Iain rescue's Emily and her nephew and protects them from an Uncle trying to kill them. Iain has issues with the gentry, he's a Scot who's whole family was kicked from their home by the gentry.
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Good start to the new series. Emily and her nephew narrowly escaped death when her family was attacked, but she was injured. Iain and his brothers came upon the cabin shortly after the attack and, realizing that someone had survived, track them down and take Emily and Neddy home with them. The brothers quickly discover that Emily and Neddy are in danger and are determined to protect them.

I liked both Emily and Iain. Emily is the granddaughter of a duke who gave up her easy life in England to come to America with her sister and brother-in-law when they fled from the person trying to kill them. She is smart, adaptable, and loving. As more of her story is revealed, we see how quickly she adjusted to a simpler and harder life than that she was used to. I also loved how she had such a clear picture of the danger they were in and what they needed to do to escape it. Her relationship with her little nephew was fantastic and it was easy to see the depth of the bond between them.

Iain is the oldest of the seven brothers. He is old enough to remember the events that led to their leaving Scotland. Watching their laird and his wife kick his family off their land has given him a deep disgust and hatred for those of the gentry. As the oldest in the family, he is the one who took charge after their parents were killed after they reached America. He is stubborn, loyal, and responsible. It took years of hard work, but the brothers have established themselves and have the respect of those around them. Iain also watches out for others and has taken other people under his protection.

There were sparks between Emily and Iain from the beginning, though both try to resist it. Emily doesn't want her problems to put the brothers in danger. Iain mistrusts Emily because of who she is, but can't stay away from her. The relationship between them has a rollercoaster feel to it, as Iain and Emily give in to the sparks, but then Iain pulls away because of who, or what, she is. He does this multiple times, and each time I wanted to shake him. Emily was equally frustrated by his actions. As Emily settled in and made a place for herself there, Iain slowly started to see that not all gentry were like the ones he had known before. It wasn't an easy prejudice for him to give up, and I liked seeing the honesty of his struggle. It was very fun to see him acknowledge his feelings for her and decide that he needed to "woo" her, even though he had no idea what that entailed. His efforts were sweet and rather awkward, and it took a while for Emily to realize what he was doing. There were no major misunderstandings to drive the couple apart, just a few incidents of learning how to communicate better. There was a neat little twist at the end with an unexpected guest at their wedding.

There was a sense of danger throughout the book as Emily, then Iain and his brothers, worked to protect young Neddy from those who mean him harm. We learn early that Neddy is the heir to a dukedom and that a greedy family member is determined to eliminate him. The attacks increase in intensity as the story goes on. I loved the determination that the brothers showed to keep Emily and Neddy safe. It was nice to see that Emily trusted Iain and listened to his instructions, rather than go off on her own and make matters worse. The final confrontation brought it all to a satisfactory end. ( )

Frontier troubles

The story begins in the Arkansas Ozarks in 1860. The MacEnroy brothers come across a burnt cabin, dead bodies and two survivors Lady Emily Stanton and her nephew Ned, hidden in a tunnel in the root cellar. The events go on from here.
There were some amusing parts. Iain's wooing attempts of Emily for one. The 'shagging' discussion was particularly noteable. (I did investigate to see if that word was in use in these times and apparently it was. Check the Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
I liked Iain MacEnroy, I Emily Stanton. There's a batch of interesting secondary characters in this story who stand out. I really liked Mrs. O’Neal and Mabel who was happy to shoot a nasty character if Emily wanted her too.
There's a dastardly cousin Albert hunting down Emily and her nephew Ned. There's a nefarious Bank Manager trying to take the MacEnroy's down, and then the canny lawyer who assists Iain.
The playfulness of the series title referencing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers was truly clever.
I am a huge fan of Hannah Howell's. I adore her Wherlocke and The Murray's series and have read them all.
By comparison, The Scotsman Who Saved Me just doesn't have the same intrigue, suspense and wonderful characters that I expected. Which is sad because I so-o was looking forward to reading this new Howell offering. It could be that I just don't really enjoy historical westerns, even when handsome Scots are part of the scene. This is not my preferred historical genre. Obviously others really enjoyed this novel. So I think I have to put my response down to personal preference.
All in all though, an easy and enjoyable read after my head got around the brogue usage.

A NetGalley ARC ( )

The Scotsman Who Saved Me by Hannah Howell
Seven Brides for Seven Scotsmen #1

Well written introduction to a new series in which Scottish men who have immigrated to America will each have the story of how they find their brides told. In this book each brother is met and a bit is told about him but this is the story of the eldest, Iain McEnroy, and the woman he finds to settle down with.

When Iain and some of his brothers come across the owners of a homestead they pass by have been slaughtered they bury them then realize someone may have escaped, been wounded and need help. They search till they find Emily Stanton and her young nephew Neddy and then take them home to tend to Emily’s wounds. Once Emily is better some of her secrets come out, some of Iain’s prejudices are exposed, a romance with wooing ensues and many evil men are dealt with until the person with evil intentions toward Emily and Neddy is firmly and finally dealt with. In spite of the class differences between Iain and Emily they do manage to find common ground and a HEA.

I found this book to be an okay read with a plot similar to many I have read but the characters were enjoyable and entertaining and I did care enough at the end of the book to want to read the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars ( )