Twice Tempted by a Rogue (Stud Club Trilogy)

1. always love romance that has the protagonists writing notes to each other;
2. how often does #1 is actually one sided as the other does not exist?
3. how honourable Logan is - you have to admit that is irresistable;
4. how can i describe my beloved - read the book and count the novel ways :)
5. funny, witty, love rush... LOVE IT!!!

I am a huge fan of Tessa Dare, and this trilogy held such promise.... But this book was an utter disaster! I am honestly shocked, from the boring main characters, to the background, to the second characters, it just felt like everything was forced. So sad, because the beginning of the book started off well.

this was a first for not only this book but for this author as well. The story was O.K. but I was expecting more from this author. It didn't get steamy until a little over half the book. If you like just a tiny little heat this is for you. I liked this story at near the almost end. It was hard for me to get into this story.

I generally like Tessa Dare's style and have enjoyed a number of her stories, including the first 2 of this series. There are some witty bits but too much modern speak and implausibilities. I was snapped out of the time period a number of times. The plot really never becomes fully fleshed and (for me) the sexual details were too much and forced into scenes where I would have preferred some romance. Maddie wouldn't have intercourse with Logan but they could masterbate for each other in their second sexual encounter? Then there was her ambition to document in drawing the mating habits of lobsters. That got verra verra tiresome. It was difficult to get invested in the H/h as well rounded people that I could sympathize with. A few of the secondary characters were interesting. There are glimmers of nice writing in this story so I didn't feel it fair to give it 2 stars. I am disappointed.

I loved this book! It is funny and charming, sexy and romantic. The characters are fabulous. The pacing is spot on. There’s a love story I can believe in and an ending that totally satisfies. What more can you want?

Madeline loves living a quiet, solitary existence. She doesn’t need to be alone necessarily, but she hates to be surrounded by people. Crowds make her panic and the idea of coming out amid crushing balls simply terrifies her. So she invents a foreign paramour who conveniently has to leave the country and serve as a soldier before anyone in her family can meet him. She picks a name out of thin air: Captain Logan MacKenzie, and she precedes to write him letters to keep up appearances. She thinks the missives will end up in a dead letter office, so they become a diary of a sort, sharing the details of her ruse, and later, her life. Of course, she has no idea there actually is a soldier by that name, who comes to receive every single one of the letters she sends over several years time.

Eventually Madeline wants to give up the lie. She tells everyone that Logan is dead and she retires to an old Scottish castle willed to her, so she can “mourn” properly. Imagine her surprise when the real Logan shows up at her door, demanding a wedding. You see, he is responsible for his fellow soldiers who have nowhere to go after the war. Madeline’s castle seems like the perfect solution. He threatens to expose her lies unless she agrees and becomes his wife.

Now it might sound like Logan is a big jerk, but he’s not. He’s a good man and despite the circumstances, both Madeline –and I– had no choice but to fall for him. He is so loyal and true to his broken band of warriors. And despite his belief that he has no heart, his hard shell only stands to cover up a warm, gooey center.

Madeline, meanwhile, is engaging and smart. But what I love most about her is how she knows herself so well. How she can deconstruct Logan’s behaviors into the building blocks of a romantic fantasy, despite her best intentions to think with her head. He is supposed to be this big strong warrior, but her heart can’t resist all the things that make him vulnerable. I loved watching them fight the sweet emotional connection between them… and the sexual fire that kept pulling them closer together.

The romance is soooo good. The secondary characters, like Madeline’s aunt and Logan’s amnesiac friend, are well drawn and interesting. But what really seals the deal is how effortless Tessa Dare makes it all feel. It’s so funny that I laughed out loud, but it never felt forced. Neither did the romance. Or anything at all about this book.

It was a hit with me on every level. I would definitely recommend.

Rating: A

I honestly wanted some light reading, something I knew wouldn't take a lot of thought, something very predictable, something silly. Like watching a predictable movie. I needed some down time. This book did just that, I finished in one reading and I don't remember much about it other than it was sweet. I will probably not purchase any other books by this author.

I keep looking for something in the vein of Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. Sadly, this isn't it. But if you looking for a light, fluffy romance novel you can speed through, this will fit the bill. The characters are engaging enough, even if the plot is absolutely, completely predictable.

I loved the other three books in this series. Like seriously loved them. I gave five stars to all three of them.

This one, started out fantastic. The whole beginning with getting to read Maddie's letters to the supposedly fictional Capt Logan MacKenzie, was hilarious. And the scene where they meet for the first time, was so fun! I literally thought, "Many, I'm gonna love this book!" It slowly went downhill from there for me. I didn't really like Logan. He was too gruff, ruthless, and rude toward Maddie. I don't enjoy "angry" hero's where they're either yelling or lusting after the heroine. Logan wasn't 100% that kind of hero, but he was about 85%. I didn't like the way he treated her. About halfway through the book he decides that he wants to be with her. In his mind, he tells the reader that he's gonna do everything he can to make her his. He wasn't willing to let her go. But then he goes and rejects her for the next ten chapters and wont admit that he loves her.

The "love" scenes in this book were odd too. The first scene, they don't even actually do it together. They just stare at each other while they both masturbate. It's one of the weirdest things I've ever read in a romance novel. And I don't care how many people masturbate today, a virgin, way back in the 1800s, would never know to touch herself like that! She supposedly had done it before she did it in front of him. There's no way she would have known she could pleasure herself like that without someone else telling or showing her first. All the virginal heroine's in Tessa Dare's books seem to magically know how to do this. I have no clue where they could have possibly learned it when none of them even know how sex actually works until they loose their virginity.

This book also made me think of Outlander. I have no idea if Tessa Dare has ever read Outlander but the names she choose for her Scottish characters were nearly all the same as the ones from Outlander. MacKenzie, Callum, and Munro to name a few. It was just a really weird coincidence.

It took me so very, very, very long to read it...I can barely remember the story. Except from the start it was not even the shadow of the 1st book in the trilogy 'One Dance with a Duke'.
Dull settings with flawed characters, too much suffering & stubborness...

The ending was uninspiring & lame.

I believe the guy & girl were OK and the sex "I think" was good-can't recall really.
I do seem to think this author's books begin to follow a familiar script and the elements are the same in the trilogy except in this story they took a turn towards the 'common'. An OK read...

I actually already bought the 3rd book and have been putting off reading it because I'm afraid it'll be bad. The first trilogy fell apart in the last two books.

VERY BORING start, it dragged on & on. I had to force myself to read it. I confess to glancing through a good half of it.
I think this couple "at best" had only a minor subplot story, certainly not an entire book.

This author suffers from writing a super fantastic 1st book in the trilogy-then the 2nd & 3rd books fall apart- she should stop after the 1st! It has been the case with BOTH trilogy series.

The guy & girl are not very appealing & I didn't really care about any of the "possible" romance. Plus, there was way too much suffering, pain, tragedy. This is a historical romance for entertainment. Just like the characters don't fart, burp, go #1 nor #2- I think they can refrain from extreme sorrow in their lives.
Also, I think the same subject & guilt of Leo's death for 3 whole books-was a bit much, especially to end so senseless.

And, the guy feeling unworthy of the girl is really, really beginning to grate on my nerves. They ALL need to get a life & dose of positive self-esteem.

In conclusion, if you have read my reviews- I don't care for romances about common people with issues & problems. Rather silly concept of revenge on the guy's part & highly unlikely.

Anyways, read if you like...the sex is good- IF you like these two.

Entertaining but silly. There were some very cute moments such as the text of h's letters in the beginning. The whole premise is quite ridiculous, however. Did none of her family wonder why they never saw letters arrive from our captain, yet she had them in her possession? As I said, silly, silly.

Tessa Dare books are hit or miss for me. This one is a miss. I like stores where the heroine has strength of character. I can't stand the MCs in “When a Scot…”. Maddie is weak, immature, and delusional. It's hard to believe she had gone through decades-long deceptions for a fictitious sweetheart merely to avoid normal social interactions. How could she agree to just give up her property without a fight and to marrying someone she saw for the first time that day within hours of said meeting ? She should have just owned up to her adolescent deception and be done with it. But then there would be no story. So begins an incredibly weak plot. Logan is a blackmailer. His intentions don't justify the means. I cannot admire either of them, therefore I don’t care for their romance. The author should have spent a lot more time building up plausibility and investing in her MCs at the beginning of the story. For example, I don’t understand how Maddie came to be the way she is. Why is she “painfully shy”? The single childhood episode doesn’t hold water . Most of the rest of the book is spent on how Maddie lusts after Logan, her very childish manners, and making up excuses to put him in a sympathetic light. The whole relationship is unequal: Logan has everything to gain and Maddie has everything to lose, yet Maddie seems to have no self-respect, just a desperate need to justify her lust and cravings. For his part Logan is manipulative, arrogant and dishonorable (despite all the excuses Maddie/Dare comes up with). I purchased the book after reading the sample, which turns out to be the only funny and interesting part of the book. I think authors have caught on to the critical importance of the first 2 chapters to lure potential buyers in and then let the rest of the book fall willy-nilly

Sad to say, I agree with all the other negative reviews. Although Dare’s earlier novels are also written in a modern style, this one takes it further, and not in a good way – gorgeousness? Stealth cuddler? It’s just weird to have interspersed dinna, disna, verra and a smattering of gaelic. Dare strives for humor but I don't find naming pet lobsters Fluffy and Rex funny, just ridiculous. Worst of all she succumbed to the temptation of creating a weak heroine to push a supremely unrealistic plot. I usually suspend disbelief to read this type of novel but even in this context, it is too much to take.

Like others said, Dare should switch to CR since her novels never have much historical context to begin with and now her language simply grates.

This will be the last Dare book I buy. Ye gods, this book is bad!

Godawful caricature. Not at all up to Dare's usual standard. Her Spindle Cove series is great! Having devoured that, I found this story surprisingly disappointing. The characters were flat and any memory I have of the hero using words is buried under my overarching impression of someone stomping around in a kilt and grunting. There's more romance in Spongebob Squarepants.

Don't bother with this. Do read the Spindle Cove books, they're worth every penny.

A hard book to read to the end. Maddie is too shy to endure a coming out so she makes up a romance with a soldier she supposedly met while on the coast in the summer. Unbeknownst to her, this soldier really existed and got her letters. He then finds her and and intends to marry her to gain her Scotish castle for his wounded soldier friends.

I've been reading for decades and think I can tell when an author is trying to please her publishers/readers by making a deadline. This book had this feel and was filled with all sorts of filler nonsense including endless pages of 'making out' to use a teenage expression. I'm not going to summarise the story because there are already loads of those but I will say that because the h doesn't agree to consummate her hand fasting vows with the H immediately, we are subjected to loads and loads of scenes of kissing and whatever to create sexual tension. I got more and more irritable as time went on because the scenes weren't great and didn't add to the story. It felt like 'insert obligatory passionate scenes here'. The other ploy that writers seem to fall back on when they can't seem to come up with decent plots, is to insinuate animals. Now a well played animal scene can definitely work but once again I wanted to throw my Kindle. The author chose to use reluctantly mating crayfish, which I think was meant to be funny and in hindsight maybe at the beginning it was a little amusing. It was overused, trite and ridiculous by the end.

I have respect for this author and know she has the ability to pen a brilliant story but this fell horribly short.

I'm really glad I found Tessa Dare. This is my second from her and it was just as much fun as the first one.

Maddie is really shy and doesn't do well in crowds. Like she has a panic attack and freezes if there are a lot of people around. So with the start of her season in London coming soon she panics and does what anyone in her situation would do, invents a guy. A Scottish guy who is her love. A Scottish guy who is a soldier and so not around. She writes him letters and sends them off assuming they will never go anywhere. Afterall she made the whole thing up and she didn't even address them to a real military post. After a few years she knows what she has to do. She can't keep up the charade forever so she kills him off in battle and pretends to be devastated. Now she can work on her drawings in peace and not worry about having to marry and all of that. She is much better by herself and happy living with her aunt.

Maddie was not expecting her lies to come back to her like they did. One day Logan MacKenzie actually shows up on her door! Something she never thought would happen. Apparently her letters were delivered to him and when he and his men get back to Scottland and need a place to live he shows up on her doorstep. And blackmails her into marrying him or he will reveal her lies. Oh these two were fun. Logan is big and gruff and a giant teddy bear. He likes to act like he doesn't care, but you can see he does. Beneath his bluster is a heart of gold. He is only doing what he is doing to help his men. To help the other guys he is in charge of that came home to nothing. I so love big tough teddy bear guys!

And Maddie was so much fun. She is attracted to Logan for sure, but she doesn't really want to be married. At least at first. If she can just find her letters then Logan can't blackmail her and she can continue living as she has been living. Only spending time with Logan starts making things get a bit fuzzy. She doesn't want to marry him right?

I really enjoyed this story. Logan and Maddie are so cute together and I love their back and forth. They were both wonderful characters and I loved watching them fall for each other. What started off as a lie and blackmail turns into so much more. This was a really fun read.

This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland blog

love Tessa Dare books. There, I said it. There hasn’t been a single Tessa Dare book that I didn’t adore. And this book lives up to expectations. I bought and devoured this book the day it came out. The entire premise for her Castles Ever After series is intriguing. Her heroines share a godfather who left them each their own castle. In this book, like the others, the castle is one of the focuses. For Dare’s heroines, the castles are freedom and independence for women, an escape for an oppressive society, where they can be their eccentric selves.

This Dare heroine is Maddie Gracechurch. I found myself reminded a lot of Minerva from Dare’s A Week to Be Wicked. She’s a naturalist artist who draws insects, lobsters mating, etc. She creates a fictitious beau to avoid entering London society, due to her terror of crowds. I adored the shy Maddie who became adventurous when faced with Logan. Even though she created a fiancée out of fear, she never once backed away from Logan. Tessa Dare heroines are always smart and a little quirky. They’re eccentric and unique. And the heroes support them and allow them to grow.

Logan is a flawed hero. He swoops in and forces Maddie to marry him but yet is trying to do the right thing and support his men. While he is initially mad at Maddie for her deception, he realizes that by calling him Captain in her letters, Maddie gave him a goal to push towards. Logan is seems in like an overbearing hero, demanding she marry him, threatening to expose her lies to society and yet he quickly changes from the bash, overconfident hero to an injured warrior who is just looking for a home and a place to belong for himself and his men. Dare also shows the sad result of war in Logan and his men. They are the unsupported, wounded veterans returning home to find their families and loved ones have died or moved on.

Quite simply, this book is humor mixed with heart.

Favorite Quotes:

“This ruthless, kilted stranger she’d married might be the closest thing on earth Maddie had to a true friend.”

“I love you Logan. Somehow… It began before I knew you.”

4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Suzanne and posted at Under The Covers Book Blog

At the age of sixteen Miss Madeline Gracechild knew for certain that her first season would be complete disaster. Prone to freezing in crowds and hopelessly awkward at speaking with gentleman, she does the only thing she can think of; she makes up a fiancee. A fiancee who is far away…like say a handsome Scottish Captain in the army. The deception works a little too well and years later she find herself firmly on the shelf with an inherited Scottish castle and wearing half mourning for a ‘fiancee’ who sadly perished in battle. That is, until her Captain shows up at her castle, determined to marry her…

Give me a minute, I need some time to wipe the grin off my face after reading When a Scot Ties the Knot, because, in short this book was fantastic. Sexy, funny, containing a ruggedly handsome war hero with a Scottish accent and a sweet, funny heroine who I couldn’t help but adore, how is one to resist? One doesn’t, you just sit back and let Tessa Dare sweep you off your feet.

The one thing that really stands out for me in this book is the beginning, where Maddie is writing letters to her fictitious fiancee to keep up the ruse. The letters are sweet the outpourings of an intelligent, funny but lonely young woman with a lively imagination and from that point I just knew I would love this book. I wasn’t wrong and as I continued to read I was more and more enthralled with all the characters that Dare introduced.

This leads me nicely into our sexy Scottish captain, Logan MacKenzie, who all this time has been receiving her letters. He is supposedly devoid of feeling and only wanting to marry Maddie so he and his men can set up a home in her castle and on her lands, he definitely has NOT treasured her letters and he definitely WASN’T upset when she killed him off… The dialogue between Logan and Maddie had me glued to the page; it managed to be both, sexy and full of feeling, showing both characters at their best.

“I’ve learned a thing or two about you. I noticed how you flirted with me downstairs.”
“Flirted? Don’t be absurd.”
“You stare at me. You’re fascinated.”
“It’s just the kilt.”
“It might be partly the kilt. It’s mostly the swagger.”
This was a fantastic read, I highly recommend you give this book a go, even if you haven’t read the others in the series. Although, if you haven’t read any of this series, I also highly recommend you give those a try as well, Dare has skillfully crafted us all a treat with Castles Ever After series.

I know I’m late to the party and that there is nothing I could possible say that hasn’t already been said about this book but it was oh so good! I had the pleasure of listening the audio format and the narrator did a superb job! She nailed all the accents and gave each character its unique and distinctive voice.

Maddie is captivating from the beginning. Her imagination and innocence grabbed me from page one. As the story progressed and she matured with time, she only became more endearing. She is one of those girls that even though naïve she was not silly or acted as a simpleton. I suppose her “disability” –she suffered from panic attacks- only made her more endearing in my eyes. I know from experience how disabling some episodes can be and that made her a more relatable character as well.
And Logan, can we say W-O-W! Although he started as an infuriating man that pushed his way into Maddie’s life by way of blackmail he turned out to be all “mushy” inside. He was just pretending to be a hard man because of the life he’d lived and because he was afraid to love for fear of rejection. But the more he tried to be unlovable, the more Maddie (and I) fell in love with him. Because really, who wouldn’t fall in love with a man that likes reading?
Secondary characters were all a riot but also engaging. They all had their own stories to tell and contrary to other stories where too much of others overpower the plot of the main characters, in this case it just added luster to the main story.

I could go on and on and on about all the things I loved about this book but suffice to say that it was funny, romantic, and tug-at-your-heartstrings kind of book; the kind of book you can’t stop thinking about long after the last page was turned, or in my case the last second was played.

Overall Opinion: This was enjoyable, but it's not going down in my favorites shelf. I'm a little disappointed in that I didn't feel like I connected to the H, especially with how much I've loved Ms. Dare's Hs in the past! I also missed that we didn't get at much of the witty banter that I come to expect from this author. Yes, there we're still some funny moments -- it just didn't seem as quite as much as usual. It wasn't bad at all, but just wasn't one of my favorites from her.

**Please see goodreads.com/NMmomof4 for my full review with spoiler tags**

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Maddie and Logan's story. Maddie is painfully shy and awkward in social situations, so when she is 16 she comes up with a genius plan to make up a potential suitor so she doesn't have to be presented to society. She writes letters for a couple years to her made up Captain Logan MacKenzie, and she eventually has to end the charade and fakes his death as well. She receives a huge shock when Captain MacKenzie shows up at her door and is ready to marry her! There are some funny moments, some sweet moments, and a few sexy times...and they get a HEA ending.

POV: This alternated between focusing on Maddie and Logan in 3rd person narrative.

Overall Pace of Story: Good. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well.

Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings.

H rating: 3.5 stars. Logan. I liked him. I did feel like we didn't get enough in his character, because I didn't connect with him as much as the h.

h rating: 4 stars. Maddie. I liked her. She was quirky and socially awkward/anxious, but I found it endearing.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes

Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW/OM drama: No

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No

Separation: No

Closure: This had okay closure, but I still wanted more of their future! I would still call this a HEA though

I've realized a while back that Dare's HR novels were best read like fairy tales, abstracted from the historical period, in which the action is supposed to take place. Otherwise, historical inaccuracies tend to get in the way of the story development. Usually, I prefer novels, which stay within the historical context and don't stretch the realm of plausibility too much, but, I've stumbled upon this relatively new release at the library when I was in the mood for a light read and it fit the bill.

I only wish I had been forewarned to expect the two underlying plot issues, which took away some of the enjoyment of the story. First, the father of a sixteen-year-old girl - from the social strata of landed gentry - accepted her betrothal to a man of uncertain ancestry sight unseen. While it's possible that he decided that such an arrangement would spare him the cost of the season, keep him home with his young wife, and his daughter's dowry in his coffers, it's highly improbable. He was described as a fond father, and as such, wouldn't have wished his eldest daughter to become a spinster. Next, there was the problem with the letters the heroine wrote herself on behalf of her intended. It's possible that she disguised her handwriting, but it's improbable that a sheltered girl, no matter how gifted an artist, was an accomplished forger by the age of sixteen.

