Series: Midnight in Scotland, #2
Traits & Tropes: tortured hero, marriage of convenience
Genre/Setting: Historical; Scotland
Publication Date: 12.08.20
Heat Level: 4/5
Rating: 5/5
Since his wrongful imprisonment and torture, Broderick MacPherson’s long recovery has been driven solely by his need to seek vengeance on the man responsible and to keep his family safe. But a lost Englishwoman stumbles onto his land, interrupting his revenge in action and his enemy escapes into the night. Now, the lady’s testimony could put Broderick right back into the prison he barely survived. Lucky for him, she’s thought of a convenient way around this.
Lady Kate Huxley has fallen in love with Scotland on this visit with her brother and sister-in-law. She needed the escape from the London marriage mart and she’s enjoying a new muse for her writing. She’s enjoyed everything really, up until she stumbles upon a monstrous Highlander and becomes a potential criminal witness.
When Kate learns of all Broderick has suffered, she knows she’ll do anything to prevent him suffering any further, and to be allowed to remain in Scotland, including becoming his wife. Besides, she knows she’ll at least not have to worry about them falling in love and risk losing herself.
Y’all this book…it made me feel all the things. It did take a bit for me to get into the story as the initial setup took a while and Kate certainly had to grow on me. In fact, I really didn’t like Kate much at all until about the final third of the book. Yes, she was sweet and kind-hearted, but she was also rather vapid, frivolous, immature, and utterly oblivious. She had me rolling my eyes quite a lot and she threw too many tantrums for my liking, but this wound up being a good way for she and Broderick to get to know each other quickly. Poor Broderick is one of the most tortured heroes I've read and that, compared with the sheer pointlessness of the violence done to him, was just pitiful and difficult to read. He had so much damage to overcome and the fact that he became such a profoundly sweet, endearing, and protective hero after all that was just another testament to his excellent characterization and development. Once Kate and Broderick learned to communicate, I loved them as a couple. Kate wound up being extremely caring, she and Broderick both did a lot of growing, and their devotion to each other was palpable and lovely. I loved the camaraderie between the MacPhersons and the sheer competence they displayed. Broderick and Kate were explosively steamy together and I loved how she reawakened him and gave him hope for a future again, while he helped her realize that love wasn’t something to be feared or avoided. The climactic action scenes held my attention and had me turning pages rapidly. I can’t wait for the next book now and I’m quietly shipping Alexander and Sabella.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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