Reviews

Amor para um escocês by Sarah MacLean

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loyaultemelie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

Not my favorite Sarah Maclean novel - though of course parts of it were very well written, as to be expected. I have to admit I absolutely adored Lily as a heroine. Truly top tier, in personality, in character growth, in general. And I really loved the moments she spent finding new friends and realizing her self worth. I also liked the way she drove the story to its conclusion. Really a wonderful character.

So where's the draw then? Alas, I struggled a bit with our hero. Not to say that I didn't like Alec. I did. And I found the moments of tension between the two characters very enjoyable. The issue is, is that I think we get a sort of false sense of Alec's internal issues. For the longest time it's just "I'm too big and Scottish and unrefined." Which is perfectly fair - don't we all have our incredibly silly hang ups? I respect it, even if I also think having a hero with a more internalized, sort of non trauma related hang up would require some different pacing.

But that is not in fact what Alec's issue turned out to be. Instead his trauma is actually quite horrific. But I think the issue that lies therein is that the audience was sort of primed for a different problem. Feeling like a bull in a china shop is not the same thing as

being sexually coerced for money, something I really hesitate to call forced sex work and really think is more akin to sexual abuse or assault

. And I can see logically where the line between points A and B are drawn, but I also think that they could have been connected better. The problem is, indeed, pacing, but it's a different sort of pacing. I think the set up and payoff were so different that it made Alec's motivation a little too vague in the beginning and then wayyy not addressed enough in the end. Like bbygirl, please seek therapy.

I also think generally the pacing was a bit off this time round. The components were as lovely as always, but the putting them together was not quite there. Still Maclean is not a powerhouse of the romance novel genre for nothing. I look forward to the next book (and last of the series how awful! Yes it is already on my shelf.)

lechepatito's review against another edition

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4.0

I found myself very impatient with Warnick’s refusal to accept her - I think maybe chopping it up with a spaced out audio listen didn’t help? But also I just didn’t connect with his perspective as well.