If there were any other anachronisms, I had no trouble ignoring them. Ditto modern American slang. For what that's worth, the book was exactly what I wanted: the love story was uncomplicated and entertaining, and the characters were easy to like. The heroine was painfully shy and naive, but a kind-hearted and adorable dreamer. The hero intended to be a cold-hearted fortune-hunter, but his mercenary veneer was only skin-deep. Underneath, he was an honest, honorable, and hardworking gentleman, if not by birth then in every other way that counted. His rise through the army ranks from private to captain serves as solid evidence of the strength of his character since it required remarkable perseverance, courage, and no small stroke of luck. The relationship between them might have had a rocky start - he did blackmail her into marriage - but they moved past it and discovered that they could have a happy life together. He made her dreams come true; she gave him the ability to dream.

If you think all prologues start the same or follow a pattern, then I think you might be pleasantly surprised by this novel. I had to read the beginning twice only because I was vastly amused and greatly entertained. It was so fresh, inventive and kind of charming that if the story continued as it started, I believed I was in for a grand read. I was right, and I loved it.

First, kudos to whoever came up with the title of When a Scot Ties the Knot because it snagged my attention immediately. I appreciate clever titles.

I also liked the author’s use of descriptions and analogy. I specifically admired her use of the ‘message in a bottle’ reference. However, the poem was a bit … well it was giggle worthy only because of who was reciting it. I can envision the audience’s reaction and it makes me smile.

What is fascinating is the conflict of the heroine. It’s daunting in its scope. It’s the very thing that caused this whole twisted, surprising journey and I think it’s perfect. No one seems to understand the severity of Maddie’s affliction and after a few stunning examples, the hero finally gets it. Logan is truly hero material.

Of course, Logan doesn’t see himself as a hero. He just does what he believes is right, is just and is for the best for the people in his care. The fact that a man who started off life with the conditions he survived to become man of honor and integrity made his happy ever after that much more sweet. I adored Logan. There is no greater testimony to his worthiness to be called hero than how he dealt with Grant. I was impressed.

Maddie was fun to read about. I liked her talent, her views on life, her goals and her dreams. I even liked the lobsters. The greatest thing about When a Scot Ties the Knot is how Maddie and Logan brought out the strengths in each other to balance their weaknesses, whether real or perceived. They were wonderful together, and that includes under the sheets, eventually.

This novel has so much to recommend it that I am not sure what else to add. I’m so glad I read it, I had fun; I enjoyed the dialogue, the interaction with all the secondary characters and the tone of the book. There were a few things that might be implausible but that was no match for the sheer perfect of the rest of the novel. If asked, I’d recommend reading When a Scot Ties the Knot in a heartbeat. It’s a romance with substance, just what I like.

originally posted at long and short reviews

I picked up this book on the review/recommendation of Khanh, who rarely finds a 5-Star gem, and gushed over this historical romance. Thanks, Khanh!

Madeline Gracechurch is a proper young Englishwoman whose stepmother and father wish to have settled favorably with a husband. At 16, Maddie is unable to mix in company, however, She suffers intense agoraphobia and knows that she will disgrace her family if pressed into London's social marriage network. She's a devoted penpal to her "afianced" however, one Captain Logan MacKenzie, A Highland Scot fighting the French--who happens to be entirely fictitious. She sends him letters and sketches, and arranges to have return letters from him delivered from him.

This charade continues for years, Maddie feeling bad, but not entirely. She expects that her letters are being trashed somewhere, entertainment for anonymous troops who think her a flighty girl. Remorse does set in when her godfather gifts her a Highland estate so that she and Captain MacKenzie will be comfortable upon his return. She decides to end this ruse, now some eight years old, by reporting the death of the valiant Captain. She mourns him properly, vows to never wed and decamps form her father's home to her Highland estate, in the company of her "ruined" spinster Aunt Thea.

Maddie has been comfortable in her estate for two years now. She has a tidy income from her scientific drawings and the working farm. She is a good mistress, knowing her tenants and ensuring their welfare. What she is not is a woman looking for a man, and one appears on her doorstep out of the bonny blue sky: Captain Logan MacKenzie.

Not just the good captain, he has brought some of his displaced soldiers with him. To stay. Yes, Logan exists, and he received many a letter from a foolish English lass he expected to be decrepit or club-footed or have some gross malformation that rendered her unsuitable for marriage. The young, delicate comely woman who is terrified by his brawn (and assertion that they be married posthaste) is not at all whom he expected to find.

Logan has has a bad time of life. Abandoned by his parents, left as an orphan and pressed into His Majesty's service by his "adoptive" family, Logan has never known a real home, nor real love. He doesn't believe in it, and figures that the spoils young Maddie received by conning her family ought to suit him and his cast-off men who have nowhere to live after all their sacrifices for the Crown.

Aunt Thea is overjoyed, and canny. She wants her Maddie to have a love-filled life, and this rugged Highlander seems to fit the bill. Maddie, for her part, is attracted and intrigued, but she agrees to handfast her captain only because he threatens to reveal her subterfuge to all of London's society.

It's a big mess, of Maddie's own creation as she acknowledges, and she womans up. She makes her vows, but allows herself some time to adjust to married life. In particular, she forestalls the consummation of their marriage in the hope that she can locate MacKenzie's cache of her letters and destroy the evidence thereby unsealing their deal. In the meantime, they spend quite a bit of time together, managing the estate. Maddie's even prepared to hand this over to Logan, in return for him letting her be, but Logan knows how the English change their minds and take back what they give in Scotland. So he won't be having any of her deals.

Plus, he's mighty attracted. His initial lust tempers into admiration when he sees how compassionate she is to all those around her estate. A true affection blossoms between Maddie and Logan, one that is fierce. It scares both Logan and Maddie, but Maddie takes steps to protect her heart--until she recognizes that Logan's armor guards him too closely for very good reason.

Maddie and Logan are two excellent characters. While Logan is a battle hardened man, he's not a brute. He's educated and appreciates Maddie's peculiarities. Maddie practically swoons when she find him reading her treasured copy of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, yet she can't allow herself to believe such a beautiful physical specimen could truly love her. In fact, she very much believes Logan when he tells her he cannot.

There are some delightful sexytimes. Maddie is a virgin, and Logan has been celibate ever since Maddie's letters began arriving. He lived a model life to give his men hope, and when the letters started he couldn't set a bad example of carousing when the men believed he had a steadfast sweetheart. It has created a serious back-up of lust for Logan to carry. Logan's selflessness is a problem through the story--all the way to the very end, and yet, it's his most endearing quality.

Where can I find me one of those magic mirrors or circles of standing stones? I need me a sexy Highlander, toot sweet.

I love Tessa Dare novels, and this one sucked me in faster than a dust bunny in my vacuum! Had me on the first page. I would give it 8 stars, but GR only allows 5. The story had all my favorite ingredients: quirky independent heroine and a damaged sexy hero that breaks your heart while he's claiming your heart. Awesome and went straight to my "Read Again" bookcase.

I'm giving this all the knotty stars in Scotland. And beyond.

WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT was not only wonderful but it was so so much fun. It has so much self-deprecating humour to the extent that it never seems to take itself seriously, quietly throwing in a few good quips and snarks at the typical or overdone Scots romance plot, and yet an equal amount of sweetness and heat, with the perfect pinch of angst, to ensure you believe in this story, in the romance, 100%.

The premise is ridiculous, in the most endearing way, the characters both slightly damaged but also both aware of their faults. We also have the most interesting cast of secondary characters (both those of flesh and blood and those with pincers or claws -- seriously, you have to see it to believe it) that really bring out the best in our leads.

I'm definitely going to be reading the rest of this series and keeping an eye on whatever else Dare releases (or rather, chewing through her substantial backlist). The best kinds of romance books (in my opinion) are those that make you feel, yes, but also make you laugh and this author has a writing style that manages both.. often at the same time. She embraces the cliches, makes you love them, makes them work for the characters and still manages to surprise you. Highly recommend.

I am not sure when I have laughed so much reading the beginning of a historical romance as I did reading this one. And it still makes me laugh as I write this review. Tessa Dare takes us back to the year 1808 when young women were bid to find the best match during a season (the fewer seasons, the better), regardless of love or whether the man in question would really make a fine husband. The order of the day was status. It is within the strictures of this social norm that young Madeline Eloise Gracechurch finds herself.

Eloise is painfully shy and would do anything…ANYTHING…to duck the season and marriage to a stranger. So she does...anything. She visits her aunt in Brighton the summer before her first season. Wouldn’t you know it? Eloise meets the man (in) of her dreams -- a young man named Logan MacKenzie. As luck would have it, the two of them fall madly into love and become engaged. Yes! And another oddity… no one actually gets to meet him – not even her aunt (who she is staying with). Why you ask? She would tell you that he was suddenly called away – to serve his post in the Army on the frontlines in the war. Convenient. Well, this man in her dreams (yes, she made him up) becomes real. She is excused from the Season because she is already betrothed. And to make matters more ‘real,’ she finds herself now writing letters to this man (whose name she made up) and actually mails them. Of course, she figures that they will go nowhere. After all, she made the name up. There is no Logan MacKenzie. Eloise knows this, but she also knows that she is far into this tale to back out now. She stays with it. Eloise Gracechurch is betrothed to an imaginary war hero.

Over the years, the brave Logan MacKenzie is finally promoted for his bravery to the rank of Captain. His love for Eloise is evident in the letters, both coming and going -- (she posts all of them, even the ones coming back to her!). They both look forward to the day he finally comes home. Eloise writes frequently. As the war starts to wrap up, Eloise realizes that she will have to produce a Captain Logan MacKenzie, so it is at this sad juncture that she allows him to die valiantly in battle. And she grieves. She even wears the proper attire for him – well, considering she was his betrothed, it’s the least she could do. She even moves into a castle that was bequeathed to her by her uncle as a gift for her upcoming marriage. ‘Guilty’ doesn’t begin to describe how she feels about that. However, Eloise manages – that is, until that fateful day when one very alive Captain Logan MacKenzie shows up at her door, ready to marry his bride! So many questions arise with his appearance – as you can only imagine. This is where the story really begins!

It’s a delightful book, full of conflict, fun, angst, emotion and romance. Her characters are delightful. I could not tear myself away from this book and will be reading many more of Tessa Dare’s books. If you are ready to laugh, read this book and have a good time with a good story! Definitely, this book is five stars. I loved it.

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare is an enchanting yet curious historical romance. A Highland adventure in so many ways. A strange, smart, yet beautiful woman makes up a Scot and writes him letters. She does so to keep her family from pressuring her into the ton. Yet, many years later, he comes to her door. The shock, anger, and unbelief was so strong I felt I was there with them. Their first meeting...I will never forget it. Both characters are strong, independent, and clever. They a good looking couple with flaws that even each other out...and their romance only grows hotter by the page. I was hooked. Tessa Dare dragged me deep into this read. I could not stop reading it. Fun, engaging, and funny too...Overall, I highly recommend this romance to all readers.

I received this copy from the publisher. This is my voluntary review.

"What I'm saying isna romantic. It's raw, primal, and entirely crude." He lowered his voice to a growl. "You, Madeline Elise Gracechurch have been driving me slowly mad with lust. For years."

WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT by Tessa Dare is a lovely, sensual, original Highland romance. The gorgeous cover drew me in right away with its depiction of the couple with the castle in the background. WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT is actually the third book in the author's Castles Ever After series. However, I can attest that it works very well as a standalone as it is the first book I've ever read by Tessa Dare and I enjoyed it very much! The Castles Ever After series' suggested reading order is as follows:
Romancing The Duke (1)
Say Yes To The Marquess (2)
When A Scot Ties The Knot (3)
WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT is the story of Englishwoman Miss Madeline Gracechurch and Scottish Captain Logan MacKenzie.

To avoid her London season, painfully-shy Madeline concocts a convoluted lie about having met and becoming engaged to a dashing Highlander who just happens to be a captain serving in the war while she was on a seaside vacation at Brighton, England. Madeline's scheme serves its purpose as her parents don't force her to undergo her season. Fueled by her success, she continues her affair with this captain via a barrage of letters in which she pours out all her hopes, dreams and problems as a young lady would to her diary. After her fictional fiancé has served his purpose, Madeline kills him off and is done with him - or so she believes until one day she meets the real kilted Capital Logan MacKenzie. He has her letters, knows her intimately through them and he's come to claim her as his bride. Now what is she to do?

I really liked both the heroine and the hero. The couple's bantering was delicious, sexy and oftentimes humorous. Madeline was talented, smart, creative, nerdy and pretty but awkward in social situations and she suffers from panic attacks. Even so, she was a strong character, not one to be cowed. She honestly never thought that the letters she posted to her fake Captain would be delivered to a real man and that those letters would become both his whipping pole and his lifeline as the war continued. I would be remiss if I did not mention Madeline's quirky pets, especially her lobsters. Because of this book, I absolutely had to research the mating ritual of lobsters and their preferred sexual position. LOL! You need to pick up this book to find out why!

Logan has a dream to fulfill - not for him, but for his men - but he needs Madeline to do it. I couldn't help but admire Logan's strength, selflessness, loyalty and fortitude AND he was a bookworm! Logan's life story was heartbreaking. Then... he suffered mightily through the war years due to Madeline's letters. Now that the war is over, Logan will go to any lengths to ensure that the men who were under his command are taken care of.

His voice lowered to an intense whisper. "I led those men into battle. When they were weary and chilled and sick with fear, I pushed them on. I promised they'd see the day when they'd come home to their wives, their sweethearts, their bairns, their lands. Instead, they came home to nothing."

If he needs to use those letters as leverage to force Madeline to marry him to give his men the safe, stable environment they require, so be it.

Supporting characters were wonderful from Madeline's Aunt Thea - she was a hoot! - to Logan's motley crew of misfits who will tug at your heartstrings. Once I started this book, I read it straight through until I'd finished. I laughed a lot along the way and needed a fan for some titillatingly delicious scenes. It has definitely whet my appetite to read more books by this author. I highly recommend WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT to anyone who enjoys swoon-worthy romances featuring strong women and hot, kilted, gloriously masculine men!

My full review is posted at Reading Between The Wines Book Club. Please check it out there!

4 1/2 Wine Glasses!

“Logan, you are my dream. You always were. You have to know that. The deepest desire of my heart. And as wild a fantasy as I spun . . .” She laced her arms about his neck. “ . . . the reality of us is so much better."

This review is a Hot Mess. Spoiler alert: I loved it.

Oh. My. Heart. When a Scot Ties the Knot far exceeded my expectations, and trust me, those expectations were high. The plot was unique and and endearing. It is a love story, obviously. But it is also a story of dreams, chasing and finding your dreams. Choices. Daring to dream of love and family of your own making. A dream of a home and love to fill it.

Maddie Gracechurch didn't dream of ballgowns and society parties. Shyness and a paralyzingly fear of crowds had her seeking quiet solitude and her art. A fake,dead fiancé and the inheritance of a castle in the Scottish highlands gives her the opportunity to have a life of her own choosing, in peace. I adored Maddie. Her deceit was born of a need to protect herself, and was never meant to go beyond the letters she sent to herself from a make believe Captain, off fighting the Napoleonic war. When her dreamt up, supposedly dead suitor (and his band of soldiers) comes calling to her castle, Maddie's reaction was quite cute. She is torn between shock, disbelief, and attraction to her supposed intended.

But most of all, I loved that Maddie cared. She cares for this rag-tag group of men; some scarred either mentally or physically, others forgotten, lost from their homes and families forever. To see Maddie quickly moving from shock and irritation over this invasion of Scottish warriors, to gentleness and willingness to give them back home and sense of purpose, it would be impossible not to love Miss Madeleine Gracechurch, soon to be Mrs. MacKenzie, if her trumped-up suitor has any say in it.

Logan MacKenzie is a Scottish warrior come to claim the woman who claimed him first. Yes, Logan is braw, sexy...but, I have to say Logan's physical attributes are the least sexy thing about him. It's in his actions, his devotion, in his heart. He loves to read, for chrissakes. Now, I would love to proclaim every single reason I loved this character, but I'm not. And that is not because I'm a lazy reviewer (even though that is sometimes the case), but because a large part of this book's appeal is uncovering Logan for yourself. What causes this man to lead his band of broken brothers to this castle after so many years at war, why does he brush off the slightest affections, and, why does he not dream? I swear, if you come out of this book not loving Logan MacKenzie, you should probably see a physician about your heart.

As with the entire Castles Ever After series, this installment is witty and so very fun. Maddie's spinster Aunt Thea is devilishly charming, with a few secrets of her own. Logan's men always brought bawdy charm to the story, along with tenderness and more than a few tears. I loved When a Scot Ties the Knot. I loved every.single.word.

Maddie and Logan might have been each other's dream come true, but Tessa Dare, you are a reader's dream come true. Thank you.

4/4.5 Stars | Hot Steam

Exuberant, moving and wildly romantic, When a Scot Ties the Knot transports and utterly transfixes from its blissfully perfect cover to its tender and triumphant happily ever after! Infused with an abundance of warmth, humor and passion so white hot you’ll catch fire, this winning tale will keep you up all night, smiling, swooning and shedding more than a few joy-filled tears as Maddie and Logan find their way into each other’s hearts one hilarious and heated hurdle at a time.

Maddie is a rare and radiant character whose appeal grows with each turn of the page. Endearing, relatable and entirely lovable, I treasured her—sympathizing with her plight and delighting in her effervescence, vulnerability, cheekiness and wit. She’s an outstanding heroine and the ideal match for her craftily conjured Captain-come-to-life, the world weary and soul-hardened Logan MacKenzie. And, oh my goodness… He. Is. Heavenly! A towering wall of strength and virility, that brave, loyal, confident, commanding and cocksure male masterpiece is Maddie’s—and all living breathing females’—secret fantasy and stormy new reality. As his coldness dissolves into kindness, Logan reveals a softer, playful and entirely new level of supreme sexiness—following through on every one of his wickedly tantalizing vows and falling madly in love with his Maddie. It’s breathtaking and beautiful to read! Truly, their magical chemistry and inspired connection is unparalleled perfection and a true highlight of the Castles Ever After series.

I highly recommend this sensational and timeless must-read romance, not only to fans of Tessa Dare who have, no doubt, already pre-ordered and are counting down the hours until it appears on their door step or e-reader, but to romance lovers everywhere who seek an uplifting, sublimely sensual and simply unforgettable love story. Just prepare yourself for a doozy of a book hangover!

Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

When a Scot Ties the Knot is book 3 in the Castles Ever After series. This is the first Historical Romance I've read in over ten years, and I'm so glad I won this novel! I absolutely loved it and already know I'll be reading more in the near future.

Madeline Gracechurch (aka Maddie) is an extremely shy girl that loves to draw. She has panic attacks / anxiety attacks when around groups of people so that will put a damper on all the events she's supposed to attend to find a suitable husband. So Maddie did what anyone not wanting to be part of their first London season would do, she pretends she's met the love of her life and has to wait for him. Her family accepts everything she's said and she is left to live her life how she wants. She writes her imaginary Captain Logan MacKenzie for years before she cannot tolerate lying to everyone and kills him off. Imagine her surprise when a gentleman comes calling and it's a Scottish Captain named Logan MacKenzie. You see, Maddie thought the letters would never make it to a real person, but they did all along. Logan is swoon worthy and has his own agenda, but is set on marrying the girl that has been writing to him for years.

I love books that start relationships based on lies, it always has me intrigued on if they're going to get found out, or who will fall for who first. This one was a bit different since the lying was from the main characters to everyone else in their lives. My favorite thing in this book has to be the characters, they drew my attention and I loved Maddie's character from the start. TDare even adds in details like Maddie is drawing the life cycle of two lobsters, Fluffy and Rex. It's that attention to detail and the romance aspect that really made this an awesome read for me. I highly suggest you grab this one if you're a fan of Historial Romance.

This is the third book in the Castles Ever After series, where the heroine in each book inherits a castle - of course that it leads to some kind of trouble and finding her happy ending wish a dashing hero. I'm loving this series so far and I love how the core cast of characters is always a new one, they're not related to any of the previous books.

Her every feminine impulse jumped to attention. She was vibrating with the worst possible desires. The instinct to soothe, to comfort, to nurture, to hold.

“That pitying look you’re giving me,” he said. “I dinna think I like it.”

“I don’t like it, either.”

