Saturday, 15 September 2018

[Review] Seduced by a Scot, by Julia London



Title Seduced by a Scot
Series: Highland Grooms #6
Author: Julia London
Publisher: HQN Books
Number of pages: 376
Publication date: October 30th 2018

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Synopsis:
There’s no matchmaking an unruly heart

When a prominent Scottish family faces a major scandal weeks before their daughter’s wedding, they turn in desperation to the enigmatic fixer for the aristocracy, Nichol Bain. Remarkably skilled at making high-profile problems go away, Nichol understands the issue immediately. The family’s raven-haired ward, Maura Darby, has caught the wandering eye—and rather untoward advances—of the groom.

Nichol assuredly escorts Maura toward his proposed solution: an aging bachelor for her to marry. But rebellious Maura has no interest in marrying a stranger, especially when her handsome traveling companion has captivated her so completely. Thankfully, Nichol loves a challenge, but traveling with the bold and brash Maura has him viewing her as far more than somebody’s problem. Which raises a much bigger issue—how can he possibly elude disaster when the heart of the problem is his own?


Review:
I received an eARC at no cost from the author, and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review. Thank you.


Seduced by a Scot is the sixth book in the Highland Grooms series. After such a good fifth book, I thought it might be difficult to come back to that excellence. But Maura and Nichol came pretty close to it. Maybe because Maura (after leaving her house, of course) reminded me of Catriona? I don’t know. What I do know is that I really enjoyed this book.

Both Maura and Nichol have had a hard time in life and, in this book, both of them find themselves without a place to call home. Even if it might seem that the attraction isn’t immediate, we can feel the sparks growing.

We have a strong perspective of how women were seen in the past (I mean, some of us today are still experiencing this - sadly), and how most males thought it was always their fault that they caught someone’s eye. Because, of course, even if she pushes them aside, it’s still her fault because she’s pretty? Thankfully (and as expected), the hero treats her like a real person, even if he tries to lead her to a life she doesn’t want. He believes it’s the best for all involved, but when things between them start to change it’s hard for Maura to keep to the plan, and Nichol showed a huuuuge resolution almost to the end. Sometimes, his prerogative in forcing her to this “good life” that he envisioned for her as a bit too much. It felt like he was doing the same that had been done –no, forced on to her for her whole life. And didn’t really like that.

Also, for a very intelligent and resourceful man, Nichol wasn’t the brightest in the bunch when it came to understanding why the Baron MacBain acted the way he did. I knew right from the start, he literally tells him to his face. I can understand that a child might not put the pieces together, but adult Nichol (and Ivan – his brother - to be honest) should have known the truth a loooooong time ago. He even says so himself!

Anyway, those are the only reasons why this book has a lower review score than the previous one (which was 4.5*).

Maura was so determined and I’m pretty sure she would have made it on her own (which would have been interesting to see). The story contains a bit of a Cinderella and Rapunzel vibe to it, which some readers might appreciate.

In the end, it was a sexy book, with determined characters that overcame their struggles and past emotions, even if sometimes behaved unlike themselves.



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