Reviews with content warning for Grief - Portrait of a Scotsman

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore

19 reviews

amobrien's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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saeruh's review against another edition

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emotional

Strong character development? Yes

4.75

This book was very close to being perfect. I felt like all of the characters were so complex and it was lovely to see them develop. The suffrage part that was so prevalent in the first two books took a bit of a backseat (although it was still a major function of the book!), instead what was focused more on as the political history of this one was poor worker’s rights in the late 1800s and specifically the poor working and living conditions of Scottish coal miners. It was interesting to me to read this take on that sad part of history since Dunmore seemed to really breathe live into the coal miners’ community.
The love story within this had amazing chemistry and was filled with tropes (forced proximity, strangers to enemies to lovers, love at first sight, grumpy/sunshine, probably more im forgetting) but also was such an original story. It was also both quite steamy and spicy which was a great bonus. I do think this is the best book and romance in the series (although I guess I’ll see how the fourth one coming out next year will change that). I loved the representation of living with a learning/comprehension disability in the 1800s that came with Hattie’s character. I thought it was incredibly well done. I also just loved Hattie in general, I have since the beginning of this series, she’s such a sweetheart and the sad way that she’s treated by her family that affects her own self esteem broke my heart. I also loved Lucian! He was so complex but so besotted with Hattie. There was an accurate portrayal of PTSD within his character as well. They were so great together even when they sort of hated each other. Lucian went through the Darcy-character-development and by the end of the story, he was changing his ways that Hattie had previously told him were his faults (aka actually listening to her concerns and actively changing his ways to make a lasting difference).
I quite liked the side characters, I thought they were all interesting and had enough time in the story for me to actually care about them/their futures. I wished we saw more of the friend group and all of them being together like in the previous books. I didn’t like beginning or the last few chapters before the epilogue. The former because I felt like Dunmore did not ease the reader into the story at all (i mean the first kiss is in the freaking first chapter) and instead just kind of threw you into the midst. The latter because

while I understood why Hattie wanted to leave/separate from Lucian due to the beginning of their relationship, i also majorly felt like it erased a lot of their emotional development. I mean like hell they just admitted to each other that they loved one another and suddenly they’re separating?? It was hard to read and that last 5% took me much longer to read that the rest because I was so disappointed

.
Anyways I do recommend this book, it was quite a bit of fun and informative, it had spice that made me blush quite hard, and I listened to the full audiobook in two days 😋👍

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regen20's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This has been by far my favorite of the three currently written. A lovely, engaging story. Knocked down a star because, unfortunately, I was not a fan of the ending.

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meganpbennett's review

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emotional hopeful informative tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I was very disappointed in Portrait of a Scotsman: I feel it was a let down for the series. Hattie is tricked into marriage to Lucien Blackstone, and she soon realizes that she's completely at his mercy, thanks to the law that makes her (literally) her husband's property. Realizing this, she tries to run away, and he kidnaps her, dragging her to Scotland against her will. Portrait of a Scotsman also doesn't have a happy ending, though the ending is just shy of hopeful.

The story took what felt like forever to get going, and then wobbled around as it tried to figure out what it wanted to be. Was it a biting social commentary about women in the Victorian Era and how much work went into getting the act amended so that women were not property and how much work went into getting (white, middle and upper class) women the right to vote? Was it a biting social commentary about mine safety? Was it a romance novel, featuring enemies to lovers, with a asshole with a heart of gold who's really a softy deep down? Was it the story of how a young woman learns what she wants out of life?

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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readwithde's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I spent a few hours processing after reading this book, and I have to say that most of my troubles with it stem from the ending.

For 80% of the book, l was completely hooked on the passion and emotion between Lucien and Hattie; they had a great will-they-won't-they slow burn build, which I adored. Lucien especially worked so hard to fix their marriage, to make it work and make Hattie happy.

Throughout the book, Hattie learns how much she is wrong about Lucien, how little she knows of the struggles of the working class, but she still holds on to her high expectations and romantic fantasies. Instead of deciding to make meaningful choices, she spends her time regretting her life and the choices of others that created it; she acts out in passive agressive ways, starts arguments, and constantly thinks the least of Lucien.

In the end, I had hoped she would wake up to reality, that she would see that Lucien kept wooing her and loving her, that he was romancing her in a different way than she thought.

I hate that she leaves him, especially when all she really wants is for him to chase her. It seems so manipulative and petty.

The entire side plot with Mr. Matthews was wholly unnecessary. I much would have rather give those pages to the end of the book and get more information about Hattie leaving, give Lucien more of a chance to fight for her to stay. I'm glad they ended up together, but it felt dramatic without reason, and it needed more narrative to support it.

Overall, I really liked it until the ending. I wish Hattie would have grown or changed more, and I'm disappointed in her.

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