SCOTSMAN OF MY DREAMS (MacIain #2) by Karen Ranney-a review
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 25, 2015
An unconventional woman and a former scoundrel embark on a daring mission of desire
Once the ton’s most notorious rake, Dalton MacIain has returned from his expedition to America during the Civil War— wounded and a changed man. Instead of returning to his old haunts, he now spends his time at home. But Dalton’s peace is disturbed when Minerva Todd barges into his London townhouse, insisting he help search for her missing brother Neville. Though Dalton would love to spend more time with the bewitching beauty, he has no interest in finding Neville, whom he blames for his injury.
Minerva has never met a more infuriating man than the Earl of Rathsmere, yet she is intrigued by the torrid rumors she has heard about him . . . and the fierce attraction pulling her toward him.
Dalton does not count on Minerva’s persistence, or the desire she awakens in him, compelling him to discover her brother’s fate. But when danger surrounds them, Dalton fears he will lose the tantalizing, thoroughly unpredictable woman he has come to love.
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REVIEW: SCOTSMAN OF MY DREAMS is the second installment in Karen Ranney’s adult MacIain historical romance series. This is the Earl of Rathsmere and notorious rake Dalton MacIain, and Minerva Todd’s storyline. SCOTSMAN OF MY DREAMS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.
Told from third person point of view SCOTSMAN OF MY DREAMS focuses on the hunt for Minerva’s eighteen year old brother Neville who was last seen in the company of Dalton MacIain as they embarked across the ocean towards the American Civil War. Minerva has been searching for any information about her missing brother and Dalton is the man she is determined to prove knows more than he is saying.
Minerva is a strong willed, fiercely independent woman who is no longer innocent of the world around her; her interests in history and archaeology do not meet the demands of a demure single woman of mid 19th century England; Minerva is a woman ‘ahead of her time’ who knows what it is she wants and needs to do, and Dalton is the man to help her do it. While Minerva struggles with the information Dalton reveals, Dalton struggles with his attraction to Minerva.
Dalton returned to Europe a broken man and the title of Earl of Rathsmere upon the death of his older brother; blinded and scarred by a bullet to the face that all but keeps our storyline hero a recluse and shut in, Dalton’s reputation as a rake has preceded his introduction to Minerva Todd, but his reputation is all that remains of his former carousing ways. Meeting the feisty but determined Minerva finds our hero longing for her companionship and company.
The relationship between Dalton and Minerva is slow to build as the animosity between our leading couple is fraught with potential betrayal, mistrust, anger and a sister’s broken heart. Minerva demands information from Dalton about her missing brother only to realize that Dalton knows more than he is willing to reveal; Dalton’s revelations have Minerva considering the truth about everything she has learned until a missive from America reveals the whereabouts and what happened to her missing brother. The $ex scenes are sensual but mostly implied. Minerva is no blushing virgin in the bedroom or on the library floor.
The secondary and supporting characters include a number of household servants and care takers-some with agendas while others are as close as family or friends. Minerva’s neighbors-the Covington sisters -are more than just busybodies who keep a close eye on Minerva’s comings and goings-they are also concerned about the woman whose only brother has gone missing in a foreign war. We are introduced to Minerva’s driver Hugh whose attraction for our heroine was once one of mutual affection; and Dalton’s brother Lewis whose lifestyle demands a new financial backer.
I want to address the lack of historical language or Scottish /English tongue throughout the storyline. Although I am not disheartened by the missing Gaelic or Scottish terminology or expressions, I did not feel that I was completely immersed into the timeline and setting due to the lack of articulation and local colloquialisms of the time/era.
SCOTSMAN OF MY DREAMS is an intriguing and fun read. There is some mystery surrounding the people responsible for much of the storyline premise; everyone is not as whom they appear to be. There are some lighthearted moments followed by heartbreaking resolve; the premise is entertaining; the characters are energetic; the happily ever after revealing .
Copy supplied by Edelweiss
Reviewed by Sandy
