The Duke’s Perfect Wife (Jennifer Ashley)

Overall Response

The first time I read these books, I was nervous about Hart’s story. He’s a bit like Wulfric Bedwyn from Mary Balogh’s Slightly series except Wulfric was more sympathetic and my real issue was whether or not Balogh could write a heroine worthy of him. Hart is just much harder character and though he loosened up in Lady Isabella and Many Sins, it was hard for me to get past the story in Madness when his mistress nearly killed Beth.

I knew that Eleanor could stand up to him — we met her briefly in Many Sins in which she counseled Ainsley and ran into Hart in Ediburgh. Her jilting of Hart has been referred to in every book. I just wasn’t confident that I was ever going to warm up enough to him to want a happy ending for him.

While there are some minor quibbles in the romance and characters, I have to say that this story definitely managed to make me want a happy ending for Hart. His maddening need for control was very well written and his growing dissatisfaction even as he grows closer to his goal was very well done, and I thought Eleanor did a good job of holding her own, even if I wasn’t entirely sold on a few pieces.

The Many Sins of Lord Cameron (Jennifer Ashley)

Overall Response

For some reason, when I’ve read this book over the years, I’ve always skipped the first half of the book when Cam and Ainsley are in Scotland. I think I used to feel like the narrative dragged until that point, but rereading it this time–I can’t imagine why I ever thought that way. So much happens in those first 150 pages or so.

Cameron has been one of my favorite characters since we first met him in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie. There were hints that his background was particularly tragic, and as hard and tough as he seemed, his love for his son was evident. Cam and Daniel usually stole every scene in Madness and Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage. Ainsley had popped up, I think, first in the second book. She may have been mentioned in the first book, but I don’t remember her. There’s not much to her in that appearance, but that fits into who she is as a character: someone who has made a decision to blend in and be useful to others.

This book is darker than I think either of the first two books. Though Ian and Mac had their own issues (and Ian’s time in the asylum and childhood is horrific), Cam’s story is very dark and when Ainsley pushes him to make changes and come out of his shell, I almost want her to just stop bringing it up. To stop making her remember. It’s beautifully done but emotionally draining.

Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage (Jennifer Ashley)

Overall Response

I liked Mac and Isabella so much in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie that I remember pre-ordering this book, staying up until it downloaded onto my Nook at like 12:15 AM and then reading the whole thing in a few hours. One of my absolute favorite tropes in romance is a story in which the characters marry either at the beginning or shortly after the book begins. One of the tropes I actually like less is marriages in which there have been separations and now they’re reuniting. This is generally because when a married couple separates, particularly in this time period, it’s usually through the bad behavior of one of them. I actually hate unfaithful couples — it’s so hard for me to look past it. I know, it’s prudish of me, but I know what I like.

That was not the issue here, thankfully. Mac and Isabella separated three years prior to the beginning of this story because Mac was too much–he drank too much, he partied too much, and he just wasn’t really emotionally healthfully enough to be in a marriage, and I think Isabella was just too young to really know how to do anything about it until it reached the breaking point.

I loved watching them find their way back to one another and deal with life throughout the book. There is a decent amount of plot in this book with a wide supporting cast, but it never feels like overkill. It just feels like Isabella and Mac are getting to know each other again, realizing who they are underneath it all. I loved this book so much — almost more than the first book though that’s pretty difficult to say.

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie (Jennifer Ashley)

Overall Response

I am ridiculously excited to be starting this series because I don’t think I’ve ever read it all the way through and there are at least two books I haven’t read at all (the newest ones The Stolen Mackenzie Bride and Alec Mackenzie’s Art of Seduction have been sitting on my TBR pile).

I remember that I bought this book on the strength of a recommendation, but I have no memory of where that rec came from. I was drawn in by the unconventional hero, Ian, who is written as being on what we understand today as the autism spectrum. I loved every inch of this book, and Ian is one of the characters I enjoy following as he pops up again and again.

There’s something quite moving about the way Jennifer Ashley writes Ian Mackenzie as a character who has a mental illness and yet it doesn’t in anyway make him less deserving of love. I loved her depiction of the love between Ian and Beth as it grew, and the supporting cast launched in this book makes me eager to keep reading. The plot is pretty good as well — it keeps you guessing and I had actually forgotten the full resolution because it had been several years since I had reread it.

But my favorite part is probably just the lush way Jennifer Ashley writes and her care with the time period and historical background. This is one of my favorite books, and I’m so glad I decided to do this series for this project even if it is the longest one.

Surrender to the Highlander (Lynsay Sands)

Overall Response

I liked this book a lot better than the last few entries–the romance is a lot more interesting and I finally felt like Niels was different enough to get invested in his part of the story. The murder mystery was average–not the best in the series, but certainly not the worst. I thought it got a little convoluted in the middle because Lynsay Sands was trying very hard to put a bunch of red herrings out there. I liked the supporting cast, and the Buchanan brothers are dwindling into smaller numbers so that I actually can keep better track of them. It’s an average read with a better than expected romance.

