A
Genre: Historical: European, Romance
Theme: Fake Relationship, Mistaken/False Identity
Archetype: Military
Everything about When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare worked for me. Everything. Bust out the squee mop, y’all because this review is just going to be a flappy-hands Good Book Noise® mess.
Things this book has:
1. A sexy Scot hero I pictured as Sam Heughan.
2. A heroine who is a naturalist and illustrator.
3. Tons of UST.
4. A completely crazy sauce plot that Dare pulls off flawlessly.
5. A missing lobster.
No lobsters were harmed in this book.
Madeline Gracechurch, our heroine, is a shy young woman who suffers from social anxiety. As a result, the thought of facing her first season in London is unbearable to her. As an introvert I can so relate. In a poorly thought out plan to avoid her season, Madeline pretends to have met a handsome soldier while her father was on his honeymoon with her new stepmother, and tells everyone she’s already engaged. Thus the myth of Captain Logan MacKenzie is born.
In order to sell the ruse, Maddie writes to her dear Captain MacKenzie and throws her letters in the post fully expecting them to wind up in a dead letters office (Hey! It’s Bartleby the Scrivener!). The letters function more as a diary then anything allowing Maddie to share her personal thoughts with her fictional suitor.
Maddie’s true passion is drawing, specifically illustrating specimens found in nature, and one of my favorite letters ends with “Here, have a drawing of a snail.”
Eventually Maddie has to resolve her romance with the fake Captain MacKenzie so she kills him off. She goes into mourning and tells her family she’s too distraught to ever enter a courtship again. She moves into a castle in Scotland that a relative left to her (so she and her future husband could be close to his home of course) and starts a career illustrating scientific journals.
She’s observing two lobsters, waiting for them to get it on so she can illustrate their “life cycle” aka lobster sexytimes when a mysterious dude shows up at the castle.
Turns out that Captain Logan MacKenzie is a real person who has really been getting her letters all these years.
Oops.
Logan started out as a penniless orphan but he’s done well for himself in the army. He has a lot of survivor’s guilt though, and he’s determined to do something for the men who followed him into battle and came out alive. He’s going to blackmail Maddie into marrying him by using her letters against her, so he can set up his Scottish soldiers as tenants on her land.
So Maddie is like “Ohhhhhh fuck.” She agrees to a marriage of convenience with Logan partially to avoid total humiliation and partially because Logan is verra verra hot (enter Sam Heughan).
So now the castle is over run by crustaceans, dispossessed Scottish soldiers, and Maddie’s patron may not give her the illustrating job of her dreams because presumably as a married woman she’ll be too busy pushing babies out of her lady bits to do ANYTHING ELSE.
Like any good marriage of convenience story, Maddie and Logan’s plan starts to fall apart because they desperately want to bone each other (SEE LOBSTERS! SEE HOW ITS DONE! GET CRACKING…whoa- bad word choice. Sorry little shellfish that was poorly done of me. I could have done that butter–BETTER! I meant better!).
Anyway, the reason this book works beautifully is that both Maddie and Logan need to grow as people to find happiness. Maddie has been hiding from the world and lying to her family, and she needs to confront or at least meaningfully acknowledge her social anxiety. Logan is a hero who has no feels because he was abandoned as a child and as a result he is physically incapable of snuggles. He could have been an Old-Skool hero who walks around with his head firmly lodged up his butt, but Dare makes him empathetic and more than occasionally tender. The way he tends to one of his soldiers who was seriously injured in battle was enough to give me the sniffles.
Plus the sexual tension in this book was excellent. I was dying for the hero and heroine or, at least the fucking lobsters, to hook up already.
Overall, When a Scot Ties the Knot is sweet and funny and sexy. If you pick it up be careful though, I had to read it in one sitting. Be prepared to call into work with “food poisoning.” Bad shellfish anyone?
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This book has been in and out of my preorder basket for ages. I have a dilemma you see…I love Tessa Dare’s books and not a few have made it on to my DIK shelf.
However, one of my few peeves in historical romances is the portrayal of Scots and, in particular, the teeth-grinding written portrayal of what writers (who mostly appear to be American) think a Scottish accent sounds like. Not to mention the portrayal of Enlightenment Era Scotland as a country still stuck in the feudal dark ages. Ugh. Just, ugh.
Outlander scarred me for life, I tell you! More recent attempt to overcome this (Suzanne Enoch and Grace Burrowes, I’m looking at you) have not helped.
So you see my problem: autobuy author I love v mangling of my culture and tongue.
Can anyone who’s read this book tell me of Dare pulls it off or if I’m going to throw this book against the wall in disgust.
Once again, I love your work… Your reviews (all of you gals) ALWAYS make me laugh. Which is particularly wonderful after a very long day at work. Thanks for reading and reviewing and giving us your voice!
Oh man this sounds even better than I was hoping. My preordered copy arrives today. I’d like to lock myself in a room and gobble it all up tonight but I might need to wait until the weekend so I can savor it. Decisions decisions.
Thank you for this awesome review. I just put a hold on it from the library, although should I be worried that once I ordered it, the library suggested in might also be interested in the FSOG dreck and a book on breaking porn addiction in 5 days…. I kinda wonder what the library thinks I am up to.
@jcscot: well, I made it to page 25 before the first ‘verra,’ so…. hmm. Not looking great, honestly. I’m going to see if I can pretend it’s just set in a fantasy country that has no connection to real Scotland (much like if romance-London really existed, Gentleman Jackson would need to work a 48-hour day just to train all the heroes who box with him).
Well, damn. I added it to my TBR list and, lo and behold, the first two of this series are on there as well. I guess I have some reading to do.
I might give this a try. I too, lament the idiocy of American writers in regards to their inability to write accents correctly, but I generally overlook it if they’ve got the rest of their ducks in a row.
And now, at long last, we have the answer to the eternal question: Will I buy a book purely because of crustacean-related puns in the review?
Yes. Yes, I will.
Honestly, a review involving probably my favourite Tessa Dare book (to date) and puns involving lobster love. You are my spirit animal.
Loved this review. Will get around to reading it. I truly hope the accent is not terrible.
One thing I wondered about, though, was this. Exactly when did the expression “tie the knot” come into existence to mean getting married? I’ve always thought of it as fairly modern, of course I could be wrong. So often am.
But if it is a modern expression, then I would object to it being used as a title for a book set in an era when the expression would be anachronistic because I purely do hate anachronisms.
I do love Tessa Dare’s stories so. google. here I come!
Of course, I was wrong. The expression is first used in 1717. When is this book set?
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/tie-the-knot.html
There’s something about Scottish accents in romance novels that make me think of bad impressions of Scotty from STAR TREK — or the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s version of MACBETH, with those ever-trilled “r”s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQk4Y6Q69u8
I agree about the scottish accent–or any accent for that matter. I’d just as soon read in regular english and imagine what an accent would sound like. My imagination is likely nothing like reality but that’s ok with me.
@Gloriamarie it’s set in the early 1800’s
“it’s set in the early 1800’s” <<<<>>>>
So relieved.
Thank you.
Also added to my TBR list! Thank you for the fun review on a day when a good laugh about lobstahs hit the spot.
So many good book noises! I spent months pining for this book and it was so worth the wait. I am in throes of starry-eyed love with this book.
I’m not a fan of spelled-out accents regardless of what they are so that’s usually my least favourite part of any “Highlander” romance, but the aforementioned instances of “verra” are the only spelled-out Scottish accent in the book, and it was more of a running joke. But I’m not Scottish, so I can’t guarantee it won’t rankle.
There were some noises about how Logan thought it was BS that an Englishwoman inherited a Scottish castle and land while he and his men (Scottish all) fought for the crown and were dispossessed.
Also other than verra I don’t remember a ton of dialect in the book.
@Gloriamarie You’re welcome! I think it’s interesting to know that it dates to 1717!