“Then stop making it.”

“I can’t.” She fluttered her hands. “Quickly, say something unfeeling. Mock my letters. Threaten my beetles. Just do something, anything reprehensible’

When a Scot Ties the Knot presents a very fresh and unusual plot, I've never read anything like it before. Maddie and Logan are so cute together, they're able to help one another fight their struggles and grow. The hero completely made me fall in love with him - he's loyal, kind and heroic in the true sense of the word. Oh, and here's another reason why:

When Maddie prepared for bed behind her screen that night, she emerged to find the most terrible sight yet.

“Oh, really, Logan. That just isn’t fair.”

He looked up from his reclined pose in her bedroom chaise longue, his face partly hidden behind a book bound in dark green leather. “What?”

“You’re reading Pride and Prejudice?”

He shrugged. “I found it on your bookshelf.”

Seeing him read any book was bad enough. But her favorite book? This was sheer torture.

The conclusion is, I didn't want to put it down. Tessa Dare has a talent of creating complex characters and leaving all the issues tightly resolved by the end of the book. She's one of my favorite romance writers. An important warning: no real lobsters were harmed in the making of this book (at least I hope so!).

Copy provided by the publisher in exchange of a honest review.

THAT…was an awesome read! Funny and touching, Tessa Dare (who, if you don’t know, has a huge following for a reason…) is the only author to get me interested in Historical Romance. Yes, this series (Castles Ever After) has a formula, but it works. Yes, there is going to be an HEA. Yes, TD s going to make sure you enjoy the entire length of getting there! These books are somewhat light-hearted, always with a serious emotional undertone, with vibrant heroines and roguish hero’s you can’t help but root for. Maddie and Logan are absolutely wonderful together as two would be lovers that are brought together by Maddie’s loneliness and imagination, and Logan’s determination and sense of pride. Maddie’s doting aunt and Logan’s band of forgotten war survivors only bolster a well-rounded cast that are kept in place by the author and never overused or abused, i.e., they all serve a purpose.
Maddie’s letters to an “imaginary” Scottish Captain are one thing, but the man himself is larger than life. Logan sweeps into Maddie’s world with promises of normalcy and equal benefits for all in return for a future for his men and ultimately his Highland people, but what they get is a whirlwind love story that involves blackmail, peat bogs and lobsters. Lobsters! And all that sexual tension. How. It. Builds. I’m still not sure which one of them was more satisfied in the end! (Complete synopsis available on GR and AMZ).
TD gives us smart, sharp-witted, fully functional characters that don’t have to be explained over and over. These reads are a great example of letting the location, circumstances, background and action give you what you need to create a rich fictional world to live in for a while. Looking forward to the next installment!

Overall Opinion: This was enjoyable, but it's not going down in my favorites shelf. I'm a little disappointed in that I didn't feel like I connected to the H, especially with how much I've loved Ms. Dare's Hs in the past! I also missed that we didn't get at much of the witty banter that I come to expect from this author. Yes, there we're still some funny moments -- it just didn't seem as quite as much as usual. It wasn't bad at all, but just wasn't one of my favorites from her.

**Please see goodreads.com/NMmomof4 for my full review with spoiler tags**

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Maddie and Logan's story. Maddie is painfully shy and awkward in social situations, so when she is 16 she comes up with a genius plan to make up a potential suitor so she doesn't have to be presented to society. She writes letters for a couple years to her made up Captain Logan MacKenzie, and she eventually has to end the charade and fakes his death as well. She receives a huge shock when Captain MacKenzie shows up at her door and is ready to marry her! There are some funny moments, some sweet moments, and a few sexy times...and they get a HEA ending.

POV: This alternated between focusing on Maddie and Logan in 3rd person narrative.

Overall Pace of Story: Good. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well.

Instalove: No, they take a while to develop stronger feelings.

H rating: 3.5 stars. Logan. I liked him. I did feel like we didn't get enough in his character, because I didn't connect with him as much as the h.

h rating: 4 stars. Maddie. I liked her. She was quirky and socially awkward/anxious, but I found it endearing.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes

Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW/OM drama: No

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No

Separation: No

Closure: This had okay closure, but I still wanted more of their future! I would still call this a HEA though

I've realized a while back that Dare's HR novels were best read like fairy tales, abstracted from the historical period, in which the action is supposed to take place. Otherwise, historical inaccuracies tend to get in the way of the story development. Usually, I prefer novels, which stay within the historical context and don't stretch the realm of plausibility too much, but, I've stumbled upon this relatively new release at the library when I was in the mood for a light read and it fit the bill.

I only wish I had been forewarned to expect the two underlying plot issues, which took away some of the enjoyment of the story. First, the father of a sixteen-year-old girl - from the social strata of landed gentry - accepted her betrothal to a man of uncertain ancestry sight unseen. While it's possible that he decided that such an arrangement would spare him the cost of the season, keep him home with his young wife, and his daughter's dowry in his coffers, it's highly improbable. He was described as a fond father, and as such, wouldn't have wished his eldest daughter to become a spinster. Next, there was the problem with the letters the heroine wrote herself on behalf of her intended. It's possible that she disguised her handwriting, but it's improbable that a sheltered girl, no matter how gifted an artist, was an accomplished forger by the age of sixteen.

If there were any other anachronisms, I had no trouble ignoring them. Ditto modern American slang. For what that's worth, the book was exactly what I wanted: the love story was uncomplicated and entertaining, and the characters were easy to like. The heroine was painfully shy and naive, but a kind-hearted and adorable dreamer. The hero intended to be a cold-hearted fortune-hunter, but his mercenary veneer was only skin-deep. Underneath, he was an honest, honorable, and hardworking gentleman, if not by birth then in every other way that counted. His rise through the army ranks from private to captain serves as solid evidence of the strength of his character since it required remarkable perseverance, courage, and no small stroke of luck. The relationship between them might have had a rocky start - he did blackmail her into marriage - but they moved past it and discovered that they could have a happy life together. He made her dreams come true; she gave him the ability to dream.

If you think all prologues start the same or follow a pattern, then I think you might be pleasantly surprised by this novel. I had to read the beginning twice only because I was vastly amused and greatly entertained. It was so fresh, inventive and kind of charming that if the story continued as it started, I believed I was in for a grand read. I was right, and I loved it.

First, kudos to whoever came up with the title of When a Scot Ties the Knot because it snagged my attention immediately. I appreciate clever titles.

I also liked the author’s use of descriptions and analogy. I specifically admired her use of the ‘message in a bottle’ reference. However, the poem was a bit … well it was giggle worthy only because of who was reciting it. I can envision the audience’s reaction and it makes me smile.

What is fascinating is the conflict of the heroine. It’s daunting in its scope. It’s the very thing that caused this whole twisted, surprising journey and I think it’s perfect. No one seems to understand the severity of Maddie’s affliction and after a few stunning examples, the hero finally gets it. Logan is truly hero material.

Of course, Logan doesn’t see himself as a hero. He just does what he believes is right, is just and is for the best for the people in his care. The fact that a man who started off life with the conditions he survived to become man of honor and integrity made his happy ever after that much more sweet. I adored Logan. There is no greater testimony to his worthiness to be called hero than how he dealt with Grant. I was impressed.

Maddie was fun to read about. I liked her talent, her views on life, her goals and her dreams. I even liked the lobsters. The greatest thing about When a Scot Ties the Knot is how Maddie and Logan brought out the strengths in each other to balance their weaknesses, whether real or perceived. They were wonderful together, and that includes under the sheets, eventually.

This novel has so much to recommend it that I am not sure what else to add. I’m so glad I read it, I had fun; I enjoyed the dialogue, the interaction with all the secondary characters and the tone of the book. There were a few things that might be implausible but that was no match for the sheer perfect of the rest of the novel. If asked, I’d recommend reading When a Scot Ties the Knot in a heartbeat. It’s a romance with substance, just what I like.

originally posted at long and short reviews

I picked up this book on the review/recommendation of Khanh, who rarely finds a 5-Star gem, and gushed over this historical romance. Thanks, Khanh!

Madeline Gracechurch is a proper young Englishwoman whose stepmother and father wish to have settled favorably with a husband. At 16, Maddie is unable to mix in company, however, She suffers intense agoraphobia and knows that she will disgrace her family if pressed into London's social marriage network. She's a devoted penpal to her "afianced" however, one Captain Logan MacKenzie, A Highland Scot fighting the French--who happens to be entirely fictitious. She sends him letters and sketches, and arranges to have return letters from him delivered from him.

This charade continues for years, Maddie feeling bad, but not entirely. She expects that her letters are being trashed somewhere, entertainment for anonymous troops who think her a flighty girl. Remorse does set in when her godfather gifts her a Highland estate so that she and Captain MacKenzie will be comfortable upon his return. She decides to end this ruse, now some eight years old, by reporting the death of the valiant Captain. She mourns him properly, vows to never wed and decamps form her father's home to her Highland estate, in the company of her "ruined" spinster Aunt Thea.

Maddie has been comfortable in her estate for two years now. She has a tidy income from her scientific drawings and the working farm. She is a good mistress, knowing her tenants and ensuring their welfare. What she is not is a woman looking for a man, and one appears on her doorstep out of the bonny blue sky: Captain Logan MacKenzie.

Not just the good captain, he has brought some of his displaced soldiers with him. To stay. Yes, Logan exists, and he received many a letter from a foolish English lass he expected to be decrepit or club-footed or have some gross malformation that rendered her unsuitable for marriage. The young, delicate comely woman who is terrified by his brawn (and assertion that they be married posthaste) is not at all whom he expected to find.

Logan has has a bad time of life. Abandoned by his parents, left as an orphan and pressed into His Majesty's service by his "adoptive" family, Logan has never known a real home, nor real love. He doesn't believe in it, and figures that the spoils young Maddie received by conning her family ought to suit him and his cast-off men who have nowhere to live after all their sacrifices for the Crown.

Aunt Thea is overjoyed, and canny. She wants her Maddie to have a love-filled life, and this rugged Highlander seems to fit the bill. Maddie, for her part, is attracted and intrigued, but she agrees to handfast her captain only because he threatens to reveal her subterfuge to all of London's society.

It's a big mess, of Maddie's own creation as she acknowledges, and she womans up. She makes her vows, but allows herself some time to adjust to married life. In particular, she forestalls the consummation of their marriage in the hope that she can locate MacKenzie's cache of her letters and destroy the evidence thereby unsealing their deal. In the meantime, they spend quite a bit of time together, managing the estate. Maddie's even prepared to hand this over to Logan, in return for him letting her be, but Logan knows how the English change their minds and take back what they give in Scotland. So he won't be having any of her deals.

Plus, he's mighty attracted. His initial lust tempers into admiration when he sees how compassionate she is to all those around her estate. A true affection blossoms between Maddie and Logan, one that is fierce. It scares both Logan and Maddie, but Maddie takes steps to protect her heart--until she recognizes that Logan's armor guards him too closely for very good reason.

Maddie and Logan are two excellent characters. While Logan is a battle hardened man, he's not a brute. He's educated and appreciates Maddie's peculiarities. Maddie practically swoons when she find him reading her treasured copy of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, yet she can't allow herself to believe such a beautiful physical specimen could truly love her. In fact, she very much believes Logan when he tells her he cannot.

There are some delightful sexytimes. Maddie is a virgin, and Logan has been celibate ever since Maddie's letters began arriving. He lived a model life to give his men hope, and when the letters started he couldn't set a bad example of carousing when the men believed he had a steadfast sweetheart. It has created a serious back-up of lust for Logan to carry. Logan's selflessness is a problem through the story--all the way to the very end, and yet, it's his most endearing quality.

Where can I find me one of those magic mirrors or circles of standing stones? I need me a sexy Highlander, toot sweet.

I'm giving this all the knotty stars in Scotland. And beyond.

WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT was not only wonderful but it was so so much fun. It has so much self-deprecating humour to the extent that it never seems to take itself seriously, quietly throwing in a few good quips and snarks at the typical or overdone Scots romance plot, and yet an equal amount of sweetness and heat, with the perfect pinch of angst, to ensure you believe in this story, in the romance, 100%.

The premise is ridiculous, in the most endearing way, the characters both slightly damaged but also both aware of their faults. We also have the most interesting cast of secondary characters (both those of flesh and blood and those with pincers or claws -- seriously, you have to see it to believe it) that really bring out the best in our leads.

I'm definitely going to be reading the rest of this series and keeping an eye on whatever else Dare releases (or rather, chewing through her substantial backlist). The best kinds of romance books (in my opinion) are those that make you feel, yes, but also make you laugh and this author has a writing style that manages both.. often at the same time. She embraces the cliches, makes you love them, makes them work for the characters and still manages to surprise you. Highly recommend.

I am not sure when I have laughed so much reading the beginning of a historical romance as I did reading this one. And it still makes me laugh as I write this review. Tessa Dare takes us back to the year 1808 when young women were bid to find the best match during a season (the fewer seasons, the better), regardless of love or whether the man in question would really make a fine husband. The order of the day was status. It is within the strictures of this social norm that young Madeline Eloise Gracechurch finds herself.

Eloise is painfully shy and would do anything…ANYTHING…to duck the season and marriage to a stranger. So she does...anything. She visits her aunt in Brighton the summer before her first season. Wouldn’t you know it? Eloise meets the man (in) of her dreams -- a young man named Logan MacKenzie. As luck would have it, the two of them fall madly into love and become engaged. Yes! And another oddity… no one actually gets to meet him – not even her aunt (who she is staying with). Why you ask? She would tell you that he was suddenly called away – to serve his post in the Army on the frontlines in the war. Convenient. Well, this man in her dreams (yes, she made him up) becomes real. She is excused from the Season because she is already betrothed. And to make matters more ‘real,’ she finds herself now writing letters to this man (whose name she made up) and actually mails them. Of course, she figures that they will go nowhere. After all, she made the name up. There is no Logan MacKenzie. Eloise knows this, but she also knows that she is far into this tale to back out now. She stays with it. Eloise Gracechurch is betrothed to an imaginary war hero.

Over the years, the brave Logan MacKenzie is finally promoted for his bravery to the rank of Captain. His love for Eloise is evident in the letters, both coming and going -- (she posts all of them, even the ones coming back to her!). They both look forward to the day he finally comes home. Eloise writes frequently. As the war starts to wrap up, Eloise realizes that she will have to produce a Captain Logan MacKenzie, so it is at this sad juncture that she allows him to die valiantly in battle. And she grieves. She even wears the proper attire for him – well, considering she was his betrothed, it’s the least she could do. She even moves into a castle that was bequeathed to her by her uncle as a gift for her upcoming marriage. ‘Guilty’ doesn’t begin to describe how she feels about that. However, Eloise manages – that is, until that fateful day when one very alive Captain Logan MacKenzie shows up at her door, ready to marry his bride! So many questions arise with his appearance – as you can only imagine. This is where the story really begins!

It’s a delightful book, full of conflict, fun, angst, emotion and romance. Her characters are delightful. I could not tear myself away from this book and will be reading many more of Tessa Dare’s books. If you are ready to laugh, read this book and have a good time with a good story! Definitely, this book is five stars. I loved it.

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare is an enchanting yet curious historical romance. A Highland adventure in so many ways. A strange, smart, yet beautiful woman makes up a Scot and writes him letters. She does so to keep her family from pressuring her into the ton. Yet, many years later, he comes to her door. The shock, anger, and unbelief was so strong I felt I was there with them. Their first meeting...I will never forget it. Both characters are strong, independent, and clever. They a good looking couple with flaws that even each other out...and their romance only grows hotter by the page. I was hooked. Tessa Dare dragged me deep into this read. I could not stop reading it. Fun, engaging, and funny too...Overall, I highly recommend this romance to all readers.

I received this copy from the publisher. This is my voluntary review.

"What I'm saying isna romantic. It's raw, primal, and entirely crude." He lowered his voice to a growl. "You, Madeline Elise Gracechurch have been driving me slowly mad with lust. For years."

WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT by Tessa Dare is a lovely, sensual, original Highland romance. The gorgeous cover drew me in right away with its depiction of the couple with the castle in the background. WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT is actually the third book in the author's Castles Ever After series. However, I can attest that it works very well as a standalone as it is the first book I've ever read by Tessa Dare and I enjoyed it very much! The Castles Ever After series' suggested reading order is as follows:
Romancing The Duke (1)
Say Yes To The Marquess (2)
When A Scot Ties The Knot (3)
WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT is the story of Englishwoman Miss Madeline Gracechurch and Scottish Captain Logan MacKenzie.

To avoid her London season, painfully-shy Madeline concocts a convoluted lie about having met and becoming engaged to a dashing Highlander who just happens to be a captain serving in the war while she was on a seaside vacation at Brighton, England. Madeline's scheme serves its purpose as her parents don't force her to undergo her season. Fueled by her success, she continues her affair with this captain via a barrage of letters in which she pours out all her hopes, dreams and problems as a young lady would to her diary. After her fictional fiancé has served his purpose, Madeline kills him off and is done with him - or so she believes until one day she meets the real kilted Capital Logan MacKenzie. He has her letters, knows her intimately through them and he's come to claim her as his bride. Now what is she to do?

I really liked both the heroine and the hero. The couple's bantering was delicious, sexy and oftentimes humorous. Madeline was talented, smart, creative, nerdy and pretty but awkward in social situations and she suffers from panic attacks. Even so, she was a strong character, not one to be cowed. She honestly never thought that the letters she posted to her fake Captain would be delivered to a real man and that those letters would become both his whipping pole and his lifeline as the war continued. I would be remiss if I did not mention Madeline's quirky pets, especially her lobsters. Because of this book, I absolutely had to research the mating ritual of lobsters and their preferred sexual position. LOL! You need to pick up this book to find out why!

Logan has a dream to fulfill - not for him, but for his men - but he needs Madeline to do it. I couldn't help but admire Logan's strength, selflessness, loyalty and fortitude AND he was a bookworm! Logan's life story was heartbreaking. Then... he suffered mightily through the war years due to Madeline's letters. Now that the war is over, Logan will go to any lengths to ensure that the men who were under his command are taken care of.

His voice lowered to an intense whisper. "I led those men into battle. When they were weary and chilled and sick with fear, I pushed them on. I promised they'd see the day when they'd come home to their wives, their sweethearts, their bairns, their lands. Instead, they came home to nothing."

If he needs to use those letters as leverage to force Madeline to marry him to give his men the safe, stable environment they require, so be it.

Supporting characters were wonderful from Madeline's Aunt Thea - she was a hoot! - to Logan's motley crew of misfits who will tug at your heartstrings. Once I started this book, I read it straight through until I'd finished. I laughed a lot along the way and needed a fan for some titillatingly delicious scenes. It has definitely whet my appetite to read more books by this author. I highly recommend WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT to anyone who enjoys swoon-worthy romances featuring strong women and hot, kilted, gloriously masculine men!

My full review is posted at Reading Between The Wines Book Club. Please check it out there!

4 1/2 Wine Glasses!

“Logan, you are my dream. You always were. You have to know that. The deepest desire of my heart. And as wild a fantasy as I spun . . .” She laced her arms about his neck. “ . . . the reality of us is so much better."

This review is a Hot Mess. Spoiler alert: I loved it.

Oh. My. Heart. When a Scot Ties the Knot far exceeded my expectations, and trust me, those expectations were high. The plot was unique and and endearing. It is a love story, obviously. But it is also a story of dreams, chasing and finding your dreams. Choices. Daring to dream of love and family of your own making. A dream of a home and love to fill it.

Maddie Gracechurch didn't dream of ballgowns and society parties. Shyness and a paralyzingly fear of crowds had her seeking quiet solitude and her art. A fake,dead fiancé and the inheritance of a castle in the Scottish highlands gives her the opportunity to have a life of her own choosing, in peace. I adored Maddie. Her deceit was born of a need to protect herself, and was never meant to go beyond the letters she sent to herself from a make believe Captain, off fighting the Napoleonic war. When her dreamt up, supposedly dead suitor (and his band of soldiers) comes calling to her castle, Maddie's reaction was quite cute. She is torn between shock, disbelief, and attraction to her supposed intended.

But most of all, I loved that Maddie cared. She cares for this rag-tag group of men; some scarred either mentally or physically, others forgotten, lost from their homes and families forever. To see Maddie quickly moving from shock and irritation over this invasion of Scottish warriors, to gentleness and willingness to give them back home and sense of purpose, it would be impossible not to love Miss Madeleine Gracechurch, soon to be Mrs. MacKenzie, if her trumped-up suitor has any say in it.

