Book Thoughts: A Good Scot is Hard to Find (Angeline Fortin)

Enjoyable non-cringy time travel romance

★★★★☆ – CALSPIE 7.93

Title: A Good Scot is Hard to Find (Something About a Highlander #2)
Author: Angeline Fortin
Genre: Fiction / Romance / Time Travel
First published: 2020
Edition: Kindle eBook

Aila Marshall wants nothing to do with Auld Donell and his endless schemes, but even she cannot deny the lure of a mystery three hundred years in the making and a hunt for a lost treasure. When she’s sent to the wrong time entirely, Aila knows she’s been played. She knows she should return to her own time and give Donell a piece of her mind… One the other hand, what’s the rush when an undeniably handsome Scot crosses her path?

***

I was going through a stressful time and picked this book up for light (but not too light) relief. I think it was the perfect type of book to pick up and it was just what I needed. That does not mean it is not without flaw, because it was by no means a perfect read, but it did what it needed to do.

The author writes these time travel romance stories well. The plot has substance and as with the first book, I don’t think cheap romance covers do these stories justice. The romance is a big part of the story, but it is not all there is to the story. A mystery runs through as well and although it is secondary to the romance, it does add some gravity.

Although the romance in this one was pretty instalove, that is not a plot device I mind too much. I liked both main characters, even if I had to take the attempt at Scottish dialect with a pinch of salt. I did not mind that too much, even if it was a tad annoying.

The first two thirds of the book were pretty strong, but for me the final third of the book with the reveals felt a bit confusing sometimes and unevenly paced. The ending was just ok for me. It was fine, but no more than that.

Overall, I like this time travel romance series and as long as you don’t take them too seriously, they are decently written with a distinct lack of cringe. I am sure I will read on in the series when I am in the mood for a story like this. It works.

I just wish they would make better covers for this series.

4 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE*: 7.93

• Characters: 8
• Ambience: 8
• Language: 7.5
• Story: 8
• Pacing: 7.5
• Interest: 8.5
• Enjoyment: 8

Book Thoughts: A Scot To Remember (Angeline Fortin)

★★★★★★☆

Title: A Scot To Remember (Something About A Highlander #1)
Author: Angeline Fortin
Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction/Romance/Time Travel
First published: 2019
Edition: Kindle e-book

A life of love lost and heartbreak has cursed the women in Bronte Hughes’s family for generations. When she discovers a device that allows her to slip through time, Bronte decides the key to obtaining true love for herself lies in mending the tragedies of the past and restoring a legacy of love fate has robbed from her family…beginning with saving her great-great grandfather from setting sail on the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic.

♥♥♥

Clearly, you really can’t (always) judge a book by its cover.

I love it when a book surprises you and this one certainly did that. I kind of went in blind, as I had not even read the synopsis, expecting it to be a simple historical romance, judging by the title and cover. Hence my surprise when it opened in the present day! Turned out it was so much more than a simple historical romance and I kind of ended up loving it. The

I immediately liked the characters and the contrasts the author painted between present day and a century earlier. Brontë was a pretty uncomplicated character and I kind of loved her for that. Tris was kind of the perfect love interest. His early twentieth century sensibilities and sense of propriety were not taken too far and he felt very believeable.

This is the first book in a series, but reading the afterword by the author, I think it would have been good to read earlier series by this author first as they tie into this one. It would have given me some background on some of the side characters. To be honest, this book works pretty well as a standalone.

The romance itself was not too heavy handed and the actual steamy scenes did not come until later in the book and were spaced out enough not to take away from the story and the plot.

I really enjoyed the writing. My only complaint is that it was a bit dragged out in places. There were times I wished the story moved a long a bit quicker, especially when we were stuck in some of Brontë’s inner dialogue. At the same time I missed a bit of description here and there of the setting itself. None of that stopped me from enjoying the story.

I will definitely read more by this author. I have the second book in this particular series on my Kindle, and I think I will read it sooner rather than later.

I do really dislike the cover though. It really does not suit this novel. Just saying… I think a new cover is much needed!

6 out of 7 stars