I LOVED this book and I’m sure my iBooks app was like “All right already! I TOLD you before I would ALERT you once the damn book is available for download so STAHP already with the checking!!!!!” Or something like that 😉 I too, didn’t find it overly accented. I too, don’t like books that delve too much into trying to “sound” like the characters but I didn’t see that here.
I loved all the characters and am sure I’ll be re-reading in three, two, one….
Thank you for this awesome review. I just put a hold on it from the library, although should I be worried that once I ordered it, the library suggested in might also be interested in the FSOG dreck and a book on breaking porn addiction in 5 days…. I kinda wonder what the library thinks I am up to.
Zyfsv, they want you to first read FSOG and then get rid of your porn addiction? That’s very considerate of them! It wouldn’t work in reverse order 😛
Thanks for the amusing review with lobster humor.
I preordered this a few days ago simply for the enjoyment I knew I would feel when it loaded onto my Kindle today. I’m not reading it yet though. Because I’m reading something else and I’m committed dammit.
Also, your crustacean puns were ON POINT. Well done. (See what I did there?)
“However, one of my few peeves in historical romances is the portrayal of Scots and, in particular, the teeth-grinding written portrayal of what writers (who mostly appear to be American) think a Scottish accent sounds like.”
^^^^THIS. SO MUCH.
This is the reason I don’t read books set in Scotland. I will literally lose the plot because I get so busy counting the number of Ochs and Lassies. Can’t do it.
So just a few “verra”s then? Hmmm. *still dithering*
See, it’s not just the accent thing that bugs me (although the words really jar on the page and make my eyeballs bleed), it’s also the historical accuracy. While I can accept that Regency London in Romancelandia is different, there’s a lot that’s right – descriptions of clothes, places mentioned, historical characters/shops/clubs etc.
Regency Scotland is nothing like the way it’s often portrayed – clan warfare still going on, a generally backward country, poor and uncultured. In actual fact, there was a (basic) universal education system, the five Universties were renowned (England only had Oxbridge until 1831) and attended by men from all over Europe. Edinburgh was the birthplace of the Enlightenment and was known as the Athens of the North for it’s philosphy and architecture. Robert Owen was revolutionising working conditions in his factory at New Lanark (still operating as a working mill and museum today and a World Heritage site into the bargain).
Basically, we were (and are!) not some backward wee tourist theme park – although that’s how it comes across in Romancelandia.
Tartan was banned and Highland culture virtually extinguished in response to the ’15 and ’45. Kilts were not worn – with or without shirts.
How perfect that I will read this in Newport, land of lobstah!
I too love your reviews, Elyse, and I have enjoyed every single Tessa Dare book I’ve read, and just yay.
Newport, Marjorie? Pshaw. “Everyone” knows the best lobster comes from Maine!!
@jcscot yeah, I’m not scots but you’ve summed up why I avoid romances set in Scotland. Real 18th-19th century Scotland was so much more interesting than its Romancelandia version.
Although in one Spinster Cove book, the heroine (Minerva?) is desperate to get to Edinburgh for a presentation on fossils, and was submitting papers to a (fictional) scientific society there, so Tessa Dare does seem to have a clue.
I’m still torn. Review sounds great, and I did so like the Spinster Cove series.
Eeeee! So excited to get get my library pre-order!! Thanks for the awesome review. In a lovely lateral synchronicity, the theme from Braveheart is playing on Pandora. Maybe the universe will queue up Under the Sea next 😉
Elyse, will you be knitting up any lobsters or snails soon?
Having finished the book now, I would say it’s not too dissimilar in inaccuracies about Scotland as a whole to books like the Suzanne Enoch or Grace Burrowes ones. Potentially a bit better, but… it’s all rather superficially done. Our hero is wearing a redcoat and a kilt (not impossible, but restricted to a very few regiments), and has risen from the lowest ranks to be a captain (pretty bloody difficult in the British Army of the time). He has come back from war with a selection of his previous command, several of whom are injured or have gone home to find that the Clearances have happened. Again, not impossible, but beginning to stretch us towards a far-fetched nature. It is mentioned that he had an education, so the Enlightenment is sort of happening, and our heroine meets people who are involved in scientific publishing by venturing to a ball near Perth, so again, there’s some lip-service paid. But it’s quite shallow, and my suspension of disbelief was easily destroyed by things like everybody accepting “spring thunderstorms” near Inverness too early in the year for there to be any flowers for a wedding. Yeah.
