Series on Hold: Kaitlyn and the Highlander by Diana Knightly

Kaitlyn and the Highlander by Diana Knightly
Ongoing series (10 books so far)
Read Books 1-4 in January 2020

**WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!**

The majority of my reading over the past year and a half has consisted of romance series. Whether a series has a continuing storyline or standalone stories within the same universe, I have found that binge-reading long series isn't the same as binge-watching TV shows. I tend to get tired of the series after about three books and have to take a book to read something else. Often I go back, but sometimes I forget about the series only to run across it later and wonder why I didn't continue reading it. The latter is what I thought when I ran across the Kaitlyn and the Highlander series again this week, so I took a quick look over my Goodreads notes to figure out why.

The Kaitlyn and the Highlander series starts off with Kaitlyn, a young woman who had a promising career as a lifestyle vlogger, only to have her boyfriend break up with her on video in a truly embarrassing manner. So she moves back home to lick her wounds and try to find a new job when she crosses paths with Magnus, who turns out to be a Scottish time-traveler from 300 years in the past. 

The balance between comedy and tragedy was slightly uneven in the first book and the silliness of the 20-something characters tended to be a bit jarring to my old-lady sensibilities. I kept reading, however, because I did enjoy how Magnus and Kaitlyn built themselves a tribe among their friends. Each book ends in a cliffhanger and that, along with the strength of the romance between Magnus and Kaitlyn. 

Unfortunately, my enjoyment screeched to a halt with the fourth book. The tone was getting darker with each book, but it was downright violent about 50% into the fourth installment, Begin Where We Are. I'm talking sexual violence, which I don't need in my romances. Add in the fact that it looked like the plot of each story going forward was going to be a variation of "Who's got the device?," and I knew I had to stop reading it. 

Lately, I have been tempted to give the remainder of a series a go. As of this writing, there are six books that I haven't read yet, which would make for a good binge. A long series always appeals to me. However, rereading my notes for the fourth book reminds me that I probably won't enjoy the fifth.