This was probably one of the sorriest excuses for a book I've ever had the misfortune to read. The characters are such awful stereotypes and so one-dimensional that the reading experience is incredibly boring. The whole book could probably have been shortened by a good 200 pages as I swear if I had been forced to read about one more dress-shopping experience in England I would have screamed.Then, there is the horrendous grammar and the spelling mistakes. One example out of many - the author uses 'epilates' for `epaulettes'! Now epilating is something women use to get rid of unwanted hair on their legs. Epaulettes decorate a gentleman's shoulders in military fashion. Suffice to say, the writing style is abysmal, bringing to mind mediocre school essays. The author has obviously no clue how to write indirect speech and the sentence structures are awful.
My main gripe, however, is the use of foreign language. First, part of the book takes place in Eirinn - Ireland - and the author uses what she seems to think are Irish phrases. They are, however, Scots Gaelic, a language I happen to be fluent in. She seems to have picked up certain phrases from either very bad handwriting or badly printed pages as there is an absolutely ridiculous mistake: "Clamar a tha sibh" instead of "Ciamar a tha sibh", mistaking an 'i' for an 'l'. Then, the form 'Chaluim' is actually the genetive case of the name Calum. No name in either Irish or Gaelic will be lenited in the nominative. This is followed by the absolute nonsensical form of Paul's name in Irish/Gaelic "Po'l". Where on earth does that apostrophe come from??? Next, the author uses the German word "schwanger" for pregnant in ways that are grammatically so unbelievably wrong it is painful. Dear Ms Lee, if you have no language skills, please, go to a scholar for help and don't subject readers to this painful experience!
Then there is that nonsense about Chaluim's wife being a Sasannach from Cuimrigh. Well, sorry, but "a'Chuimrigh" is Wales and if you call any Welshman English, even today, you're likely to get punched. The Welsh are Celts, themselves oppressed by the English!
