A Devil in Scotland Publishes January 30, 2018
A Devil in Scotland by Suzanne Enoch
Third in the No Ordinary Hero series
4.5 stars
Callum McCreath is banished from his home in Inverness, Scotland when he disrupts and make a big display about his childhood friend, Rebecca, marrying his older brother, Lord Geiry (Ian). He wants her to bequeath his brother and runaway with him, but Rebecca refuses and a huge embarrassing debacle ensues. (This all occurs in the prologue; it’s very entertaining.) Flash forward ten years, Callum is the owner of an elite distillery in Kentucky and has severed all ties Scotland, but the letters have kept coming and no matter and quickly he burns them, there are more. Callum learns that his brother Ian has died in a convenient drowning accident and knows that has to return to Scotland and avenge his brother’s death. When he arrives in Scotland, he must unearth whether or not Rebecca was an accomplice in Ian’s death. That’s all I’ll say. I loved this historical romance novel so much. It’s an absolute favorite of mine. I recently have felt like I may never find another HR that I would love. I find one every now and then, but my hope has been slowly dipping. I just loved this one so much and I should’ve hated it because it has my least favorite trope ever. I read another book earlier this year that touched on the trope and it made me cringe, but the way that Enoch presents the sibling death unites lovers together trope in an understandable light. Callum and Rebecca have a past they aren’t complete strangers (which would have, for sure, turned me off from this story if that was the case) and because there’s this added layer of guilt about loving/not loving/hating each other it made this so much fun to fly through.
Suzanne Enoch’s writing style flows seamlessly off the page. It is so easy to become immersed in this plot for vengeance and uncovering if the person who is suspected did it or not (even though it was obvious that he did) and it was just so much fun. I just really loved getting swept away in the story and following Callum and Rebecca as they juggled Scotland as outsiders who have been there before. (Callum is Scottish, but has been gone for ten years; Rebecca is from England, but has lived in Scotland since she was about eight or nine.) It's really interesting to see the dynamic of belonging, but outsiders.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5
The main male character is Callum. I loved Callum. He was brash and angry, but he was also fierce, loyal, and protective. I can’t blame him for being angry since his brother was killed by the man he had told him that would. Also, he threw a man who didn’t know when to shut his mouth out of a window. 10/10 He also has a wolf and I loved their dynamic. I was also a huge fan of his relationship with Maggie, his niece. He loves her so much and even though their relationship is new, it is very strong and the love is very pure. It’s adorable. He is a lot like, Waya, his wolf. He seems scary, but he is loving and caring to those who earn his trust.
Swoon Worthy Scale: 5
The female character is Rebecca. I’ll be honest, Rebecca isn’t the most compelling part of this novel. She is strong, fierce, and resilient, but she didn’t win me over until I was a couple chapters in. I think that she wasn’t as fleshed out as Callum and this was a slight hinderance, but her PoV wasn’t introduced until a couple of chapters in. However, she grew on me quickly and I really enjoyed her and was rooting for her by the end.
Kick- Butt Heroine Scale: 4
The Villain- It was obvious from the beginning, but that didn’t make it any less fun. I was definitely not expecting that showdown to go the way it did. It was intense. The good thing about these villains were that they were actually appalling. Usually, in HRs they are typical and boring, but these villains were grinding my gears
Villain Scale: 4
My favorite character in this novel was Mags. I love when kids are introduced in HRs because they are usually the strongest parts of the novel and her relationships were prevalent with the central characters. Plus, she is so sassy and confident. I would love to see a novel where she is grown up and running the distillery in Kentucky. It would give me life.
Character Scale: 5
This novel is cheesy and I know a lot of people will not like it, but I loved it. I thought it was so much fun and it’s one of the best historical romances that I’ve read in quite some time. It was refreshing to get lost in the story. The only real problem I have with this is the epilogue. I would’ve loved for it to have just ended, but the epilogue felt all over the place with characters being introduced that I didn’t know and then of course, there is a pregnancy reveal. It’s so cliché. Every HR ends with a pregnancy reveal, “You’ll have a present to open in six months,” this is literally from this novel and twenty other ones I’ve read. Still it’s a minor complaint and it’s so minuscule that it doesn’t take away from the overall arc of the story. I was pleasantly surprised and so glad that I picked this one up.
Plotastic Scale: 5
Cover Thoughts: It’s simple and like all the others, but the colors are striking.
Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Third in the No Ordinary Hero series
4.5 stars
Callum McCreath is banished from his home in Inverness, Scotland when he disrupts and make a big display about his childhood friend, Rebecca, marrying his older brother, Lord Geiry (Ian). He wants her to bequeath his brother and runaway with him, but Rebecca refuses and a huge embarrassing debacle ensues. (This all occurs in the prologue; it’s very entertaining.) Flash forward ten years, Callum is the owner of an elite distillery in Kentucky and has severed all ties Scotland, but the letters have kept coming and no matter and quickly he burns them, there are more. Callum learns that his brother Ian has died in a convenient drowning accident and knows that has to return to Scotland and avenge his brother’s death. When he arrives in Scotland, he must unearth whether or not Rebecca was an accomplice in Ian’s death. That’s all I’ll say. I loved this historical romance novel so much. It’s an absolute favorite of mine. I recently have felt like I may never find another HR that I would love. I find one every now and then, but my hope has been slowly dipping. I just loved this one so much and I should’ve hated it because it has my least favorite trope ever. I read another book earlier this year that touched on the trope and it made me cringe, but the way that Enoch presents the sibling death unites lovers together trope in an understandable light. Callum and Rebecca have a past they aren’t complete strangers (which would have, for sure, turned me off from this story if that was the case) and because there’s this added layer of guilt about loving/not loving/hating each other it made this so much fun to fly through.
Suzanne Enoch’s writing style flows seamlessly off the page. It is so easy to become immersed in this plot for vengeance and uncovering if the person who is suspected did it or not (even though it was obvious that he did) and it was just so much fun. I just really loved getting swept away in the story and following Callum and Rebecca as they juggled Scotland as outsiders who have been there before. (Callum is Scottish, but has been gone for ten years; Rebecca is from England, but has lived in Scotland since she was about eight or nine.) It's really interesting to see the dynamic of belonging, but outsiders.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5
The main male character is Callum. I loved Callum. He was brash and angry, but he was also fierce, loyal, and protective. I can’t blame him for being angry since his brother was killed by the man he had told him that would. Also, he threw a man who didn’t know when to shut his mouth out of a window. 10/10 He also has a wolf and I loved their dynamic. I was also a huge fan of his relationship with Maggie, his niece. He loves her so much and even though their relationship is new, it is very strong and the love is very pure. It’s adorable. He is a lot like, Waya, his wolf. He seems scary, but he is loving and caring to those who earn his trust.
Swoon Worthy Scale: 5
The female character is Rebecca. I’ll be honest, Rebecca isn’t the most compelling part of this novel. She is strong, fierce, and resilient, but she didn’t win me over until I was a couple chapters in. I think that she wasn’t as fleshed out as Callum and this was a slight hinderance, but her PoV wasn’t introduced until a couple of chapters in. However, she grew on me quickly and I really enjoyed her and was rooting for her by the end.
Kick- Butt Heroine Scale: 4
The Villain- It was obvious from the beginning, but that didn’t make it any less fun. I was definitely not expecting that showdown to go the way it did. It was intense. The good thing about these villains were that they were actually appalling. Usually, in HRs they are typical and boring, but these villains were grinding my gears
Villain Scale: 4
My favorite character in this novel was Mags. I love when kids are introduced in HRs because they are usually the strongest parts of the novel and her relationships were prevalent with the central characters. Plus, she is so sassy and confident. I would love to see a novel where she is grown up and running the distillery in Kentucky. It would give me life.
Character Scale: 5
This novel is cheesy and I know a lot of people will not like it, but I loved it. I thought it was so much fun and it’s one of the best historical romances that I’ve read in quite some time. It was refreshing to get lost in the story. The only real problem I have with this is the epilogue. I would’ve loved for it to have just ended, but the epilogue felt all over the place with characters being introduced that I didn’t know and then of course, there is a pregnancy reveal. It’s so cliché. Every HR ends with a pregnancy reveal, “You’ll have a present to open in six months,” this is literally from this novel and twenty other ones I’ve read. Still it’s a minor complaint and it’s so minuscule that it doesn’t take away from the overall arc of the story. I was pleasantly surprised and so glad that I picked this one up.
Plotastic Scale: 5
Cover Thoughts: It’s simple and like all the others, but the colors are striking.
Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What is a HR novel that focuses on revenge that you love? Are you planning to read A Devil in Scotland? Let me know down below in the comments!
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