The Scot Beds His Wife (Victorian Rebels)
Kerrigan Bryne is a new to me author so I wasn't quite sure what to expect with The Scot Beds his Wife. However, Renee over at Addicted to Romance promised I would love it. She is usually right, so I took a chance.
The Scot, Gavin St. James, Lord Thorne, is a Scottish manwhore. Seriously, the man gets around. So, I wasn't really sure I would ever warm up to him. I am kind of tired of the manwhore thing. But, the prologue is a heartbreaking story of his youth that might have thawed me a little. Gavin wants to buy the land of his neighbor so he can quit working for his brother, Laird Mackenzie and strike out on his own. He hates his family and wants to distance himself. The problem is, the young American girl who has inherited the land won't sell.
Samantha, the American, was married to a criminal that she had to kill. By killing her bastard husband, Samantha saved Allison Ross. Allison, desperate to keep her family farm in Scotland out of the Mackenzie hands, sees an opportunity. Samantha can go to Scotland and pretend to be Allison, save the Ross farmland, and avoid being hanged for her crime. Allison gets to stay in American and marry the man she planed to marry. Samantha jumps at the chance. She was raised in the American West; she can ride, knows how to farm cattle, and shoot better than just about anyone. She is prepared to fight tooth and nail to keep Mackenzie's hands off Ross land but Lord Thorne is distractingly handsome.
I liked Samantha! She is scrappy. Her life has been crappy but she is a survivor. Her and Gavin are oil and water from the moment they meet and she is quick witted enough to keep him on his toes. I don't think anyone but Samantha could be a match for Gavin. Bryne had to give him a foul mouthed, tough as nails American because no one else would be able to stand up to him. And I loved the secondary characters that lived in the area surrounded the Ross farm. They added such levity and depth at times!
Samantha and Gavin both have SO many secrets and these secrets nearly cost them both everything, including their marriage (which starts as a deal, but grows until the secrets unravel!). If you like tough heroines, slightly less than lawful heroes, secrets and lies, and enemies to lovers then The Scot Beds His Wife is a great pick!
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: enemies to lovers
- Triggers: the prologue details child abuse that might be upsetting to some
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series (I haven't read the others and it didn't impair my reading at all)
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes with an interesting epilogue!
The Day of the Duchess by Sarah Maclean, Lord of Lies by Amy Sandas, The Highland Commander by Amy Jarecki, Never Trust a Pirate by Valerie Bowman...then you will probably like The Scot Beds His Wife!
The Scot Beds his Wife
 - Kerrigan Byrne)