Aside from some improbable actions, this was an enjoyable comedy of tragic errors ( )

The heroine started out seeming pretty formidable, but unravelled into 'damsel' really quickly. I didn't hate her, but she just wasn't particularly interesting, and seriously dabbled in 'annoying chit' territory as well. The H and h were in opposition for a fair chunk of the book, and rather than being intriguing it was instead just almost stressful or something, (he starts nearly obsessing over the idea of her being hanged for a wrong she's done... which I didn't find even the teensiest bit romantic, lol). So he seemed a little bloodthirsty, and even after he started to care for her, he was inconsistent about it until way late in the book. He goes from actively threatening to see her hanged, to literally saying he would protect her from a separate threat *with his life*, right back to 'but I'll still have you hanged obviously'... Right... I liked it a bit more once he finally got on board with fully caring for her, but it really was quite late in the story by then. And he didn't take much responsibility for his part in some unfortunate events either, so I just wasn't terribly impressed by him I guess. Neither of them really. It was written decently though and and had some humorous bits. I don't regret reading it (though a couple parts I wanted to just hurry along already), but overall it just ended up sort of 'meh' for me. ( )

I received an eARC at no cost from the author.

Devil in Tartan is the fourth book on the Highland Grooms series, by Julia London.

Having read the first three books, it’s impossible not to make comparisons between them. Sadly, for me, this was my least favourite book.

It had an interesting premise, and I liked Aulay, but I just couldn’t connect with Lottie.

Lottie is described as strong, courageous, fearsome woman, but even if she was trying to do her best to save the (illegal) family business, she just didn’t act nor did justice to her descriptions. She was, no doubt, intelligent enough to use her pretty face to fool men, but that didn’t make me like her more – it actually made me like her less.

And Aulay, although I did like him more than Lottie, he too was a bit of an empty character. He was a painter, which I liked, but felt it wasn’t explored enough. I liked that Julia London mentioned his role in the family, how he felt, because that made me connect with him more, but it just felt like it was lacking something.

I liked revisiting characters from the previous books, but it was for such a short while that it wasn’t enough to save the book from a simple 3 star rating.

I just couldn’t connect with the characters as much as in the previous books, and I felt that with both Lottie’s crew and Aulay’s crew always around it felt a bit too crowded and there were too many characters (and sometimes I even got confused with who was whom – and I read the book in just two days, and rarely get lost in these books, but with this one it was hard to remember all the minor characters).

Julia London’s writing isn’t being put in question here, she was as good as always, I just felt like she tried to put too much in one book and ended up not focusing enough on what was really necessary. Still, it was a different read, and I managed to enjoy parts of it. ( )

Whiskey and piracy--a troubling mixture!

Lively story with a quirky young highland girl left to do the hard thinking and planning as her dreamer Laird father whittles away the family purse.
Aulay Mackenzie never suspected that his new trade venture and his clan's livelihood would be rudely interrupted by a beguiling white haired young woman with a head full of mad schemes.
When Lottie Livingston turns to piracy and captures the darkly handsome Auley she didn't know the fate that awaited them both.
A madcap read!

A NetGalley ARC ( )

Devil in Tartan, the 4th book in the Highland Grooms series, took a while for me to really get into. Lottie, the heroine, is pretty prickly from the start, and Aulay, the hero, has a massive chip on his shoulder due to what he sees his place in his family as. The romance is slooooooow moving--mostly due to everything else that is going on in the book--and that "everything else" is, at times, pretty complicated and involved.

But...

I'm not even sure at what point I was in the book--30%? 40%--but I suddenly realized that the story had me in its grip. Lottie and Aulay had drawn me into their world, and by the time we got to the end where everything looked bleak and nothing could possibly be done to make it right again, I think I was possibly more upset even than the characters. For sure I was trying just as hard to figure out how to fix it (I failed. Thankfully, they didn't--phew!) and I finished the book with a great big smile on my face.

Devil in Tartan should work fine as a standalone if you haven't read the other books in the series (the only one I have so far is Daisy and Cailean's-- Sinful Scottish Laird --and of course they're the only couple who doesn't show up in person here). You won't know the family dynamics going in, but Aulay gives you all the information you need on that front anyway. More than half of the book has our hero and heroine out on the water, far removed from the rest of the Mackenzie clan, stewing over their problems and gradually falling for each other.

Favorite line (with mild spoiler, so skip if you must): "You are mad if you think I'll never mention the two ships you sank"--just before kissing the aformentioned ship sinker. :)

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )