Didn’t know how this was going to turn out, right up until the end. Just when you think all bridges are burned, there is another passage to consider. The one thing I didn’t like was that the bad guy gets off essentially Scot free (pardon the expression) ( )

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am a character-driven reader, and I adored how well all of the characters meshed in this book. Drew and Ilsa's wild romp takes them all over Scotland, and it's a fun ride the entire way.

Full review: https://rebeccasreadingcorner.blog/review-caroline-linden-a-scot-to-the-heart/ ( )

3.3 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Great God above, he was heir presumptive to the Duke of Carlyle.

Second in the Desperately Seeking Duke series, this follows Captain Andrew St. James, who we briefly saw in the first (About a Rogue). To get the full overreaching arc of the series, you want to read this series in order. The author does a small recap by showing us the scene where Andrew and Maximilian (hero from first) are called to Carlyle Castle by the Duchess and told that her son, the current duke, is in ill health and that they are two of a possible three heirs. The scene is this time shown from Andrew's point-of-view and he is our captain out of the “An army man, a cardsharp, or a Frenchman,” heirs and currently, the most promising one to inherit. He's shocked but also carefully joyful as to what this could mean for his mother and three sisters. He joined the army when he was eighteen to keep his family out of debtors prison after his father died with numerous unpaid bills and he had to find a way to support the family. He plans on resigning his captaincy and going home to Edinburgh to alert his family. He's given the same deal Maximilian was by the Duchess, 500 pounds to use wisely, stay respectable, and return in six months time for the Duchess to judge their progress.

And she was so tired of toeing the many, many lines laid down by people who told her that all her desires and interests were wrong or unseemly.

In his first night back to Edinburgh, Andrew goes to an oyster cellar with his bestfriend Felix Duncan and he is instantly intrigued by a woman there and they share a searing kiss before she disappears on him. The woman turns out to be widowed Ilsa Ramsay and a good friend of his sister Agnes. Ilsa grew up with a loving but controlling father and then married a man that kept her even more locked up, she's bursting at the seams to have even a little freedom. Her husband died in a duel over a year ago and she is getting her first taste of freedom but society restrictions and her Aunt Jean who lives with her keep trying to keep their thumb over her. Ilsa never does anything that is completely wild, you have to keep in mind the scope of late 1700s that this story takes place, but I still felt some of her struggle got lost. I did greatly enjoy the talk of oyster cellars and their new infamy, adding some flavor of the times, which, besides some mentions of wigs and woman wearing kerchiefs to cover bosoms, I'm not sure I totally felt a distinction from Regency sub-genre feels. Reading this in the twenty-first century, I also had to smile at Ilsa and Andrew starting their romance, essentially, with a drunken kiss in a bar.

Drew had been gleaning scraps of information about Ilsa, and the picture they formed made his heart ache. A lonely childhood, raised by a strict aunt while her father worked. More tutors and instructors than friends. A husband who wouldn’t allow her to ride, even though she relished it.

The first book worked hard to set the scene for the whole series, this scaled things back and for the vast majority of the story, focused on Ilsa and Andrew. I usually favor angsty hard won love but Ilsa and Andrew had a light and easy fall in love that was warming in its own way. They have beginning heated attraction but they also so clearly become friends through it all. When Andrew has to check on a Carlyle holding, Stormont Castle, he invites his family, a few male friends, and Ilsa to join him. At the castle is where their friendship blossomed and they just made me smile. There's a scene where Andrew is going to pretend to be a ghost to give his sisters the scare they all have been wanting and he invites Ilsa to pretend with him. I feel like I don't read enough stories that have the leads being so light-hearted with each other and then the way the eye contact starts to get heated in a way that they both realize they love the person they are having such fun with, gives the romance such a great different dimension.

There was no one else in the room. It was only the two of them, moving about each other more and more slowly and deliberately, every touch lingering, every glance heated. Then there was no music, just the thud of his heart and the husky invitation of her whispers as she tugged at his clothing, pressing against him as he undid the laces on that scarlet gown and tasted her skin . . .

It was around 60% that these two both have realized their love and it honestly felt like the story could be wrapped up but then the story goes in a bit of a different direction. While these two are falling in love, there is a lingering to the sides story about robberies in Edinburgh that suddenly comes to the forefront with about 30% left. It felt a bit awkward as romances tend to solve the action and then leave the ending for the romance between leads, this swapped those two. It didn't fully work for me, as I was mostly here for the romance and with that kind of run out of steam because of declared love, I lost some steam to keep engaged in the story. Basically, Ilsa's father is accused of the robberies and the town starts to turn on her and she decides she must find her father who skipped town and try to help to prove his innocence. Andrew does go with her but I still felt like this plot thread was placed out of order.

Holding her close, he pressed his cheek to hers and whispered, “Let the world go hang. I love you, Ilsa.”

There was some skipping of time that had interactions I would have liked to see between Ilsa and Andrew and Ilsa's pet pony Robert ended up feeling more hokey than cute eccentric. However, I still enjoyed the little things that make Linden's stories stick-out, the overreaching series arc, the brief but deep mention of Andrew's family not wanting to be English (his mother's cousin died at Culloden and her father barely survived the English brutality after), and the general light, developed friendship between Ilsa and Andrew. There was obviously something between Andrew's sister Agnes and his friend Duncan and that tease has me wanting to read their novella. We also have yet to meet the frenchman who is the third possible Duke of Carlyle heir and I can't wait to read his story as he looks to be paired with the Duchess of Carlyle's ward. ( )

I received an ARC of this book to read through Edelweiss+. All opinions are my own. A Scot to the Heart by Caroline Linden is the second book in her Desperately Seeking A Duke series. I think the books should be read in order. Captain Andrew St. James’s life is turned upside down when he is named heir presumptive to the Duke of Carlyle. His family had been long estranged from the Ducal one, so the news that he is the heir came as a complete surprise. The current Duchess has charged him with learning how to look after the estate and becoming a suitable Duke, which entails choosing a suitable bride. Ilsa Ramsay enjoys the freedoms that being a widow provides and has no intentions of tying herself down with another husband. Certainly, she has no desire to become a duchess, no matter how strong her attraction to Captain St. James is. The story, while slow at the beginning has a nice mixture of family, love, angst and danger with a touch of mystery. I enjoyed reading this book and do recommend it.
Steam Level: Medium. Publishing Date: June 29. 2021. #AScotToTheHeart #CarolineLinden #EdelweissPlus #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalRomanceSeries #DesperatelySeekingADuke #AvonRomance #HarperCollinsCanada #MyBookPledge #bookstagram #bookstarammer ( )

I read this as an ARC from the publisher.

In her second novel in The Desperately Seeking Duke series, Linden takes us across the border to Scotland for much of the narrative as Andrew St. James, presumed to be next in line to the Dukedom of Carlyle, returns home to resign his Army commission and break the news to his family that they may well inherit. (In the first novel it was revealed that the present Duke has been mentally incapacitated for 30 years because of a kick to the head from a horse and could never marry or father heirs. His mother, the Dowager Duchess has been running the estate. The Duke’s younger brother has recently died, so now the Dowager Duchess must find the next male relatives in line, a few distant cousins, of whom the hero of the first novel in the series (About a Rogue) Maximilian St. James, is one and Andrew is the other. Andrew has the better claim.)

He has been gifted with a large sum of money and the Duchess has impressed upon him the need to learn to run the Dukedom and to marry wisely, a woman who can rise to the position of Duchess of such an important holding. He plans to return home for a month or so and then go back to Carlyle to learn all the estate managers know. No one is aware of his inheritance and he wants to keep it that way while he’s home, despite conducting some business for the Carlyle estate about its holdings there on the Duchess’ behalf. They are simple enough. Meeting with the Carlyle lawyer and inspecting Stormont Palace, the Dukedom’s largest Scottish holding, near Argyle.

His first night home, however, he goes to an Oyster cellar with his best friend, the lawyer Felix Duncan, where he dances with a mysterious dark-haired beauty and soundly kisses her at the end of the evening. It doesn’t take long to discover that she is his sister Agnes’ closest friend, the wealthy widow Isla Ramsay, daughter of William Fletcher, a prominent cabinetmaker on the town Council. While it is certainly attraction at first sight, Linden builds their relationship from that initial spark with believable skill. Drew and Isla like each other and are attracted before they fall in love. They have fun together and you have fun watching their relationship progress.
I also can’t say enough good things about Isla. She is a terrific heroine. You really get to see her internal struggles attempting to break free from her very overbearing upbringing and innate eccentricity and fun-loving nature. She wants to step out of line, but not that far, and the weight of societal displeasure she endures for doing anything fun is, I think, very realistic, given who she is surrounded by.

And, as usual, Linden’s side characters are well-rounded and believable no matter how much or little you see them. They seem like living, breathing people. I really liked the group we saw in this novel, and I wish we’d see more of them. Especially Agnes and Felix.

But this book isn’t just fun. Drew is faced with real responsibilities and Isla is attempting to get out from under her oppressive upbringing and even more oppressive marriage. But Drew finds a way to make some of his new duties fun by inviting his friends and family to Stormont Palace for one of the most charming house parties I’ve read in some time. That part of the book is entirely delightful.

Other than the romance, this book is, as is usual with Linden, loaded with plot that I don’t want to spoil, but the major other storyline includes the fact that Edinburgh is also being plagued by a string of robberies focused on wealthy merchants of the town, and Drew’s mother and sisters run a high-end fabric shop full of expensive goods. Sure enough, they are eventually victimized and the resolution of the mystery of the thieves brings with it a lot of upheaval for all the main characters.

While this novel absolutely has a very HEA for the main couple, I didn’t find the resolution of the robbery plot very much to my liking, though it was very realistic. I don’t fault the author for her choices in plot or writing, but it was not what I wanted and made my enjoyment of the ending of this book not nearly as thorough as some of her others. That said, it is a very strong entry in this series and the house party alone makes it well worth reading, but you’ll love these characters as well.

I can’t wait until the next one! ( )