Never Seduce a Scot (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Dec 17, 2018 Juliana Philippa rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance-historical, hr-hero-aristocrat-lord-titled, hr-series-book-1, hr-hero-nice-guys-dont-finish-last, 4-half-to-5-romance-books, romance-series, hr-series, hr-role-reversal-of-standard-hr, hr-heroine-good-girl, 0-own-in-dead-tree-form

Can't decide between 4 or 4.5 stars
What a lovely read!! I adored Graeme, and Eveline was very sweet and engaging heroine. Such a nice change to have a hero who isn't a man whore, who actually takes sex seriously, who is responsible and takes his duties as a husband seriously, and who isn't afraid to admit when he's in love.

Eveline, for her part, was a bit harder to get a handle on, and I'm not really sure if I can properly express why. I understood her fright and then the way she acted how she d Can't decide between 4 or 4.5 stars
What a lovely read!! I adored Graeme, and Eveline was very sweet and engaging heroine. Such a nice change to have a hero who isn't a man whore, who actually takes sex seriously, who is responsible and takes his duties as a husband seriously, and who isn't afraid to admit when he's in love.

Eveline, for her part, was a bit harder to get a handle on, and I'm not really sure if I can properly express why. I understood her fright and then the way she acted how she did, but sometimes she almost did seem a bit simple (which is fine! There would be nothing wrong with that—think Catherine Anderson’s Annie's Song features a heroine like that—but she's not supposed to be that way, so I think it was just a depiction issue). She seemed easily duped by things.

I also found it really hard to believe that no one in her family or clan figured out she was deaf. Surprisingly, Maya Banks writes at the end of the book that the deafness Eveline experiences is based on her husband's and that he went until grad school before people knew, but I assume and it intimates that that refers to people at school and etc., not his family or friends who would spend every day with him. This is 12th century Scotland and Eveline is constantly surrounded by people, even if she does isolate herself sometimes, and that no one would make the link that she didn't respond unless she saw you talking to her, and that she didn't understand unless you were facing her, and that she was staring at your lips ... yeah, I find that hard to believe.

But whatever, I suspended belief and really enjoyed this book. Eveline is a strong heroine, because she is definitely put in a super tough spot. She has to go to live with her enemy's clan, who all abhor her and treat her horribly. Except Graeme, who is so dreamy ... okay, before I get sidetracked! So yeah, there's that, there's that she's never left her family home or land before, and there's the fact that she has a big disability which also no one knows about or really understands. So she's putting up with a lot of shit, for sure, and she handles herself well. Her fear is real and well-depicted, and the complexity of her situation is portrayed so that the reader really feels for her.

I loved the supporting characters, specifically Graeme's brothers, and am eager to read their stories.

Overall, this was a great romance that I read in one sitting—always a good sign—and that I will definitely reread in the future. The lack of angst was such a nice change and the straightforwardness between Graeme and Eveline, was so different from most romances. Was lovely to not have a hero who goes berserk the instant he thinks he may have deeper feelings for a woman and, you know, has the maturity of a 2-year-old. Graeme seriously was so dreamy, I'm considering him for my favorite heroes list. His tenderness and care for Eveline, how he stands up for her from the beginning, how he tries to reach out and understand her ... ::sigh:: yeah, where can I get a Graeme all to myself?? ...more

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Feb 22, 2022 Ann rated it liked it

I picked up this book for the hearing-impaired heroine and I was not disappointed. How she adapted and how people around her adapted felt believable. Several leading men were decent but with similar names. I took down a star because there was a part where the realizations were repeated; that's a pet peeve of mine. Also, the writing style was not ideal; it over-explained. ...more

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