Customer Reviews

The Scot and I (Berkley Sensation Historical Romance)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're a fan of Elizabeth Thornton, you'd probably like this book. I liked it better than The Runaway McBride, which was the first book in this series. The synopsis given about the book at Amazon.com is somewhat misleading and quite short. The plot starts when a mysterious woman attempts assasination of the Queen Victoria. Alex Hepburn, an agent for Her Majesty's Secret Service, starts to hunt for the woman after he foils the attempt. The mysterious woman, of course is the heroine. I don't want to write too much of the storyline here, as it'll spoil the surprises. This book was fast paced with engaging characters. The mystery part is nice and believable in my opinion. The mystery does take over the romance somewhat, at times. But that is usually the hallmark of Elizabeth Thornton's books & I have always liked her style. The hero's inherited psychic powers from his grandmother is interesting, but doesn't take over the whole story, which made me happy as personally I am not fond of paranormal elements taking over the whole storyline. If you like mystery-romance historical genre, this books is worth reading. I can't wait to read the next story in this series, which must be about Gavin, Alex's brother.

This book has a good concept, and I normally like the author. However, it just bogs down and nothing happens for chapter after chapter. They spend endless amounts of time just waiting in one place or another. The romance between the lead characters also feels lacking in depth. The book isn't terrible, it just isn't very interesting.

"The Scot and I" is really more of a three and a half star read. I usually like Elizabeth Thornton's heroes and heroines, but there was just something about Mahri and her actions that kept me from enjoying this book as much as I'd hoped.

Alex is an agent in Her Majesty's Secret Service (in 1885). He's also a bit psychic, even though he'd rather slit his own throat than admit that to anyone except his likewise afflicted brothers. They inherited their 'talents' from their deceased grandmother, The Witch of Drumore. Alex can hold things and learn about the people they belonged to, and when he captures a young man who may or may not be involved in a plot against the Queen, he's not quite sure WHAT his talent is telling him.

Mahri is stuck between two equally bad alternatives. She can betray her close ones or keep quiet and let them kill the Queen. After much thought, she decides to do neither and instead tries to foil their plot on her own, only to end up captured by one of the Queen's agents, a very handsome agent indeed. Now she's torn even more. How can she choose?

Mahri is indeed in a bad spot; she will have to betray one 'side' to prevent murder and neither are likely to forgive OR forget. I don't want to give too much away, but it was irritating to figure out most of the story less than halfway through the book. There are plenty of red herrings and suspects, but really only one makes sense (at least to me). Ms. Thornton DID manage to throw in a surprise or two along the way and the taut attraction between Alex and Mahri was wonderfully written.

I can't remember if I've ever read another of Ms. Thornton's books that had even a hint of the paranormal, but Alex's skills really played a very small part in this plot. So I wouldn't describe it as full-on paranormal, more a historical romance with a bit of woo-woo. Since I'm normally a fan of Elizabeth Thornton, I'll be interested to see what she does with stories of the other brothers.

I look foward to reading as many Scottish romances that are offered be they historical or contemporary. I was interested in this one because of the unique time period but maybe that was the problem. This book could have beens set anywhere, there was very little Scottish flavor to the story. Set in the Royal Deeside with a great mape, a bit more Scots dialect or at least Gaelic would have been in order. They all sounded too English for all that they claimed they were Scots and at times some of the dialogue seemed way too modern for the time period. And shouldn't an author who was born in Scotland know that it is Whisky never Whiskey in Scotland? Ot was that a problem of the publisher or spellchecker?

Other problems included a poorly executed subplot with the spy/intelligence and attempt on the Queen's life which took over the story deminishing the romance. The sexual tension was weak and the romance was not very satisfying or believable. The upside it was a period that we haven't seen much in romance but that wasn't enough to save this romance. Ms Thornton is a well seasoned romance author with other titles that are much more satisfying, so pass on this one and read her backlist instead.

In 1885 Her Majesty's Secret Service psychic agent Alex Hepburn is part of a unit that successfully prevents an assassination of Queen Victoria. However, though he and his team achieved its goal, group messenger Mahri Scot vanishes. Alex uses his extrasensory skills to follow her, but each time he believes he has caught up to her, he finds she remains missing while he keeps running into a lad.

Knowing he is missing something obvious, he finally realizes the boy is Mahri in disguise. As they fall in love, the military and the assassins chase after them with only his extrasensory abilities keeping them alive. Both know they must learn the identity of the leader of the anti Victorian terrorists before they become victims.

THE SCOT AND I is an excellent late Victorian romantic suspense thriller with a small dose of fantasy elements enhancing the fun tale. The story line is action-paced from the onset and accelerates as Alex starts his search for Mahri. With strong lead characters and solid support players who anchor time and place, sub-genre fans will enjoy their escapades as they fall in love ever since she was a young male.

Harriet Klausner

Was shipped very fast, I got it within a week. Used but in great condition. I love Amazon!!!