Today I’m going to tell you about a book you’ve probably never heard of:
It takes Place in the Scottish Highlands
Yes, there is talk of heather. There is an old Scottish Castle filled with clansmen and soldiers who look to their leader….
It has an Independent Heroine
She’s on her own, in the Scottish Highlands. She’s smart, well read, and has a skill that most people, especially men, don’t think is useful for a woman. She takes care of herself. She needs NO man. Oh yeah, and she’s English.
But Then a Scottish Man comes along
And he’s big and handsome. He’s so very strong. People look twice when he passes them by. And when he’s in a Kilt…. ugh- it’s enough to make the English Independent Heroine who needs NO man, weak in her knees. People look to him for guidance. He’s a leader. He’s a problem solver. And he MUST marry our heroine.
There are funny Scottish sidekicks
They’re single. They love women. They love pretty women. They connect with our heroine. They are inappropriate. They make her laugh. They protect their leader and who he loves with their lives.
There are Scottish terms to woo even the coldest of hearts
Could you say no to a man who called you mo chridhe? What about when he referred to you as a “Wee bonny lass?” Me neither.
You haven’t heard of this book have you?
No, I didn’t think so.
I’m talking about When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare.
What did you think I was talking about?
About When a Scot Ties the Knot
On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shy, pretty and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.
A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter … and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.
Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He’s wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters… and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep.
Besides a very famous Scottish series we talk about around here, I haven’t read any books that take place in the Highlands. This pretty shocking for the amount of regency I read. You’d think I would have read something (else) that takes place in Scotland by now. But besides the occasional scandalous marriage that happens in Gretna Green, I haven’t read much. So this book felt familiar. Perhaps that’s how all books that take place in that era in Scotland feel or perhaps Tessa Is a BIG Diana Gabaldon fan.
I really enjoyed this book! I loved the chemistry and the build between Maddie and and Captain MacKenzie. I loved that it was regency but not in the London Season. I liked the premise of the story and that Maddie is a strong independent character who is an illustrator with dreams of having a career. And despite having a few similarities to Jamie Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, Captain LOGAN MacKenzie is NOT a virgin. Though, this is regency romance of course, it takes quite a bit of building for that point to be proven. But it’s worth it. It always is.
