Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women Book 3) (edition 2021)

The heroine irritated me frequently, honestly she really IS kind of a spoiled brat at times (tantrums, lashing out, not taking responsibility, holding onto grudges, looking down on people, not making amends when in the wrong, etc). But in the middle portion of the book both she, and their relationship, came a long way. I was really feeling that they actually *were* well suited and that she had grown up a lot. As the book was winding to a natural conclusion I was practically already mentally writing my four star review (despite still not really being that much of a fan of hers). And then things kind of jumped the shark. Somehow it feels like the last couple chapters invalidated all that growth that had come before, bit by bit dismantling it in nearly the final pages, and then it just largely skips over the part where they come to work things out again. I'm left feeling confused and very disappointed. The middle part had enough good things in it that I'm not going to give it below 3 stars, but still, it had had that 4th star in the bag before the last minute "twist" ending, so it still feels like quite a fall.

When she arrives to the coal mining town she's super judgy, about Scots, and the lower classes, and her husband specifically, but bit by bit she gets to know the people, and she decides to take portraits for them as something she can give them. And her relationship with her husband also develops to a pretty good place. And I was pretty pleased with her development. But then she creates this hoop for her husband to jump through, without even understanding the situation she demands he change, and just runs away when he tries but fails at it, from both her portrait commitment, and her marriage! So basically toss out the window everything I had started giving her some credit for. Her mistaken assumption is explained to her by a third party, which isn't quite as nice as if she had just realized she'd been unfair and cowardly on her own, but still, I could have gotten over that. They get back together and are in love, and it seemed like at least from then on they would be stronger. But no, with mere pages left to go she divorces him! Ugh! To "find herself" this time. Even though he's willing to give her whatever she wants or needs already, and it actually IS possible to grow into your own person even when someone else is around... We see their reunion, after months apart, and then it just skips ahead to the epilogue! Nothing in that conversation was really a solution or couldn't have happened anyway without that separation. So Wth?! It felt like just one further hoop for him to jump through, even though he hadn't been the one who'd abandoned their relationship, and he had already proven his love, etc. etc. etc.! Argh! Why is 'immature and unreasonable woman' the look you want to go for in a feminist romance? ( )

I wasn't sure about this one though I've enjoyed the rest of the series a lot. Hattie hasn't been my favorite of the extraordinary women but she comes into her own in this book. She's not as interested in business as the rest of her family, but she's inveigled into marriage with Lucian Blackstone, her father's business rival, who's looking for an entree into their society. Lucian is rich but not acceptable, so Hattie can smooth his way.
It's a familiar theme in historical romances but I found this a fresh take. Hattie is a lot more interesting than she appeared in the previous books, and Lucian is a good match despite his initial maneuvering. This is a great series and I heartily recommend it to all lovers of historical romances. ( )

I loved Lucian so much that I was fully prepared to give this book four stars (due to a couple of minor quibbles I had that prevented me from fully adoring this book.)

Then the last two chapters and a epilogue happened... And my love for Lucian wasn't enough to merit a fourth star any longer. It seemed as if Evie Dunmore had been carefully steering the story along as an engineer would steer a train down the tracks for 90% of the book, but then, for no apparent reason, the story-train derailed and left its reader-passengers discombobulated (although thankfully not physically injured. It's just a bad metaphor, after all.)

Without getting into spoiler-y details, it felt like an unnecessary plot shift... And I didn't like it. Even a happy ending can be soured when the pages immediately leading up to it are rushed and unsatisfactory. So despite a generally-favorable outlook about the first 90% of the book, the final 10% disgruntled me enough that I couldn't truly love it anymore. I'll still read Dunmore's next book, but I sincerely hope that one doesn't have a tacked-on ending. ( )

The Author's Note at the end was the best part of the book.

I actually really loved the book's male lead character. Lucian is complex and interesting. I just hated Harriet. I see what Dunmore was trying to do, I know it is hard to draw a character whose actions are shaped by the frustration wrought by a lack of agency, but it is doable and it was not done here. Not to spoil anything but Harriet is essentially sold into marriage, treated as the chattel she legally was at the time, and was lied to about the particulars of the deal. She has a reason to be angry and frustrated and to act out, but her actions are like those of a 2 year-old frustrated with being told she must go to bed though she wants to keep playing. Harriet just seems spoiled and petulant when she interacts with Lucian. Then seems like she was transported 100 years into the future and is Meryl Streep in Kramer vs Kramer as she stomps off without giving a thought to her husband, her friends, of her family to find herself (in a time where "finding oneself" was not a thing.) I think Dunmore saw that the whole thing made Hattie look selfish and childish and that is why she has given our diva a grand soliloquy toward the end explaining herself. But what Dunmore ended up with, despite the soliloquy, was a woman at the last half of the 19th century who put her own needs above everyone else's and who did not look for a way to meet her needs and follow her principles without picking up her marbles and leaving. I do not think I have ever thought the word "petulant" so many times. Dunmore also tries to save Hattie from appearing like the selfish ninny she is by having her be a benevolent queen to the miners' families when the couple goes to Scotland to deal with issues with a mine Lucian owns. Let's just say it did not tip the balance for me and the whole thing felt very savior-y.

An additional note: There were so many anachronisms in this book it was absurd. I don't much look for historical accuracy in romance, but there are some limits. The first time the term "lean in" is used in the Sheryl Sandberg sense it is horrifying. But then it becomes a theme and "lean in" is used at least three other times. Seriously? Also, thought she does not use the term Hattie expresses that she wants to make sure her regard for Lucian is not Stockholm Syndrome. This is years before the phenomenon was identified. There are other similar instances, but these are the most glaring.

There were stretches of this book where I was enjoying it. The process of the main characters falling in love was wonderful. Seeing them talk (and sometimes argue) about Trollope and Austen and Bronte as well as classical philosophy, socialism, the mechanics of British politics, and also have great sex, well that is #goals for most of us. Those sections were beautifully written filled with sexy adventurous consent and respect and pleasure. But then Hattie got in touch with her feelings of marginalization and instead of using her words she simply assumes the worst about her husband. Time after time she chose to stomp off or castigate him rather than asking a couple simple questions -- simply starting a sentence with "did you" rather than "you did" would have made all the difference. Also, many of the attacks seem to stem from upper crust snobbery and a refusal to understand that people who, like her husband, are not "gently bred" have feelings too.

All in all this was one of those books where parts were 5 star and parts were 2 star. I am settling on 3. I can see this working for many readers but I guess I am a harder case. ( )

I really like this series. I had a hard time getting into this at the beginning, but ended up really liking it. ( )