:51
Speaker
that we not get into the historical accuracy yeah questions of the Highlander romance because I am really tempted to and I know you are too Holly why do you want to ruin all my fun but I feel like that's not the goal right is we're talking about ah how they work as art not how they work as history because as history they are just try honey nonsense just to hear about it Well, I was thinking, all right, Erin, let Ingrid steer this ship.
00:02:23
Speaker
I know that it is very simple and straightforward for you to let go of control of anything. It's one of your best qualities, really. Very easily. Anyway, sorry, please, Ingrid, tell us, what are we even talking about when we are talking about a hottie
Setting and Character Dynamics in Highlander Romances
00:02:39
Speaker
McScotty? Hottie McScotty. All right, so here's the gist of the hottie McScotty.
00:02:44
Speaker
hottie mccotty books take place in scotland okay all right i'm sorry that's i am not wrong you're 100 correct and i feel like look there's somebody out here who's gonna be like what if you have a scott in like la and i'm here to tell you that's not a hottie mccotty book now Listen, we got to start at the bottom and work our way up. I told you we weren't going to be brainiacs today.
00:03:17
Speaker
ah I love this for us. what a Walk with me. Walk with me on this. They take place in Scotland and someone's Scottish. Okay. So that's really the base level that we're looking at here.
00:03:31
Speaker
But let's dig a little deeper. all right, let's do it. All right. There's the thing that's base level cool about Hottie McScotty books, and that's this. Generally speaking, somebody is a little unreasonable in Hottie McScotty books.
00:03:43
Speaker
Okay. Is it the Hottie McScotty? Well, sometimes it's the Hottie McScotty. Sometimes it's not the Hottie McScotty. Sometimes it's the other person. So there's a couple things that I really like about Hottie McScotty.
00:03:55
Speaker
One of the things I really like about Hottie McScotty is that I feel like the setting really influences the characters. So in Hottie McScotty books, because it takes place in Scotland, as we've said, and ah the aforementioned characters, one of them is unreasonable and Scottish, right?
00:04:11
Speaker
Wait, you said that's sometimes the unreasonable one. ah Pretty much always the unreasonable one is Scottish. I mean, the unreasonable one is usually is the Scot. But you said hot is the hottie McScotty.
00:04:21
Speaker
When you say hottie McScotty, I usually think it's the hero. But there, as in the book that we read today, the hero is not the Scot. Yeah. The heroine is the Scot. So that's why I clarified that. Although you wouldn't have gotten that because I didn't get there mentally. But here we are now i love making that connection.
00:04:38
Speaker
But the thing about Hottie McScotty books, about Scotland Highland books, is that it's virtually impossible to not tie in the landscape and the culture to the characters and how they relate to each other.
00:04:52
Speaker
So in a lot of these books, it calls out that Highland weather, and usually they are Highlands. So in Scotland, there's the Highlands and the Lowlands. The Highland is more clan-like, more isolated, isolated, more weather's, weather's more extreme, rugged landscape. Yes. Yes.
00:05:10
Speaker
Exactly. And so what you find in those areas is that the people who live there are tough because they have to withstand a lot of rougher weather. They also have a lot more cohesive clan community behavior. So there's frequently warring between clans because, you know, they're fighting for resources. They're protecting themselves and each other from people coming into their space and taking their resources,
Cultural Clash and Themes of Belonging
00:05:38
Speaker
et cetera, and so forth. So can I interrupt so and say...
00:05:40
Speaker
So it seems like what you're describing is it's like half the vibe of small town romance. We have a tight knit community and everybody's up in each other's business, except instead of bakeries, they have battle axes.
00:05:55
Speaker
Correct. There are no manners. Right. Right. Well, there are manners, but they're very specific. And if you just came in from the outside, you probably wouldn't get them. So, um and that is a common, that is a common trope in Hottie McScotty books. So adding to that, you know, this is the setting that automatically infused in has to influence the characters, just baked in part of the deal.
00:06:19
Speaker
There's also, and this is the one part I do have to tie in the historical bit. Obviously, there's a ah complicated relationship between England and Scotland because of many historical, yeah you know, things.
00:06:32
Speaker
But anyway, so another common trope is to have someone from the civilized South coming into this uncivilized highland area. And the tension between learning that, you know, there's another way of doing things that's not necessarily wrong, that it's the adaptation thing. It's that learning to adapt, learning to be flexible, stuff like that.
00:06:55
Speaker
So that's another common trope. but I love it because I feel like it's a battle of wills frequently. No matter what it is, no matter what the plot line is, it ends up being, there's heat immediately baked in.
00:07:06
Speaker
Tension immediately baked in. I agree. I mean, I feel like frequently there's an enemies to lovers dynamic, but it's, yes I think what you're saying covers it more broadly of insider versus outsider, right? And even if they're not explicitly enemies, they still have this, I'm part of this in-group and you're part of ah you're a different group and therefore- Well, it's like, yes I mean, how often do you get the word Sassanac or in like the book that we did this week? And I feel like that's also relatively common. She kept on calling the hero English.
00:07:43
Speaker
English. Yeah. And I feel like that's pretty common. Although I will tell you that just like right at this hot second, Ingrid was talking about the bride a lot as we were getting ready for this, which is like the bride is...
00:07:54
Speaker
So good. Yeah. I mean, you can look online and the book that comes up. Oh, I mean, it's, I think it's commonly considered kind of the quintessential Hottie McCutty Highlander book is The Bride by Julie Garwood. She has a series, but The Bride stands out as being kind of a shining example of that because I think it kind of encompasses virtually all those themes. It talks about The tensions between clans, it has an outsider coming in and the tension between the couple as they're trying to kind of negotiate a reality between the two of them.
00:08:27
Speaker
And it really highlights that feeling of belonging. So I am an absolute sucker. One of my favorite things in romances is when you don't just get a partner, you get... a family. You get a belonging. do you know what I mean? You get a sense that so in a lot of Highlander books and the bride does the same thing.
00:08:44
Speaker
You're an outsider when you come in, but you don't, when you fall in love, you don't just end up with one part, one person. You get a whole clan, you get a whole, yeah a whole tribe of people who will protect you and die for you and be there for you.
00:08:56
Speaker
And I think that's one of the things that's really addictive about these books is that it's, it hits you on so many levels, that kind of like heart pull of, you know, connection. And I also love that one of the things that i picked up on back in the day, which obviously there are some backwards, you belong to me type vibes with a lot of these books. But at the same time, a lot of the attributes that are admired by the men in these books are strong women.
00:09:28
Speaker
They like when women are strong and when they talk back and when they fight and then when they can stick up for themselves, you know, there's definitely that added the, you're mine now and you get my life. yeah like like I'll lay down my life for you. There's definitely that part of it. But the flip side of that coin is that You got to take care of yourself and you have to be able to like, you know, hold your own.
00:09:49
Speaker
And so I've always really liked that about these books. And even a lot of the old books have that dynamic. So I think that's always I as Are you mean when you say books, are you speaking just...
00:10:01
Speaker
the old hottie mccotty books are like old old historical romance in general well i think in contrast to what was going on in other romance historical romances that were published contemporary to hottie mccotty books and i think a dynamic in these books frequently is that the hero you know the big muscley Highlander man is like he thinks he says even explicitly that he wants a demure bride who's just gonna do what he says because that's what ladies do and when he finds a woman who doesn't do what he says and sometimes they are explicitly being like nah I'm not gonna do that and sometimes and I think this is a little bit of the dynamic in the bride if I remember correctly
00:10:48
Speaker
it's a little bit of, okay, yes, dear. And then she does what she wants behind his back. And so, yes you know, it's these men coming up against their preconceived notions about who they think a good partner for them is.
00:11:01
Speaker
And one who a good woman is in general. Yes. But a good partner for them specifically. Right. Because I think some of them maybe can recognize that, oh, it's okay for my sister to be tough, but my wife is going to listen. Or my mom. Yeah.
00:11:16
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not going to say that it's a hard and fast rule that they they open their minds, but I will say that in more and more books, I think that it it is the case or that you see more dynamic roles for tertiary characters who are women in the book.
00:11:30
Speaker
So the other thing that I will say about... a lot of Hottie McScotty books is that they tend to fall. And this again is a generalization. They're diverse as can be really plot wise, but I have tended to read one of two kinds.
Diversity Within Highlander Books
00:11:44
Speaker
Usually one is the darker kinds that are kind of dramatic, bloody, ah spot especially some of the older ones are a little bit more tragic feeling in a lot of parts, but a lot of them are hilarious, hilarious.
00:11:57
Speaker
You can imagine because there's a really, there's a push pull going on. And by and large, there's a lot of banter and, more a lot of witty back and forths yeah i I love them so yeah i would so I also feel like can I just say that I feel like a key characteristic you know if we're speaking of love and id like Ingrid's talking about all these like great character dynamics but also all the hottie all hottie mccotties are 6'11 and they have tree trunk thighs and have tree trunk thighs yeah yeah and think emotions are gross
00:12:32
Speaker
And they're not usually described. Sometimes they're beautiful. Sometimes they're beautiful. Sometimes they're not. Sometimes they're like, that guy is scary looking. Or he's scary. I don't know why I'm attracted to him, but he's little he's not like pretty. Yeah, but he's but he's definitely the biggest guy I've ever seen.
00:12:48
Speaker
Huge. Huge. Huge. Mountain. Yep, yep, yep. Facial hair. Muscles for days because he has to be rugged to go live out in this rugged landscape, right? Like that ties back into our environmental situation. Literarily.
00:13:01
Speaker
Maybe not in reality. Yes. And that's that is one of the fun literary things I think about this particular type of book is that it's impossible not to have that. It is soft, rough, dark, light, hot, cold.
00:13:17
Speaker
And it it just makes everything... combustible, I think. I love them. I especially love, I am an absolute sucker for when they have to travel from point A to point B on horseback and camp and lay in the heather together. It's so good. It's so good.
00:13:36
Speaker
So there's another part I'd like to call out because let's say that you are someone who's like, okay, yeah, but historical, o well, there's also because the Highland area is culturally very rife with magic and the unexplainable. There's a lot of mythology going on there.
00:13:57
Speaker
it opens the door wide open to books that involve magic. So there are plenty of Hottie McScotty books that cross right over into paranormal magic yeah day type stuff.
00:14:10
Speaker
So there's crossovers there that I think are also delicious. And also old books. to I mean, you know, newer books. But, like, also... yeah I was kind of flipping through one this morning that's from 2004. And it's, like, yep you know, he has, like, a magical connection with his brother. And she has...
00:14:32
Speaker
mystical healing powers and like she she has some pet wolves because of course she does why wouldn't you why wouldn't you which is hilarious because one of my favorite fantasy romanticity books that i was reading recently involves wolf shifters in Scotland i mean well and also there are the definitely wolf shifter highlander romances just saying Many. many And I just, as an aside, wanted to point out that this, are we calling this a subgenre? What do we call this? Archetype? Category?
00:15:06
Speaker
Archetype? This niche so this sub subandra subgenre. I mean, it is an archetype, but I mean, Ingrid, you're right. It is like really tied to setting.
00:15:18
Speaker
It has, it's almost like a trope because we expect to see certain things, right? That occur in the book. We do. Mm-hmm. And it's like a historical period. Right. Because i feel you know, like, even if you have a book, like there are plenty of Regency books where they go to Scotland yeah or they're in Scotland or Victorian books where they go to Scotland or in Scotland or she marries a Scottish lord.
00:15:44
Speaker
Different vibes. But the vibes are really different. Or, Holly, what about, I haven't read it yet, but the one that you gave me of the ghost Highlander, he's a hottie McScotty, right?
00:15:55
Speaker
Tall, Dark, and Kilted. Oh, ah starring Hardwick de Studley. Yeah. yeah guy but like he's the highlander and he's like brought into the future because he was ghost yeah he's a ghost so it's a it's a contemporary yes it's a contemporary ghost story but he's a thousand year old heidi mccotty ghost so i mean which is hilarious Well, what I was going to say was that I feel like that's one of the reasons why frequently this grouping of books is referred to as Highlander books, because it's not the same when it's in the
Highlanders vs. Lowlanders in Literature
00:16:33
Speaker
Lowlands. Well, that was another. Yeah, not the same when I mean, where's it's not just Scotland. You get out the Lowlands almost don't even exist.
00:16:39
Speaker
Right. It's very much it's very much. These are Highlander or Lowlanders are like basically English. I think actual Highlanders would take offense to that. I know, it but but like that's kind of like the literary grouping. They're like, we're Highlanders and we're like,
00:16:54
Speaker
real and hardcore up here and well and i think there's a common literary there's a usually a common judgment but highlanders and lowlanders tend to be throwing out insults like that each other regularly you know it's like a thing ah it's almost like you know minnesotans and um i i iowans i we didn't you know north dakotans south dakotans marylanders virginians i mean it's this is a thing you know So, yeah, and I was going to say, I mention already that there was a huge boom of this type of book in the 90s because Outlander was published in 1991.
Impact of 'Outlander' on Highlander Romance Popularity
00:17:30
Speaker
And that is when there was a big boom of Highlander books because obviously Outlander was kind of a big deal. Have we all read Highlander? or a Yes.
00:17:40
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. We've never discussed it, I feel. Yeah. Hmm. Maybe we should. yeah I don't know. I mean, you know. i don't want to. It's kind of its own. just have to keep going. Yeah. Cliffhanger ending. Like, oh my God.
00:17:53
Speaker
Anyway. Yeah. So all that being said, that's kind of the, I think we've kind of examined the basis for this particular branch of books.
00:18:05
Speaker
But we mentioned The Bride, which is if anyone is thinking about trying one, that's hands down the best one to start with. I think it really sets the tone. You get all of, it pulls from all of the thematic elements that you commonly see in a Highlander book.
00:18:20
Speaker
However, we picked a different one to discuss for this week, a modern one. This is published in, what one was it published?
Modern Highlander Romance by Elisa Brayden
00:18:29
Speaker
So we read something a bit more modern, and it was by Elisa Brayden called The Making of a Highlander.
00:18:35
Speaker
So this one was a little bit different because generally speaking, the ones that I eat up with a spoon, the Highlander is the hero. And in this case, the hero is a lord from England. Spoiler.
00:18:50
Speaker
oh yeah like if you find out cover your ears they hit it really poorly
00:18:58
Speaker
I didn't really feel like that was... I feel like everyone except the heroine saw that one coming, which might be why she was so annoyed. Oh, wait. That was not known? Sorry, guys. oh No, because they called him Mr. Okay, so she should we do our one-sentence summaries first?
00:19:13
Speaker
Can I go first? I suppose. Since you're so ready, yes. You're so annoyed, more like. ah no so here's the deal, guys. So here's my one-sentence summary is So Annie's best ghost friend disappears.
00:19:28
Speaker
And in order for him to come back, she needs a Lord husband, but not a layered husband, because those are different. So that her best ghost friend can be reincarnated as her baby.
00:19:44
Speaker
And also her neighbor is in a land dispute with her dad that is like super unclear, but they make a bet and the neighbor has to do feats of strength and they're gonna help each other out.
00:20:02
Speaker
But that's as far as I got in the book. Because every time I tried to read it, I fell asleep. And I tried for 10 days. And I got 20%. read like four chapters. So sorry, guys. That's all I know. Oh, Holly. Oh, I was like, I can't wait to talk to Holly about the end because I want to watch her head explode on the screen.
00:20:19
Speaker
So maybe it's better that you didn't read that. Yeah, I just couldn't. You know what? You know what it was? and Not just that it was boring and made me fall asleep. Also... Her accent, her her her her dialogue is like phonetic.
00:20:34
Speaker
All of the heroine's dialogue is phonetic. Yes, there were some challenges. I couldn't deal with that. Like you can do that for secondary characters. You can do that. First, you can throw in specific spice words if you need to, but all the dialogue.
00:20:47
Speaker
Also, she makes fun of him by like calling him a woman all the time. And that made me uncomfortable. ah So that was my three paragraph summary. Sorry, guys. Yeah, you definitely pulled an error today. i was actually pretty impressed.
00:21:01
Speaker
All right. Well, ah okay. After that, I've got to recollect my thoughts. So tell me what actually happened, please. A Scottish lass who has never had time for a husband on account of she spends all of her time taking care of her father and brothers and doesn't see the need for adding another man to the mix, decides to get married, as Holly said, and requests lady lessons from her posh neighbor who has emotional baggage such that he does not want to be making any emotional connections because women are terrible and liars oh no and then and then they have some forced proximity with the expected scenes how
00:21:53
Speaker
have to get married after they agree to get married that's a whole thing and then secrets and lies are discovered the bad guy comes the end it's like a little bit it was a little bit unhinged the story because well as holly was talking i was like oh yeah that happened but also was like which we can get into it as much as you guys want but there were a couple threads that i was like huh that was a choice okay well just let me do my summer so there was a lot going on but let me do my summer though okay Yes, there was.
00:22:24
Speaker
My one sentence summary is Annie, the town crazy person, loses her ghost companion and determines that the only way to get him back is to marry a lord.
00:22:38
Speaker
Her neighbor, who's been in a land dispute with her stepfather, needs to beat somebody in the Highland Games, in order to be able to sell his land.
00:22:51
Speaker
So they team up in order to, an exchange lessons in order to accomplish their goals, only to discover that they need each other in more ways than one in order to meet their goals, guess.
00:23:06
Speaker
Yeah, so that's what I was thinking about. Like, you guys both mentioned the exchange of lessons, but we really only have like the one caber toss lesson and the one before they even make the agreement, the one the like offhand comment about how to throw the hammer better.
00:23:23
Speaker
then they don't have any more. She doesn't give him any more lessons. Well, I didn't know about that. So I feel like you guys really sell him short. So he, he, yes, like when it comes to actual physical strength, but recall also that she's like, hey, you need to hire this person for your house. That's not the lesson. Like,
00:23:44
Speaker
I understand that. That's not the original intent of the lessons. Just like respectfully, the original intent of the lessons for her is that she's going to be a lady, not that she's going like accept herself for who she is. But like what ends up happening is that there's an exchange of culture happening.
00:24:00
Speaker
So she's sitting here being like, this is how we operate in Scotland, you know, and he's sitting here like, this is how you make sure that people hear you and take you seriously and respect you. If you know, if if you're going to be in ah in a new place, basically, because he's trying to prepare her for being a lady.
00:24:16
Speaker
But at the same time. She's poking a bunch of fun at him, but in a way that's like clearly accepting him for being who he is. And, and it's the same vice versa. Like he's sitting here being like, I don't think that you need to change. I think that you're good the way you are. So, and that's, I think a lot of that is not said outright. It's like kind of the undercurrent of the humor that their exchanges have and stuff like that. But yeah.
00:24:37
Speaker
Well, so, okay, but can I bring it back to the the Highlander trope stuff? Please. So, because when you were describing their exchange of information, I thought it was really interesting because, you know, she's teaching him how to do, like, kind of teaches him how to do some, like, physical stuff.
00:24:54
Speaker
But a lot of it, it sounds like what he's she's teaching him is, here's how you embed yourself in this kind of community. Right. okay or i don't i mean to i'm not i'm not disagreeing with ingrid she's correct i'm just the agreement that they made was that she would get lady lessons from him and he would get how to win at the highlander game specifically not how to fix your house better not how to embed yourself in the community i mean conversely she was not offered like
00:25:24
Speaker
how to value yourself as an individual lessons but whatever right so yes i'm like i can't ah disagree with ingrid but the agreement that they made was that she would teach him how to win at the highlander games and he would teach her how to be a lady and there were like five scenes of her learning how ah to be learning how to be a lady. I mean, they do the, let's go to Inverness and go shopping and like, let's practice sitting in a chair. Like they did several, you know, several
Character Development and Themes in Highlander Romances
00:25:49
Speaker
lessons.
00:25:49
Speaker
And the purpose of it was to illustrate, she started out and she's like, this is what I have to do. And it's a little bit of like, even how you talk. And he said at the beginning, he's like, you don't want this.
00:26:01
Speaker
It will crush you. Your spirit is not this. And kind of an... I think Ingrid said, you know, your spirit is great the way it is, but it's not what's expected of a lady, you know, and and as they go through the lessons, like you don't get to have these opinions.
00:26:17
Speaker
You don't get to go do these things. She's like, well, if I wear skirts like that, I'll light myself on fire when I'm baking bread. He's like, ladies don't bake bread. You know, like all these things that have made her valuable in her family and she's proud of.
00:26:35
Speaker
they' They don't belong with this vision that you have of what you think you want. so there Okay, so this is interesting. But he only gets the one K. Berthas lesson. So I feel like it's a dangling thread.
00:26:47
Speaker
It's just one of... Like, it's a construction issue with this particular Well, okay. But... I disagree. But... So this is interesting because, you know, Ingrid was talking at the beginning is, like, a key part of Highlander books is the clash between, like, civilization and non-civilization. Ruggedness.
00:27:06
Speaker
Ruggedness. Right? And that... I... I don't know that I've ever read a Hottie McScotty book, like a Highlander book where the hero is like, I'm rugged and accepts the instruction of the heroine where there's this kind of dynamic, right? Because I feel like in the bride, in a lot of the Garwoods, there's a little bit of like, well, I'm an English bride and I expect you to do certain things as a civilized spouse. And he's just like, nah, not going to do that.
00:27:34
Speaker
where Or he's not interested in those things. And this, it seems like the dynamic is a little different. Where she is seeking it out, but it's not actually right for her. And so it seems then that this book, along with most other Highlander books, at the end values ruggedness over civilization a value system for living a life.
00:28:01
Speaker
value system for living a good life Right. Well, this is this ties Aaron's thought and Holly's comment together, i think. One, I also want to point out that a lot of the Hottie McScotty books that explore that thematically tend to take place a little earlier in history.
00:28:20
Speaker
Not to ding that history bell, but but I think that part of that is that At this point what in history, when it's being set, the there's a society more up there. It's more society. it The clan life more... Well, right. I mean, this book that we read is a regency and clan life is done, right? It's like after... The values are still there. Well, yeah. And like, but... But it's... Well, I mean, it was post-Culloden. It was post-Culloden stomped out.
00:28:47
Speaker
yeah I know things, thanks to Outlander, by it exactly Thank you, Outlander. So that's the first point that I wanted to make. But the second one is this. In prior Highlander books, there was a big push-pull with each other on refinement versus ruggedness.
00:29:05
Speaker
In this book, I think the agreement serves a purpose, but not the purpose. So it's proposed like this is going to be the plot point. And I can see why it feels like a dangling thread, but it didn't feel that way to me because I noticed in the book at repeatedly, there were these moments where both characters would be like, yeah, we're really supposed to be doing this, but they don't want to, or they don't, it's an excuse to get together, but then they don't actually do what they're supposed to do. And the reason for that, that I read in my reading was that,
00:29:33
Speaker
Deep down, he doesn't want her to change and she doesn't want him to change. He doesn't really want to sell that farm. He just thinks he does. She doesn't really want to marry a lord. She just thinks she does. Right. So is it is an illustrative tool to show where their hearts really are. The fact that they're not prioritizing it is for a reason.
00:29:52
Speaker
And they do there are a lot of other like heavy plot points going on that kind of derail what's going on. You know, she there's a situation with her brother where he's in peril and the family has to, you know, stop and pivot and do everything to help. But by that point, the lessons are already moot.
00:30:08
Speaker
before Before that even happens, the the lessons have pretty much shifted because he's already determined that that's that's it. He doesn't care. He just wants to marry her. Like that's it. So to me, the lessons were more a way to illustrate that like, they think that this is what they want.
00:30:24
Speaker
They want to change. I think they need to change, but deep down they don't want to. And that's why the lessons are, they keep referring back to it. Like, man, we were really supposed to be doing these lessons. We're to be doing these lessons and they're not doing them.
00:30:35
Speaker
And that's how I know. Why is being a real Highlander entirely predicated on how far you can throw things? I'm just curious. Like, yeah.
00:30:46
Speaker
I feel like they don't usually get into that. There's like maybe sometimes a little bit of like Highland Games kind of talk like caber tossing. I mean, if you're going to have tree trunk thighs, it's got to be for throwing tree trunks, right?
00:31:02
Speaker
but Or riding your horse. like Holly, everybody rides horses. That is not special. Okay. No, for actually, probably they're poor, right? So like, I know in the books, they all have horses, but in real life, probably they were all on foot. So they need to be able to run long distances, right?
00:31:19
Speaker
Tree trunk thighs. Yeah, yeah, I i don't know. and Runners are known for having really gigantic thighs. Are they? No. I don't know. No, they're not.
00:31:30
Speaker
Like skinny little twins. Sprinters. Sprinters have. Like bicyclists. There are certain sports where, you yes, you do develop because of where your muscles are working, but your runners, not usually. I don't know. I'm making it But we'll go with it, Holly.
00:31:44
Speaker
You know what? I did once in real life see a man with tree trunk thighs, and i had never understood until that moment. Yeah. He was on a bicycle.
00:31:55
Speaker
o And even my husband was like, wow, look at his legs. And I looked, I was like, oh my God. He has thighs like tree trunks. And you could tell because he was wearing bike shorts, right? he was on a bike.
00:32:07
Speaker
But like, yeah andm like, oh, I get it now. I understand. i understand romance books. Thank you, bicycle man stranger. that Sometimes life just throws you a bone and there you go.
00:32:20
Speaker
I felt like the, again, I'm not saying this book was the best book ever. There are other ones that I've enjoyed more, but I will say that I feel like, again, the Highland pride game thing made sense because at this point, like you said, it's post-Culloden. They've, at this point, their culture has shifted because they fought and they lost. And so having pride in these games is just a way to to hold on to the culture that has been shifting rapidly in front of their eyes. And so, again, that didn't bother me. No, didn't bother me. Actually, the things – oh, sorry.
00:32:55
Speaker
Yeah, it didn't bother. I just thought it was funny. Yeah, so as a Highlander book, as a Hottie McScotty book, I was already a little bit – I mean, i again, I picked it. But I was like, I don't know how if this is going to have the same feel since the Highlander here is – Not the hero.
00:33:11
Speaker
I do think that it did not have the same feel, but I think it didn't have the same Hottie McScotty feel only really because of the time period.
Authenticity of Modern vs. Classic Highlander Romances
00:33:21
Speaker
Not... not the but I think they did have that push-pull. I think they did have the ruggedness. They did have the a lot of the elements of Highlander romance novels, Hottie McScotty books, but it was that it was just a little too late.
00:33:34
Speaker
you know Yeah. I mean, and to be fair to Ingrid, we did specifically ask her to pick a ah recent one because Hottie McScotty books, I feel like, are not super popular right now, and most of the ones we're finding and reading are like...
00:33:50
Speaker
1995 to right yeah yep yeah and yeah yeah so that's what i wanted to ask was something like the bride or there were there was a maya banks trilogy the mccabe trilogy And that came out, I think, also ah the second book was in 2011. So I guess a little bit later. But I mean, it's not a recent release, but definitely has those like, you're my woman.
00:34:19
Speaker
i found you and I'm going to carry you back to my castle. Yes. I mean, Maya Banks is her own thing. Like if if you're familiar with Maya Banks at all, it's like not shocking that that's the vibe. But that's also kind of aligned with the darker kind of vibe that Ingrid was talking about earlier, right?
00:34:35
Speaker
I think that the Tessa Dare, like, she had castles ever after. and they're not all Scottish. But Ingrid had suggested one of those. But I think we had all read it already. And it was a little older, like the teens, maybe.
00:34:48
Speaker
that was a comedy. And that was really fun. was that When a Scott Ties the Knot? When a Scott Ties the yeah. love that one. It's hilarious. Like, that wasn't so much Hottie McScotty. It's like, after the war, he comes back. They're in Scotland.
00:34:59
Speaker
Yeah. But so I'm wondering, I guess, like this book by a Elisa Braden that we're talking about, where Ingrid mentioned time period being an issue. Holly mentioned gendered stuff being a little bit of an issue.
00:35:12
Speaker
i had some issue with some of the essential values discussed in that book. i well I guess this is my question. With the old stuff, I'm like, well, yeah, it's old. It's going to have the old stuff in it.
00:35:23
Speaker
Right. And with more modern stuff, if I see something That's like, that's kind of socially gross. I think I want something tempering it, like one character saying one thing for like, you know, a plot reason or like, there's a reason that this character is bringing this up.
00:35:40
Speaker
Okay, fine. And then another character is like, call it out or like, that's kind of what I want to see in a more modern publication when you're dealing with some of these challenging issues, because I don't think it's you know, perfectly fine to just pretend they didn't exist.
00:35:54
Speaker
But it's nice to also not see stuff like totally condoning them. I think the KJ Charles that we I just reviewed Copper Script, it's a police officer. So like she directly tackles some ideas about...
00:36:06
Speaker
the police force even though it's interwar England so it's interesting like there are ways that authors can play with it and I like to see something I think more overt but I'm wondering if if this is specifically a is it just a writing issue is it that the the heavy hitters in Hottie McScotty from the 90s and aughts are still around because they are the ones with staying power so of course and then the ones that are more modern are like You know, just like just books that we find and they may or may not be equally famous and popular in 20 years and that's just ok part of the deal.
00:36:42
Speaker
Or is it that there is a distinction in the ability to craft these books between then and now? Okay, so let me rephrase your question. Okay, thank you. To make sure I understand what you're asking. Or just to make it make sense.
00:36:57
Speaker
So I think what you're asking is, is like, why are we still saying the bride, which is 30 years old or whatever, why is this still the pinnacle of Highlander romance?
00:37:11
Speaker
And is it because Julie Garward was just better at writing these than anybody who's writing them now? Or is it because we're able to separate ourselves from the icky stuff that's in that book because it's old and we can therefore excuse the mentally ill...
00:37:32
Speaker
Villain, villain yeah for example. Right. yeah Is that what you're asking? That is essentially what I am asking. Thank you for articulating that better for me. Because I think that's a question that is thing like the difference between i think historical romance now and then in general.
00:37:49
Speaker
But I mean, Holiday McScotty in particular, it had a moment. We just talked about how it was like it had a moment. And maybe that's why I was kind of like, well, hold on a second, because there was one part where i was like, oh, but then she was like, um where the sisters are like, yeah, whatever. going to have all these kids. And then was like, I'm not going to have any kids. I'm going to be a playwright. I'm going write stuff.
00:38:09
Speaker
And then they're like, well, you're not going to have any time because you're going to get married. She's like, well, I'm not going to get married. And the mom's like, who says you can't have both? Basically, like you can write and be married. And they were like, you know, wow, whatever. And she said, they said, who who does that or whatever? And she points to the main character in this book and is like, look at everything that she's doing. And yes, it was domestic stuff.
00:38:30
Speaker
But at that time, and then that's where i was like, oh, because she's like pointing out housewifey stuff. But then I was like, well, hold on a second. These are ladies. So like, in her mind, she's like, look at, she's doing all this stuff. Like she's making this amazing food and like, she clearly loves and takes pride in serving this to people. and this is something she really likes to do. And she's passionate about it.
00:38:48
Speaker
And she doesn't have to, cause she's a lady and she could hire someone to do this, but she wants to do it. So she's making time to do this thing she cares about. Right. So in my mind, I was like, okay, that was an attempt successful or not to,
00:39:02
Speaker
Have something be kind of historical and like fit within a historical time period, but also kind of be like, hey, you can do what you want. If you want to be a writer and be married, you can be a writer and be married. If you want to, you know, be married and really explore baking and cooking, you can do that too.
00:39:19
Speaker
But it was an attempt, whether successful or not, for the author to kind of modernize some of this without making it stick out like a sore thumb in a historical book. Now, I don't know that it was effective. It clearly wasn't because I know I share the same values that you do, Erin, but we read this very differently.
00:39:35
Speaker
So I'm not sure that that was a very effective technique. Mm-hmm. but i can see where you're coming from i don't think it was but i mean there are other things in the like the whole storyline or the whole plot element and you're right it did kind of peter out maybe by halfway or maybe 60 when the the relationship has really developed but the fact that she's like i need to do this thing that i don't want to do so that i can birth my ghost friend and be his mother i was like hmm that's a interesting choice
00:40:10
Speaker
so like that sets the stage and kind of creates a frame for like all these others so then it probably was that i was a little bit more nitpicky because i didn't like that kind of fundamental start of the narrative in the first place you know yeah that makes sense but i mean and i think we all know that i am notorious for like reading something that i hate in chapter one and then being extremely nitpicky about really minor things for the entire rest of a book.
