Scotland is on my bucket list of places to visit, so I always enjoy reading books that take place there while envisioning the country's beautiful scenery (and maybe a handsome Highlander or two to go along with it). "A Scot to Wed" was a fun one, featuring interesting characters and a unique plot that kept me happily turning the pages for an afternoon. A full review is included at the end of this post, but in short, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for all fans of Scottish historical romance.
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About "A Scot to Wed"
He'll have her at any cost.
Highlander Laird Evan MacNeil cannot believe Mistress Katie Sterling just shows up at the MacDuff castle with this faded piece of parchment laying claim to the lands he just legally inherited. Not that he really wants to be here in the lowlands, but he has responsibilities to his clan and the exasperating Katie has uprooted the remnants of her father’s clan and moved them across the country to live here. There’s no way he can leave to go back home now.
Katie has nowhere else to go and she refuses to bow down to the arrogant yet undeniably handsome Highlander. She’s had enough with men trying to control her and she is quite capable of handling herself.
Now that Evan must spar with a beautiful lass for the rights to the lands, he will fight to the end. This battle is nothing like the ones his ancestors fought with crossbows and boiling oil. They never wanted to bed the enemy.
***
Check out an excerpt from "A Scot to Wed" here!
My Review
I enjoyed Callie Hutton's "A Scot to Wed" primarily because it was so different from a typical historical romance; there were no ballroom scenes to be found here! It was a relatively light, sweet, quick read featuring interesting characters and a unique plot, set in the beautiful Scottish lowlands which is always a lovely place to "visit."
Female lead character Katie was quite bold and brave for a young woman of her time, but she had the intelligence and skills to back it up. She acted as the leader of her clan in her father's stead while also managing his estate, raising her younger brother, and becoming a skilled healer. It was clear how much the welfare of her clan meant to Katie, and I loved that she never backed down when Evan, the male lead, tried to impose his will unilaterally. She always stood up to him and fought for what she believed in.
Evan was surprisingly forward-thinking for a man of his time, willing to offer Katie a job as his land steward even though many of his peers wouldn't have believed that a woman could do the work. He seemed a bit arrogant and was used to getting his way as the leader of his clan, so dealing with Katie was sometimes a challenge for Evan. The chaos of Katie's clan getting settled into their new homes was also somewhat overwhelming for him, but I had to laugh at some of his reactions. I particularly enjoyed his outrage when Myrtle the goat wandered through the castle!
My one big issue with this book was that while I liked Katie and Evan as a couple, I thought their romance could have been better developed. It was obvious that Evan was attracted to Katie, but there was nothing about his behavior or attitude that screamed "love" to me. He seemed more annoyed by her than anything for the vast majority of the book. As for Katie, she seemed to be grateful for Evan's guidance in making decisions related to the estate, and she certainly worried about how she would do everything on her own after he left, but she never really thought about missing him for any romantic reasons. Their relationship seemed more like a practical arrangement with some mutual affection than love to me, which is completely fine, but I don't think that was the point of the story.
Female lead character Katie was quite bold and brave for a young woman of her time, but she had the intelligence and skills to back it up. She acted as the leader of her clan in her father's stead while also managing his estate, raising her younger brother, and becoming a skilled healer. It was clear how much the welfare of her clan meant to Katie, and I loved that she never backed down when Evan, the male lead, tried to impose his will unilaterally. She always stood up to him and fought for what she believed in.
Evan was surprisingly forward-thinking for a man of his time, willing to offer Katie a job as his land steward even though many of his peers wouldn't have believed that a woman could do the work. He seemed a bit arrogant and was used to getting his way as the leader of his clan, so dealing with Katie was sometimes a challenge for Evan. The chaos of Katie's clan getting settled into their new homes was also somewhat overwhelming for him, but I had to laugh at some of his reactions. I particularly enjoyed his outrage when Myrtle the goat wandered through the castle!
My one big issue with this book was that while I liked Katie and Evan as a couple, I thought their romance could have been better developed. It was obvious that Evan was attracted to Katie, but there was nothing about his behavior or attitude that screamed "love" to me. He seemed more annoyed by her than anything for the vast majority of the book. As for Katie, she seemed to be grateful for Evan's guidance in making decisions related to the estate, and she certainly worried about how she would do everything on her own after he left, but she never really thought about missing him for any romantic reasons. Their relationship seemed more like a practical arrangement with some mutual affection than love to me, which is completely fine, but I don't think that was the point of the story.
At any rate, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it for all fans of Scottish historicals. I would read more of Ms. Hutton's work in the future.
*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
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