The Inscription
Grade : C-

This book had such an intriguing premise. It seemed to have elements of Outlander, one of my all-time favorite books, and Highlander: The Series, an entertaining television show that no longer airs. What I found was a story that had promise but ultimately took too long to engage my interest.

Amber MacPhee wakes up in Scotland in 1566 after driving her car into Loch Ness. Immortal laird Lachlan MacAlpin rescues her from the loch and takes her to his castle to recover. Amber seems to be the fulfillment of a legend that foretells of a woman from the future, chosen by the Guardian of the Loch (Nessie to the rest of us) who has burnished gold-colored hair and will come to save an immortal from darkness. While Lachlan struggles to believe she is the woman of legend, Amber struggles to believe she has traveled through time.

Amber is a very modern, independent woman. She stands up to Lachlan when he's overbearing and shows him how to relax when he's uptight. She befriends all the residents of the castle and makes no enemies. She also takes Lachlan's brother and sister in hand and helps them blossom.

Lachlan is a medieval laird who can be overbearing but manages to learn how to show his love for Amber and his family. He loves fighting. The darkness that threatens to consume him when he fights is a form of insanity that makes him kill for the love of it. Both Lachlan's father and his worst enemy suffer from the fighting insanity as well. Amber and Lachlan made good friends, but there is little heat between them until the end of the book.

For about the first half of the book, I felt like I was missing chunks of information, and the transitions between scenes seemed choppy. This made the book easy to put down at night and harder to pick up again. It wasn't until the last quarter of the book, beginning with Lachlan's battle against his enemy, that I felt compelled to turn the pages.

The secondary characters added interest, particularly Gavin and Eleanor, Lachlan's brother and sister, and Angus and O'Donnell, other Immortals. The Immortals were so interesting that even after Lachlan explained their history, I wanted to know more about them. A little more history would have made up, in part, for the lack of heat in Amber and Lachlan's relationship.

The author resolved the story very nice, even provoking a few tears. While, until this point Amber and Lachlan's relationship didn't come alive, by the end, I finally believed in their love. With polish, attention to the love relationship, and more of the history I craved, The Inscription could have been a wonderful story. Despite its flaws, I'm looking forward to seeing more of Ms. Binder's work.

Reviewed by Andrea Pool
Grade : C-

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : January 30, 2000

Publication Date: 2000

Review Tags: 1500s Scotland

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Andrea Pool

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