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Wild Wicked Scot

(Highland Grooms #1)

Julia London (Goodreads Author)

3.78 · Rating details · 2,045 ratings · 335 reviews

Wicked intrigue unfolds as an unlikely marriage leads to a path of risky desire in the lush, green Scottish Highlands.

Born into riches and groomed in English luxury, Margot Armstrong didn't belong in a Scottish chieftain's devil-may-care world. Three years ago she fled their marriage of convenience and hasn't looked back—except to relive the moments spent in wild, rugged A ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 378 pages

Published December 27th 2016 by Harlequin Books

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Average rating 3.78 ·

Rating details

· 2,045 ratings · 335 reviews

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Feb 21, 2017 WhiskeyintheJar rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series, historical, scottish, 1700s, romance-bingo

***Deal Alert*** This is only $.99 for Kindle (deal also on B&N and other sites). The hero is a doggy lover, don't miss out!
Amazon Link
As of 3/18/17

4.5 stars

I read this for the Man in a Kilt square for Romance Bingo.

She was afraid of him, disgusted by him, attracted to him.

Without the sweeping epic saga war components, this reminded me of Pride of Lions by Marsha Canham. As with the heroine in that one, Margot grew up extremely spoiled, sheltered, and is incredibly naïve. I personally am n ...more

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Nov 17, 2019 Lucia✍ rated it really liked it

What a book!!!!! 4.5 Stars!

This book drained me. Cause every time I read a book I put myself in the heroine’s shoes and what Margot went through!!!! I don’t know how she remained standing. I detested her father, and her brother and basically the entire England! Ugh!

Arran was such a raw character. After the prologue and first chapter I was firmly on Margot’s side and expected him to be a villain. But when I read the chapters explaining his side of the story my heart practically bled. And then how ...more

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Mar 27, 2017 Joanna Loves Reading rated it really liked it

Shelves: scottish-scots, audiobook, available-on-hoopla, hr, hr-geographical, already-married, 2021-book-club

Lovely read. Estranged married couple. Great historical context. Enjoyed the culture clash of the English lady adjusting to Scottish clan ways. Very well done in that regard.

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Sep 17, 2020 romancelibrary rated it it was amazing

Shelves: marriage-of-convenience, second-chance-romance, hot-scots, enemies-to-lovers, age-gap, fav-heroes, favorites, arranged-marriage, married-couples, historical-romance

WHAT. A. BOOK. Now this is a historical romance! My kind of historical romance, at least. I slowly devoured this book and every single morsel was delicious. I am thanking my 2018 self for picking up this book at a used booksale.

Wild Wicked Scot takes place in the early 1700s. We've got a rich English heroine whose father forces her to marry a sinfully handsome Scottish Laird for political reasons. Margot is only 18 years old when she marries Arran Mackenzie. When she moves to Scotland, she expe WHAT. A. BOOK. Now this is a historical romance! My kind of historical romance, at least. I slowly devoured this book and every single morsel was delicious. I am thanking my 2018 self for picking up this book at a used booksale.

Wild Wicked Scot takes place in the early 1700s. We've got a rich English heroine whose father forces her to marry a sinfully handsome Scottish Laird for political reasons. Margot is only 18 years old when she marries Arran Mackenzie. When she moves to Scotland, she experiences an extreme culture shock which makes it difficult for her adapt to her new home. Arran, on his part, is very caring toward his new bride, and he tries his best to ease her into her new environment. But he is also kind of clueless and Margot is too young to be able to really articulate her needs and wants.

Four months into their marriage, Margot ends up leaving her husband and Scotland. The story picks up 3 years later when Margot makes a surprise return to the Scottish Highlands to reconcile with her husband. Arran doesn't understand why Margot is back and he is sure that she is up to something. For the first third of the book, the chapters alternate between the present time and flashbacks from 3 years ago.

The romance is intense 😱 sexy 🥵 and so romantic 😍 The best combination if you ask me. I love both Margot and Arran. The plot is solidly written; royal politics is perfectly interwoven with the romance. The politics is written in such a way that it actually pushes both Margot and Arran to grow as characters and as a couple. Margot's character growth is particularly worth highlighting. She grows from a pampered and naive young woman to a woman who realizes her self worth and refuses to be used as a pawn by the men in her life. And the romance is sooooo swoonworthy. Arran is such a great hero. It takes him time to trust Margot again even though he is so utterly in love with her. The characterization is so well-written; it was easy to understand both the hero and heroine, as well as their motivations.

The epilogue was also the cutest thing ever. It looks like the rest of the series is about the next generation. I was kind of hoping Knox would get his own story, but unfortunately I don't think the author has written a book about him. ...more

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Nov 24, 2016 Lover of Romance rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-historical-romance, trope-second-chance-romance, character-heiress, setting-england, trope-marriage-of-convenience, pub-2016, trope-opposites-attract, time-scotland-stewart-era, setting-scotland, character-highlander

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

Summary
Margot Armstrong, was shocked when her father forced her to marry a wild highlander, Arran McKenzie. She didn't feel like she fit in, in a world she knew nothing about and a life she felt fear right around the corner. So against her better judgement, she abandoned her husband and returned to England. Its been three long years, and she has returned in a not so honorable way. Her father has coerced her that she ...more

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Sep 26, 2016 Esther rated it really liked it

Shelves: angst, celibate-hero, emotion-grabber, family, action-packed, arc, heroine-rich, virgin, some-angst, virgin-heroine

ARC from Harlequin and Netgalley.

3.5-3.75

I have mixed feeling on this one.....

Well the synopsis for the story covers the overall gist of the storyline. I'm going to share more of what my feeling on the book are and overview of the characters.

Margot and Arran's marriage was one of political and monetary value to both. Actually more so Arran then Margot, for her Father pretty much forced the marriage on Margot. Margot was a young, very young, eighteen year old when she married. She had been pampe ARC from Harlequin and Netgalley.

3.5-3.75

I have mixed feeling on this one.....

Well the synopsis for the story covers the overall gist of the storyline. I'm going to share more of what my feeling on the book are and overview of the characters.

Margot and Arran's marriage was one of political and monetary value to both. Actually more so Arran then Margot, for her Father pretty much forced the marriage on Margot. Margot was a young, very young, eighteen year old when she married. She had been pampered and spoiled by her Father and brothers all her life. Arran was a Scottish chieftain who took care of his clan, worked hard and was a total Alpha. We have a story of two opposites, forced to marry and both very stubborn. The story begins with a Prologue with their forced marriage and then dives into the present tense. We find Margot returning three years after their marriage. She had left Arran not even a year into their marriage.

This was a very well written, character driven romance. The story had me connected and engrossed throughout the book. I found each character multi dimensional, with new layers being revealed of who (as well as why) they were throughout the story. The writing and description of the time period was excellent and made me feel as if I was right there. The descriptions of life in the castle was excellent! And also something kind of small but yet not was Arran's dogs and how he cared for them and how they behaved was done so well.

But here's what I struggled with, Margot. Gosh I so didn't like her for almost half the book. It took too long for her to be likable and for her to open her eyes and grow up. She was too spoiled and just a brat at times. I think it took too long to come to understand why she was the way she was and also for her to see the light of what she had in Arran. It didn't happen till almost sixty to seventy percent of the story. Which to me is too long, at least start the process of it a quarter into the book so we could be more invested or start to like her more earlier.

Arran, oh I loved him. Some might not at first as he comes across pretty strong but the author gave a little glimpse of what a sweetheart he his early on in the book. His love for Margot, oh my heart melted. He was so good to his clan/people, devoted, loyal and I loved his tender heart for his dogs.

I hope and wish that the author will see this and give some thought to making some adjustment to the heroines character because this could be a richer and more beautiful love story. ...more

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Sep 09, 2021 Missy rated it liked it

Shelves: arranged-marriage, 1-overdrive-audio, unrequited-love-for-hero, 1-overdrive-ebook, angst, hero-baron, hero-scot, estranged-reunited

3.5

I've read several books by Julia London and they weren't too memorable. I kind of took a hiatus from this author. Thus, when this book won Book of the Month for September 2021 for The Historical Romance Book Club on GR, I wasn't excited to begin the book. When I saw that one of my GR friends really enjoyed reading the book, I was hopeful that maybe I will enjoy it, too. And I did!

It's quite different from other Scottish HRs I've read. There are a few chapters at the beginning that flashed ba 3.5

I've read several books by Julia London and they weren't too memorable. I kind of took a hiatus from this author. Thus, when this book won Book of the Month for September 2021 for The Historical Romance Book Club on GR, I wasn't excited to begin the book. When I saw that one of my GR friends really enjoyed reading the book, I was hopeful that maybe I will enjoy it, too. And I did!

It's quite different from other Scottish HRs I've read. There are a few chapters at the beginning that flashed back to when the main characters first got married, (view spoiler)

I didn't like how Margo (view spoiler)

For a moment, I thought there was going to be plot twist and that (view spoiler)

I don't really like second chance romance, but this one was worth the read. ...more

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Jan 10, 2017 Caz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiogals, audiobook, romance-pre-1800s

I've given this an A- for narration and a B for content at AudioGals.

I confess straight out that I’m not the world’s biggest fan of books with the word “Scot” or “Highlander” in the title as the majority of those I’ve read have seemed to have identical plots and characters. So reviewing Wild Wicked Scot, the first in Julia London’s new Highland Grooms series wasn’t an automatic choice for me – until I saw Derek Perkins listed as the narrator. I’ve listened to him several times before and he ...more

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Sep 18, 2021 Shaz rated it really liked it

Margot is betrayed by her father. Who arranged a marriage of convenience for her with Arran a highland chief. This was an enjoyable story.

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Sep 07, 2021 Debby*BabyDee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: a-series-reads, authors-k-l

Enjoyable and delightful read by Julia London.

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Mar 31, 2018 Mou rated it really liked it

Shelves: medieval-historical-regency-romance

It was a good read!
Feeling very lazy! I will write a detailed review later! 😴😴😴

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Dec 10, 2016 Deniz rated it really liked it

4.5 Stars
My first reaction when I finished this: I didn't want it to be over!
So I went to see what's next in the series...
Wild Wicked Scot is truly engaging and captivating. Is got caught up in the story from the get go and couldn't put my kindle down until I was finished.

I have never read a book by London before, but I feel I really need to rectify that error now and read all the previously published books by her. Because this is written by a master of her craft. There are multiple POV and then 4.5 Stars
My first reaction when I finished this: I didn't want it to be over!
So I went to see what's next in the series...
Wild Wicked Scot is truly engaging and captivating. Is got caught up in the story from the get go and couldn't put my kindle down until I was finished.

I have never read a book by London before, but I feel I really need to rectify that error now and read all the previously published books by her. Because this is written by a master of her craft. There are multiple POV and then the story jumps back and forth between the time line as well, seemingly all at random. But it's so brilliantly done! Each jump is precisely what the story needed and not only that it's done completely smooth.
The dialogues feel authentic, there is a good dose of humor and some wonderfully sensual smut.
Add to that, the beautiful writing style and you got me attention.
But then London outdid all of this with the character building. I was so caught up with Margot and Arran, with their feelings, with their hopes and regrets and their fears. I totally got both of them, got their pain and rejoiced over their growth. I needed them to find happiness! Which in itself is a total feat to achieve. I mean I like a happy ending, like anyone, but I never (ok:rarely might be more accurate) have such a desperate yearning for the characters to get it.

The story line is a brilliant tale of star-crossed lovers/ arranged marriage gone bad to finding love with each other.
The romance is beautiful, heartbreaking and wonderfully different in many ways.
The plot is captivating, I kept guessing who the culprit was, was kept on my toes and hoping until right to the end.
The epilogue btw, is simply beautiful. And that, is another stroke for London. Because it could have been simply too mushy for me, which many of them are. But again, just like in so many other instances, she gets it just right, is on point with the emotions, the sweet little details and a dash of humor. It's just perfect, really.
To be honest, I am not sure how historically correct this novel is. I am not clued up on the particular clan history of it's time. I don't even know if there is a Norwood Park. But it feels authentic. The lifestyles, the manners, the prejudice and the dialogues not feel only authentic bu real enough to make this a great historical romance.

The character building, does like I said before outshine everything. It takes this from a good to an excellent novel for me.
Margot, with all her silly naivety, was dear to my heart quite fast. I got where she was coming from, even if I knew she was being ridiculous and utterly spoilt at times. Arran, sigh. Arran is the perfect Scottish hero. I mean this. Sincerely. He is gruff and tough, yet so gentle and caring. Absolutely clueless at times, but again, I got him.
Their characters feel real and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow and breach their differences together. Their flaws and shortcomings make them more realistic.
The support cast is just as well written. Again, London seems to bring just the right characters in when needed to highlight a situation. And more so I want to know more about several of the side cast.. I want to know the details about Nell and Jock. And to be honest I hope there will be a story about Grizella. Oh and one for Knox (who was he with in the village?!)
Basically, I just want more.

