The Scot Beds His Wife

Samantha is looking for a place to hide, and fate comes her way. She has had a harsh life and gets a taste of something better, one that makes her happy. Her love of horses and caring for others had me interested in how her story would end. Gavin also had a rough upbringing and dreamed of his one way to break away. As the truth from their pasts and the present comes out, Sam and Gavin forge a strong bond. I enjoyed also the return of previous characters. I received a copy of this story through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.

Samantha Masters is on the run from more than just trouble in the west. She’s running from her own actions, her own decisions, and her own demons. Gavin McKenzie isn’t running, he’s hiding in plain sight. Everything that is dark and dangerous within him is hidden behind his handsome face and his easy smile and wit. When these two come together it’s unlike anything the Scottish Highlands have ever beheld. Sam is one tough heroine with a dirty mouth and the ability to stand up for herself. She doesn’t need someone looking out for her or protecting her. She’s been doing that her whole life. Gavin has one desire and the only way to obtain it is through sharp edged woman that keeps pulling her gun on him. He should find her unappealing. He should be enraged. Instead, he’s finding her compelling and oh so tempting. It makes no sense whatsoever. This was a slower paced read but without a lot of unnecessary prose. Although Sam is not my favorite type of heroine, with her background she couldn’t be any other way and I accepted her as such. Gavin was more of the alpha hero I like and the fact that he had to keep reminding himself he simply wanted Erradale more than Sam actually made me love him all the more. He just couldn’t lie to himself regarding his feelings for her. I absolutely loved everything about the secondary characters. They added so much depth to the story while also setting the reader up for future stories. This had a great ending even though there was so much happening all at once and very quickly. I would’ve liked to have seen it expanded a bit. I have other books by this author on my wish list but this is my first time to actually read anything written by her. I’m currently making plans to check a few things off that list very soon. This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley St. Martin’s Press. Dual POV Safety questions: (view spoiler) No apparent triggers

Mixing up the trope a bit, we have the middle brother, Gavin and the newly introduced Samantha – both with troubled pasts and secrets they wish to hide. With a Kerrigan Byrne title, the character development can take a bit of time, and there are many places where the story winds off-track, giving that sense of background and providing information that those who haven’t read the previous books may need. In each title that I’ve read from Byrne, the same applies, the story doesn’t start to solidify and show the author’s talents for witty dialogue and action-forward until past the midpoint. This holds true for this book as well, but you will find some interesting twists here that I’ve not seen in other of this genre. Samantha was raised in the Western Territories of the United States, and had quite an interesting, if harrowing upbringing. From moving about frequently to no real friends, she’d robbed trains, hidden her past and dreamed of a new and different life. Gavin, middle brother with a horrible father and constantly engaged in strife with his brothers also wants a new life, but he believes the only way is to move away from where people know his father and start his own life. The key to this is his purchase of the Ross lands, held one newcomer, Samantha. Back and forth we go as the two battle off with strong will meeting strong will, and Gavin’s charm not making one whit of difference – the two are equally matched in skill and daring. But Samantha has a mouth like a sailor – and prefers to hold onto her secrets far too long. Gavin hit that point of immaturity with me- rehashing and arguing with his brother Liam, like two children in the sandbox – and refusing to move past churlish and childish moments. For the two together, this marriage of convenience was neither convenient nor smooth, and each played a huge part in their miscommunication. I’m of two minds with this story: when it picked up and actually wasn’t bogged down with wordiness to the detriment of a clear path to the conflicts, communication and cooperation, the story was engaging and clever. And far different portrayals of a woman’s place – as Samantha was foul mouthed, outspoken and unfortunately felt a bit too modern. But, that made her shockingly memorable in this story, and the stronger of the two despite familiarity with Gavin from earlier titles. Fans of Kerrigan Byrne or this series will certainly love this book. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.