ARC Review: Finding Fraser by KC Dyer

Emma Sheridan is looking for love, and not just any love. She is looking for her own version of James Fraser, the hero from the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. Having recently lost her job, and still brushing off any lingering sting from her latest disaster relationship, she finds herself wanting. Lonely, and in need of adventure, she sells all her belongings, and sets off for Scotland to find a Jamie (James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser). Her trip there is one of odd interferences, strange experiences, and a lot of humor. However, she manages to make it there, and in one piece.

Despite her sister Sophia’s constant nagging, and hurtful remarks, Emma refuses to give up. She goes to Scotland planning to initially stay in B&B’s and Hostels (since they’re cheaper than hotels), and copy Claire Fraser’s (previously known as Claire Beauchamp & Claire Randall; the heroine of the story Outlander) path throughout her journey in the books in hopes of finding her own kilted warrior. Along the way, she makes friends, delivers babies of the human and animal type, sees many sites, comes into contact with possibly a spirit, is heartbroken, and becomes a fascination to the loyal fans of her blog. Furthermore, and most importantly she finds herself on the way to finding love.

Okay, so naturally as a HUGE fan of Diana Gabaldon (I’ve even ordered personalized books from her), I was going to read this book regardless. Jamie Fraser is one of my FAVORITE book boyfriends, as well as plenty of other females out there. Then you add in the catchy plot. I mean come on, any book nerd who has fallen in love throughout their reading adventures would LOVE to find their own version of Mr. Right, or in this case Jamie Fraser. So, when the story is about a woman who takes a leap of faith and heads out on a daring adventure to find her own real-life happily-ever-after with the qualities of the man she loves out of book….it’s worth a read.

I think the author took a chance writing this book, but honestly, the plotline will register with any self-professed book lover of romance in any variety. Let’s face it people, it is hard to find a lover who measures up to those we fall in love with in the fictional world, so why not enjoy a story about someone finding it, and themselves in the process? Exactly; now I have you with my logic *laughs*.

Anyways, Emma definitely is a character of interest. She is very emotional, honest, loving, and introverted. I identify with her on many levels, as I’m sure others will. I enjoyed watching her scale the countryside looking for her Jamie. I laughed at her naïve innocence at times and her ability to overdo it as well. I also felt terrible for her when things went awry because she does have quite a bit of bad luck sometimes. I admired her, however, for her ability to keep pushing forward. She is a determined woman.

I loved the secondary characters….mostly, with the exception of Hamish, whom I never understood the ultimate fascination with. Actually, I am pretty sure this is the only part of the book I didn’t really enjoy. It was also predictable. I knew from the beginning of her first introduction to Hamish that he was a jerk. It was obvious that Emma was settling from the beginning of her romance with him out of her desperation to find someone to love who would love her back.

That is the only part of the book that burned me a little. I wanted to shake Emma furiously for taking so long to admit that she deserved better. After all, with her having experienced a few failed relationships in the past, I expected her to be a little more sure of herself in that regard. I understand her wanting to fall in love. I understand her desperation when it came to taking a HUGE risk. She was afraid of losing everything, and gaining nothing. With that said, I think she was too smart to have taken so long to acknowledge what was truly happening with the guy.

I also knew who the ultimate man for her was from the beginning. So a few things were predictable, BUT I liked the interesting and awkward way the author brought these two closer; slowly, and at the right time. So, this aspect of the book worked for me. Jack was my favorite character besides Emma (next to the mysterious HiHoKitty and Morag of course!) because he was always supportive of her. He also is a sweetheart, and a little on the vulnerable side, yet manly enough to know how to write sexually heated tidbits in his work. Hell, I wanted a Jack of my own!

I really liked the historical bits thrown in, especially the parts about William Wallace and Braveheart. I’ve been to Scotland, so I know that the Scots actually consider Robert the Bruce as their savior and that Braveheart was very inaccurate historically. Therefore, I appreciated the effort put into the facts stated in the book. Not just with the people mentioned either, but with the places themselves. There was enough slack in the description to put my own imagination to work, yet enough truth outlined in the description of the places to help guide me.

I also like the silly parts with Morag, Ashwin, and every scene involving Emma somehow always being thrown into moments of strange interactions with others. I liked her blog posts throughout the book, and I was always wishing I could read all the comments left on them (even though I knew it was fiction, and I couldn’t). So, it’s quite clear that this book was enjoyable for me to read despite the tiny weaknesses. Ultimately, I recommend this book, and I will be looking forward to reading another from KC.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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