Compelling, well crafted novel, that left me wanting MORE! ...more

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Apr 02, 2017 Vivian rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, romance-hist

This was a win. Got the English maid and Scottish laird trope, but it is served up with some realism about the radically different spheres and environments the two come from and the challenges it presents that makes this interesting. Honestly, Arran is one of the most romantic male leads I've read in a long time. By the end, if you're not right there believing it you got lost along the way.

For a more coherent and substantive review see Kyraryker/WhiskeyintheJar who was also the one who alerted ...more

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Dec 31, 2016 Wendy rated it liked it

A marriage of convenience is a favourite trope of mine and in Wild Wicked Scot Margot Armstrong certainly hits it lucky in her father’s choice of husband, the deliciously rugged Scottish chieftain Arran McKenzie, Baron of Balhaire. However, these are dangerous times between England and Scotland and this marriage of convenience is built upon very shaky ground with Margot a pawn in the games of powerful men and the politics of the two countries.

The story opens with a prologue and a series of flash A marriage of convenience is a favourite trope of mine and in Wild Wicked Scot Margot Armstrong certainly hits it lucky in her father’s choice of husband, the deliciously rugged Scottish chieftain Arran McKenzie, Baron of Balhaire. However, these are dangerous times between England and Scotland and this marriage of convenience is built upon very shaky ground with Margot a pawn in the games of powerful men and the politics of the two countries.

The story opens with a prologue and a series of flashbacks. In the prologue Margot is an immature seventeen year old with very entrenched ideas as to what makes the perfect man; and unfortunately for her, Arran McKenzie doesn’t tick any of those boxes. But she has no choice in the matter, and in the interests of her powerful father and her Wild Wicked Scot, she is the sacrificial lamb in their machinations to help broker an uneasy alliance between Scotland and England – not to mention the added bonus of money and lands which such a union will bring. As the story gets underway Margot has already left her husband and is now returning to him after an absence of three years. Their marriage had floundered after only four months when she ran back to England.

Arran McKenzie is a lovely character, well developed and extremely likeable and my sympathy was with him all the way through. To begin with, Margot is quite irritating – although to be fair, she was very young, and she did her limited, childish best to fit into Arran’s world. But her attempt to transport her much loved tonnish lifestyle into the depths of the Scottish Highlands was, quite obviously, doomed to failure, especially as she only half-heartedly attempted to become the Laird’s lady in truth. Margot considered herself to be neglected outside of the bedchamber, but she failed to understand what a busy man Arran was with his many responsibilities – to his clan, his prosperous, time-consuming continental sea trading business and the personal training of his first rate soldiers. And so Margot runs away and returns to her frivolous lifestyle in England. Then, after three years during which she has no contact whatsoever with her husband, her autocratic father again pulls her strings and she is sent back to Balhaire, this time with the hidden agenda of spying on her husband. Quite understandably, she is subjected to a host of suspicious Scots; not least of whom is her husband who cannot believe that she has suffered a complete about-turn.

There are a number of inconsistencies about the relationship between Arran and Margot that niggled at me. They obviously enjoyed a very satisfactory love-life after their marriage, which I would have thought would have counted in Arran’s favour. But no, this isn’t enough for Margot to try to build a life with her gorgeous husband so she just ups and leaves without a word. That said, the problems don’t all fall on her side, because Arran just lets her go without even asking her why. Then, he meekly sends her enough money to live comfortably even though her desertion has humiliated him in front of his entire clan. None of this rings true. Nor does the fact that Arran is repeatedly described as being ‘wild and wicked’, when he’s nothing of the sort; he’s just a man with lusty appetites for all things, and is a loyal, honourable man with oodles of integrity right from the beginning – and he’s certainly no push-over. I also couldn’t believe that Margot’s father would have accepted her return to his house after only four months, especially given the trouble he went to to arrange the match. Margot is somewhat redeemed once she begins to see Arran as he really is and sets out determinedly to win his love and trust, but her character is definitely the least engaging of the two.

There is a reasonably well developed plot which deals with the question of Arran’s loyalties, but because of the inconsistencies in the romance, I was taken out of the story and found this fairly important point overshadowed. The author’s attempts to use the highland vernacular – in particular her overly frequent use of the word “aye” – were also very distracting.

Overall, Wild, Wicked Scot is an uneven read, and is raised to the slightly above average bracket by the character of Arran, who is simply gorgeous. The story is nicely written so I would be interested to see how the rest of the series plays out. ...more

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Sep 07, 2021 Merry Jewelhound rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, book-of-the-month, historical-fiction, romance, scottish

Very enjoyable read of a young girl that is married to a Scottish Laird at the age of 18 and the problems that arise out of the difference in customs and age. Things don't work out and she returns to her loving father. The story is based on 2 timelines. One at the age of 18 and 3 years later when she returns and tries to repair the marriage. There is intrigue and distrust with growth on both sides that leads to a hea. ...more

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Feb 22, 2019 Darbella rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: scottishand-or-highlander, beautfiul-heroine, z-2021-botm-choice-2, highlanders-scot

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 03, 2021 Shannon rated it it was amazing

What a lovely book! Loved these characters even though Margo should have been hard to like, I could see who she was underneath. Choices had been made for her to marry by a father she trusted. This romance did not have a fairytale beginning, but enemies to lovers definitely makes for a great fairytale ending! And wow, did this have a nice ending. I loved that it had an epilogue and I loved the journey. The ending was charming. I'll not spoil it, except to say that their circumstances gave them am ...more

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Mar 07, 2017 Michelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

This story is about rebuilding a marriage alongside a traitorous plot. Margot left her husband in Scotland three years before and has now come back to him to uncover if he is a traitor or not. Arran immediately suspects that Margot has not returned because she wants to give their marriage another try. Both suspicious of each other, can their marriage survive?

This book has more history and politics in it than most historical romances I read but I liked the idea that there was a secret plot bubbl This story is about rebuilding a marriage alongside a traitorous plot. Margot left her husband in Scotland three years before and has now come back to him to uncover if he is a traitor or not. Arran immediately suspects that Margot has not returned because she wants to give their marriage another try. Both suspicious of each other, can their marriage survive?

This book has more history and politics in it than most historical romances I read but I liked the idea that there was a secret plot bubbling that greatly affected our characters. This book is more than just romance. Then the romance came in and out of the story as we see through the present day and flashbacks of how their marriage is taking this long separation and the struggles it was before, and now really. Margot left a spoiled and lonely child but returned a strong woman on a mission. Arran can automatically see a difference in her. They have both suffered but until they opene up to each other more they would never see how much they care for each other and they would only see how their marriage is dangling from the edge of a cliff. Margot doesn't believe Arran is a traitor but she needs proof one way or another to satisfy her stupid as-her suspicious father and brother. (Honestly, both can just go to hell.) Moving on, when Margot returns she has change and has made it her separate mission to try to find some balance in her marriage and really try to fit into the highland lifestyle which is quite different from her English upbringing with gowns and society parties. She struggles, A LOT, but she is very determined to change.

There were some slow parts in the first half of the book but there were also some incredibly wonderful moments between our main characters. I was even questioning if this marriage was really going to work. You can see they do care about each other but there are secrets, lies, betrayal and deceit. The whole traitorous plot goes right up until the very end. I wasn't even sure for a little while if the book would end in a cliffhanger but it doesn't, thank god for that. The uncertainty of their lives and marriage kept me on my toes until the very end and I absolutely loved the last chunk of the book. When times seem so bleak, they had each other for strength and eventually love and understanding.

I truly love Margot and Arran. They suit each other so well and even with all of their problems they oh so slowly rebuild something that was once lost and broken. The epilogue was perfect and I was ecstatic that they were in each other's arms once again.

I receieved this ARC via Netgalley. ...more

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Dec 02, 2016 Joana V. rated it really liked it

Shelves: e-book, meus, first-reads, netgalley, inglês

I've received this book directly from the author, in exchange for this review. Thank you!
Review in portuguese here:http://pepitamagica.blogspot.pt/2016/...

Wild Wicked Scot brings us a story of spoiled girl who can’t stand for herself and, to be truthful, doesn’t know what to do with her life. I mean, until she returns to her husband’s house, three years after she had left him.

Margot is that kind of character that is hard to like, at least for some of the book. There’s a small evolution, but sti I've received this book directly from the author, in exchange for this review. Thank you!
Review in portuguese here:http://pepitamagica.blogspot.pt/2016/...

Wild Wicked Scot brings us a story of spoiled girl who can’t stand for herself and, to be truthful, doesn’t know what to do with her life. I mean, until she returns to her husband’s house, three years after she had left him.

Margot is that kind of character that is hard to like, at least for some of the book. There’s a small evolution, but still, it’s too bad that she doesn’t trust Arran – I understand why she wouldn’t do it at the beginning, but the second he gave a chance to tell him, she should have taken it. Nevertheless, she manages to slowly redeem herself little by little, and at the end of the book is much stronger than she was at the beginning.

Arran is amazing. He’s the perfect book boyfriend, from beginning to end. Everything he does is to please Margot and to help her to integrate her new home and he loves her deeply, trying his hard to please her. He feels so completely betrayed when she leaves him (and his male ego – maybe the only small thing against him – prevented him from following her). No wonder that, when she decides to pop up completely unannounced, he becomes suspicious of her.

The whole book is about building trust, not only between the characters, but also the reader: we want what’s best for Arran and, for a while, we’re not completely sure if Margot really deserves him. But, as she begins to show that she’s no longer the childish girl she was when she married, we start to understand her a bit better and we want to give her a chance.

The (small) mystery the book has ends up just being there to unite the lovers and it's a case of being “arrested for having a dog and not having a dog” (translation of a Portuguese expression which means you just couldn’t have it right, no matter what you would did).

At the end of the day, all is resolved, with trust being regained, and a love growing harder and stronger. It was a book that only took me four days to read and it kept me hooked on it. A well spent time, with lots of romance, fighting for honour and a true love that is always worth fighting for. ...more

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Jul 09, 2017 A Klue rated it liked it

Shelves: very-steamy-scenes, hurtful-at-times-hero, distrustful-hero, lots-of-arguing, library-edition, not-an-arc-review, treats-her-harshly, didn-t-fight-to-keep-his-girl, groveling-heroine, used-as-a-pawn

With its back and forth past to present flashbacks, the writing at first in this one was a little difficult to keep track of, folks. I found it annoying to have to keep mentally make note of whether it was the couple’s current bickering or their past. That’s right, there was “lots” of that aspect in both parts. This main couple seemed doomed from the start. Not standing by/fighting for his girl in the first place certainly did not endear me to the hero’s character.

For me, what really ticked me o With its back and forth past to present flashbacks, the writing at first in this one was a little difficult to keep track of, folks. I found it annoying to have to keep mentally make note of whether it was the couple’s current bickering or their past. That’s right, there was “lots” of that aspect in both parts. This main couple seemed doomed from the start. Not standing by/fighting for his girl in the first place certainly did not endear me to the hero’s character.

For me, what really ticked me off upfront was a verra bonny lass sitting on the hero’s lap upon her return. Then there was his OTT too hurtful, degrading responses. He threatened to backhand her, folks. During their intimate encounter that same night, she was good enough to hit the sheets with, but he made her not look at him.

With a constant “I’ll never trust you again” theme, a majority of this storyline is the hero acting hateful and the heroine finding herself caught in the middle of the mission she was sent on and confusion over who the real traitor might be.

It you like lots of relationship angst, a groveling heroine being used as a pawn, who not only wants the hero to like/trust her again but convince the whole clan she’s not the devil at the same time she’s sent to spy on him/lie to him, and can put up with a hurtful at times hero, you might want to check this one out. There is, of course, a major subplot playing out that is steering the course of this second chance romance with some pretty obvious villains.

Romance Safety Gang: (view spoiler)

The author set us up to think he wasn’t celibate, because, nothing says I fool around with the lasses more than to find him with a verra bonny one sitting on his lap. Yet he claims to never have strayed. For someone who claims not to like his wife, he still had no qualms about hitting the sheets with her at the drop of her chemise.

Title: Wild, Wicked Scot, Series: The Highland Grooms (Book 1), Pages: 378, Author: Julia London, very hurtful at times hero, groveling heroine being used as a pawn, VERY steamy scenes, HEA, no OW/OM drama, didn’t stand by/fight for his girl, second chance, arranged marriage three years prior.

Book 1 - Wild, Wicked Scot
Book 2 - Sinful Scottish Laird
Book 3 - Hard Hearted Highlander
Book 4 - Devil in Tartan

(These comments are based on a library edition. This is not an ARC review.)
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Sep 26, 2021 Mariana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, highlander, mystery, marriage-of-convenience, botm, jacobite

3.5 stars

I definitely enjoyed the last half better than the first.

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Feb 17, 2022 Jaime rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 4-star, because-scotland

via Audio — Narration is Amazing

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May 22, 2017 Sarah Z rated it it was ok

2.5 stars. Gave it the extra .5 because I enjoyed the last 20% of the book. The other 80% was just all over the place. I really didn't like the hopping between two time periods. It was just unnecessary and didn't add anything to the story. I didn't care for the second chance trope in this book. I felt like it kept me from connecting with the leads. The book starts a few years after their arranged marriage and separation and I felt like I lost all that time with them. Then the author brings the r ...more

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Feb 22, 2020 Bethany rated it really liked it

Well this cements it: I really enjoy Julia London as an author! If she can make me thoroughly enjoy a story involving an alpha hero, then she is doing something very right. (For reference, my preferred heroes are betas or cinnamon rolls.) Wild Wicked Scot is a fun highlander historical with a dual timeline involving a married couple who slowly come to understand each other better.

Margot is a noblewoman bred for society so when her father marries her off to a highlander that she barely knows, she ...more

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Jan 26, 2017 Lynn Spencer rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-romance

I love “second chance at love” stories and most books revolving around troubled marriages are near cousins to these. In Wild Wicked Scot, our protagonists weren’t head over heels in love the first time around, so the dynamic is a little different. However, since the characters are layered and worth getting to know, this character-driven romance ultimately works.

When we first meet Margot Armstrong in the prologue, she is the flirtatious and perhaps somewhat spoiled daughter of an English aristocr I love “second chance at love” stories and most books revolving around troubled marriages are near cousins to these. In Wild Wicked Scot, our protagonists weren’t head over heels in love the first time around, so the dynamic is a little different. However, since the characters are layered and worth getting to know, this character-driven romance ultimately works.

When we first meet Margot Armstrong in the prologue, she is the flirtatious and perhaps somewhat spoiled daughter of an English aristocrat. On the eve of the Act of Union between England and Scotland, it is apparent that her primary concerns involve hosting parties and drawing male attention to herself and her best friend. The descriptions of beautiful gowns and powdered hair paint a very pretty picture – one that is very neatly shifted when Margot’s father calls her away from her party to inform her of her impending marriage to a Highland laird.

Unlike in the average Highland historical, Arran Mackenzie doesn’t immediately present himself as the perfect hero. He’s certainly imposing in appearance, but also very out of place in Margot’s polished world. In the first chapter, we learn just how great the gap between Margot and Arran’s worlds is. Three years after their meeting and marriage, we learn that Margot left Arran’s home at Castle Balhaire and returned to her father in England a mere four months after they were wed.

Margot is now back in the Scottish highlands, under orders from her father. She shows up at Balhaire and tells Arran she wants to work on reconciling their marriage. Given that Margot pretty much dumped him in front of his entire clan, Arran is less than thrilled to see her turn up again – and I couldn’t entirely blame him. As the story moves along and tales of Margot’s spoiled behavior from their married couple days come out, I REALLY couldn’t blame him.

This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: http://allaboutromance.com/book-revie... ...more

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Dec 27, 2016 eyes.2c rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, highlands-historical-romance

Definitely some lively parts!_____3.5 stars

As a young girl, English Margot Armstrong romanticized marriage. She falls in love at a glance with Scottish chieftain, Arran McKenzie and heads off to the highlands for her dream HEA, only to discover that life is far different in the raw highlands to the English society she'd inhabited and grew up in.
Fortunately Margot takes well to her wifely duties in the marriage bed. Outside of that she's like a fish out of water. Misunderstandings lead to Margot ...more

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Mar 07, 2017 Gerry Bartlett rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical

I picked up this book because I'm writing about an ancient Scot myself and this is set in 1700 Scotland, earlier than most historicals these days. Margot is married off to a Highland laird against her will. She's naive and not suited for the rough life awaiting her in his castle. The only bright spot is the man himself, in the bedchamber. Otherwise, he goes about his business and his clan is hostile to his English bride. Finally Margot runs back to her father for three long years. The beginning ...more

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Sep 20, 2017 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) marked it as dnf

Shelves: egalley

This reads like a romance from the 80s. The Scottish hero is an unwanted alpha barbarian who dominates her. And all the Scots are written in this annoying dialect. He's real charmer.

