Cat's Books: Romance

t’s said that women and men are from two different planets when it comes to communication, but how can they overcome the obstacles of prehistoric times when one of them simply doesn’t have the ability to comprehend language?

Ehd’s a caveman living on his own in a harsh wilderness. He’s strong and intelligent, but completely alone. When he finds a beautiful young woman in his pit trap, it’s obvious to him that she is meant to be his mate. He doesn’t know where she came from; she’s wearing some pretty odd clothing, and she makes a lot of noises with her mouth that give him a headache. Still, he’s determined to fulfill his purpose in life – provide for her, protect her, and put a baby in her.

Elizabeth doesn’t know where she is or exactly how she got there. She’s confused and distressed by her predicament, and there’s a caveman hauling her back to his cavehome. She’s not at all interested in Ehd’s primitive advances, and she just can’t seem to get him to listen. No matter what she tries, getting her point across to this primitive, but beautiful, man is a constant – and often hilarious – struggle. 

With only each other for company, they must rely on one another to fight the dangers of the wild and prepare for the winter months. As they struggle to coexist, theirs becomes a love story that transcends language and time.

Review

The storytelling skills in this romance is gripping. The writing doesn't always match the quality but if you relax into this book the love story is worth the rough patches in delivery.

This is an ambitious romance in many ways. I love books that push the genre. We have a prehistoric setting. There are other romances or epics set in this time period (The Earth's children Series by Jean M Auel most notably) but they aren't abundant so the setting is unusual.

The book is written from the male's point of you until the epilogue. The hero is from this time (its a time travel) and doesn't have the capacity for language. He is very intelligent.

These two facts make the book engrossing. They help Savage avoid the most annoying part of a time travel book (the shock, adjustment, fear that the traveler will leave or take the person with them making them abandon them) because our hero never knows she is from a different time--just a different tribe. She has distress but it is understood though his eyes. The couple grows to love each other deeply but it is a love without the language of words. It is action and body language. A human pairing. Sweet and passionate. Great stuff.

The writing is repetitive in places and Savage struggles to get the hero's interior thoughts consistent t in place. Penis seems a bit of an out of place work but the putting a baby in her thought seems like it would evolve over time. There are also awkward and clunky passages but the overall arc of the story is just so good, true, fun, moving and thoughtful, I found myself not caring. Some of you might though.

The HEA is a rich one that covers decades with all the sorrow and joy and yet the book reads easily and quickly.

If you like to see the genre do new things and author's reaching just above themselves, try this book. Its a good'un.