Logan MacKenzie is a Scottish warrior come to claim the woman who claimed him first. Yes, Logan is braw, sexy...but, I have to say Logan's physical attributes are the least sexy thing about him. It's in his actions, his devotion, in his heart. He loves to read, for chrissakes. Now, I would love to proclaim every single reason I loved this character, but I'm not. And that is not because I'm a lazy reviewer (even though that is sometimes the case), but because a large part of this book's appeal is uncovering Logan for yourself. What causes this man to lead his band of broken brothers to this castle after so many years at war, why does he brush off the slightest affections, and, why does he not dream? I swear, if you come out of this book not loving Logan MacKenzie, you should probably see a physician about your heart.

As with the entire Castles Ever After series, this installment is witty and so very fun. Maddie's spinster Aunt Thea is devilishly charming, with a few secrets of her own. Logan's men always brought bawdy charm to the story, along with tenderness and more than a few tears. I loved When a Scot Ties the Knot. I loved every.single.word.

Maddie and Logan might have been each other's dream come true, but Tessa Dare, you are a reader's dream come true. Thank you.

4/4.5 Stars | Hot Steam

Exuberant, moving and wildly romantic, When a Scot Ties the Knot transports and utterly transfixes from its blissfully perfect cover to its tender and triumphant happily ever after! Infused with an abundance of warmth, humor and passion so white hot you’ll catch fire, this winning tale will keep you up all night, smiling, swooning and shedding more than a few joy-filled tears as Maddie and Logan find their way into each other’s hearts one hilarious and heated hurdle at a time.

Maddie is a rare and radiant character whose appeal grows with each turn of the page. Endearing, relatable and entirely lovable, I treasured her—sympathizing with her plight and delighting in her effervescence, vulnerability, cheekiness and wit. She’s an outstanding heroine and the ideal match for her craftily conjured Captain-come-to-life, the world weary and soul-hardened Logan MacKenzie. And, oh my goodness… He. Is. Heavenly! A towering wall of strength and virility, that brave, loyal, confident, commanding and cocksure male masterpiece is Maddie’s—and all living breathing females’—secret fantasy and stormy new reality. As his coldness dissolves into kindness, Logan reveals a softer, playful and entirely new level of supreme sexiness—following through on every one of his wickedly tantalizing vows and falling madly in love with his Maddie. It’s breathtaking and beautiful to read! Truly, their magical chemistry and inspired connection is unparalleled perfection and a true highlight of the Castles Ever After series.

I highly recommend this sensational and timeless must-read romance, not only to fans of Tessa Dare who have, no doubt, already pre-ordered and are counting down the hours until it appears on their door step or e-reader, but to romance lovers everywhere who seek an uplifting, sublimely sensual and simply unforgettable love story. Just prepare yourself for a doozy of a book hangover!

Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

When a Scot Ties the Knot is book 3 in the Castles Ever After series. This is the first Historical Romance I've read in over ten years, and I'm so glad I won this novel! I absolutely loved it and already know I'll be reading more in the near future.

Madeline Gracechurch (aka Maddie) is an extremely shy girl that loves to draw. She has panic attacks / anxiety attacks when around groups of people so that will put a damper on all the events she's supposed to attend to find a suitable husband. So Maddie did what anyone not wanting to be part of their first London season would do, she pretends she's met the love of her life and has to wait for him. Her family accepts everything she's said and she is left to live her life how she wants. She writes her imaginary Captain Logan MacKenzie for years before she cannot tolerate lying to everyone and kills him off. Imagine her surprise when a gentleman comes calling and it's a Scottish Captain named Logan MacKenzie. You see, Maddie thought the letters would never make it to a real person, but they did all along. Logan is swoon worthy and has his own agenda, but is set on marrying the girl that has been writing to him for years.

I love books that start relationships based on lies, it always has me intrigued on if they're going to get found out, or who will fall for who first. This one was a bit different since the lying was from the main characters to everyone else in their lives. My favorite thing in this book has to be the characters, they drew my attention and I loved Maddie's character from the start. TDare even adds in details like Maddie is drawing the life cycle of two lobsters, Fluffy and Rex. It's that attention to detail and the romance aspect that really made this an awesome read for me. I highly suggest you grab this one if you're a fan of Historial Romance.

This is the third book in the Castles Ever After series, where the heroine in each book inherits a castle - of course that it leads to some kind of trouble and finding her happy ending wish a dashing hero. I'm loving this series so far and I love how the core cast of characters is always a new one, they're not related to any of the previous books.

Her every feminine impulse jumped to attention. She was vibrating with the worst possible desires. The instinct to soothe, to comfort, to nurture, to hold.

“That pitying look you’re giving me,” he said. “I dinna think I like it.”

“I don’t like it, either.”

“Then stop making it.”

“I can’t.” She fluttered her hands. “Quickly, say something unfeeling. Mock my letters. Threaten my beetles. Just do something, anything reprehensible’

When a Scot Ties the Knot presents a very fresh and unusual plot, I've never read anything like it before. Maddie and Logan are so cute together, they're able to help one another fight their struggles and grow. The hero completely made me fall in love with him - he's loyal, kind and heroic in the true sense of the word. Oh, and here's another reason why:

When Maddie prepared for bed behind her screen that night, she emerged to find the most terrible sight yet.

“Oh, really, Logan. That just isn’t fair.”

He looked up from his reclined pose in her bedroom chaise longue, his face partly hidden behind a book bound in dark green leather. “What?”

“You’re reading Pride and Prejudice?”

He shrugged. “I found it on your bookshelf.”

Seeing him read any book was bad enough. But her favorite book? This was sheer torture.

The conclusion is, I didn't want to put it down. Tessa Dare has a talent of creating complex characters and leaving all the issues tightly resolved by the end of the book. She's one of my favorite romance writers. An important warning: no real lobsters were harmed in the making of this book (at least I hope so!).

Copy provided by the publisher in exchange of a honest review.

THAT…was an awesome read! Funny and touching, Tessa Dare (who, if you don’t know, has a huge following for a reason…) is the only author to get me interested in Historical Romance. Yes, this series (Castles Ever After) has a formula, but it works. Yes, there is going to be an HEA. Yes, TD s going to make sure you enjoy the entire length of getting there! These books are somewhat light-hearted, always with a serious emotional undertone, with vibrant heroines and roguish hero’s you can’t help but root for. Maddie and Logan are absolutely wonderful together as two would be lovers that are brought together by Maddie’s loneliness and imagination, and Logan’s determination and sense of pride. Maddie’s doting aunt and Logan’s band of forgotten war survivors only bolster a well-rounded cast that are kept in place by the author and never overused or abused, i.e., they all serve a purpose.
Maddie’s letters to an “imaginary” Scottish Captain are one thing, but the man himself is larger than life. Logan sweeps into Maddie’s world with promises of normalcy and equal benefits for all in return for a future for his men and ultimately his Highland people, but what they get is a whirlwind love story that involves blackmail, peat bogs and lobsters. Lobsters! And all that sexual tension. How. It. Builds. I’m still not sure which one of them was more satisfied in the end! (Complete synopsis available on GR and AMZ).
TD gives us smart, sharp-witted, fully functional characters that don’t have to be explained over and over. These reads are a great example of letting the location, circumstances, background and action give you what you need to create a rich fictional world to live in for a while. Looking forward to the next installment!

I have a confession…I’ve never read a Tessa Dare book until a few months ago. I was gifted a copy of Romancing the Duke and read it one sitting! I really enjoyed it and when the opportunity came to participate in the blog tour for Dare’s When a Scot Ties the Knot, I couldn’t say no! When a Scot Ties the Knot is the third in her Castles Ever After series and if you haven’t read the first two, it’s not necessary to enjoy When a Scot Ties the Knot.

We have really good character development. Madeline Gracechurch is desperate to avoid a London Season and does the unthinkable: she invents a suitor and quickly announces their engagement. Maddie is so likeable and you can easily imagine being friends with her! She’s a talented artist and likes to take care of the people close to her. She’s also painfully shy and likes to avoid crowds. The reason she avoids crowds is heartbreaking and I really liked how she’s absolved of the guilt she’s carried her entire life. Of course we have to have a dashing hero and his name is Captain Logan MacKenzie. He’s very much a leader and a self made man. While his own personal history is sad, he doesn’t dwell on what could have been. I won’t go into detail because I really want you to meet him. We have several secondary characters that you’ll come to love including one of Logan’s fellow soldiers named Grant.

What I really enjoyed about When a Scot Ties the Knot was the banter between Logan and Maddie! There’s a particular scene where Maddie finds herself in a bit of trouble and Logan jokes about remembering the event in the future and how they had a picnic. I had a lot of fun reading that scene because it really shows us how Maddie and Logan have come to care for one another even if they didn’t know about it at the time. Their relationship really shines in Maddie’s letters to Logan. While we know Maddie writing to Logan gave her a sense of security, what we don’t know are the role those letters played in Logan’s life. I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil it, but when Logan tells Maddie about them, I’ll admit to tears. I liked how Dare gave us his insight because it was important to the story.

I debated with the rating between a four and five and in the end decided on a four for one particular reason: I wanted to see more of Logan and Maddie as a couple. Their romance felt a bit rushed and maybe it’s because we know they’ll wind up together (after all it’s a given considering the circumstances of how they end up meeting), but I wanted a little more time with them. The ending felt a bit rushed as well. Like I said, we’ve known from the beginning they would be together, but perhaps a bit more conflict would have balanced this out a bit.

Overall, Dare’s When a Scot Ties the Knot was a delight! I loved the letters in the prologue and Maddie’s nicknames for Logan. If you’re looking to try a new author or enjoy historical romance, I highly recommend Tessa Dare’s When a Scot Ties the Knot. Dare is quickly becoming a favorite and I can’t wait to read her backlist.

**This review is posted on my blog**

Maddie was odd, totally likeable but she wasn't the expected normal woman. She was creative and terrified of crowds. This is how the engagement to the "imaginary" Captain Logan MacKenzie came about. It gave her the ability to live her own life and in her own way. Imagine her shock when the real MacKenzie showed up. Her Aunt was also eccentric but also such a good addition to the story. Logan had lived so much of his life without love, or much kindness even as a young child. So the letters of the foolish young girl of sixteen warmed his life and that went on for many years. He was not beyond blackmailing her with her letters, all to make a home for the surviving men from his battalion. They had become his family and had followed him through many dangers. They were Scottish men who came home to nothing. Homes were gone, lands which had been in their families for years also gone. Loved ones, gone too.
He'd do just about anything to give them a new life and home. So many of the interactions between Maddie and Logan were funny. She might have been terrified of crowds but she did meet him toe to toe and was pretty clever in her attempts to outwit him. It was an enjoyable battle of wits.

When a Scot Ties the Knot- Castles Ever After- by Tessa Dare is a 2015 Avon Publication.

Tessa Dare does it again! What a terrific story. I laughed, I cried, got angry a few times, but closed with the book with a smile and a dreamy sigh.

Madeline, at sixteen, wishes to avoid her first ‘season’, so she makes up a pretty tall tale about having met a Scottish Captain- Logan MacKenzie. She is betrothed to Logan, and stays true to him for many years, writing to him faithfully, until one day she decides this has gone on long enough and kills him off. But, to her utter shock, out the clear blue sky, a very real Logan MacKenzie shows up and insist he is the man Madeline has been writing to all these years and that he intends to marry her!

Naturally, there is a catch. Logan needs Madeline’s land for his men, and so blackmails her into marriage. But, Madeline, as mortified as she is, continues to postpone the consummation, frustrating Logan to no end.

While determined to make the marriage valid, doing so without the emotional attachment that usually comes with that, is making things more and more complicated as time goes on. The more Madeline learns about Logan, the deeper she falls for him, but Logan is the most single minded man alive! Why does he deny his feelings for Madeline? Why is he still so angry with her for making a youthful mistake? Is the situation doomed or true love bring them to their senses?

I loved both Madeline and Logan, so I wanted them to make it. Madeline is a person I could really relate to, as she suffers from social anxiety, and Logan will bring out all your nurturing instincts. But, I began to have my doubts as they continued to miscommunicate, misunderstand each other, argue, and hurt each other, although there were several very humorous predicaments too. But the sexual chemistry is certainly there and these two sure knew how to create tension. I loved the delayed gratification and the tantalizing build between this couple. It was almost perfect.

I appreciated the authenticity, the wonderful Scottish Gaelic, the banter, humor, and awesome storytelling. This is a very sweet story with a heartwarming happily ever after.

Wow, Three Nights with a Scoundrel wraps up the Stud Club Trilogy and all I can say is, I never saw that coming! I’m not exactly sure how I can review this book without going on and on and on, and then give away too much of the plot and the truth about who killed Leo! I know others have managed to write wonderful reviews, but I’m at a loss. Please bear with me as I ramble my way through this review.

I’ve always loved Leo’s idea of the Stud Club, and figured he started it just to be magnanimous, to be a good person. I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Leo created this club for the very reasons he claimed he did – so that everyone could belong, not just those who are wealthy and accepted by society, but also for those who are not, and with the circumstances of his death being revealed, I admire him all the more for it.

I definitely adore Julian, which was something I wasn’t sure would happen. He came across as quite the unlikeable guy in the previous two books because of the way he put on airs, as he seemingly considered himself better than those around him. Well, now we understand why, and I’ve come to love him both for the man he is, and the man he is not.

I also loved Lily, her quiet nature, unobtrusive – yet so very smart, such an amazing lady. She was underestimated by everyone around her, even those who knew her best, thinking that her deafness meant she was somehow less able to manage things or to take care of herself. So this opportunity we had to get to know the real Lily was such a treat! In addition to her wisdom, she was so full of love, so giving and understanding that not only was she able to function on her own, she was able to look out for and take care of everyone around her. Even when they didn’t think they need her to.

I think the Stud Club and the mystery surrounding Leo’s death was an excellent foundation for this trilogy. We watch as his family and friends try to deal with this generous man’s tragic death, with some coping better than others. The truth is, sometimes there’s no way to understand, no resolution that can make us better able to accept the loss. Sometimes that’s just the way it happens. We can’t always gain an understanding of why fate steps in and changes a life's direction, or takes a life, but it happens and those left behind to grieve often times never give up searching for answers – answers they never find. Or get the answers they don’t quite expect. Such is the case with Leo’s death. Those dearest to him who so desperately needed the truth learned that the truth, that knowledge they gained doesn’t necessarily help because their pain still exists; their loved one is still gone. The real challenge they face is learning to go on, living their lives in a way that would have made Leo proud.

My only regret as this trilogy comes to an end, is that even though we did get to know him better in this book, we didn’t get to spend, in my opinion, enough time with Leo. He was a male most worthy of his own story and a happily ever after. With whomever he chose.

The second installment of the Stud Club series almost didn’t feel like part of the series at all due in part to the fact that we really hadn’t gotten to know Rhys St. Maur very well at all in One Dance With A Duke, so in this book he seemed to me to be a totally new character. In addition to that, the continuing storyline revolving around Leo’s death didn’t really come into play until the latter part of the book. I didn’t mind any of this because Rhys’ and Meredith’s story was strong enough to stand on its own merit and kept me interested from start to finish.

Meredith is, unfortunately for me, my least favorite type of historical romance heroine. She was annoyingly independent and bossy. She basically ran the whole village and that just didn’t set well with me…however, that’s my problem and no reflection on the story or the author’s writing… it was just who she was. But as the story progressed and I learned more about her background, I began to understand her better and could see that her “in charge” attitude was more of necessity than just a desire to be the boss.

Rhys St. Maur, on the other hand, is my favorite kind of hero – scarred both physically and emotionally. Eleven years spend in the service of the Crown can really take its toll on a man and it surely did on Rhys. When he finally decided to return to his ancestral home, Buckleigh-in-the-Moor in Devonshire, to face the demons of his past and take up the responsibilities he’d ignored for all those years, he did so knowing that he wouldn’t be very popular and likely not welcomed at all. He was right. But he had no intention of allowing the less than warm welcome to dissuade him from what he knew he had to do. He was a man who’d faced and defeated death over and over, despite his best efforts to the contrary. So, if he had to live, he’d decided he’d go home and do what he could to right the wrongs done by his family.

It was quite an interesting twist to watch Meredith and Rhys butt heads when it came to marriage – he wanted to marry her, she just wanted sex. Smart man, Rhys – he held out for marriage! Well… he held out for a good long time, anyway!

Now, I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally read a book where the “deep, dark secret” really was deep and dark and worthy of a tormented character. All too often authors fail their readers by writing characters whose brooding nature and sexual intensity are due to some horrific event or events in their past. We become invested in these characters as people and forgive their brutish and oft times uncivilized behavior because we know they had it rough and need to be loved until they are all better – well, that is until we actually learn what said “deep, dark secret” is, only to become really miffed because it doesn’t fit the circumstances at all. I mean, these men are really, really messed up! I expect to find out that whatever screwed them up is really, really bad and not just that they didn’t get the black pony they wanted for Christmas when they were 12 and we’re expected to believe that’s why they’re dark and brooding! This is not the case with Twice Tempted by a Rogue, and in fact, both Rhys and Meredith have “deep, dark secrets” that, in my humble opinion, vindicate them both from their intolerable behaviors and even made me more understanding of Meredith’s desire to single handedly save the entire village. What surprised me was that her secret was every bit as compelling as Rhys’ and made her refusal to marry him understandable. I loved how the author created a “blame” that was powerful enough to make their guilt and self deprecation believable.

I enjoyed this story very much and was truly surprised by the revelation that leads us into the third and final book, Three Nights with a Scoundrel. I’m truly looking forward reading more by Tessa Dare.

This was my first Tessa Dare book, and I was absolutely enthralled and charmed by "When a Scot Ties the Knot"! Ms. Dare has excellent writing skills, infusing her characters with wit and emotion. I laughed out loud, I cried, I swooned.

At the age of 16, as her first London season looms, Madeline Gracechurch invents an imaginary suitor, the dashing Captain Logan MacKenzie, in order to avoid her social obligations. She has no desire to marry, and invents someone who adores her but who is conveniently away at war. Maddie devotedly writes and mails him letters and then mourns his imaginary death when he is killed in battle. Throughout all of this, Maddie is pleased that she has managed to avoid all the social pressures of London society. Then a flesh-and-blood Captain Logan MacKenzie shows up on her doorstep nearly a decade later, very much alive, mysteriously in possession of all her letters, and determined to make Maddie keep all her promises, including marrying him. What is a shy, socially averse woman to do, especially after 10 years of deceiving her family and friends?

I loved this premise and was curious as to how author Dare was going to make it work. I was absolutely delighted at the plot. The book has excellent character development; I just loved all the characters - not just the H and h, but also the secondary characters. Dare writes with the perfect balance of romance and sex, with just the right amount of conflict thrown in. I felt the tension without frustration, and it was a very satisfying ending.

Now I'm going to read all of Tess Dare's other historical romance books. If they're all this good, I'll have a new favorite historical romance author!

This was just ok for me. The pacing moved the story along nicely, but I just didn't get into the hero and heroine. It may be because I haven't read any of the other books in the series, though.

Rhys, our hero, is really, really damaged, as in almost beyond repair, and maybe even a bit deranged. He returns to his family's estate after inheriting his father's title and seeks to rebuild everything. Like literally, from the ground up with his bare hands, stone by stone. You see, 14 years ago, the estate burned down when a lamp was knocked over during a heated scuffle between Rhys and his abusive father, after which the family abandoned the estate and attached village. Driven by guilt over the destruction, Rhys joined the army and tried really hard to die but totally failed. I don't get why he was so wracked by guilt...so I'm chalking it up to Rhys being a little deranged. He can't help it. After all, his dad beat the crap out of him two or three times a week from the time he turned 9. I'm not sure what his dad's problem was...maybe it was explained in prior books.

So he goes back to the estate and village, and he encounters Meredith Maddox, proprietress of the village inn. He's totally turned on by her and tells her that they will marry because it's "fate." She's like, "yeah, ok cuckoo, but whatever, you're hot and I'm horny so let's get it on." He starts building their home and tells everyone they're engaged even though she's like, "um, thanks but no thanks." His insistence on their marriage, without Meredith's consent, was a little odd. But then again, he's a bit deranged so OK, I'll go with it.