No better, no worse than the average, would be my final verdict.
Ditto, ditto, ditto to your review. I inhaled the book the day I got it. Oh, the feels! I liked Maddie a lot, but Logan, sigh….
This book was inhaled the moment I got home from work yesterday. Everything in it was my catnip. Smart introverted heroine, check. Kind but tortured with abandonment issues Hero with glasses, check. Hero who reads Pride and Prejudice whilst wearing said glasses, check check. Logan and Maddie were such a fun pair to read about. Their banter was funny, adorable, and dousted in lots of tension. And the secondary characters were wonderful as well, adding their own humor and building up both the hero and heroine as the story went on. This book is definitely a strong candidate for my comfort reads collection.
Thanks for the great review, Elyse. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and don’t regret for a second that the moment after reading your review, I used that magical one-click on Amazon.
[…] Everything about When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare worked for me. Everything. Bust out the squee mop, y’all because this review is just going to be a flappy-hands Good Book Noise® mess. Things this book has: 1. A sexy Scot hero I pictured as Sam Heughan. 2. A heroine who is a naturalist and illustrator. 3. Tons of UST. 4. A completely…See all stories on this topic […]
“Tie the knit” referring to a marriage actually dates back to early Shakespeare. There’s a scene in Romeo and Juliet when J’s father is forcing her to marry Prince Paris and he mentions getting that knot ties up tomorrow or in the morning- something to that effect. I could try to find the exact quote but, ehhh.
Going purely from the English portrayal of Scotland during this time period- I had to read some letters from English vacationers traveling there and they do indeed make it sound pretty feudal. No disrespect to Scotland, but that could’ve just been how English folks saw the country during that time period.
I hate accents in any novel, especially “country/southern” ones.
Well, I succumbed and bought the book.
I have read the Spindle Cove book with the road trip to Edinburgh, so maybe Dare’s portayal won’t be too bad and Elyse’s review makes it sound fun…
I get that a lot of English writing of the time denigrated Scotland (especially rural or Highland Scotland where conditions were hard and there was a lot of poverty – nearly all driven by the absentee, and mostly English, landlords). The legacy of the landgrab post-Culloden is still felt with just over 50% of land in Scotland owned by around 500 individuals. Orginally given to aristocracy loyal to the Crown, these estates hsve since been sold on to wealthy individuals as the aristocratic families have declined since the wars – mostly foreign who rarely visit or use the land. Not all owners neglect their estates, but a lot do and there are still problems with rural society as a result.
However, Glasgow was a major trading city (google the Tobacco Lords for more) as was Edinburgh. There was a wealth of new thinking springing from the five Universities (England at this point only had two) – by the 1840’s, Edinburgh University was leading place to study medicine in Europe.
A lot of English writing of the time was coloured by the aftereffects of the ’15 and ’45, which left impressions of resentment and rebellion and insurgency that took a long time for the English to get over. Not to mention the fact that they were not overly welcome in a lot of Scotland.
Anyway, English attitudes of the time do not completely excuse an author from portaying Scotland more accurately – by all means have an English character espouse the opinions and prejudices that were held then, but have the Scottish characters as they really were, not some touristy ideal.
Covers also bug me – kilts and tartans were proscribed by law. Kilts – with or without shirts – would not have been worn. “Taps aff” weather only really occurs here for about two weeks every year – our real national dress is Goretex, not tartan!
@jcscot, these words of yours resonate with me “Anyway, English attitudes of the time do not completely excuse an author from portraying Scotland more accurately – by all means have an English character espouse the opinions and prejudices that were held then, but have the Scottish characters as they really were, not some touristy ideal.”
