If this book had been just a little bit more original I would have given it 4 stars, but over and over I read a scene or circumstance that was *so close* to another book I'd already read. I don't think this author copied or anything, there just wasn't much helping it stand out. That said, I liked how she handled the estranged marriage, I usually don't care that much for them, they spend too much time on the back story that led them there, or too much time head-butting in the present, or their downfall all hinged on one dramatic misunderstanding or something silly. But these two were more believable. They hadn't hated each other, they'd just lacked some maturity and understanding, and they came in with different expectations. That's entirely buyable, and doesn't need a huge transformation of a character flaw, just some growth and perspective. I appreciated that. The characters ended up pretty likable. I will read more from this author, and hope for a little more creativity/originality. ( )

Being a woman in the early 18th Century means being pawn to be used or traded for money or property. Margot Armstrong was a new debutante when her father agreed to marry her off to Arran Mackenzie. Both men stood to gain from this deal - her father would gain lands in Scotland and Arran was to receive a barony and lands in England. Raised to be a perfect English wife, Margot was not trained for life as the wife of a Highland laird. After only 4 miserable months she packed up and went home to England.
Three years later she is back, not because she wanted to come but because her father has sent her. She was to spy on her husband to see if he was part of the upcoming Jacobite rebellion. Though she came back to the Highlands unwillingly, she began to have feelings for her husband.
Julie London, has created a wonderful world of the Scottish Highlands prior to the Jacobite rebellion. Her characters are well written and draw you in to their feelings. While Arran is a strong warrior, he's not afraid to let his feelings for his wife show - even when he doesn't feel like he can trust her - he still loves her. The couple gets the Happily Ever After they so richly deserve. ( )

***Deal Alert*** This is only $.99 for Kindle (deal also on B&N and other sites). The hero is a doggy lover, don't miss out!
Amazon Link
As of 3/18/17

4.5 stars

I read this for the Man in a Kilt square for Romance Bingo.

She was afraid of him, disgusted by him, attracted to him.

Without the sweeping epic saga war components, this reminded me of Pride of Lions by Marsha Canham. As with the heroine in that one, Margot grew up extremely spoiled, sheltered, and is incredibly naïve. I personally am not the biggest fan of reading about perfect people, I love growth and journey. When Margot first meets Arran she is only 16 and after only two more meetings they are married after she turns 18. She is then immediately taken out of her home in England and brought to Arran's home in Scotland. Margot is an extreme fish out of water and her elitist ways and attitude definitely don't jive with the clan structure. She tries to help in her known English ways, but it only works to distance her more from Arran's people. Now, Arran may be completely different from the fops she grew up around and liked but we still she her attracted to him but she doesn't quite know what to do with it because she doesn't know him. I liked the fact that Margot wasn't blinded by insta-lust and just because she found Arran attractive she didn’t instantly trust him and it didn’t solve all their problems. Margot's just too young, too scared, and too bitter about not being able to marry someone remotely of her choosing and she ends up leaving Arran after only a couple months of marriage.

"I remember that your list of complaints was quite long."
She could feel the skin of her chest heating beneath his study of her. She had to look away or be devoured by that penetrating gaze. "Were they complaints? I always rather thought them pleas to help me reconcile to my new surroundings."
"Ah, is that what they were, then?" he mused.

Arran is more instantly likeable but while he has about 9 years on Margot, he was almost as clueless to marriage. He's the one who is struck by first sight and he knows as soon as he sees Margot he wants to marry her. He doesn't think about anything else except having her as wife, and doesn't think about how truly different they are. He's extremely caring to her in the bedroom, the one place they do connect, but baffled by her in every other measure. When he brings her to his home he doesn't help or explain to her how she can connect with his people and disappears for most the day doing work or traveling; he lives his life exactly the same way he did before marrying. Later on in the story there is a great conversation between the two where we learn that his parent's both died when he was young and Margot's mother died young also. We see that these two weren't modeled or taught how marriages work in a basic sense. In the beginning, Arran does do more little things to try and make it work but Margot's youth, fear, loneliness, and other issues I talked about cloud and create misunderstandings with their communication. These two simply married too soon and too young.

I'm usually a linear person but the switching chapters from past to present so worked for me. I loved how it set the tone and gave a clear understanding of how and why Arran and Margot felt the way they did, while also adding some drama. This was mostly a character driven story and our couple had the major chops to carry it; I devoured the first half of this absorbed into their story. I think it was around the 56% mark that the Reason I Read Romance conversation between the two happened. A couple lines, I refuse to spoil by putting them here, are spoken by Arran and let's just say I made sounds that probably only happen at the Cheesecake Factory when they bring me my red velvet cheesecake. They're crosses between gasps, sobs, happiness, and heart palpitations.

The second half and ending involving family and Jacobite drama didn't fully work for me, it wasn't flushed out enough. Especially, the quick and off screen way it was wrapped up, ended up feeling unneeded to me because of its lack of substance. Some secondary characters could have been fleshed out more like Arran's friend Jock and Margot's brother Knox. I guess I'm saying I wanted this book to be 200 pages of more because I loved the story so much.

I also felt the ending bringing together between Arran and Margot felt a little off. Arran had a quick to anger moment over something Margot did and then was just as quick to forgiveness, making it feel angst for angst sake. Then at the end when they have time to really have it out and come together, there was this kind of awkward lingering distrustfulness from Arran and unsure from Margot that felt overdone. At this point in the story and after certain things had been done, they should have had a united front.

Still, I gobbled this story up. Margot's growth was evident and I enjoyed how she went from a spoiled, scared, and naïve girl to a woman finding and testing her own strength and mind. Arran matured into a man who learned to open his clueless eyes and pay attention to his wife, while not trying to mold her into what he thought she should be instead of who she truly was. I'd read about this couple all day.

Bonus:
Arran loves dogs and my crazy dog lady feelings couldn't handle it.

She was suddenly reminded of a young dog here at Balhaire who'd been badly injured by a trap that had been set illegally. When the gamekeeper determined the poor dog could not be saved and, furthermore, would suffer in his last hours, she had watched Arran scoop the dog up in his arms and carry him from this very hall with tears on his face. He'd taken the dog into the woods and mercifully put it out of its misery. She shivered at the painful recollection of how he'd grieved for the dog.

Not going to lie, reading this and then how three gray muzzled dogs sleep on the bed, the only thought running through my head was Shut it Down, Shut it all Down. Any Romanices Hero of 2017 talk is over. ( )

Sweet romance, great characters, depth, intrigue, plot, length, development - love all of that. For the love of words though, just try a little with the dialect and accents already! ( )

After reading this novel... I need to get book 2 and 3. ( )