So here's the other thing. Meredith grew up on the estate and has been in love with Rhys since she was 12. After the village was abandoned, she was forced to marry a really old innkeeper in order to survive and care for her crippled father. Mr. Maddox was good to her and left her the inn, which she is determined to improve and make more prosperous.

I liked Meredith. She is a strong and independent woman who is well aware of her worth. She's not going to fall at Rhys's feet even though he declares they will marry and she has been in love with him forever. She wants to make sure she can stand on her own. This is the third Tessa Dare novel I've read and I love that all her heroines so far have been strong willed and no-nonsense women who know what they want.

As with most romance novels, there is, of course, a happy ending and Meredith manages to "save" Rhys despite himself. It was ok, but I felt like I was missing something. This was a 3 star for me. Hopefully I will get around to the other books so that I'll actually know what's going on.

I loved this book! Tessa Dare has joined my short-list of favorite historical romance authors. When a Scot Ties the Knot mixes humor and tenderness in equal measure and adds a pair of characters who are far more right for each other than either of them could have guessed. The book grabbed me from the start, with Maddie’s whimsical letters to her nonexistent love… and when he turns up in the flesh determined to hold her to her “pledge”, I was hooked. I devoured the book in a single sitting.

Logan, the hero, is a wounded-hero type – emotionally, at least – wounded not only by the war but by… but that would be telling; you’ll have to find out for yourself. He paints himself as no gentleman, and certainly his insistence that Maddie follow through on her “promises” is hardly kind. But character is in intent as well as action, and Logan has good reasons for trying to secure Maddie’s hand and lands. He’s also surprisingly honorable in his dealings with Maddie. One of my favorite aspects of the book is how Maddie recognizes all the ways in which the man tugs at her heartstrings – which also means all the ways Dare is tugging at the reader’s heartstrings – and falls in love with him anyway, just as I did with the book. Well done, Ms. Dare! It’s quite a feat to point out the tropes and cliches you’re using and still have them work effectively.

As for Maddie, I adore her. She’s the ultimate introvert; in fact, she clearly has pretty severe social anxiety, which makes her panicked invention of an imaginary betrothal very believable. It’s sweet, funny, and at the same time almost painful to watch her lies balloon and grow until the only way she can escape it is to kill her “fiance” off. And her dismay when Logan actually turns up, in the flesh and insisting on marriage, had me laughing and sympathizing in equal measure. Maddie has a lot more courage than she thinks she does, though, and demonstrates it time and again. Her decision at the end of the book made me want to cheer.

Then there’s Maddie’s aunt, an eccentric and utterly delightful middle-aged woman with a mind of her own and the freedom to be a little outrageous. Enjoy her, but don’t sample any of her medicines if you know what’s good for you!

There are a number of improbable events in the book, but Dare makes it easy to accept them within the story, even as you recognize how unlikely they are. And if you don’t giggle about the lobsters at least once, you have no sense of humor whatever. But I guarantee you’ll also tear up at least once – though perhaps not over the lobsters.

If you love historical romance and you haven’t read any Tessa Dare yet, you really should. You can jump in here if you like. When a Scot Ties the Knot is the third in the Castles Ever After series, but I had no problem reading it as a standalong. And if you like this series, check out her Spindle Cove series; if you can swallow the initial premise, they are delicious. Which can really be said about any of Dare’s books, to be honest.

4.5 stars

FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

REVIEW ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED on The Bookwyrm’s Hoard blog: http://bookwyrmshoard.com

Lies, lies and more lies compound this farce that is endearing, funny, charming and will lift your spirits. Anyone who has ever told a lie and had it backfire will enjoy reading how far Maddie dug her hole and how she resolves her dilemma. This was a most unusual story line. It was cute, the hero larger than life as only a Highlander can be; the heroine a mixture of naiveté sprinkled with spunk as only a spinster can who gets caught in a decade of lies. Anyone who suffers a social phobia, social anxiety disorder or panic attacks, will relate to Maddie’s aversion to being in society, social settings and large crowds.

Madeline Eloise Gracechurch [Maddie] was 16, her father newly married, and his new wife, Maddie refused to call her step-mother, was looking forward to helping Maddie with her first season in London. She had been sent to Brighton while they were on their honeymoon. When they returned and Maddie faced the unthinkable first season, inspiration struck and she informed her family she already was betrothed to army Capitan Logan MacKenzie, whom she’d met while at Brighton. Thus Maddie continued the lie as she wrote nonsense letters to the fictitious lover. They are a hoot. After all, you cannot be betrothed and not write letters.

Years later, Maddie learned her godfather the Earl of Lynforth had bequeathed her a castle in the Scottish Highlands in honor of her betrothed who was a Scottish Highlander. Maddie, after five years, wrote a final letter to her beloved Capitan Logan MacKenzie telling him she was sorry but he had to die. She mourned him in black for the appropriate time period and then wore half-mourning gray from then on. It was easier on the wardrobe and she liked gray. Maddie and her Aunt Thea moved to Lannair Castle and made it into a home. She would never marry and she was happy.

After a decade Maddie, who is now an illustrator of scientific journals and books, receives a caller at the castle that will change her life. A very REAL Capitan Logan MacKenzie dressed in full kilted military uniform and in possession of all her letters along with a small troupe of soldiers, wounded in body, heart and soul, displaced by the war. His intent, marry Maddie, occupy the castle and the land, thus giving his men a place to live and retire. I’ll not spoil the fun of their getting to know each other and you know the end result…or do you? Enjoy.

It has been so long since I have read a Historical Romance novel. They were my first books, my first loves and then like many first loves- I moved on. Not to bigger or better loves just different loves. That is until I saw the blurb for this one and thought hmm... maybe I should go back to my first love again. Boy am I glad I did.

Madeline really did not want a season, she really did not want to come out, she really did not want to go to parties. One day under pressure to like all things related to the upcoming season, Madeline kinda-accidently says out loud that she didn’t need one…because she already met someone. A love captain in the army, who loves her and asked her to marry him. She wrote to him every month. This captain protected her for years five from the pressure of a season- and then she promptly kills him. Why not he is imaginary? Once he is died she goes into mourning for another five years. Putting her promptly on the shelf, and since she had a castle she didn’t need a man in her life. She was content to live out her life as a spinster. Until he shows up- the Captain shows up at her castle.

Maddie is adorable. She takes her career as an illustrator of nature serious. Often locked in her tower of a workshop drawing away. She is tender-hearted her spinster Aunt Thea lives with her. Sure, she would like a family of her own but has resigned herself to spinsterhood. She knows her limitations- crowds, people just aren’t her thing. She knows that making up an intended is wrong but honestly, he isn’t real so the only person that it hurts is her.

Captain Logan though is real- and he has a lot of responsibilities. He promised his men that he would see them home safely back to the Highlands. When they got here though things weren’t safe, families were torn apart, loves lost. He has honor though, a man of his word- he will protect his men the only way that he can. He knows he is in the wrong with making Maddie follow through with all the things she promised in her letters to a made-up love. Those letters though, they had a greater impact on him than Maddie knows.

I love how Captain Logan is determined to protect his men. I love how his protectiveness will extend to Aunt Thea and Maddie. He is a man burdened in more ways than one. I like how he manipulates Maddie into marriage- yes, manipulates her. What is good for the goose is good for the gander. I like how he seduces her, without trying- because he knows her. Five years of her inner most thoughts will do that to a person. I like even more his reaction to his untimely death, wowziers.

I loved this love story. Captain Logan is perfect for Maddie and Maddie is perfect for him. They may fight it, keeping secrets from each other but dang is the chemistry H-O-T-T. If you want to be taken away to a land where the men sweep you off of your feet this is the book for you.

I love stories with heroines that are more introverted, yet not a pushover, and Madeline Gracechurch is just that, a bookworm with a penchant for seashell collecting and an aversion to ‘all things expected’ for a woman of her class. With a stepmother bent on her marriage to an ‘appropriate man’, Maddie creates a fiction. She is in love, with a Scotsman, a Captain in the service, currently off doing his duty, and then in a moment of inspired desperation, gives him a name.

Bequeathed property in Scotland, Maddie has quietly managed a ‘correspondence’ with said figment, until tragically, he is killed in battle. Now free to live her life away from meddlesome family, she spends her days as she chooses, unaware of just how her story of convenience had played out. Unfortunately, for Maddie, her letters to a ‘pretend beaux’ were finding a home with the actual Captain Logan McKenzie. The twists and humor with which Dare employed to present the backdrop for our couple to meet is perfectly paced, laden with humor, and gives a solid insight into the dreams that Maddie may hold, but rarely speak aloud.

A rather bemused, yet determined Scotsman, one Logan McKenzie appears at Maddie’s door, clad in uniform and kilt, and she is, for lack of a better word, gobsmacked. This scene was so well-timed and plotted that you could practically hear Maddie’s wheels spinning away in her brain as she tried to come to terms with the situation. Oh Logan had his own plans, and while I’m not thrilled with his strong arm tactics, he can’t be angry for long with the quietly intelligent woman, and their relationship blossomed as they shared their insecurities, their innate sense of honor, and the obvious attraction took them toward a happy ending.

Strong characters with issues to face and overcome, humor, a lovely setting and attraction that jumps off the pages, both Logan and Maddie grew in themselves and together, keeping me engaged and intrigued throughout. With a touch of suspense before the end that worked on every nerve, Dare gave a will or won’t they moment some added oomph before the end. Capping off the story with a sweet treat of an epilogue, the story was a winner from beginning to end. I can’t wait to dive into more in this series and from this author – a new must read for me.

I received a paperback copy from the publisher via Avon Addicts for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I read the first book in Stub Club series and enjoyed the characters and thought the mystery surrounding the founding stud club member's death to be interesting and a good beginning to this series. Three Nights with a Scoundrel is the conclusion to this trilogy and I have to say I was fully prepared to give this book a very high rating based on the romance between the leads but when I got to the final chapters dealing with the whodunit of this series I was very disappointed.

Firstly I truly did enjoy the main characters of this story, Lily and Julian; they were both unique and passionate people. Lily's brother, Leo, was the founding member of the stud club comprised of a group of men who had ownership in a spectacular racing horse. Leo was beaten to death and his best friend Julian is devastated by the news, he carries a ton of guilt as he believes if he had been with Leo the night he died he might have prevented the beating and he also believes Leo was not the murderer's intended target by Julian, himself.

Lily is a kind gentle woman who happens to be deaf. I had forgotten about her hearing loss at first because she reads lips so well and the author does not put her into situations initially where her lip reading is difficult due to darkness etc. Lily discovers that Julian is constantly out all night at blood sport venues trying to find Leo's killers, putting himself in all kinds of dangerous situations. She is genuinely concerned for him, so much so that she agrees to look for a husband if he accompanies her to at least three nightly events, hence the title of the book.

Julian agrees to this plan but it is difficult for him, he truly wants to find Leo's killers and wonders if he will be the next victim and also he has been in love with Lily since the moment he met her years ago. Julian is complex and his past and present lives are full of secrets, which Lily could not even guess. Julian is dazzling; a favorite of the ton which is a surprise as he has no title but to say he comes from humble beginnings is putting it mildly.

These two have a lovely, lovely romance. Lily is certain of her feelings and unlike so many romance heroines she does not lie to herself or Julian about her desires and her emotions. This was so refreshing and what's more Julian is a romantic and this comes across in so many ways, he remembers everything about their first meeting, he is passionate and protective, perhaps a little too protective as he feels he is a target and Lily is endangered just being around him.

Much of this couple's angst comes from Julian's wounded soul, he feels he will never be good enough for Lily and he is driven to find Leo's killers. Lily has set the past behind her and is frustrated that Leo is unable to do so, especially when it comes to Leo's murder.

*Spoilers* Let me transition here to the end of this novel; Leo's murder was anticlimactic and the circumstances surrounding his death had characters acting, well out of character. Firstly a man, Faraday who I did not have a lot of background on,(I have not read book 2 of this series) has such a small part of the story that it is shocking the huge role he plays at the end regarding Leo's death. So basically Julian had just been wasting his time and money searching for the killers. Also I have a really really hard time believing that Leo, who hid his sexual orientation from almost everyone (even his best friend)would risk exposure to the ton and Faraday's enemies by openly trysting with Faraday on a public street. I could not imagine Faraday, a successful trained operative, would jeopardize his cover or risk blackmail by being open in his affections for Leo publicly. Finally I was surprised that Lily who was so worried about Julian's safety did not tell him about her brother's sexual orientation. Lily felt like this was not relevant but in fact it was totally relevant in Leo's death.

Overall this book has a charming couple, they have very romantic dialogue and sweet gestures. Their story was intense and Lily was a brave heroine but the final act of the murder mystery which started off this entire series was as deflated as a fallen soufflé.

"This is such a fun story filled with Tessa Dares signature humor and romance!"

When a Scott Ties the Knot is the third book in the Castles ever after series by Tessa Dare and is one of the best books in the series (ties with Say Yes to the Marquess) Well, let's just say the the Scott in question is really hot - and the story itself is unique. What I really love about Dare's book is that it incorporated a touch of humor in the romance, which I think makes for a super fun read.

When a Scott is about social awkward Miss Madeline Gracechurch who inherited a Scottish castle from her godfather. This came about when Maddie, trying to avoid the season, uttered a white lie about having a sweetheart, a Captain MacKenzie who was in war so she wouldn't have to produce said fiance. She also started writing - and mailing- letters to aid fictitious fiance for years until she inherited the Scottish castle. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for her, the IS a Captain MacKenzie and he DID receive her letters, and now he IS at Maddie's door practically blackmailing her into marriage.

What I loved:

The plot. I enjoyed reading about Maddie and Logan. The story was fast paced and very, very entertaining. It was well written and thought out and I honestly haven't read a book quite like this one.

The characters. I loved Maddie and Logan. Maddie was a bluestocking and was also socially awkward and hated to be in public. She wasn't a wallflower per se because she never had a season due to her lie about having a sweetheart. I found her endearing and very relatable. Logan. on the other had started out as an ass. I didn't warm up to him right away because of the way he handled the blackmailing and how he treated Maddie. Of course, he redeemed himself a few chapters later and I loved reading a little about his back story.

Supporting characters. There was a few interesting characters that I really loved. Logan's men, the ones who were wounded in some form and didn't have any family left in Scotland, made up his rag tag crew were awesome. I had a soft heart for all of them. Maddie's notorious aunt was also a character and I wonder how she was when she was younger!

Setting. The whole book happened in a castle in Scotland, away from London which is a relief.

What I did not like:
Logan. Okay, so I did like him in the end but he was just an ass when I first met him. I did not warm up to him immediately and even if he did have reasons to why he did what he did, I was just pissed.

Slow start. I know I said that the book was fast paced but it started a little slow for me. It picked up right away after the first 3 chapters so I was okay with that and I was able to breeze right through it and read it in one sitting.

The cover:
The cover is just gorgeous! I love the greens and the hint of mischief in both the hero/heroine's expressions which I thought fit the whole tone of the book.

Recommendations:
If you haven't already, I suggest reading the first two books in the series: Romancing the Duke (book 1), Say Yes to the Marquess (book 2).

I received this book for free from the Publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From the very beginning, this book is lots of fun. As we get deeper into the book it gets a little more emotional and the amusement factor lowers slightly as we get deeper into the heart of the matter. This book more closely mirrored my enjoyment of the first in this series, which made me very happy. I loved that Logan was a bit of an overbearing jerk. It made it so satisfying when Maddie’s prediction about his squishy heart proved accurate. And I adored that Madeline was so quirky and awkward. That made it very easy for me to identify with her. I would have loved to see a bigger epilog, but I loved it nonetheless.

Miss Madeline Gracechurch has always been a shy, retiring girl who would prefer to sketch anything and everything all day. She has never learned to dance and eschews social events. So, as a young lady of fifteen vacationing in Bath, she decided to make up a suitor. She named him Captain MacKenzie from Scotland. Her story is she met him in Bath, they fell in love and he headed to war. She has written many letters to him and mailed them thinking they would end up somewhere in a black hole. This idea has been wonderful for her because with this suitor, she does not have to attend the functions that she dislikes and is allowed to draw all day and write letters to the imaginary Captain. After some years have passed, Madeline decides to get rid of the Captain saying he was killed in the war. She even goes as far as to wear mourning for him. When she “graduates” to the gray color of mourning, she and her aunt move to a castle in Scotland left to her by a relative.

Life in Scotland for Madeline is wonderful. She gets to draw lots of insects and other animals all day and is content. So, when a tall, handsome Scot comes to call and introduces himself as Captain MacKenzie, she is taken aback. Oh, good grief, what is she to do now? He has her letters and tells her he is there to marry her as outlined in the letters and the marriage needs to take place immediately.

Captain MacKenzie has enjoyed the letters he has received all these years and they have been a lifeline for keeping him alive. He has brought several of his men with him and they want to settle right in the area near the castle.

What is Madeline going to do now? Her perfect world has come crashing down. How does she get rid of this man and get her letters back too so he can have no proof of her deception?

This was a cute novel and I enjoyed it very much. My only complaint was that I felt the “catch me if you can” was a bit long, drawn out, and repetitious.

5 “MacWhimsy” Stars

THIS is why I love reading. When A Scot Ties the Knot will proudly sit on my favorites shelf. Both funny and endearing, this sweet story had me laughing out loud, enraptured in the sexual tension and smiling at the attempts not to fall in love all the while rooting for Logan and Maddie to find their happily ever after.

Set in the time period after the Scot’s lost the Highlands to the English, Miss Madeline “Maddie” Gracechurch is a young girl who has no desire to be presented for marriage and doesn't want to marry for anything other than love. So this quiet and shy artist comes up with a way to keep her family from making her marry. She invents the love of her life. To keep the charade going she writes to a completely fictitious Highlander Captain Logan MacKenzie. For years she keeps up the facade of being in love with man fighting on the battlefront. As time moves on she starts to fall a little in love with this made up man and even starts to miss him. Eventually feeling the shame of lying to everyone for so long (and being old enough to be off the marriage mart) she sadly informs everyone that her beloved died in battle. But 10 years after making up her Scotland sweetheart, Captain Logan MacKenzie shows up on her doorstep.

Logan MacKenzie received all the letters that Maddie sent over the years. Even though he was make believe in her mind, such a man really existed. After so many years of receiving her letters only to have her kill him off, he returns from battle determined to take everything she offered her make believe lover. He wants a place in the Scottish Highlands to settle and he’ll take it from Maddie. But what starts as an attempt to find a home, begins a love affair neither saw coming.

I loved everything about this book. It was different that your normal Highlander book because of the setting which I appreciated. The history buff in me loved that I got to see the Highlander perspective from after the Highlands were taken but with the same brutish Highland characteristics still intact. Speaking of the brutish Highlander, he was absolutely dreamy. The perfect Highlander. Hard yet soft underneath. He had “squish” as Maddie called it and I loved his vulnerabilities. He’s strong alpha personality was delightful and I loved watching him watch over Maddie. He came to Maddie for one thing but ended up with so much more.

Maddie was my favorite kind of heroine. Strong and sassy but not overbearing. She didn’t let people take from her but she gave without thought. Her letters were absolutely hilarious and her poetry even better. It was a genius storyline and an excellent way to start the story and it hooked me from the first letter. She didn’t settle for anything less than the best and even when she was hurt, she fought for what she wanted and helped Logan see what he was too scared to see himself.

I also loved the sexy times between Logan and Maddie. Logan may have forced Maddie’s hand in marriage, but I was giddy over the fact that Maddie kept Logan from consummating the marriage until it was on her terms. This created sexual tension through the roof and made the foreplay that much more scrumptious. For the time period, their actions before actually “doing the deed” were scandalis (and pretty funny at times) but left me salivating for more.

With a unique storyline, a to die for Scottish hero and a sassy yet determined heroine, this book is a perfect example of a well written, ingenious look at finding your soulmate.

ARC provided A is for Alpha B is for Books for honest review.

Disclosure: I received this ARC via Edelweiss. Thank you to Avon and Tessa Dare for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.

* * *

Fellow readers, has this happened to you? You receive an advance reader copy of one of your most anticipated books of the year, and it's like winning the lottery. Then you drop everything and read it -- and finish reading it in one sitting, because ... it's that good. Then, when it's time to sit down and write down a review on it, you can't figure out what to say, because your brain (and heart) are still recovering from the experience of reading one of the best things you've read for the year?

I read this about two weeks ago -- and I'm still trying to find the words to express just how amazing I thought this book was.

