Review: Haggis MacBrawn's Dishy Secret by Karen McCompostine

Haggis MacBrawn’s Dishy Secret by Karen McCompostine

Timy reviews Haggis MacBrawn’s Dishy Secret, the first book in Karen McCompostine’s The Edible Highlander Comedic Fantasy Romance trilogy.

About the Book
Series:The Edible Highlander #1
Genre:Romance, Fantasy
Publisher:Self-Published
Date of Publishing:July 22, 2019
Trigger Warnings:
Page count:99
Possible The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge prompts:
  • Free Your Mind
  • Are You Gonna Be My Girl
  • You Look Better When I’m Drunk
Book Blurb
Haggis MacBrawn's Dishy Secret by Karen McCompostine

When Annabelle meets a mysterious Scottish billionaire little does she know that he carries a terrible secret, a curse which he won’t reveal until Annabelle agrees to marry him… or stays in his bedroom until midnight passes and her life will be altered forever. A Scottish romantic novel with bits of humour here and there for the fans of Outlander and traditional Scottish cuisine. The first release in the widely anticipated The Edible Highlander Series.

Quote of the Book
Quote Background

“You have no idea how difficult it is to lie to everyone, to hide who you really are…”
“Cry me a river, Haggis,” said the whisky, borrowing Annabelle’s lips without her permission. “I don’t mind your ‘curse’, what I mind is that you won’t just… emancipate yourself, permit yourself to be as you are! You can’t even say it to me, can you? You just repeat the word ‘curse’ as if it was so bad, which it isn’t!”

Song of the Book

Look, if we are going all out, then let’s go all out.

Review

Looking at the cover and the blurb, and knowing me, right now you might be wondering if I finally snapped. If burnout won over me in the end and I totally lost my mind – whatever was left of it, anyway. And you would be right to be concerned. But let me assure you, that 1) I’m completely fine and 2) I’m 100% sane – well, 100%ish… which is probably like 75% on better days.

The Edible Highlander trilogy was brought to my attention by a friend of the author. At the time I was reading a book I didn’t particularly enjoy, so when the words “trashy romance novella” was thrown into the conversation, I was intrigued. Look, how much worse it could be than my current read, right? Plus, who says no to be entertained for a little bit?

My expectations were…I’d say low, but actually, my expectations were very high for something, well, trashy. It’s hard to explain. Haggis MacBrawn’s Dishy Secret tells the story of Annabelle and Haggis’ meeting. Annabelle is a twentysomething, working at a café/bar with an asshole of a boss and shares a flat with four other people. She doesn’t have much to look forward to, and her only entertainment is making up a list of famous (and wealthy) people she’d like to marry. Haggis MacBrawn is a famous millionaire with a famous ex-wife, good looks, and a rather dishy secret. Not a likely pair, are they? I can assure you, they act exactly as you might imagine they do.

My review so far might make you think this sounds like a pretty clichéd rom com, and you would be right – again, stop being so damn smart, geez – however, this is also a parody. Karen McCompostine has a certain sense of humor that’s not going to work with everyone. It’s very over the top sometimes. It didn’t always work for me, but on the other hand, it also made me laugh out loud at times. I especially loved the names such as Moanmoan or Seamus O’Shaugnessy just to name a few. And it also made me ask more than once: “What the fuck did I read?”. Which I’m pretty sure was the exact intended reaction from the reader. And for that, I tip my hat to Karen McCompostine.

With its 100 pages, Haggis MacBrawn’s Dishy Secret is a quick afternoon read and a book that will leave you scratching your head for a couple of days. Definitely one that’s hard to forget. It might be a short book, but it sure does deliver a punch. It holds up a mirror to all the clichés and tropes you can find in popular romance novels such as 50 Shades of Grey and mocks them in a very clever and 100% absurd way. If you have an hour or two and need a good laugh, don’t look any further than The Edible Highlander series.

Our Judgement
Let Their Deeds Be Noted - 4 Crowns

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