by Suzanne Enoch
Series: Wild Wicked Highlanders #2
Published on January 28, 2020 by St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 9781250296405
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 320
Genres: Adult, Historical Romance, Romance
When a resourceful English lady and a hot-blooded Highlander join forces to trick a scoundrel, every rule will be broken!
Miranda Harris is known for her charm, wit, and ability to solve any problem she encounters. But when her brother lands neck-deep in gambling debt to a crafty villain and Miranda is subsequently blackmailed into marrying him, she must enlist the help of the devil himself to save the family honor―and herself.
Devilishly handsome Highlander Aden MacTaggert knows next to nothing about the ways of the ton, but he most certainly knows his way around gaming halls and womens’ hearts. Still, Aden is not sure how he’ll manage to find a Sassenach bride in time to save his family’s inheritance. When his almost sister-in-law Miranda comes to him for assistance, he proposes a partnership: She will help him navigate London society and he’ll teach her everything about wagering…and winning back her freedom. The beautiful, clever lass intrigues Aden―but is she playing her own game, or are the sparks between them real? He is accustomed to risking his pocket. But betting on Miranda’s love is a game he can’t afford to lose. . .
Review
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After reading It’s Getting Scot In Here last year (which I really enjoyed) I couldn’t wait to start the next MacTaggert brother story in Scot Under the Covers. Though it had some issues, I enjoyed it overall and look forward to the last of the brothers finding true love.
Where Niall and Amy were thrown together in the last book, his brother Aden was actively pursuing Miranda in this one. Which… okay that’s the biggest problem I had here. Not that he’s interested in her, but why. It comes off as Aden liking Miranda because she puts up a fight. She’s a challenge to him and he likes that because he sees the other English women he’s met as boring. I don’t know, it got better, but the whole set-up for their romance came off very much hunter-and-prey with the way Aden was pursuing her and I wasn’t a fan.
But that wasn’t something I really thought about much when I was actually reading Scot Under the Covers, more a reflection afterward. As I was reading, I didn’t have much of an issue with anything, if I’m being honest. The banter between Miranda and Aden had just the right amount of snark and sexual tension to keep me hooked, and I liked that it wasn’t Aden that Miranda was being “sold” to because of her brother’s gambling debts (because I definitely would have had issues with that combined with their rocky start).
Neither protagonist was terribly memorable on their own in the grand scheme of historical romances, but together in the book they worked well. Aden isn’t the nicest of the MacTaggert brother, instead known as cunning and secretive. I think he adapted the best while retaining his Highland heritage over the course of the story. It’s clear he’s making certain sacrifices for Miranda once he develops true feelings for her.
And Miranda becomes less “prey” seeking an escape from her life and more a natural partner for Aden. The relationship didn’t feel off balance with one person holding more power than the other here and I appreciated that they kept each other on a fairly level playing field. I think it all contributed to a romance that was not only steaming but also had a deeper emotional level to it.
I flew through Scot Under the Covers. Despite the way things started, I found both characters intriguing enough to follow the whole way through and I definitely want to read the next in the series. The Wild Wicked Highlanders series has proven to be a strong set of books so far and I would definitely recommend checking out the first book as well as this one.
Great review for a book I didn’t really have on my radar. It sounds like it had it’s issues, especially at the start but you easily got drawn in and enjoyed it over all and that’s the important thing, really.