To say that Madeline Gracechurch is painfully shy is an understatement, because she actually suffers from panic attacks whenever she is in a crowded place, but it is time for Madeline to marry, and she doesn't want to, so she cleverly comes up with a plan (and a pretend boyfriend along with the plan) -- it's a clever plan for Madeline, who is allowed to sit out dances and generally stay at home to pine for her Scottish love, who is away at war. It's a set-up that works well for Madeline, except that the war has ended and everyone expects her to bring home her mysterious Scottish beau.

I love how Tessa Dare plays on the theme of wish fulfilment in this story: Madeline invented and started writing to Logan MacKenzie as a lark -- even her early letters show just how lightly she was taking the matter. But, as the years passed, Madeline started to take the letters seriously -- like a diary or a message in a bottle, she poured out all her hopes, dreams, and happiness into these letters to an imagined person.

Call it coincidence or call it destiny, but Logan Mackenzie actually happened to be actual person, and the real Logan MacKenzie is everything Madeline Gracechurch imagined him to be: he's Scottish, and a captain -- except he isn't dead, which Madeline said he was. Now he has returned home from war, and has sought out the mysterious young lady who had sent him all those letters.

"That's simple. I want what your letters said. What you've been telling your family for years. I'm Captain Logan MacKenzie. I received every last one of your missives, and despite your best attempts to kill me, I am versa much alive."
- loc 486

Logan also has a wish he needs to fulfill, and he needs Madeline in order to achieve it. It isn't his dream, though -- it's his dream for his men, who have returned home from war only to find themselves disenfranchised, landless, homeless, and without family. It's quite heartbreaking to see how these soldiers, who have done an amazing service to their King and country, be betrayed by it. Logan wants to make their dreams come true, and he's willing to sacrifice himself at the altar of marriage for the sake of his men.

..."What burden do you have?"

"The burden of duty." His voice lowered to an intense whisper. "I led those men into battle. When they were weary and chilled and sick with fear, I pushed them on. I promised they'd see the day when they'd come home to their wives, their sweethearts, their bairns, their lands. Instead, they came home to nothing."
- loc 899 - 917

Tessa Dare often writes about quirky heroines -- those who don't quite fit the mold, those who don't quite fit in -- and she often celebrates the uniqueness and idiosyncrasies of these characters. Madeline is a dreamer, and a very talented artist. Logan is a pragmatist and realist. There's a wonderful opposites-attract chemistry in the encounters of these two people, but there's also an element of sadness that informs their current state of being when their backstories are revealed.

"Once you marry me, none of it is a lie," he pointed out. "It will be exactly as though you've told the truth all these years."

"Except for the part where we love each other."

He shrugged. "That's a minor detail. Love is just a lie people tell themselves."
- loc 715 to 732

One of Tessa Dare's gifts is how she is able to create characters that are charming and endearing -- and it isn't in a cute or contrived way -- there's a depth and dimension to them. I could not help by fall in love with Logan's men -- and I understand why Logan would do anything to give everything back to his men. As with the other instalments in the series, the castle that Madeline inherited represents a fairy tale -- and the promise of a happily-ever-after for Logan and his men. The castle solves Logan's problems, but it's actually part of Madeline's obstacle, which is more complicated. She inherited the castle from her godfather who felt sorry for her when she reported the "death" of Logan. Madeline is burdened with the guilt of the lies she has told -- and she has a difficult choice to make: she either rebuffs Logan, confess the grand lie she made to her family, and return home -- but that would mean giving up her castle, and her independence.

Or she could stay with Logan and face the uncertain future with him.

I liked how Tessa Dare plays on the concept of a self-fulfilling prophecy -- but, at the same time, she leaves enough mystery in the story to give it that magical, once-in-a-lifetime appeal. There is a bit of romance and fantasy involved in imagining the likelihood of:
a. Discovering that the person you imagined/created turned out to be real
b. Meeting that person face-to-face
c. Falling in love with that person

The odds are outstanding -- but, not impossible -- and I think this is Tessa Dare's point: there are some moments of despair in this book, but there are even more moments of unwavering, unshakeable hopefulness.

I gave When a Scot Ties the Knot 4.5 Stars.

I have a severe weakness for marriage-of-convenience stories. It’s one of my favorite tropes in any kind of romance, and I can’t resist a book with even a flavor of it. Arranged, convenient, or even blackmailed marriage, such as this one. So yes. I was definitely interested in reading this book. Add to all this that the heroine had invented a Scottish beau in order to escape a London season, and a man with that named just happened to be real. I was most definitely hooked, and was happy that I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book from the publisher.

The heroine, Maddie, was really interesting. She was all my favorite things. A book lover who was not only imaginative, but also smart. I can never get enough of those types of female leads. It helped that Maddie was also a genuinely nice person. Plus, she had a debilitating fear of crowds, and it made her sympathetic. All this is to say, I was a big Maddie fan.

The hero, Logan, took me a bit longer to like. At first, I was convinced he was selfish. He wanted Maddie’s land, and would even stoop to blackmail to get it. However, he didn’t want it for himself. Instead, he wanted it for all of his men, in order to give them a home. Plus, Logan was a big reader, and in my opinion, we need more heroes in romance who are readers.

The relationship between Maddie and Logan was an interesting one. The story was all about Maddie having invented this Scottish sweetheart with the name Captain Logan MacKenzie, and then discovering that there actually WAS a Captain Logan MacKenzie. The romance took a bit to get going because of the blackmail issue, but once it did? I was all in. Maddie needed someone who would accept her brains and the fact that she had goals outside of marriage, and Logan just wanted a home for his men. Obviously, his goals in life began to change though, since he ended up really wanting Maddie for his wife. The thing I loved about these two together was that they always talked things out, even feelings. Too often, people are scared to reveal deep feelings like fear. This was not the case here, and I truly loved the fact that Logan and Maddie were so up-front with everything.

In the end, this is one of my favorite books of the year. I read it in practically one sitting, and when I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about this novel. Logan and Maddie were really great characters, and the plot never bored me. The only thing I have negative to say is that Maddie’s fear of crowds was never really solved, but that’s a minor issue. I highly, highly recommend this book to historical romance lovers. There was romance, a great set of main characters, and because it’s by Tessa Dare, there was just the right amount of humor. If you haven’t started the Castles Ever After series, go remedy that. It just gets better with each book. ~ Brianna

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.*

I have yet to read a book by Ms. Dare that I have not loved, and I think I have read them all. This is another wonderful historical, with interesting characters that charm you from the beginning. The heroine is saucy and independent and the hero is reluctant and sexy, I had a hard time putting it down.

Maddie Gracechurch is a shy young artist who does not like to be noticed, in fact she is downright petrified whenever she stands in a crow, is overwhelmed by others or the center of attention. So in order to avoid this Season and any Season in the future, she invents the man of her dreams, Captain Logan MacKenzie who will always be away and never come to visit.

Little does she know that the letters she has been sending over the ten years she pined away for him were being received by a man, a Captain in the army. But then she kills him off and he is pissed and uses the knowledge to gain what he wants most in life, a place for him and his men to live and thrive. When he arrives at Lannair Castle, the place she inherits from her uncle, she is surprised and puzzled about whom he is and what he wants because the man she invented all those years ago does not exist, right?

I love this series; featuring young women who inherit castles, where they can live independent lives without fear that the world will take it away from them.

Maddie is adorable, a strong willed woman who on the outside seems scared of her shadow but actually knows what she wants and goes about securing it, albeit with lies that last for years. I love her letters to her Captain, the way she addresses them and what she writes had me laughing each time. She created the perfect man, and then she kills him before moving to the wilds of Scotland. She had it made and could live out her life drawing illustrations for books and not having to suffer paralyzing fear of being around crowds. Unfortunately her dead Captain is alive and well.

Logan is not your typical hero, he has no qualms about going after what he wants and he believes Maddie owes him and he is willing to blackmail her into what he needs if necessary. On the surface he is this harden man who survives years in the military yet underneath he is squishy, as Maddie would say. He will do anything to help his men, the ones he promised to bring home only to find many of them did not have homes to come back to. He is also guarding his heart and other than gaining the land through marriage, he does not want anything to do with Maddie, until he realizes how much he cares.

The two are attracted to each other but they want different things. She wants to live independently, away from crowds and he wants salvation for his men. However deep down she does miss her family and the lies she has harbored for years have weighed her down and his proposal does bring freedom for her. The romance is slow to build, the divide between them is large and they must overcome many obstacles including whether they are truly married or not, and that in itself had some hilarious moments.

Secondary characters play pivotal roles, Aunt Thea is a kick and I enjoyed her in each scene. I also liked Logan’s men, they all had sad stories to tell but were building new lives and were important to him. This is the third book in the series but can easily be read as a standalone. As always the book ended too soon and I will be patiently (maybe) waiting for more from Ms. Dare. I highly recommend this wonderful historical filled with humor, heart and romance.

Review also posted at Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind

Copy from the publisher for an honest review

Written by Tash
Originally posted on confessionsfromromaholics dot com
Copy provided kindly by Publisher for review

This may be the third book in the series but it definitely a standalone as Dare takes as back to the highlands with her latest book in the Castles Ever After with When A Scot Ties a Knot. The moment I picked up this book, I knew that I wouldn’t get any sleep until I finished this book as the whole idea of this book is entertaining to say the least.
Our heroine Maddie isn’t exactly the most outgoing person and I love how the author never compromised on her. Loosing her a mother at a young age had affect on her and it was obvious whilst her step-mother was trying to do the right thing Maddie couldn’t handle it. So to create a man out of thin air and pretend that she engaged was a moment of desperation and her family went along with it. As she was sending and receiving letters and he was busy fitting in the war. There was nothing suspicious to question it.
He was exactly the sort of a man she was supposed to marry and she made him so. Captain Logan McKenzie was a only supposed to be a figment of her imagination , nothing more and when she killed him off as a casualty of war . Problem solved and she was free to spend the right of her days at the castle her godfather gave her with her Aunt . Free to do her illustrations until her imagination comes true, ten years later after she started to write the letters.
Logan McKenzie is a proud born and bred Scot is coming home to claim his wife. What started of seemly harmless joke has become important to him. He needs to find a home for his men and he intends to claim back the castle from England which means marry Maddie. A honourable man , he doesn’t care if the letter meant otherwise, he wants to find himself a home and look after his men.
A wife is added bonus, he knows the truth of her harebrained scheme and whilst she might be English , McKenzie can’t help fall for this woman who was only trying to help herself. She may of caused a bit of stir over the years but he determined to win for himself. It does help he is a fine specimen of Scottish Highlander.

I can’t remember the last time I read a historical with older heroine who is ahead of her times as well. I love that she was working as an illustrator and determined to keep her interest in nature forefront of her mind. The author does well twist this organically in the story and gives us a romping historical novel that won’t disappoint. With endearing secondary characters, interesting plot and of course a swoony romance . Dare’s latest book is one not to miss

5 couples

Madeline Gracechurch is unusual, funny and awkward as hell. She hates society events and loathes being in crowds. The London marriage market with society balls is her idea of hell. She doesn't want to be a debutant and tries to buy herself more time by inventing a sweetheart. Her make-believe fiancee is Scottish soldier, Captain Logan Mackenzie. To keep up the scheme and avoid being forced to Ton events, Maddie writes letters to her fictitious beau. She eventually kills him off and is left to mourn in peace. Unfortunately years later the real Captain Logan Mackenzie aka the man who has been receiving her letters for years, arrives to claim his bride and her inheritance.

I did take me a while to get into Maddie's and Logan's story but once events progressed I found myself engrossed in their love story. I laughed along at Maddie's many hilarious mishaps and appreciated her antics with the lobsters (yes lobsters). I really wanted her to work through her social anxiety and standup for herself without the need of a fake fiancee.

I expected to be annoyed by Logan's heavy-handedness - he does basically force Maddie to marry him, but I actually ended up supporting his cause. I wanted them to find a HEA. I appreciated his dedication to his men, and his dream of a better future for Scots in an English ruled Scotland. Some of my favourite times were when he visited a reluctant Maddie and was promptly dismissed or turned away when he clearly wanted to stay.

There are some great secondary characters including Logan's soldier buddies and Maddie's meddling aunt. Logan has an easier time identifying with his men than he does with others. He often feels undeserving of Maddie and has to learn how to trust and love somebody.

I received a review copy.

I have to say this was one of the cutest historical romances that I have read! I absolutely loved the premise of a shy and quite young girl creating a handsome suitor to get out of being presented in society and attending balls. In a lot of ways I could relate to the main character Maddie, I mean who hasn't thought about making up a boyfriend to get people off their backs about dating. I think a lot of us have! Maddie was just hilarious and I loved how she managed to keep getting herself into these slightly ridiculous situations.
Then there is Logan... aah Logan I really loved him as the male character. I was charming and strong, and I loved his loyalty towards his men and giving them a happy ending.
The only thing that did annoy me a little bit in this book was the way these two characters just kept fighting what they were feeling and literally coming up with every excuse in the book why they couldn't be together. I understood this in the first part of the book but as the story evolved I started thinking "come on already!". I just feel like the story would have been just as enjoyable if they had accepted their feelings a bit sooner.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will be adding Tessa Dare to my list of historical romance authors.

Tessa Dare gave me my first taste of the awesomeness that is historical romance, so she and her books will always hold a special place in my heart. I absolutely adored the first two books in the Castles Ever After series – Romancing the Duke and Say Yes to the Marquess. It was actually because of THIS BOOK that I decided to give historical romance a try at all, though. (Thank you Edelweiss and Avon Books.) I was intrigued by the blurb (and the cover) and didn't want to read the series out of order, so I snagged the first two books from the store. I'm so glad I did, too. Tessa's books are lighthearted, romantic, sexy as can be and funny. They're such a joy to read.

When a Scot Ties the Knot drew me in from the very first page with the letters to the (then) fictional Captain MacKenzie. I loved Maddie's voice and her humor. The letters were the perfect way to set the stage for a wonderful story. When the real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives, I knew Maggie had met her match. I loved their banter and their more serious moments. The sexy times were hot and swoony. Maggie and Logan were golden together. I enjoyed reading as they got to know each other, faced down issues from their own pasts and forged ahead, together.

I read When a Scot Ties the Knot in one sitting and quickly added to to my list of books to reread sometime soon. Since it's available in audio, I think I'll do it that way. It could be a fun audiobook. No matter how I decide to go about it, I'm sure this will be a book I read over and over again going forward. It was just that much fun to read the first time.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since my foray into historical romance a few months ago I've been super excited to discover new to me authors and check out all the different historical romance novels that are out there. Well, as soon as I read the blurb for When a Scot Ties the Knot I knew I had to get my grabby hands on this baby and Tessa Dare did not disappoint.

When Maddie was sixteen and about to enter her first season she told a little lie that pretty much set her fate. Shy, awkward, and horrible around crowds, she figured a sweetheart would be the perfect opportunity to avoid it all and it worked like a charm... Until her supposed dead sweetheart shows up to claim what's his.

I fell in love with Maddie in the prologue and couldn't wait to meet Logan and see how everything would work out. Of course, like most Scottish Highlanders, Logan comes off as a bit of an jerk in the beginning but once he started opening up I fell in love. And the reasons behind his gruff demeanor? Totally heartbreaking!

So why not five stars? Well, while When a Scot Ties the Knot was super cute, had me swooning one minute and laughing out loud the next, and definitely left me with a smile on my face in the end, I was just hoping for a little more. Logan and Maddie spent most of the book fighting their feelings for each other, and while the tender moments were great, I was hoping for more couple time overall.

Overall though, I loved When a Scot Ties the Knot and I can't wait to check out other books by Tessa Dare in the future... Especially if she gives the rest of Logan's men HEA's of their own!

*ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” When Madeline Gracechurch weaves her own web of deceit, she never thought it would entangle her life and heart with Logan MacKenzie. For one thing, the handsome Scottish highlander officer was a figment of her imagination. She never thought when she concocted her outrageous lie, that the lie would determine the rest of her life…for better and worse.

Madeline is a strong, intelligent woman, but she’s painfully shy, and has a problem with being in crowds. So at sixteen, when she is expected to start attending social gatherings and meeting that special man that will become her husband, Madeline starts to spin her web of lies. And for years it works, and she’s a happy, independent woman, living her life without a man, and she doesn't have to attend social gatherings that cause her to have anxiety attacks. But Madeline is twenty-six now, and all her lies of deceit are about to entangle her with the handsome, six-foot Scottish highlander Captain that has come to claim his bride. Who is none other than Logan's little deceiver, Madeline.

I love Madeline and Logan. Their never-meant-to-be love of deceit becomes their love that's meant to be. And the web of lies that has tangled their hearts together is a beautiful, heart-touching romance. Also full of banter and humor. I laughed and cried for these two lonely people who are meant to find each other and have a happily ever after.

I highly recommend When A Scott Ties The Knot as a sexy, funny, beautiful historical romance that will have you wanting your own tangled web of love with a Scott.

I'm one of those strange people that always starts looking for a new book by reading the 1 star reviews. Have to say I pretty much dis-agree with all of them given for this book. (let me point out, it's all a matter of OPINION!) Yes, the heroine was quirky, but I happen to love quirky heroines. Maddie was true to herself (except the 1 big lie), knew all her own faults and readily admitted them, even to the hero! Logan was described perfectly by Maddie, "lobster like" with a hard shell and squishy. Watching them get to know each other and the witty banter they tossed back and forth was part of their personalities. All the McSquishy type comments and such, I trade with my own husband so I could relate easily to this story. I even loved all the current mannerism's and talk they both displayed. Pretty sure we wouldn't be able to understand historical talk if she wrote it that way! I was especially enamored with the way Logan treated his men and the way Maddie took them in as her own. Maddie's aunt is throw into the mix making the book perfect. I truly enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down from start to finish!
Patti Wissore

I'd say it's fully official: I love historical romance. And thus far, Tessa Dare is my favorite. While the books in this series are wholly fun, they're also wonderful in that the heroines are so self reliant and headstrong.

Maddie is no different. But she's also desperately awkward around others, unable to be part of a crowd. In an attempt to avoid the season, she invented a fiancee, Scottish Captain Logan MacKenzie, a lie that spiraled out of her control but also spared her. She's lived with the guilt of lying to everyone she loves for years but she's been given a life that suits her. A real Captain Logan MacKenzie showing up in her life--definitely not dead--certainly throws a wrench in her plans.

But from the first moment, Maddie and Logan are simply wonderful together. Their relationship quickly proves itself to be compatible, even as they argue and work against one another. It's too charming and it's too fun, all the way through.

Truthfully, I don't have much to say, aside from how wonderful this book is. Tessa Dare is who got me started and this series never failed me. Even as the first two books are great, When a Scot Ties the Knot is probably the best. Just be prepared to grin like an idiot.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a whole lot of fun! It centers around a young woman who is so shy and anxious about going to social events that she panics and tells her family she has already met a man. She picks a name and rank out of thin air and tells her family he's off at war. Rather than coming clean about her lie, she begins to write this imaginary man letters. Eventually, she decides it's in her best interest to kill him off so she writes him a goodbye letter and goes into mourning. One day the man she invented turns up alive and well and ready to tie the knot. She has a decision to make- tell the truth or marry the stranger who received all her letters.

I thought the premise of this book was really cute. I found myself smiling and even laughing at times. The characters are truly wonderful. I particularly liked Logan's soldiers and the kooky aunt. I liked how Madeline's anxiety was portrayed as a true obstacle. This character dealt with a very real condition and it made me really believe that she would go to such great lengths to avoid social events.

I haven't read the other books in this series yet, but this one was fantastic and it makes me want to go back and read them. :)

Oh be still my heart! Absolutely loved this book!! Definitely worth the wait – and wait and wait I did. As always Tessa Dare does not disappoint. I just love her. Love the way she writes. Her stories are always filled with charm, sass, humor, and of course wonderfully sweet romance. This book gave me all the feels. I’ve always been a sucker for the sexy Scotsman, and this hero having some issues made me swoon even more. I love it when the characters are not “normal” and especially not perfect. He was a captain of him army in the war and suffers some PTSD along with other past issues from childhood. The heroine was oh so adorable. She has severe social anxiety complete with panic attacks. Being painfully shy, it doesn’t stop her sass and wit from showing when with the right company ;). The side characters were great as well and also have their own problems. A few soldiers were missing limbs; one has a severe head injury causing his memory to reset each day. See, imperfect. I just loved everything about this book and it’s very unique storyline.