I so deeply agree. You are talking about something I harp on: appearance of verisimilitude. Sure, it takes more hard work for an author to achieve it, research, for example.
As for the Scottish “accent,” I don’t understand why authors refuse to consult Scottish authors? George MacDonald wrote novels with such a thick Scottish accent that they had to be more or less translated. He was a contemporary of Charles Dickens and later than this story. He was also a Scotsman born and bred.
As for the De-Kilkting Act passed after the ’45, any historical fiction writer who has read anything about Scotland really ought to be constrained by it. It was passed in 1746 and the ban lifted in 1782. In those years, no one would wear it in public, although it seems probable to me that those who emigrated to Canada or the US might have sneaked tartans and kilts with them. And people staying home in Scotland might have hidden them away. But even when it was repealed, womenand men did not immediately resume them.
I wonder if historical writers rely on the fictional Scotland of Sir Walter Scott?
Just a quick comment about research and Scotland – I DO know about Culloden and the Highland Clearances and the ban, lifted in 1782, on wearing kilts, playing bagpipes, etc.
I write in the Regency period, so kilt-wearing WAS permitted. And I’m not writing about a typical aristocrat in the Highlands. I’m writing about guys and gals who personify the myth of the Highlander during that time period. Of course it’s all larger than life, just like in the “real” Old West very few men went around wearing six-guns and chaps. Just like in “real” Regency England there weren’t 200 dukes all under age 30 and looking like Chris Evans.
Ideally, the story is what counts, and the window dressing of history just makes it more interesting or gives it more depth. Writing out some of the accents is to give most readers a better feeling of “being there” in the story.
Anyway, no offense to Scottish culture is meant — for me, anyway, it’s one of the tools I use to tell a story. Hopefully an interesting and amusing one.
Great comment, Ms. Enoch. A lot of romance books don’t have dragons (although some do!), but they’re still fantasy.
“Ideally, the story is what counts, and the window dressing of history just makes it more interesting or gives it more depth. Writing out some of the accents is to give most readers a better feeling of “being there” in the story.”
I have to disagree. While, yes, the story counts, I strongly disagree that “window dressing of history” is ever acceptable especially when it isn’t true to the facts.
Were an author contemporaneous with the Regency period writing this story, the myth of the Highlands that was popular at that time would ring true. But this is the twenty-first century and we know that myth never was true.
As for “writing out some of the accents is to give most readers a better feeling of “being there” in the story.” They don’t have that effect on me. And from the comments above, they don’t have that effect on most of us who have made comments. Based on the comments, writing out the accents in fact take us right out of the story.
I have stopped buying books set in Scotland, despite the fact I love Scotland very much after having the good fortune to travel there when I was seventeen, if after the “Look Inside” I see that fake Scottish accent.
Being one who is not shy about offering her opinions, I would say the only reason we readers don’t boycott books set in Scotland is because we are already fans of the author and we are willing to overlook the jolt the fake accents give us.
I also feel the same way about fake French accents, fake Italian accents, fake New Jersey accents. Especially the latter. I’m from New Jersey, you see, so I know from first-hand experience that not all of us talk alike. There are several different New Jersey accents.
I defy any author, unless that author has immersed themselves in the culture being written about, to successfully sound out any culture’s accent.
Saying it again: appearance of verisimilitude.
One last disagreement, and then I shall bow out. I don’t write historical fiction, which is where I think your argument about authenticity has validity. I write historical romance, which isn’t about reality. And if incorporating a Regency-era mythos helps me tell the story of how two people fall in love, I will most certainly use it. And while “most people” here say they don’t like a spelled-out accent, my sales numbers say differently. So of course your opinions are as valid as anyone else’s, but then by extension so are mine.
And if writers were to stick only to what they’ve personally experienced and in which they are certified experts, we’d have a lot fewer books — and none about shape-shifters, dragons, historical events in general, or even riding in a poorly-sprung coach hell-bent for Gretna Green.