"Because I donna chase after dogs or women. They come to me.”

Do not ship. Absolutely not. ...more

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Oct 16, 2021 Runningwater rated it really liked it

Shelves: favourite-hero, historical-romance

4.5. The push and pull of love, hope, rejection, regret. A marriage between two very different people requiring lots of work on themselves and tenderness to pull through, against a plot of intrigue and English and Scottish tensions. Is there anything that can hurt a proud man as much seeing the woman he loves leaving him? There were many moments where my heartstrings were pulled and I could hear Arran, our alpha Highlander hero’s uncommunicated pain and unspoken declarations of love. There’s an 4.5. The push and pull of love, hope, rejection, regret. A marriage between two very different people requiring lots of work on themselves and tenderness to pull through, against a plot of intrigue and English and Scottish tensions. Is there anything that can hurt a proud man as much seeing the woman he loves leaving him? There were many moments where my heartstrings were pulled and I could hear Arran, our alpha Highlander hero’s uncommunicated pain and unspoken declarations of love. There’s an insight and pathos into a man’s soul that is so compelling. Margot transforms from a naive, homesick, petulant girl who runs away from a marriage into a young woman who finally understands what she had and lost - and more importantly, works for her husband’s love and trust. The catalyst is the need to weather the political climate and circumstances, but ultimately the true motivations are love and regret.

Gripping dialogue. Excerpt:
***

“I was far too young for it. No doubt you’ve had a first love, and many more since.” She reached for her queen.

“I’ve had a first love,” he agreed. “It was you.”

Margot’s hand froze on her queen. “Don’t tease me like that,” she said, the light gone from her voice. “Don’t say that if it’s not true.”

Arran slowly reached for her hand. “I would never say it were it no’ true.” To his thinking, there was nothing truer about them. Even now, he had that strange feeling of being tossed into an abyss of empty longing.

“Her gaze searched his face. “When did you love me?” she asked softly. “I never knew it.”

Diah, but he’d failed her in so many ways. How could she not know? “From the moment I saw you standing on the balcony at Norwood Park.”

Her lips parted with surprise. “Even then?”

“There’s no logic to how love arrives.”

“And yet you never once said—”

“No, because I was bloody naive, and I foolishly believed that my love would never get away from me. I tried to make you happy, Margot, in all the ways that I knew how. I tried, but I couldna set it all to rights for you. But it was no’ from a lack of devotion. It was from a lack of understanding.”

“I had no idea,” she whispered.

“I know.” He hadn’t known it himself until after she was gone.

***

The realism of reasons why a marriage fails are laid bare: cultural differences, immaturity, lack of emotional intimacy, one partner being a dependent, lack of understanding, community objection. But that’s not all to it. Margot was blind to Arran’s love and was blindly loyal to her family. Arran was blind to Margot’s plight as a young bride to a political marriage of convenience, and was blind to Margot’s efforts to win him back. JL makes it clear that our characters ultimately choose each other and to love and trust each other, not by happenstance or convenience. That’s what I look for in a romance.

I have something to nitpick about the writing - I absolutely detest exclamation marks in conversation. Margot made many exclamations in her cheerful chats. I also wish that Arran learned to trust and open himself to being vulnerable, because the character growth seems to have been overwhelmingly on Margot’s side. She seemed to have done the heavy lifting in making the marriage work. Arran’s emotional defences that were erected after his hurt were slowly whittled away, but whether and in what manner he changed (such as becoming a more understanding and gentle husband towards Margot) isn’t fully shown to us except in the short epilogue. But that being said, I enjoyed the book for the emotional highs and lows of marriage. ...more

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Mar 27, 2017 Sharyn rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-romance, scottish-romance

I really loved this story between young, naive and spoiled English girl Margot and Clan Chieftain Arran MacKenzie. I seriously devoured most of the book. I like that it was different from other marriages of convenience in that, yes, they enjoyed each other in the bedroom, but it was the other part of the marriage that they really, really couldn't figure out. At all.

Margot thought that she would be treated like a queen in Scotland and have everything exactly the same as she had in her pampered e ...more

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About Julia London

Julia London

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Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of more than two dozen romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular historical romance series, the Cabot Sisters, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming ...more