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arundhati_p 's review for:
Portrait of a Scotsman
by Evie Dunmore
I am really upset and mad at this book right now. The second book in the series is one of my favorite romance novel ever, so yes I had huge expectations from this one. Not only was I disappointed but I ended up utterly infuriated. What the heck was the last 3 chapters?? Someone please explain to me the purpose it served. I will get to it later. Let me start from the beginning.
Fair warning⚠️ , this is a historical romance and so there are things which are problematic by modern standards.If such things bother you, better skip this one. Coming to the plot, this book follows Hatie who is an artist and the second daughter to a renowned banker. She is an active member of the suffragist movement with Lucie. While in pursuit of her artistic interests, she runs into Lucian Blackstone and they sort of have an "interesting" encounter. Lucian is intrigued by her and is convinced that she is her ticket to climbing the social ladder. During one of the charity events Lucian and Hatie are caught kissing by probably every important person in the society *gasp*, so naturally they have to get married since it is the Victorian era. I am not averse to forced marriage/marriage of convenience trope. And in this case it sounded really promising as Lucian and Hatie's personality varied as night and day. So I was hooked. I wanted to see how it pans out.But from here on the story deals mostly with what happens in their married life (or more like marital bed).
This story has undertones of Hades and Persephone + Beauty and the Beast. Which honestly are kind of my favorites. And still I was frustrated thoroughly. Why?? It's a long list. First off- Characters I don't remember the last time I was so irritated by a MC. I think I will choose a speshul snowflake MC over an entitled snob. And yes that's what she was. Ok she did get better (kind of?) but for majority of it she frustrated me to no end. I liked the fact that she finally understood what she wanted and actually broke free of the restraints pulling her down. She did have good character growth. But her treatment of Lucian and how she looked down on a lot of things really put me off. Yeah I get it she was not given a choice in her marriage and I stand with her for that, she actively blames Lucian for orchestrating the whole situation and conveniently forgets that it was she who actually leaned in?? She goes ahead in calling Lucian unlovable and spews really harsh words and expects to be forgiven whereas when the situation is reversed and Lucian is mildly rude to her, she throws a tantrum and cries her eyes out to make Lucian feel like a total jerk. Ok, equality should go both ways. Lucian was a jerk many of the times but he always made effort for her. For what he has gone through, he definitely deserves a break. Hattie sure did act like a snob and then went on throwing tantrums when she was called out. Her characterisation just felt so confusing. I was unable to decipher what she exactly wanted. Lucian on the other hand was good. Initially he was a jerk and toxic but eventually he came to worship Hattie and did change his ways. So it's ok. I liked him. I loved his backstory and it added well to his character.
Next point was the plot in itself. In the end this is supposed to be a romance novel. I always appreciate the author's effort in showcasing the social and political structure and educating her audience. But I felt it went a little too far this time. For majority of the book it felt like a social commentary rather than a romance novel which of course led to drop in my interest several times. Coming to the romance itself, it was....okay. There was good amount of steam BUT...hmm how should I put it. The foreplay and the initial build up was great and it got me all excited but then was just wrapped up all too soon. I was left confused. Okay maybe I am not explaining well but you will get it when you read. There is a whole scene of Hatie describing one of her fantasies and I thought yes! this is going to be interesting...but well
Fair warning⚠️ , this is a historical romance and so there are things which are problematic by modern standards.If such things bother you, better skip this one. Coming to the plot, this book follows Hatie who is an artist and the second daughter to a renowned banker. She is an active member of the suffragist movement with Lucie. While in pursuit of her artistic interests, she runs into Lucian Blackstone and they sort of have an "interesting" encounter. Lucian is intrigued by her and is convinced that she is her ticket to climbing the social ladder. During one of the charity events Lucian and Hatie are caught kissing by probably every important person in the society *gasp*, so naturally they have to get married since it is the Victorian era. I am not averse to forced marriage/marriage of convenience trope. And in this case it sounded really promising as Lucian and Hatie's personality varied as night and day. So I was hooked. I wanted to see how it pans out.But from here on the story deals mostly with what happens in their married life (or more like marital bed).
This story has undertones of Hades and Persephone + Beauty and the Beast. Which honestly are kind of my favorites. And still I was frustrated thoroughly. Why?? It's a long list. First off- Characters I don't remember the last time I was so irritated by a MC. I think I will choose a speshul snowflake MC over an entitled snob. And yes that's what she was. Ok she did get better (kind of?) but for majority of it she frustrated me to no end. I liked the fact that she finally understood what she wanted and actually broke free of the restraints pulling her down. She did have good character growth. But her treatment of Lucian and how she looked down on a lot of things really put me off. Yeah I get it she was not given a choice in her marriage and I stand with her for that, she actively blames Lucian for orchestrating the whole situation and conveniently forgets that it was she who actually leaned in?? She goes ahead in calling Lucian unlovable and spews really harsh words and expects to be forgiven whereas when the situation is reversed and Lucian is mildly rude to her, she throws a tantrum and cries her eyes out to make Lucian feel like a total jerk. Ok, equality should go both ways. Lucian was a jerk many of the times but he always made effort for her. For what he has gone through, he definitely deserves a break. Hattie sure did act like a snob and then went on throwing tantrums when she was called out. Her characterisation just felt so confusing. I was unable to decipher what she exactly wanted. Lucian on the other hand was good. Initially he was a jerk and toxic but eventually he came to worship Hattie and did change his ways. So it's ok. I liked him. I loved his backstory and it added well to his character.
Next point was the plot in itself. In the end this is supposed to be a romance novel. I always appreciate the author's effort in showcasing the social and political structure and educating her audience. But I felt it went a little too far this time. For majority of the book it felt like a social commentary rather than a romance novel which of course led to drop in my interest several times. Coming to the romance itself, it was....okay. There was good amount of steam BUT...hmm how should I put it. The foreplay and the initial build up was great and it got me all excited but then was just wrapped up all too soon. I was left confused. Okay maybe I am not explaining well but you will get it when you read. There is a whole scene of Hatie describing one of her fantasies and I thought yes! this is going to be interesting...but well