00:40:39
Speaker
So Well, because especially since as a spoiler, that's not actually what ends up. That's not what happens. It was never thing. She just made leaps of assumptions. She kind of assumed. Right. So that wasn't even really a thing.
00:40:53
Speaker
Yeah. So there's magical realism in this book. We think that there are ghosts, but it turns out that it's not really ghosts. It's like i mean it's it's not really about ghosts. It's like the spirits of Scotland. you know like It's the magical realism of Scotland and all of the other magical... yeah Which is definitely a thing in these in a lot of these Scotland books.
00:41:14
Speaker
So can I go back to Aaron's question that I rephrased? Yeah. To bring us back. Because i think that, like hearing you guys talk about it, i think that part of the disconnect here...
00:41:26
Speaker
is that the Highlander trope is like really tied to a strong gender binary, right? Where like men are manly men and women are manic pixie dream girls, basically, right?
00:41:43
Speaker
kind of can't disagree with that. Trying to think of a counterexample, but it's not easy. it's really tied to this like struggle of two opposing forces and that people right now in twenty twenty five who are writing historical romance are a lot more interested in nuance and gray area stories and interrogating history in interesting ways. I'm not saying all of them, but I'm saying the historical romance authors that I read who are like really solid in craft, right? Who are writing exceptional historical romances are not interested in these kinds of binary stories.
00:42:24
Speaker
And I think that they are a harder sell for a white audience. But maybe we just aren't looking in the right places and we need to find the people who are writing the... Because like there is an appetite for these kind of books, right? These like manly man and womanly woman kind of things. But they're reading like dark romance and motorcycle club and like maybe paranormal stuff, right? But like that there's...
00:42:48
Speaker
The things where there's a less of a reality component where you're like, oh, I can be detached and like the naughty thing. Yeah. Instead of being like, oh, this was like, could be real.
00:43:01
Speaker
Yeah. And so I don't feel good about reading the naughty thing. Is that kind of where? i didn't feel like this had a lot of realism personally, but. um No. Well, and I'm not saying that like, like I said at the beginning is we have to set aside history because there's no real, like there's no historical reality in many of these books.
00:43:18
Speaker
But that I think that's not, that that kind of dynamic is not really where historical romance is right now. And maybe that's why they're not being published. and that's And like people who are writing historical romance are not,
00:43:30
Speaker
interested in writing these kinds of stories well i think there's probably two columns of historical romance writers or any romance writers which is like the uh i'll say trad wife romance column and then the column more like what you're describing okay so let's interrogate history And I think when you get into the faction of like the but quote trad wave romance, that's not our jam. So if we don't see certain things interrogated, then it becomes harder
00:44:02
Speaker
um Whereas the people who really want that are going to love that and not want to see the interrogating stuff. And like, where does this Highlander because it does I think it is all about like stroking your head. It's the big tough man. It's the it's the isolated setting. It's the historical context in the medieval. It's all of that stuff.
00:44:21
Speaker
And where does it like where does it fit now? what's Right. Which is kind of why when we opened this, I was kind of like, I am not going into this from like a cerebral perspective because I don't want this when I'm reading these books. I'm just enjoying it.
00:44:37
Speaker
And also, that's another reason why if I were going to pick a book for this, I would not have picked one. Like this isn't even in the top 15 of what I was interested in reading for this, honestly, because all the modern ones that I've read, I haven't liked. Yeah, I was going to say, if i did you enjoy this? No.
00:44:52
Speaker
Like I, it was, I mean, I enjoy, I enjoyed it to a certain extent, but like this, I mean, I didn't DNF I would not have wanted, let me say it this way. I would probably not have chosen to to discuss this one with you guys.
00:45:04
Speaker
Would I have read it on my own? Probably. But so it's just not the kind of book that I'm I don't really want this because it's just to this one wasn't executed in a way where I felt like it was a good example for us to pick it apart.
00:45:15
Speaker
Do you know what I mean? It just wasn't like Holly. holly I agree with everything. Holly was right. it It dragged. There were parts that really dragged. I could see why she didn't want to finish it. Erin is a dead right.
00:45:26
Speaker
There were parts where i was like, oh, like, really, like, she's not wrong. But also there were parts where I was like, oh, like this is like, look at them working through their problems. And so like for me, I was kind of like, okay, this just wasn't, this wouldn't have been the thing that I would have picked willingly. Yeah. Like, I think that's a difficult thing about picking a book that we haven't read. Exactly.
00:45:47
Speaker
To read as our example book. So that's fair. And I will, I agree with Ingrid. There were a couple of things, especially how much our stalwart hero was like, she's so great.
00:46:00
Speaker
Was really charming. And like, her family was kind of awesome, because she was the stepdaughter. And like, she kept on being like, my stepfather, like yeah my stepbrothers. And they were all like, she's ours.
00:46:13
Speaker
And eventually, you know, they get past that. You're just like, I love this for her. There was this part, Holly, where, like, I don't know if you got there, but there's this – did you read about when he – the stepfather married her mother?
00:46:24
Speaker
you get to that part? I was like, oh, Holly would totally cry at this part. Because there's this scene where when married – So what you're saying is that it was a really slow starter. It was really slow. I felt it was slow in the beginning. But once you get past the hump and things actually start moving, then it's like, okay, it's good. I just didn't get past the hump. Yeah. So, like, there was a lot that I liked, but there was enough in it where I was like, you know, it's kind of like – I think disintegrated is a word that I would use to describe it because I think that, like you said, to kind of draw it home, when you have a historical book where there is a natural built, like baked push pull of binaries, like rough, soft, hot, cold.
00:47:05
Speaker
that's not really conducive to gray area, which is kind of more where things that are more morally and ethically appropriate, that's where those things live.
Modern Ethical Concerns and Enjoyment of Highlander Books
00:47:15
Speaker
And so I just don't think that this book was a good example. If you're interested in Highlander books, this isn't, it just isn't what I would have gone with.
00:47:24
Speaker
Like if I could have done anything, it would have just been read the bride. It would have been, I mean, didn't we already buddy read the bride? Yeah, we did there But there are a bunch that are like that that are just yeah better. Or, for example, Lindsay Stance has a whole bunch that are tried and true Highlander books.
00:47:41
Speaker
Yeah. But yeah, I mean, it's a good point to make that if you're somebody who really needs things to be, like, copacetic morally and ethically, if you need that gray area, if you need that that to feel like things are just and right, you're just – these books might be kind of a problem for you.
00:47:56
Speaker
But if you just have an id thing going on where you're just like – This character is comfortable with who they are, regardless of whether or not this character would fit in our modern. Like, I would not want to date this person in real life right now. But back then in that context, in that social space, this works because he's happy, she's happy, who cares, right? Like, it's fine.
00:48:16
Speaker
Then there's tons, there's tons of great examples. I just, this one wasn't, it's whatever. But that's why in the beginning when I was like, this is kind of, I don't, you know, like getting into like the goodness, badness, rightness, wrongness. This is not that genre. This is not that kind of book. This is like a, just do you like it?
00:48:32
Speaker
Yeah, well, and I think we come back to Garwood, and she, I mean, she just had a gift. she does She did eventually shift into contemporaries, and I read one of them, and it was nonsense, because it had this exact same dynamic, and I'm like, ooh, I don't like that when you're an FBI agent. It doesn't translate. It does not. this only works if you have a Claymore, and you're in the 12th century, and and so I read...
00:48:59
Speaker
The wedding, which is another Garwood. It's like... After the bride, yeah. It's after the bride. But the hero, at one point, he's thinking, he's like, I was feeling vulnerable. And and like that was the most disgusting thing. And I'm like, that...
00:49:15
Speaker
is what I read Highlander books for. Yes. Is heroes being like, ew, I'm having an emotion and I do not like it, but not because I'm an ice king, like a duke. I'm not a duke. I'm not an ice king. I am having an emotion and I don't like it.
00:49:32
Speaker
So I'm going to go ah like hit things with a sword. Yes. Also, also they want to jump in a lake like the other thing that and that specific dynamic is especially good in these books because all of the intimacy, all of the emotional intimacy is formed with show, don't tell because they're not going to tell you until they have to.
00:49:50
Speaker
So it you just eat it up with a spoon. I cannot tell you the joy in my heart that I get when the Highlander just like pulls a dagger out of his shoulder and is like, whatever, it's fat tis but a scratch.
00:50:03
Speaker
Love it. Eat it up with a spoon. But then she gets a little a little wee bruise on her knee and he's like, who do I have to kill? Right.
00:50:12
Speaker
I love it. I think you really hit the nail on the head with exactly the desirable elements the Islander books. Both of you, 100%. you're here for. I would sock someone in the nose if they if I was like, where's my chair? Where am I supposed to sit? And and the guy was like, right here on my knee.
00:50:28
Speaker
But in these books, he does it. And I'm like, oh, like for real. So is our takeaway. It's wrong. But I like it. I mean, sometimes you got to read the things that are wrong. Struck your head. This is yeah. Listen, no guilty pleasures. Ain't no shame in our game. No, there's not. You like what you like. Listen, guys, vote.
00:50:48
Speaker
I there's a time for I. Yes, I fight for rights. i I'm putting my money where my mouth is, but also in I'm reading what the hell I want to read and I will not apologize for it. I yeah love it.
00:51:00
Speaker
And I will admit that when my husband puts his tool belt on, I get the same reaction as when the Highlander whoops the dagger out of his shoulder. It doesn't, it's nothing like, I don't even know why, but it just, listen, it's the way it is guys.
00:51:11
Speaker
The way it is. Is our takeaway then that maybe 2020 book is telling us that an Ingrid's additional research in this area, research quote, is telling
Future of Highlander Books and Modern Values
00:51:25
Speaker
us that the... It's very serious research, Erin. Modern Highlander books are not really where it's at.
00:51:30
Speaker
And to get the good stuff, when we're going for the Highlander stuff, we want to go for those oldies but goodies. I think this... And I have thought a lot about it due to my scholarly research. Thank you for pointing that out there. But it's this.
00:51:46
Speaker
There is going to be, somebody's going to knock it out of the park with a modern Highlander book and they're going to get it. They're going to get exactly the elements that we love from the old stuff and they're going to be able to tie in the values that make us feel good about ourselves in the new stuff and they're going to knock it out of the park. But we just, they're hard to find right now. And maybe there are books and we just need to get some recommendations.
00:52:09
Speaker
Yeah, hit us. Because I'd love to read that because- Yeah, I think that's where we're at. I think where we're at is that there's been a shift culturally and there's probably a door opening for this kind of thing that just we haven't had a lot of people walk through it yet.
00:52:23
Speaker
So, okay. Can i ask a follow up question? and and that And this might be opening too many cans of worms and we might need to table it. But how do we feel Highlanders versus just generic medieval romances, which have a lot of the like He-Man versus lady girl, but he's wearing armor.
00:52:46
Speaker
I think the vibe is extremely different. Well, this is why. Because Highlander books, an integral part of that is the wildness, the ruggedness has to be, and it has to be infused into the characters.
00:52:59
Speaker
they The characters, landscape and setting has to be reflected in the characters and at least one of the characters natures in medieval books that is not the same thing that is courtly manners that's gestures that's subterviews that's underlying intentions that's yeah it's a it's not the same thing so like highlanders put it right out there medieval not the same I think that's good. But you know what? I think we should test that theory. I do not want to do that.
00:53:26
Speaker
I do not like those books. Really? Oh, the dragon and the jewel rule ruined me forever. Yeah, I agree with Ingrid. But I do think also, as you kind of asked Holly, it is a whole other conversation.
00:53:39
Speaker
It is. But it is a good distinction to make because like I agree with Ingrid. I don't think you can pick up any old medieval i think there is a lot more quarterly intrigue especially with respect to like the power of the king and the character's abilities to make their own choices like i'm a lord so i can't marry without the king's permission is frequently yeah a situation and that's why i like the highlander books because they're like oh like you can't marry without permission i don't give a shit and then they kidnap her and then they go get married it's awesome Or I mean, the bride is like a good overlapper, right? Because the king makes them get married, but then they don't.
00:54:12
Speaker
That's like the first like three chapters or whatever, they go to the Highlands and it's all like Highlanders. yeah it'sat And i I guess I was also I was thinking about Elizabeth Kingston's Welsh Blade books because right, which are whales, which also has some like Celtic not quite integrated into England thing but they're not high but I think they're not Highlander books and I think the like court intrigue thing is really the key thing there Because I think she's doing great stuff with like the gender dynamics and like your gray area and like playing with the like He-Man versus a Dainty Woman thing. But it's just Highlanders. It's like social games.
00:54:50
Speaker
Social games and I don't get along very well. Social games are really stressful to read. They are. It makes me I feel like my stomach is up in my throat every time I read all the medieval books that I've read have the exact same thing where it's like that. And I'm like, oh, I'm home uncomfortable. oh but oh i'm like oh i'm uncomfortable and it's so great okay so what are our recommendations gonna look like for this obviously the bride if if you haven't gotten there yet that's the one i loved when a scott ties a knot julie garwood period i liked almost all of hers almost all of hers there were like one or two that i was like not so much lindsey sands like i said her her collection is great if you're looking for more paranormal stuff
00:55:30
Speaker
There's a series that's out right now that I think is kind of like a romantic Sea Highlander cross adventure.
Recommended Highlander Romances and Conclusion
00:55:36
Speaker
Tell me more. That I was bored. I am borderline obsessed with, even though it has like all of the red flags, but it's called, I think it's Dire Bound. Dire, the dire, let me tell you. Are they dire wolves? who They are. Shifters.
00:55:52
Speaker
They're shifters. Yeah. Dire Bound is the first one. It's by Sable Sorensen. Yeah. The series is The Wolves of Ruin, but basically it's it's a fantasy series, but the first book in it is very much, it has all the Highland vibes. You have a princess who watches the dire wolves shifters are considered like bad. And so they kidnap them and this evil Lord she's supposed to marry is having them fight each other and she saves one of them from being killed.
00:56:24
Speaker
And the wolf who's supposed to have killed the other wolf looks looks at her and is pretty much like, yeah, I'm going to be busting you out of here. And so he escapes, freeing all the wolves and kidnaps her, but willingly because she doesn't want to have to marry that evil lord. Right.
00:56:39
Speaker
So he kidnaps her and gets her out of there. And so it's the the Highland like horse adventure where you're they're like trekking through the Highlands on by horse and they get to the keep. And it's that all those vibes, all those vibes.
00:56:52
Speaker
So it has those Highlander elements, but it has that fantasy thing where like the guy you think she's going to end up with, is she the guy he ends up with? Hard to say. Does the end this is the guy that she thinks is evil and she hates?
00:57:03
Speaker
Is he actually kind of a stone cold hottie? Maybe. Hard to say. But it's a it is a really fun adventure. the I will say that subsequent books are a little bit less Highlander, but that first one is solid Highland romantic crossover and I ate it up with a spoon.
00:57:19
Speaker
Okay. Noted. Sounds kind of fun. So I will say I i ah pulled all the books that might be Hottie McCutty books off my bookshelf and kind of read through a couple of them when I, it became clear that I was not going to finish the Elisa Brayden.
00:57:32
Speaker
i will say the wedding, not as good as the bride. agreed It's pretty fun. It's pretty fun. it's pretty fun And their dynamic is pretty fun, but it kind of gets saggy in the middle. One that I did read this week that was fun is Taming the Scotsman by Kinley McGregor. feel like I've read Kinley McGregor before and it was fun.
00:57:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, and it's like, it's like a pretty standard. It's from 2003. So it's like, it's like a pretty standard movie. hottie mccotty for the time period but you know it's like me big man no feelings with a manic pixie dream girl but they're both scottish which is a fun twist on it cool all right i feel like my recommendations are going to be challenging because i haven't read a lot of them since we started doing this which is when i really started tracking my books so i will say that they are a hundred percent
00:58:27
Speaker
id stroking kinds of books but the mccabe trilogy that i already mentioned by maya banks starts with in bed with a highlander they were they were pretty fun and very like cave manny That's what we're going for here, guys. That's what I wanted.
00:58:45
Speaker
i remember I did read the only Nora Roberts historical romance that she's ever written. And everybody is like, and this is why she doesn't write historical romance. I don't I was like, that was fine. I mean, it takes place right before the Battle of Gulloden and it's like kind of stressful, but...
00:59:00
Speaker
it was It wasn't the worst romance that I've ever read. If you want to do So Karen Marie Moaning, Ingrid had listed... I don't think she mentioned any of her books, but she had mentioned her during our conversations about what should we read. But the Highlander books, I think that she wrote were older. And as we had said, we we wanted to go newer.
00:59:19
Speaker
So i read Kiss of the Highlander. It's like time travel-y. It's bonkers. It is also like...
00:59:27
Speaker
all hottie mccotty like what i haven't read any of the rest of the series yet but i feel like if you're just going straight for in stroking that might be a fun place to do it and then the other author that i read couple in the series but I think again this was like before i really started keeping track and I think I read The Raider by Monica McCarty but Monica McCarty is another one that you'll see for I think the Kinley McGregor is another one you'll see relatively frequently in the Scottish but Monica McCarty so the Highland Guard series like I said I think I read The Raider and maybe I read the first one of the series too but it is it's more like it's joking he's a big tough warrior they're like Robert the Bruce's like elite fighting force
01:00:11
Speaker
It's like, what? But okay, we're in the Highlands. And those are like older, old school kind of mass market paperback type books. So definitely the id stroking idea and like kick it back to old school.
01:00:26
Speaker
but Okay, I do have one other recommendation. o It's Some Like It Plaid by Angela Quarles. You reviewed that one. I did review that. So that was 2019. And it didn't immediately come to mind because it takes place in second century Scotland. so it's like they've got plaids and stuff, but it's like Bronze Age. It's pre-Roman.
01:00:49
Speaker
So it's pretty wild. but it's a time But it's a time travel. But it does have a lot of those fish-out-of-water Highlander vibes. And the heroine who is from now is like does a lot of, like, let's update some of our thinking, fellas.
01:01:09
Speaker
You know, so we do have that, like, barbarism civilization conflict going on. Oh, man. But ah as with all time travel books, I'm like, really? You're gonna give up tampons?
01:01:20
Speaker
Yeah. forever and penicillin forever and in this case also bed sheets forever by she you know she's happy i'm happy is holly though two client do Are true trunk thighs enough to make you give up penicillin? No, but, i don't know you know.
01:01:42
Speaker
All valid points. Yes. that's All valid points. Let's bring it home. All right. Let's bring it home, Ingrid. This was a great talk. Thank you yeah for teaching us about Hattie Mascotties. Thank you. Yes. It was fun. It was a collaborative effort of joy. And I hope people give them a chance because they're really fun.
01:01:58
Speaker
They are. And if you have recommendations for like ah modern ones that slap, please tell. That'd be great. like to read one? Yeah. So anyway, thanks for listening and show notes, et cetera, et cetera. Keep it smutty.
01:02:14
Speaker
Show notes can be found at smutreport.com slash podcast. Catch us on the socials at smutreport. Keep it smutty, folks. Smutreport!