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare
Book Three of the Castles Ever After series
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: August 25, 2015
Rating: 5 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss

***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***

Summary (from Goodreads):

On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shyly pretty and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.

A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter … and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.

Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He’s wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters… and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep.

What I Liked:

Favorite. Historical. Romance. Yet. I've read quite a few enjoyable ones this year so far, and plenty of awesome ones last year and in past years, but this one takes the cake for favorite historical romance novel of 2015 (so far). It's the best of the Castles Ever After series. Tessa Dare's best book yet, perhaps. I don't want to over-hype this book for anyone excited to read it but GUYS. It is so good! Favorite SCOTTISH historical romance!

Maddie Gracechurch invented a Scottish fiancee in order to keep her family from marrying her off. She gets nervous around a lot of people, and doesn't want to participate in her first Season. So she invents Captain Logan Mackenzie, and over the years, she writes him letters. And then kills him off, because he's not real! Except, he is. A certain Captain Logan Mackenzie does exist (the name is a common Scottish one), and he has received every single one of her letters. He's arrived in her small home in Scotland (long story about how she got the land), and he wants his part in what he thinks he is owed - a fiancee, and a home in Scotland, as promised.

Ahhh. Happy sigh. I don't even know how to review this book. It was so wonderful! From the start, it was a fun book. The humor and wit in this book are so heartwarming and lovely. I couldn't stop smiling as I was reading. Dare has a way with writing, in which her writing is so fluid and effortless, with plenty of humor. Again, the wit and humor are spot-on, and so enjoyable!

I liked Maddie - she is a tiny bit awkward, shy around even a small number of people, a hard worker, introverted, determined. She illustrates bugs, and wants to keep illustrating, but a husband might not let her. She also observes two lobsters (Fluffy and... Rex? I've forgotten the male's name - though I think it's Rex), hoping to see how they mate and molt and whatnot. She's a nerd, a dedicated one at that, and I like her a lot.

Logan... gosh, there are no words. He is easily one of my favorite historical romance male protagonists. Scottish and sexy, he captivated me from the start. When he entered the story (for real, after all those years), I perked up. He's an intriguing guy, and I'm not just talking about him physically. Though he sounds like a hot, super tall, muscular, built specimen of a man with a killer Scottish accent... but he's also clever and witty, dedicated to his soldiers, and persistent. He never stops trying to get Maddie to marry him, consummate the marriage, get what he is after. And not in a malicious way! His reasons for wanting the holdings are noble, really.

The romance! Oh! I love how Dare develops the romance in this story. Logan is after Maddie from the start, not only because he wants to consummate the marriage and be the owner of the lands she lives on in Scotland, but also because he is intrigued by the girl who sent him so many letters. And he is very attracted to her. As she is attracted to him too! Maddie is intrigued by him, though she is also a wee bit intimidated by him. The two of them sizzle and spark as chemistry heats up between them. I absolutely love the development of the relationship, especially with the healthy dose of humor behind everything. So enjoyable!

I couldn't read enough of this story! I don't even know how long it is, I just know it wasn't long enough. In a good way, meaning I want more. While there is plenty of humor in this book, there are serious moments in which Logan and Maddie consider their relationship, their future, their friendships, their pasts. The truth comes out of them both in many different areas of their lives, both good and bad. There is "heavy stuff" in addition to all of the boisterous humor and sizzling chemistry!

Overall, I loved this book. It's earning a rare five stars from me, so of course I loved it! It's an all-time favorite historical romance novel for sure, and the best of this series. Romancing the Duke and Say Yes to the Marquess are both amazing! But definitely do NOT miss this one!

What I Did Not Like:

Nope, can't think of anything. La la la *rereads again* I actually have already reread this one, several times now.

Would I Recommend It:

Absolutely highly mostly definitely recommend this one! You need to read it! Even if you're not a big historical romance reader - if you like adult romance, then give this book a try! Tessa Dare is one of the best in the business, and you can't go wrong with any of her books, really. Her Spindle Cove series is quite good too. But THIS BOOK. *nudges everyone*

Rating:

5 stars. Guys. I begged for a review copy of this one from the publisher, and then threw my reading schedule and read this book way early (which is out of character for me). And then promptly reread this book several times, upon finishing the first time. Trust me when I say that YOU NEED THIS BOOK IN YOUR LIFE! Pardon the caps!

Update September 2015:
I can no longer justify rating this 4.5 stars. The negative point I talk about below is far too minor to count. Besides, I wanted to reread this novel immediately upon finishing it, and I still want to reread it now. So, 5 stars it is.

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.*

I have a severe weakness for marriage-of-convenience stories. It’s one of my favorite tropes in any kind of romance, and I can’t resist a book with even a flavor of it. Arranged, convenient, or even blackmailed marriage, such as this one. So yes. I was definitely interested in reading this book. Add to all this that the heroine had invented a Scottish beau in order to escape a London season, and a man with that named just happened to be real. I was most definitely hooked, and was happy that I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book from the publisher.

The heroine, Maddie, was really interesting. She was all my favorite things. A book lover who was not only imaginative, but also smart. I can never get enough of those types of female leads. It helped that Maddie was also a genuinely nice person. Plus, she had a debilitating fear of crowds, and it made her sympathetic. All this is to say, I was a big Maddie fan.

The hero, Logan, took me a bit longer to like. At first, I was convinced he was selfish. He wanted Maddie’s land, and would even stoop to blackmail to get it. However, he didn’t want it for himself. Instead, he wanted it for all of his men, in order to give them a home. Plus, Logan was a big reader, and in my opinion, we need more heroes in romance who are readers.

The relationship between Maddie and Logan was an interesting one. The story was all about Maddie having invented this Scottish sweetheart with the name Captain Logan MacKenzie, and then discovering that there actually WAS a Captain Logan MacKenzie. The romance took a bit to get going because of the blackmail issue, but once it did? I was all in. Maddie needed someone who would accept her brains and the fact that she had goals outside of marriage, and Logan just wanted a home for his men. Obviously, his goals in life began to change though, since he ended up really wanting Maddie for his wife. The thing I loved about these two together was that they always talked things out, even feelings. Too often, people are scared to reveal deep feelings like fear. This was not the case here, and I truly loved the fact that Logan and Maddie were so up-front with everything.

In the end, this is one of my favorite books of the year. I read it in practically one sitting, and when I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about this novel. Logan and Maddie were really great characters, and the plot never bored me. The only thing I have negative to say is that Maddie’s fear of crowds was never really solved, but that’s a minor issue. I highly, highly recommend this book to historical romance lovers. There was romance, a great set of main characters, and because it’s by Tessa Dare, there was just the right amount of humor. If you haven’t started the Castles Ever After series, go remedy that. It just gets better with each book.

I loved the idea that the fictional hero of Maddie’s letters comes to greet her in real life. The letters to MacKenzie were awesome.. I laughed out loud a lot! I love it when there are letters involved in stories. The way she keeps changing his name. “MacFantasy, MacSleepy etc” too good! Both leads were wonderfully developed characters, and I didn’t want to stop reading.

I did deduct half a heart for something small -that I don’t want to say as it’s a spoiler - but whenever this happens in books.. it just bugs me, and that sometimes Logan seemed a bit too set out on revenge, which I did find out why near the end, but gave me mixed feelings during the rest of the book. So, I wasn’t sure if I liked him or not, I know I wanted to like him…. However, even taking those into consideration, this was a truly enjoyable book! What a wonderful series by Tessa Dare! I highly recommend it.

Original review posted at: http://paragraphsandpetticoats.blogspot.ca/

A delightful book that had me grinning many times (lobsters, anyone? the Beetle Ball?). I like a heroine who doesn't spend all her time hanging around at Almacks. The hero is rugged and sexy but won't be called a rake any time soon. I loved the fact that the story kept me guessing. That is rare. The setting is different, the dialog and description sparkle. I even loved it when he kicked the door in while she was in the bath. You just never know what is next with these two. A quibble is that it seems romances these days have the heroine able to climax easily right from "hello". A little more realism about a young woman learning about sexuality at a slower pace would be welcome.

4 1/2 stars! Absolutely loved this! A delightfully fun, light, read that had me laughing out loud many times, and reading with a grin on my face.
I haven't read a historical since I was a teenager, borrowing (cough cough-stealing) my mother's bodice rippers. This was a great re-introduction to this genre, that I have to say, now I'm a huge fan and can't wait to read more. This was a refreshing breath of fresh air. Characters that I adored. A motley crew of interesting secondary characters I loved. Fluffy and Rex <3!!
An interesting, if not far-fetched premise, but totally charming in its execution. A wonderful, sexy, slow build of a romance. A sexy as hell Scot. One thing I appreciated, was the strong and modern thinking, independent women in this book; and the respectful, teasing, protective, gorgeous characters of the men.
Read it! I loved it!!

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare is the third novel in the delightful Castles Ever After series and it gave me an incredible book high. I DEVOURED this in one sitting. Seriously, I was lost to the outside world and swooning in the highlands of Scotland.
We really get to know both Madeline and Logan as they dance a tango filled with attraction, fears and humor. Dare has this wonderful gift for creating strong characters who are flawed and allows them to grow. Logan has issues stemming from his childhood, but his loyalty to his men and his treatment of Madeline made him a swoon-worthy hero. I loved the growth, and the slow building romance that developed. Their conversations had depth and I loved the bit about their “remember when”. Each time my heart dipped. Dare brought out the feels, added a little drama/suspense before concluding this date. She then gave us a little dessert providing readers with an epilogue that truly satisfied. Copy provided by publisher, full review at caffeinated book reviewer.

Cut to the Chase:
The writing is crisp, clean and fluid, and the plot is quick and diverting — in many ways, this is an enjoyable read. I particularly like the female protagonist, who is a fully independent, sexually confident widow used to caring for her inn, her maimed father, and half the village. On the other hand, our hero isn’t just the tortured man full of angst, he’s had a full-on death wish for more than a decade. We start the novel after he’s discovered a newfound lease on life (or just that he’s given up passive suicidal ideation) and we don’t get the reason behind his death-wish for more than two-thirds of the novel (though it’s one of the easier plot points to guess, it was a little annoying to be purposefully in the dark while he brooded). Though there are references to how our protagonists knew one another when they were adolescents, most of the in-story development relies more on heady physical attraction, which isn’t my favorite… There’s also continual references to a murder that happened in One Dance with a Duke that feel very out of place — all of this adds up to this being a recommended, but fairly forgettable read, made up of nearly equal parts enjoyable and annoying.

Greater Detail:
Rhys St. Maur has wanted to die for a long time — you find out fairly early on that he was beaten repeatedly by his father throughout his childhood (you never learn why, or if there is a why), and that this, in combination with other dark secrets (not revealed until most of the book is over), has led him to being passively suicidal for quite some time. He throws himself into battle, and is one of the most decorated soldiers of our time — he brawls, he fights, and he’s always hoped that he won’t survive. Yet he does. In One Dance with a Duke, Rhys somehow finally gives up his death wish (at the time, we’re led to believe it’s because of a death of a friend, which doesn’t completely make sense given the number of people he’s watched die throughout his years a soldier and commanding officer); he then “wins” some money (again, in the preceding novel), and decides to go back to his inherited lands and perform his duties as Lord Ashworth.

He is quickly reunited with Meredith Maddox (nee Meredith Lane, whom Rhys likes to refer to by her old nickname, Merry Lane). Here is female protagonist who is genuinely interesting, especially relative to the time period. She proposed to an aging innkeeper, who was kind to her and left her the inn after a few years of marriage, and takes pride in growing her business, dealing with smugglers, taking care of her father, and taking the occasional lover. She feels no pity for herself or her situation, and though we quickly find out that she has always cared for Rhys St. Maur, she’s more of the man here, and hopes for just a night or two of sex and passion, nothing with strings or attachments that would only interfere.

There are some rather hard-to-swallow plot points here — for one thing, Rhys quickly decides (like second chapter) that he wants to marry Meredith, stay, and rebuild the lands. There are side characters that might make sense as villains who turn out to be harmless pups after all, and humorous secondary characters who end up being far more manipulative than you would have guessed. Further, the reference back to the murder that precipitated this entire series (the founder of the Stud Club) makes very little sense in the context of this book, and feels forced — more of a setup for the third and concluding novel than being actively necessary for this story.

Still, the writing is strong, the characters are interesting (though Rhys has some hard-to-believe convictions about fate and destiny, etc), and if you are into passionate, sensual, sometimes angry sex where the characters aren’t quite sure where they’re at emotionally, this delivers in that arena. It was a pleasant afternoon read, and kept me interested enough to continue to the third in the series… but not much more than that.

Other Things to Know:
This is the second in the Stud Club series. Though Rhys St. Maur really isn’t very well-developed in the first book, there are scenes that would barely make sense here if you hadn’t read the first one (there is a cursory explanation, but Dare more or less assumes you’ve read the first). Also, some of the character changes Rhys goes through (that he has money now, that he no longer actively wants to die) are explained (very, very briefly) in the first novel… which means that you’re probably better off reading this series in order (if at all).

Comparisons to Other Authors:
Tessa Dare seems to like the combination of sex, intrigue and lots-of-plot that I would usually ascribe to Stephanie Laurens — this series in particular, with the horses and the murders, makes me think: Laurens! There are occasional sparks of humor though (not necessarily Julia Quinn humor, but still, unexpected little quirks here and there), and she’s good at throwing a few curve balls here and there, so that not everything is completely predictable, which is relief.

I don't give 5 star reviews lightly, but Mrs. Dare has done it AGAIN!! She has penned another masterpiece. I liked all of her novels, but A Lady by Midnight just wrapped itself upon my heart, and now this novel!! Sigh.....There is so much I could say, but I'll keep it short and sweet. Mrs. Dare has a talent for writing beautiful romances. The pace is always steady, the characters are always complex. There are scenes that make you laugh and poignant, angst filled pasts. Likeable secondary characters. This book had all that and then some.

You will LOVE Maddie and Logan, and the Lobsters, and his men. So incredibly entertaining!!

This story also had some really steamy scenes. The sex is sexy, and not just fluff to titillate. The sex " means" something. It is always more complicated than the actual physical act.

No other author has made me laugh and cry in the same book. Thank You Tessa Dare for writing another book for my keeper shelf!!!

Notice: I have not purchased any of these titles from the store and have them on my Nook or from the library. Just wanted to give full disclosure up front since I have seen comments before in the store reviews so if you have issue with that then do not read below...

I have read ALL of Tessa Dare's novels and love them! I checked out some from my library and own all the Spindle Cove novels and novellas as well as the Werestag novella. You will not be dissapointed with any of her writings except that they end! I would like to find a "comparable" author because I just know Tessa's work to be the best for my tastes with the right amount of story, character development, setting, and spice. I was not actually a romance reader until I stumbled upon a free offering of one of her ebooks on my Nook. I know egads not a Kindle but anyways... that was how I even found this genre and now am hooked!

I have always been a fan of period romance movies and am a stickler for anything set in the Victorian (or earlier) settings of Europe which all of her books are. I do have a few other free historical romances but I just know already I won't be as pleased. I wish Tessa would go full time just writing ONLY Spindle Cove series and that PBS or BBC would pick up the rights and make an ongoing romance seriers for TV that would be hot and heavy and for adult viewers but tasteful. Maybe Netflix??? Wouldn't that be incredible! LOL

Bascially to sum all this up do not worry one bit about purchasing any of her materials. You will love having them. I have read each of the Spindle Cove series twice and plan to re-read each once a year- Yes they are that good! I stay tuned for pre-orders and have always been on of the first to get a book as it comes out.

One battle-scarred hero, one innkeeper trying to keep her village afloat and fed, and a great romance.

The hero is convinced she is the woman for him. He keeps trying to get her to marry him and she keeps saying no, let's just go to bed. Hero keeps saying no, because he wants it to mean something.

"I know." she said. "I know. Too many clothes between us. Let's go upstairs." She kissed his neck.
His hands went to her shoulders. "No," he repeated, pushing her back. "It still won't be enough. Body to body. Skin to skin. It's not enough. I don't want...friendship without clothing. I need a marriage."

She traced the line of his jaw. "Why must you always be thinking of the future? Just think of tonight."

"I am thinking of tonight." His voice was a low rasp. "I am thinking--in shameless detail--of taking you upstairs, stripping you bare, and doing unspeakable things to you all night long. Touching you everywhere. Tasting you everywhere. And I know, as sure as I know my own name, it still won't be enough. I will want you again tomorrow, and then the day after that, and again and again and again. "That's why I need those vows. I need to hear you say you're mine forever before I have you at all. Because I know I will never, ever get enough."

Wow. This hero knows how to make an impression on a woman. I really enjoyed this book. The historical romance took place out on the moorlands and in the heroine's inn. It's basically just her, him, and the villagers.

Hero was very sweet in the things he did to try to win the heroine over. I highly recommend this book.

So, I *might* have gone a little crazy on Tessa Dare books a while back. And by that I mean that I binge read my way through several books one after another. Like a glutton. It was all #nomnomnom and *swoony swoony swoon swoon* from me. Why? Because Tessa Dare writes some gooooood historical romances. I like them. I like the characters. I like ... well, everything about them.

So, it should come as no surprise that I was pleasantly smitten with Julian and Lily's story.

It was totally bonus that this book tied up Leo's murder and gave us closure to these three men who came together through the Stud Club. (Yes, I still snicker when I say "Stud Club" in my head. It shows doesn't it?)

Lily's strong and independent. Her deafness is simply a state of being for her. Sure, she's not exactly comfortable in crowds and some people get turned off by the fact that she can't hear but she doesn't let that stop her. She's Lily. She likes math and keeping account ledgers. She's sweet and innocent and she loves Julian something fierce. Even when she refuses to put that name on it.

Meanwhile, Julian is ... kinda hardheaded about some things. But I get where he's coming from. He grew up rough and those early years are hard to shake. He doesn't feel like he's worthy of someone like Lily and when happiness hits him upside the head with a two-by-four, he's hesitant to trust it.

Like I said, we get answers to Leo's murder and get to see how characters from previous books are doing. I just love me some Tessa Dare. *wanders off to go find more of her books to read*

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

When a Scot Ties the Knot is the third book in Castles Ever After series and of course each books are stand-alone novels.
I love Tessa Dare's writing, her writing is brilliant, funny and witty. This is from the first page:

"I am Madeline Eloise Gracechurch. The greatest ninny to ever draw breath in England"

Madeline Gracechuech is a shy, pretty and immaginative heroine who beleives she will be a failure on the London marraige mart so she invents a scotish sweetheart in order not to attennds any balls.

Imagine her luck, years later the Scotish sweetheart shows up and proposes.
Captain Logan Mackenzie is handsome, wounded and looking for a home for his soliders so who is better than a heiress with a castle in scothland.

I really enjoyed reading this fun book.
Thank you Tessa Dare

From the very first letter Maddie wrote her fake beau I was hooked. She has a sense of humor that just slays me and I couldn’t wait to see how much of a hole she ended up digging for herself. I wanted to put in an example of something that tickled me so very much but I realized that so much of it was context and delivery, which means that you have to get your own copy to find out :)

Maddie has to be one of my favorite heroines. While she suffers from a debilitating case of social anxiety, in her element she is smart, sassy, and caring but a little bit of an odd duck (and that’s just fine). She looks out for those she holds dear and she has a grand interest in nature. Her only issue is that darn, fake fiancé … the one that is now back from the dead. And too sexy for her own good!

I love how much Maddie’s letters came to mean to Logan while he was fighting - and how hard he’s trying to not show it. He had a bad childhood that bled straight into war. He’s never had a soft moment, a truly caring person in his life, and the only bright spot is the men in his command. The men that now have no home or family of their own and for whom Logan is going to do everything he can to make them happy. And that’s where Maddie and her deception come in.

These two together are a hoot and a half. They have so much going against them, and are an absolute riot when they clash, but as they get to know each other they realize that they could make something real out of a whole lot of fiction. The question is if they are willing to expose themselves and give their heart & trust to another. (I’ll let you in on a secret – they do, because this is a romance :))

(Complimentary copy provided in exchange for an honest review)

When a Scot Ties the Knot is a fun, flirty, fast read; I enjoyed it very much.

Grace invents a beau to avoid the Season in London, and the lie works so well, she keeps it going for years. Her fictitious beloved is a Scottish army captain away at war. She makes up a name (Logan MacKenzie) and mails him letters to make the lie believable. The name, rank and army at war are real, however, and the real Logan MacKenzie receives every letter she writes.

