Category: Scottish/Highlander

Forgetting the Scot by Jennifer Trethewey

On By TracyIn Regency Era (1811-1820), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

Forgetting the Scot (The Highlanders of Balforss)Forgetting the Scot by Jennifer Trethewey

Tracy’s rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: The Highlanders of Balforss, #3

Release Date: October 22, 2018

Let me start this review with a PSA – this book contains several triggers – in the form of abuse and adultery. It is well written, but some of the content may be upsetting to some readers.

Virginia, Viscountess Langley is in a very unhappy marriage. Her husband was charming and attentive until the wedding and then his true colors began to show. He married her for her dowry and once he had it, he was cruel and abusive. Virginia has had enough, enough physical, mental and emotional abuse. Her greatest desire is to have children to love, convinced that she will never be able to have a child, she has turned her heart towards the forgotten children of London. She has a plan, she will use the trust fund her father set up for her and build a home for these children, she will live separately from Lord Langley and devote her life to orphans.

She is livid when she learns that Langley has stolen her money and plans to confront him, but everything changes when she is abducted after leaving the solicitors office. She is sold to the pirate O’Malley and held on his ship for months. She is sure all is lost when a miracle happens – they are rescued!

Magnus Sinclair never believed in love at first sight, until he saw Virginia. He saves her from certain death and wants nothing more than to always protect her. They form a bond and he believes that she is the “one”. But then the truth comes out – Virginia is married. Magnus is heartbroken, but he can’t seem to let her go. No one and nothing will keep him from her. Even the threat of his death. He will help her return to London and reclaim her fortune and ensure that her husband can never hurt her again – even if he dies in the process.

When things come to a head in London and Virginia is freed, Magnus has hope that they will have a HEA – But Virginia has her own dreams and as much as she wants Magnus, she will not forsake her dream for him or ask him to forsake his for her. A HEA for these two seems impossible, but a twist of fate may change everything.

I loved this book until about the 60% mark, up until then, I couldn’t read it fast enough, but then it hit a wall for me – in the form of adultery – I know her husband was a scumbag, I know he abused her and broke his vows, but that doesn’t change the fact that she committed adultery – this is a deal breaker for me – they shared kisses before this and while I wasn’t overly thrilled with that, I could let it go, but when they moved past kisses to an intimate relationship, I was upset and disgusted. But, I made a conscious decision to ignore my personal bias and be fair and open minded for the rest of the story. But once they got to London the story just fell apart in my opinion. Virginia just made one bad decision after another and several improbable/unbelievable things transpired. By the end of the book, I wanted Magnus to walk away and find another woman to love. Honestly, even without the adultery, I would have wanted him to wash his hands of her – she was so incredibly set on her path that she refused to even consider compromising – I just felt like she didn’t love Magnus as much as he loved her and hurt him over and over again.

This book was well written and flowed nicely, but in my opinion, the story fell apart after they got to London. I liked that this book tied all the books together, I liked revisiting characters from the previous books, I loved Lucy’s brother George, I LOVED Magnus and my heart broke for Virginia. But in the end, I felt that this was a 3 star read. The first half of this book was a easily a 5 star read, but the second half was barely 2 stars, there were so many questionable legal issues and consequences that were wrapped up too quickly and easily to be convincing and the possible legal ramifications of her pregnancy were completely ignored. If you have read the other books in this series, I would recommend this book, but caution that there are “triggers” in this book. If you haven’t read the other books, I would recommend starting with Tying the Scot and deciding for yourself.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

 

The Laird’s Willful Lass by Anna Campbell

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's Reviews2 Comments

The Laird's Willful Lass (The Lairds Most Likely, #1)The Laird’s Willful Lass by Anna Campbell

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Lairds Most Likely, #1

Release Date: July 31, 2018

The book opens with a young Fergus MacKinnon meeting Hamish and his cousin Diarmid on the moors late at night, the younger boys are lost and Fergus leads them to safety. They have an amusing discussion of what they consider the perfect wife and Hamish and Diarmid don’t agree with Fergus, who believes that a quiet, obedient, sweet woman is the ideal wife…

Fifteen years later, Fergus comes across the scene of a carriage accident and see a stunning woman trapped inside. He rescues her and her father, bemused by the woman who doesn’t do as she is told and seems to think that she can help. He takes them to his castle, her father’s leg is broken and she learns that he will be required to stay for at least a month.

Marina Lucchetti is an artist, she is 1/2 Italian and 1/2 English, but has been raised in Italy. She has worked hard to earn recognition for her art and is very independent and self sufficient – she doesn’t like this man telling her what to do or what is best for her or her father – she was commissioned to paint Scottish landscapes for a client and she is dead set on going to Skye. When Fergus informs her that her father will not be able to go and tells her she should stay at Achnasheen and paint – she bristles – she doesn’t care how handsome the man is, he is not her keeper and will not dictate where she goes!

But she does admit that she can’t go alone and she doesn’t want to leave her father alone, she grudgingly agrees to wait to see if the landscapes will be acceptable. But if they are not, she is leaving.

Fergus and Marina are both strong, independent, stubborn people and they clash quite a bit at the beginning, but they are both reasonable and Marina does see the merits of Fergus’ suggestions. Things are going well and she realizes that she likes him, but her art must come first and to be successful, her reputation must remain pristine. When Fergus suggests they become lovers, she is opposed, she has too much to lose. But when she has a brush with death, she reconsiders and they embark on a temporary affair.

As the weeks pass, they grow closer and neither is looking forward to saying goodbye – but Marina’s life is in Italy and Fergus is tied to Scotland – can there be a HEA?

I really loved this story – It was a straight up love story, no villains, no complicated plot to follow, just a boy and girl falling in love and learning that love is worth any sacrifice. Sigh… Marina and Fergus are wonderful characters, both strong and used to being in charge, watching them learn to compromise was both amusing and poignant. The love scenes in this book were steamy without being overly graphic, the very few secondary characters are great and added to the story without competing for attention, the banter between Fergus and Marina is very entertaining and the ending is sigh worthy. If you are looking for a really good love story without a lot of complications and side stories – this is the book for you!! I am happy to recommend this book and look forward to Hamish and Diarmid’s stories!!