Falling for the Highlander (Lynsay Sands)

Overall Response

So this reread was a little less satisfying than I remember. I liked this book a lot the first time I read it, but this probably the second or third time, and I wasn’t as charmed by the things I liked the first time. I was looking forward to Murine’s book because she was a bit of an atypical character. She had a penchant for fainting when we met her in To Marry a Scottish Laird, so I wanted to see how Lynsay Sands would write her HEA. I still really like Murine, even though I think her fainting spells were a bit oddly handled. Did she faint too much because she didn’t eat? Or didn’t have the tincture? I don’t know. I just don’t feel like it was that clear.

And Dougall doesn’t really do anything to make himself separate from his other brothers or give me a reason I should want him for Murine above anyone else. That’s kind of my problem with some of the heroes in this series — apart from Ross in An English Bride and Aulay in The Highlander’s Promise, the heroes are kind of the same. The plot is fine — it doesn’t drag nearly as much as the last book, but I thought the book ended a little abruptly.

The Highlander’s Promise (Lynsay Sands)

Overall Response

This one is being reviewed out of order because it was only just released on Tuesday, June 26, and I didn’t wait to wait to read it. I’ve been hoping for a good story for Aulay since we met him in The Highlander Takes a Bride and he showed up in subsequent books.

I was happy with this story for the most part. There were some…secrets being kept that I think bordered on problematic with the hero not telling the heroine the truth. Had Jetta known from the start what the deal was, things would have been different. Still, points for it never being Aulay’s idea to lie to her, and for having a relatively decent reason for continuing it. (Better than most books).

I think this probably the last book in the series only because we’re out of the women from To Marry a Scottish Laird and the Buchanan brothers didn’t strike me as romantic leads, but I guess we’ll find out. A solid entry in the series.

To Marry a Scottish Laird (Lynsay Sands)

Overall Response

This book is fine. It’s an average read. That’s not to knock it — it’s like any other book Lynsay Sands writes. A reliable author who may not blow your mind but will always entertain you is worth its weight in gold. I know my money is always well spent. The characters are fun to read about, the murder mystery is engaging, and this book works well to set up the next four in the series with a series of female characters who didn’t blur together. I was especially looking forward to Saidh and Murine’s stories. What did distract me is a few typos–Cam refers to Joan as Annabel later in the book (that’s her aunt) and there’s also a mistake earlier in the book (Cam says the name MacKay before Joan reveals that’s where she’s going). I imagine that only gets noticed once you’ve read a few times.

That being said, it’s a good book. It serves more as the introduction to the series than An English Bride in Scotland as Joan is the niece of Annabel and Ross rather than a contemporary, and the rest of the series takes place with Joan and Cam’s generation.

The Highlander Takes a Bride (Lynsay Sands)

Overall Response

The best thing I can say about this book is that I’ve read it three times but not in the last year so I had forgotten who the murderer was, and got a chance to be pleasantly surprised. It’s lovely when that happens. This is probably the weakest of the six books in the series thus far, but that’s mostly because the murder mystery plot drags a lot, and the romance is more lust than love. That being said, it’s still a pleasant read and I’m not not mad that I spent my money on it.

An English Bride In Scotland (Lynsay Sands)

Overall Response

Of the six books in this series, this one is probably my favorite so far. I’ve reread three of them when writing this review, and I think Annabel and Ross are the best couple. What I love about Lynsay Sands is that I know exactly what I’m getting when I read her stories: a frothy romance with two beautiful people who spend half the book lusting after one each other, mixed with a murder mystery. Medieval Scotland is a violent place, y’all, and everyone of these people almost gets killed a dozen times.

I really liked the playful banter between the two leads and how well they interacted. The story with them was rarely about misunderstandings or secrets, just trying to figure each other out while outrunning a variety of murder attempts.

Spoilers Ahead

One of my absolute favorite parts about this book is Annabel’s background as a former oblate and her haphazard attempt to stick to the religious strictures about sex. Wearing a weird chemise with the hole cut into it and not bedding on certain days, etc. I thought it was lovely and sweet of her to attempt it, but I really loved Ross’s response. He was a bit frustrated, but he didn’t force her, didn’t belittle her beliefs. He simply just worked around them. It was a lovely bit of trust building that you don’t often see.

I liked the twist of Annabel’s sister being a bad guy and the stable boy, Graham, actually being a little sympathetic. Not really rootable, but I was sad when he died. The murder attempts were engaging, the supporting cast was great. I don’t really have a lot to say about this. There’s nothing wrong with this book, it just lacks that extra oomph to get you to five stars if that makes sense.