The Scotsman Who Saved Me

August 7, 2017
Howell’s new historical series following the marital pursuits of the seven MacEnroy brothers gets off to a lamentable start. After the MacEnroy family were evicted from their tenancy by the local gentry, they fled Scotland for America and set up a home in Arkansas, where they built a fortified stockade and went on to become wildly successful in all their endeavors. When the MacEnroys rescue Lady Emily Stanton and her young nephew (English gentry who are traveling in America) from the men who killed Emily’s sister and brother-in-law, Iain MacEnroy embarks on a plodding, uninteresting struggle between his attraction to Emily’s alleged charms and his lingering resentment of the nobility. For her part, Emily is implausibly innocent, and, despite a few indications of potential for becoming spunky, fails to develop into an interesting character. Scenes and conversations are so repetitive they echo word for word in places. The book is trite, badly written, and utterly lacking in tension, passion, or humor. Fans of romance can give this a pass. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.

Not even multiple AudioFile Earphones Winner Justine Eyre's fine acting abilities and facility with accents can carry this formulaic and slow-moving story. Beautiful Lady Emily Stanton and her young nephew are the only survivors of an attack on her family. Handsome Scotsman Iain MacEnroy, one of seven equally strapping brothers, rescues her, and, to his surprise, finds himself attracted to her despite his brutal experiences with the English. Will he be able to come to grips with his prejudices and give their growing affection a chance? Eyre's aristocratic English and Scottish accents are well done and believable. Unfortunately, the story is not. A.C.P. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine