Series: Broadswords and Ballrooms, Book 1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: December 1, 2015
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N
He's the terror of the ton…
The plan is simple:
1. Descend from the Highlands to face the aggravation of a London Season;
2. Foist his wild sister off on some gullible English lord;
3. Retreat before the ladies of the scandalized ton can get any ideas.
Determined to see his hellion of a sister wed, Highlander Alexander Waters is willing to face anything-even the English. He just didn't expect his own rough manners to cause such a riot...or for a blooming English rose to catch his eye.
Gently bred Catherine Middlebrook must find a respectable man to marry or her family will be ruined. She won’t allow herself to be distracted by Highland barbarians…no matter how her body may thrill whenever Alex is near.
Catherine wasn't part of the plan, but as their battle of wills escalates, Alex comes to realize this “proper” English girl is as wild as the Highlands themselves…and nothing will stop him from having her.
How to Seduce a Scot is a sweet romance from beginning to end. Christy English’s first Broadswords and Ballrooms book is filled with nice, likeable characters, but the overall story may have been better served if it were novella-length.
Alexander Waters is a proud Scotsman who yearns to be at sea…or in the Highlands…or pretty much anywhere but a London ballroom. But he’s promised his mother he’d see his wild sister married to an Englishman, so Alex is stuck among the foppish members of the ton until Mary Elizabeth finds a husband. The last thing Alex expects is to fall in love at first sight when he spies Mary Elizabeth talking to an angel, better known as the very proper Catherine Middlebrook. Catherine is gentle, sweet, and perfect – everything Alex didn’t know he wanted. But he’s determined to return to sea and is not ready to take a wife. For her part, Catherine needs to marry – fast. In the wake of her father’s death and her mother’s uncontrollable spending, Catherine knows she needs to marry a wealthy man who will take care of her family before they lose everything. She can’t afford to be tempted by her new friend’s brother, especially since he makes it clear he has no plans to wed. Only putting Alex out of her mind is impossible when the man seems to be everywhere she looks...
Aside from the hero and heroine’s stubbornness leading to a number of push-pull situations, there are very few obstacles in How to Seduce a Scot. Alex and Catherine fall in love in a heartbeat, but their romance is slow to build because they both have a picture in their head of their futures and neither of them planned for a sudden tumble into love. I liked Alex and Catherine, but she was a bit too perfect and he was a bit too indecisive, and both of them were overshadowed by the more energetic personalities around them. And as much as I wanted to be swept away by their love story, I never was. There wasn’t enough “meat” to the plot or the characters (neither of whom really changed over the course of the story) to keep the book moving at a decent pace, which is why I think the story may have been better served being trimmed down to novella size.
How to Seduce a Scot isn’t the most memorable story, but it’s light, sweet, and enjoyable. I finished Catherine and Alex’s story wishing it had a bit more depth to it, but at the same time I liked it well enough to be looking forward to the next Broadswords and Ballrooms book, How to Wed a Warrior.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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