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.

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book, published in 1995, takes place in the not-so-distant future near Shanghai. In this world, people have formed themselves into tribes. John Percival Hackworth belongs to the neo-Victorians, a tribe that has adopted the manners and strict moral code of British royalty in the 19th century. A high-ranking official in the tribe commissions Hackworth to create an interactive device called A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer that can teach a girl to reason and solve problems. There was supposed to be only one copy made, for the official's grandchild, but Hackworth illegally made an extra copy for his own daughter. The copy is stolen from him and ends up with Nell, a four-year-old girl who is a member of the poor tribeless class called thetes. She is alternately abused and neglected by her mother and the parade of men that come throught their apartment, so the Primer gives her a way to escape.

This book is for a person is accustomed to reading sci-fi. Stephenson jumps right in with jargon of the world he created and it can be a steep learning curve if you aren't a regular reader of this genre. Also, a lot of the stuff that is implied in a sci-fi TV show or distilled down to a scene or two is spelled out in a book, which made for long passages about how buildings were constructed or how certain tribes came to be. A fan of the genre would consider this part of the world-building that authors have to do, but I felt like I was reading a dry history textbook in those spots.

Since I prefer more personal stories, I would have to say this book wasn't for me. After the first 50 pages, I ended up skipping several pages in favor of chapters about Nell. The story of how Nell uses the Primer to pull herself out of a bad family situation and become someone who could fit in with the upper class held my attention. Whenever the book switched to following what happened to Hackworth after he stole the Primer, I lost interest. As the book drew to a close, there was more about warring factions and a techonological revolution and less about Nell, so I just skimmed my way to the end.


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