The Scot Beds His Wife by Kerrigan Byrne | Audio Review

Series: Victorian Rebels, #5
Traits & Tropes: damaged hero & heroine; hidden identity; tortured hero; titled hero; enemies to lovers; marriage of convenience; reformed rake; frustrating heroine, secret baby
Setting/Genre: Historical, Victorian, Wester Ross, Scotland
Heat Level: 4/5
Publication Date: 10.03.17
Rating: 3/5
Narration Rating: 5/5!

Gavin St. James, the Earl of Thorne, has spent his life looking for a way to distance himself from the MacKenzie clan and his cruel father's despicable reputation.  Gavin has developed his own reputation as a lover, though that means he's known for being debauched and charming women, regardless of their marital status.  Now as part of emancipating himself from the MacKenzies and ridding himself his need for financial support from his share in their distillery, Gavin has set his sights on cattle farming and must purchase the neighboring estate, Erradale, to begin.  When the fiery, American-raised heiress who owns the land arrives in Scotland, Gavin sees the perfect opportunity to put his charm to work, and gets much more than he bargained for.

Through an unlikely turn of events, American Samantha Ross has found herself venturing to the Scottish Highlands, posing as Allison Ross, to claim her new friend's land and enable both herself and the real Allison to escape unwanted dealings.  But Sam is running from a particularly dangerous set of circumstances herself and they soon follow her to the new home she's trying to establish in Scotland.  Now in rather desperate need of protection, Sam agrees to a rushed marriage of convenience with Gavin.  Their scandalous marriage is mutually beneficial, giving Sam the protection she needs and ensuring Gavin gets the land he so wants.  But soon their business alliance evolves into more than either ever anticipated and as Sam's past and lies catch up to her, Gavin discovers just where his priorities truly lie and just how far he'll go to protect what's his.

I enjoyed this book overall, especially the narration by Derek Perkins, but it's most definitely not my favorite and not quite on par with the other books in this series for me.  Gavin has been such an intriguing character in the other books and I knew there was so much more to him, and there was, but I was left feeling like he somehow deserved a bit more out of his happy ending than he got.  I did not like Sam as a heroine at all.  She only grew on me in the very last chapter when she finally started being open with Gavin.  She kept unforgivable secrets and for way too long.  Even after Gavin opened up to her and she had the perfect opportunity to confide in him, she still didn't.  The climax of the danger and drama here wasn't quite as satisfying as I'd hoped and I think this was another chance for Gavin to redeem himself that was a bit lost.  Sam's excessive use of crass language didn't make her seam tough and capable to me, just rude, obnoxious, and a "stereotypical" gun-slinging American. (And I say this as someone who quite likes the f-word).  I didn't find it charming and it just made her unlikable, especially given how this behavior didn't improve at all even after she and Gavin's relationship had developed into more.  In fact, given how rude, obnoxious, and hateful she was to Gavin before she even knew his name, I'm not really sure how thy ever got close at all.  Not that Gavin was a peach either, especially given the ridiculous number of women he'd slept with, but I think there was a big missed opportunity with the fact that his reasons for his behavior were never explored.  There was plenty of excellent steam here, but it never felt as emotionally intense as some of the other couples from this series and that made their relationship feel a bit flat for me.  This one was a bit of a disappointment for me, but the side characters were very interesting.  I enjoyed the reconciliation between Liam and Gavin and the growing relationship between Eamon and Eleanor.  I could've read much more about both of those.  I'm looking forward to Callum's story now and hoping he'll get a book of his own soon.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2312216173
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2013645123