When the war is over, Logan comes to Grace, playing along with her story - but why?

This is a funny book with many moments of wit, suspense and romance. I enjoyed getting to know Grace and Logan, as well as the secondary characters like her aunt and his soldiers. The plot was entertaining, and I would highly recommend it to any fan of Historical Romance.

Love Tessa Dare but this book left me wanting. Too much left unanswered and also too much quickly cleared up at the end that wasn't believable. Also maybe it's just me.. but I couldn't get a clear understanding of the layout of the land. She gave a good effort but from the start I was confused as to what bogs and mores looked like and really didn't want to go look things up on the computer. Call me lazy I guess, but I think it should have been done even better than it was.. fog and mushy floors doesn't tell me much. Then roads went up, road went down but I had no understanding of where they started. We had quick shots of waterfall areas I had no clear vision of, and a cottage being built with blocks. In my mind it was a tiny cottage but later I learned it had sitting rooms, lofts, etc. Where did those come from? Wasn't it just a tiny thing since he did build the foundation with his hands.. twice!

Even with these few things.. it was a sweet love story with many fronts they had to go against to finally be with one another. Was it as believable for me as other HR? No.. but did I enjoy it for what it was? yes. It was a page turner with several instances of frustration where my husband would look at me and say 'not happy with this one ?'
The romance narratives were what made this book to me.. Tessa Dare always comes through when it comes to describing encounters. I can feel everything the two are and really understand the passion and need between them. This is what kept this book at 3 stars.. and saved it for me.
Overall a descent book.. but I wouldn't have been happy paying the $5.99 for it.

I would have given this book five stars if the oral sex scenes were deleted. The voyeurism is just so unnecessary. It's romance, humor, character development and interesting plot that I am looking for. Where is the Marion Chesney of our time? I continue to hope to find that caliper of author in my romance novels.

Okay, this may sound silly, but I tend to get a little teary whenever I read a decent romance. When I picked up Twice Tempted, I wasn't expecting it to completely blow Book 1 out of the waters - holy SMOKED KIPPER, did I ever bawl my eyes out! Which is why I am writing the review for Book 2 first - don't get me wrong, I adored Book 1 (One Dance With A Duke) - but I loved Twice Tempted so much more! I don't think I've met a more emotionally-charged couple than Meredith and Rhys - they were so achingly love/hate, yes/no, go away/come back - that I just got swept in their relationship. It was really adorable to see Rhys try to bully Meredith into marrying him after one day and, even though she refused, he went ahead with building their cottage with his bare hands to prove his seriousness. Not to mention, I laughed at how he tries to circumvent Meredith's adamant refusal and carries on with their "engagement" because he knows she'll cave eventually. He only got more attractive when he finally listens to Meredith and attempts to woo her, though he manages to always say and do the wrong things. His intentions and sincerity were just to die for - and it is simply mind-boggling to see how long Meredith tried to resist him! Meredith, on the other hand, was not the usual virgin-in-distress - she was perfectly capable of handling herself and running an inn to drive the entire village's economy. It was great to see a woman who wasn't inhibited by manners and societal rules, but instead independent and hard-working! She didn't need Rhys and his lordly riches - she could manage just fine on her own financially - but Meredith didn't count on falling in love with Rhys for just being himself, a 110% sincere man who is trying very hard to do the gentlemanly thing despite wanting to do all sorts of naughty things to her! Twice Tempted was such an unexpected delight! The plot was very engaging with a whole motley crew of characters, and Ms. Dare threw in a few plot twists that kept my curiosity purring like a contented cat - and when I finally hit the final aha!, was I ever stunned! Quite simply, the title sums my reaction very accurately since I am sorely tempted to re-read at least once more (maybe twice!) and dream about Rhys and his Wolverine-like gorgeousness some more!

[...]

This is exactly what I like about a good romance. The author fleshes out the characters, evokes emotion, and has good secondary characters. The intimate scenes are steamy, but not just gratuitously graphic. There's a progression, which I like. I am glad to find this author.

This is the last of a trilogy involving three members of the Stud Club. Julian Bellamy is the most complicated of the three and this book involves Julian and Lily, the sister of his best friend who has been murdered. Lily is deaf and Julian wants to protect her and help her get back into society so she can meet a rich aristocrat as her brother's death leaves her impoverished. The story is not only about two people struggling to find love, but also about Julian's relentless search for the murderers of Lily's brother. Julian's guilt that he wasn't with him the night of the murder haunts him. There are minor characters in this book that have important life stories and the convergence of those story lines meet in a crescendo of tension and finally resolution.

Julian and Lily's adventure is the continuation and finale to The Stud Club series. The murder of Lily's brother, Leo, occurs in the first book in the series and the mystery surrounding it twists through all three books until the ending of this book. Along the way, the three remaining members of the stud club find friendship and love. For Julian, low born bastard, he finds himself in live with his best friends sister, Lily. And we finally find out what he's been hiding from the start of the series as he needs to reveal everything to her in order to keep her.

It was a beautiful journey for all.

Squeeeeeeeee! I love Tessa Dare, and this is Tessa Dare at her best. Maddie is odd and sweet and warm and wonderful. And Logan? SWOON! I love that even though his past is so tragic, he still turned out to be such a good, kind, honorable, generous man. I love that, even though he resisted the idea of love by name, he showed it readily, both to Maddie and his soldiers.
The love scenes were incredibly erotic but not smutty and the chemistry seemed so real. I am not sure if this is my favorite Tessa Dare or not, but it might be. It's FANTASTIC.

This has to be the most romantic story of blackmail ever! Maddie is so awkward and shy that she invents an imaginary Scottish sweetheart in order to avoid the London marriage scene. All goes well until her imaginary sweetie shows up one day to hold her to her promise of marriage. And Logan MacKenzie is far from the honorable man Maddie made up 10 years ago.

I know I am in the minority on giving When The Scot Ties the Knot 2 stars. The story was boring, uninspired and slow moving. At 16 in the year 1808 Madeline Gracechurch is being put on the marriage mart. She is very shy and doesn't want to be married so she conjures up this false story about a Scot who is named Captain Logan MacKenzie fighting in the war. Five years later the real alive Logan MacKenzie shows up and is ready to marry her. He has in his possession all the letters Maddie has written to her imaginary betroth and blackmails her into marriage. Logan wants her land and her fortune for himself and his other Scottish brothers who fought with him in the war. They came back to Scotland to find all there lands and homes and families gone; stolen and in possession of the British, the very people they had gone away to war to fight and die for. Logan will not let Maddie out of the marriage. The struggle is for Maddie not to consummate the marriage. Sorry way to much Angst and just boring!!

This is the only book that i enjoyed from this author so far, only one worth reading in that series, as soon i started reading it, i was like "wow, is this the same author that wrote the first two?". It's funny and witty, 5 stars for idea, 3 for execution. I enjoyed the characters and story, great beginning, but got slow and boring midway, the ending was good. The book would have been amazing if not for the ridiculous and boring fillings.

at one point it just bored me. Julian's and Lily's story is the one i was anticipating the most and i loved their relationship and whanot but after 200 pages or so it no longer kept my interest. (Spoilers) I loved that they got the I love yous out the way early on and that they get married and we get to see a bit of their married life - that was refreshing but then there were still 80 pages left or so to figure out the murder mystery and i felt the book was just too long and needed to be cut shorter. I wasnt disappointed by how the muder mystery turned out and i actually enjoyed this book better than the other 2. I did get frustrated a lot with Julian and his keeping secrets (and pushing Lily away) and hoped that Lily had more backbone but i do not regret reading this series - Julian alone (my fave character of the series) was worth reading all three books for!

Sometimes a story will just 'tickle' me from start to finish, and this was one of those stories. It's a unique, fun, easy but not brainless tale that had me smiling, start to finish. Of course, this is Tessa Dare and that means it's also captivating and passionate and truly heartfelt, and to sum it up in a word; amazing!

Note... ALL of the books in this series (so far) can be read as standalones - that said, no matter the order you read them in, read them all. You will not be disappointed!!!

Cut to the Chase:
An intriguing heroine (who has been deaf for almost a decade now due to a fever), a murder mystery, and some last minute plot twists can’t save this romance from its one irredeemable feature — a truly punch-worthy leading man. He has built a reputation upon being a mimic, has been in love with his (now dead) best friend’s younger sister for years, is obsessed with solving his friend’s murder, and is just infuriatingly, unbearably arrogant. Since the first novel in this series he has made wild accusations, lashed out at others and himself in his guilt, never apologizing, and up through almost the last pages, is still presuming he knows better (and thus deserves to make the decisions for his lady love). I might have been better able to engage if I weren’t so busy wishing I could strangle the hero for so much of the novel.

Greater Detail:
Julian Bellamy is the bastard son of a nobleman and his once-chambermaid mother. Though we’re not explicitly told his entire past until more than halfway through the novel, we can guess that it hasn’t been pretty. Normally, I would empathize with him, except that he’s already pretty busy feeling sorry for himself, lashing out at everyone who is considered noble, not caring that it was no more their choice to be born into the peerage than his choice to be born out of it. It doesn’t help that he’s obsessed with the death of his best friend (and has been since the first novel in the series), is in love with his best friend’s younger sister (but keeps presuming to know what is best for her by trying to marry her off to anyone and everyone — he actually tries to threaten a duke into it in the first novel of the series), and is just belligerent in the extreme, constantly spoiling for a fight.

Our heroine, Lily, is, by contrast, almost saintly. She lost her hearing nine years ago after a severe illness, has now lost her twin brother, and worries constantly about Julian’s safety, believing him to be a good man (underneath it all). Though she is attracted to him, it seems as though she has never realized that he loves her (or that she may love him). And part of my problem with this story is that we’re not really given a lot of reasoning behind why she falls in love with him now. She’s always been attracted to him, but has known him for years — now, because she’s worried about his safety and wants him to return to society, she begs him to escort her for three nights (hence the title) and somehow, after five years together, it’s these three nights that supposedly make her fall in love with him.

The murder-intrigue in the background never really gains enough steam (we go back and forth between being given hints that someone was out to kill Julian all along, or that he’s just being paranoid), and despite the interesting backstory we eventually get (for the murder, intriguing love letters left behind for the dead brother, Julian’s childhood), the sensual lovemaking and occasional glimpses of humor, it just isn’t enough to carry this story. The Julian we’re introduced to in the first novel in the series (arrogant, huge chip on his shoulder, self-loathing and directing his anger at everyone else) is more or less the Julian we’re left with at the end (he has always loved Lily, so love for her hasn’t changed him, or his belief that he knows best, and deserves to make decisions for her). Similarly, Lily starts off almost saintly, lovely, and with brief flashes of independence, and we end the novel that way as well.

Other Things to Know:
This is the third novel in Tessa Dare’s Stud Club trilogy, and for me, the series got worse as it progressed — the first (One Dance with a Duke) was charming, though the male hero was a little too obsessed with horseflesh for me (just not something I’ve ever gotten, but I understood how it can be a fascination), the second (Twice Tempted by a Rogue) had your typically brooding character, but the love story was at least somewhat redeeming, and this one just was equal parts good scenes and annoying, punch-worthy scenarios. I will admit that part of it is that Dare is clearly trying out the brooding hero archetype, and the three male leads get progressively angrier as the series progresses, which ultimately isn’t very attractive!

Comparisons to Other Authors:
Tessa Dare writes very sensual lovemaking scenes that are very emotional and compelling (like Lisa Kleypas, for example), but in this most recent series, her characters are just harder, obsessed with their pasts, revenge, etc, in a way that reminds me of some of Amanda Quick’s protagonists. I don’t personally think all the plot twists (especially since some of the reveals are often thrown in at the end) really make sense, or add anything to the story… but I usually enjoy her work.

c booknosh.com reviews

Madeline Gracechurch uses her boundless imagination to avoid the embarrassment of rejection her first London season by creating a fictitious relationship with an officer at war. This small lie blossoms into a full blown long distance relationship complete with smarmy letters posted for her parents' benefit and a heroic death that frees her to peaceful spinsterhood. But when a very real Captain Logan MacKenzie shows up on her doorstep years later- the tangled web of lies Maddie concocted will take more than a little finessing to undo.

Overall, it was another HIT of a love story from Tessa Dare. Again, she writes in a way that speaks close to home and entertains thoroughly. I wanted more time with her amazing secondary characters and the "I am not worthy of love" angle always drags on in these types of novels, but readers will stay fully entwined and satisfied in this latest pleaser!

Notice: I have not purchased any of these titles from the store and have them on my Nook or from the library. Just wanted to give full disclosure up front since I have seen comments before in the store reviews so if you have issue with that then do not read below...

I have read ALL of Tessa Dare's novels and love them! I checked out some from my library and own all the Spindle Cove novels and novellas as well as the Werestag novella. You will not be dissapointed with any of her writings except that they end! I would like to find a "comparable" author because I just know Tessa's work to be the best for my tastes with the right amount of story, character development, setting, and spice. I was not actually a romance reader until I stumbled upon a free offering of one of her ebooks on my Nook. I know egads not a Kindle but anyways... that was how I even found this genre and now am hooked!

I have always been a fan of period romance movies and am a stickler for anything set in the Victorian (or earlier) settings of Europe which all of her books are. I do have a few other free historical romances but I just know already I won't be as pleased. I wish Tessa would go full time just writing ONLY Spindle Cove series and that PBS or BBC would pick up the rights and make an ongoing romance seriers for TV that would be hot and heavy and for adult viewers but tasteful. Maybe Netflix??? Wouldn't that be incredible! LOL

Bascially to sum all this up do not worry one bit about purchasing any of her materials. You will love having them. I have read each of the Spindle Cove series twice and plan to re-read each once a year- Yes they are that good! I stay tuned for pre-orders and have always been on of the first to get a book as it comes out.

Loved spending time with these characters as the tale of “the Stud club” members unfolds. In this tale we learn the real reason for Leo’s murder. But while we unravel that tale the overriding story is of the strength of true love.

This installment in the Castles Ever After series is my least favorite. Great start, I read the first half in an evening but the story fell off after that with Logan and Maddie taking way too long to be honest with their feelings about each other. The premise about Maddie writing letters to a non existent beau and then he suddenly appears was the best.

I really enjoyed to book. Rhys sounds like a great hulking handsome brute of a man..yum..and I liked the fact that Meredith was strong and capable, and didn't become less so just because Rhy wanted her and tried to take over her life. In a Good way. :). The story wasn't the typical man meets girl, etc. It had good moments, brawling men, danger and intrigue, and I loved the surprise in it. I recommend this series for quick fun reads, handsome yummy men, and strong, sassy, women. Sometimes that is all you need in a book!! :)

2.5 stars.

Things I liked about this book:

-It's set in Scotland and the love interest is Scottish and actually talks like a Scot.
-The idea of a girl sending letters to an imaginary person and the guy showing up unexpectedly. I LOVE IT. I think it would be a great plot for like a rom-com set in the present time.

Things I didn't like about this book:

-The love interest was a dick. At the end it was explained and sweet and whatever. But I had a REALLY hard time trying to like him.
-The main character was so annoyingly stupid. I don't even want to go deep into it but she was stupid and unrelatable and I didn't like her.

I've read this book twice now and enjoyed it both times. Tessa Dare puts a unique twist into the way the heroine meets her hero with some humour thrown in. It also deals with issues suffered by soldiers returning from years at war. Definitely worth a read.

I really, really wanted to love this book and I expected too...But, this was a big dud for me. From the start, it seemed rushed and like it was grasping for a 'plausible' story line. As the book progresses it felt like I was reading the same thing over and over. I liked both of the characters, but I couldn't feel a connection to them either so I didn't really care if they ended up together or not...which is kind of a big deal when it comes to the romance genre.
That being said, I highly recommend a lot of other books by Tessa Dare. I LOVED the Spindle Cove books 1-4. I also loved the first book of this Castles Ever After series, titled Romancing the Duke...it's one of my top 5 favorite romance books.

I love Tessa Dare's writing and this was no exception. Some of her best prose. I didn't LOVE the love story, but, like all her stories, there was deep motivation and true growth and change. In this one, maybe a little too much. I couldn't picture any modern man being as self-aware as the hero is when he open admits to and takes responsibility for his abandonment issues, let alone a rough and tumble Scottish highlander. But, in terms of wishful thinking romancey writing, it was fun.

Tessa Dare's sweetly written romantic fantasy is a treasure. When a Scot Ties the Knot is a beguiling historical read. It's witty, touching and a fantasy come true. Insecure Madeline thought that pretended to be something she wasn't would make her happy. But it turns out being her true self is what made her better.

Copyright of Night Owl Reviews

I definitely preferred the storyline in Twice Tempted by a Rogue to that of the first in the trilogy One Dance with a Duke. I loved the idea of someone that felt so worthless and unlovable (Rhys) paired with someone that had always loved him no matter what (Meredith). I think this is the first book I've read that had a widow so that was a welcome change for me! I liked how confident she was in her abilities to take care of the people that frequented her inn. I also really liked that the mystery of the murder of the Stud Club founder took a back seat for most of the book, a lot less horse talk.

We did get to learn a bit more about Julian who takes center stage in the third and final book, Three Nights with a Scoundrel. In the first book I didn't really like him but he's starting to grow on me and we are also introduced to Cora who plays a role in the mystery and has a sorted past but ends up fighting for a new life for herself, I liked that!

Rhys and Meredith's back and forth keep me going through most of the book, with new revelations about their shared past constantly being brought up but towards the end I started to feel like the magic was sort of fading for me. I don't know what it was, maybe the predictability of the genre? I really don't know. Overall still a fun book

That was the perfect blend of love, laughter, and---lobsters.

A unique Highland story, with entertaining characters and a romance that made me laugh as much as it made me swoon. I loved the letters, loved watching the relationship between Maddy and Logan unfold, and I hated to see it end. I can't wait to see what Tessa Dare comes up with next!

Well, I've just finished this book, and it really didn't turn out to be anything like I was expecting at all. In some ways it was better, but in a lot of ways it was a disappointment.

I really liked getting to know Lily better. I liked seeing her deafness while trying to live a regular life. At times it felt a little too easy for her, but enough authentic moments of confusion and fear and embarrassment were mentioned, that it didn't bother me too much. In some ways her characterization felt very thin, though. She seemed extremely well adjusted and at peace, except for a few occasions. It seemed like she was just there to be a foil to Julian. This was very much his story. He had to grow and adjust while Lily was already where she needed to be. She had no real character growth, and the lack of it was a little frustrating.

Julian was interesting and likable, but when I learned more about him I felt rather let down. I really felt that he blew his issues way out of proportion. Maybe if he was with any other girl it might have seemed more logical, but with Lily there was no doubt of their love for each other or their friendship. Really, the only conflict in their relationship was Julian himself. He had to get over himself enough to stop worshiping her and start seeing her as a partner.

I found the book pretty engaging for the first 200 pages, but after that it started to bore me a bit. I jut felt that I was reading something pointless. There was no real issue, it was just a matter of waiting for Julian to figure it out and stop lying to Lily. I really started to dislike their relationship when I figured out he would never tell her if he had a choice. The fact that Lily was so sweetly patient about most everything was disappointing too. I wanted her to push him and make him grow a pair. It was so frustrating!

The reveal about Leo was pretty obvious from the time we first saw the contents of one of the letters. The reason for his death surprised me though. I was just like Julian, I was expecting something more. I found the whole thing a bit of a let down to be honest. Maybe if certain details had been handled better? It's just hard not to feel disappointed when all you get is a surprised, "you didn't know?" from Lily. We spent three books building this up, can't we make this a bigger deal?

But even with those issues, I was all set to give it four stars until the end. I'm referring to the scene beginning when Julian and Lily are in the carriage and he makes a false assumption about their destination. When Lily corrects him it leads him to finally reveal all. I was glad that Lily blasted him for his opinion of her and her love for him, but I was pretty ticked off that she rolled over so easily. I was not nearly so forgiving as she was. I really wanted more of a reckoning there. It was just one more example of how frustrating Lily's perfect and forgiving attitude could be.

Loved this story about two damaged people, each caught up in a tangle of lies. How they resolve they resolve their differences and discover their secret desires is what makes this book so very special. Some interesting side characters are included.

The back story of ther series is - four men are in a club where they own a part of horse and when one of the men die - it pushs the three unlikely men to become friends (sort-of). This is the final book of the series - Julian and Lily's story. Julian has always loved Lily but he doesn't feel worthly of her and always kept his distance. Lily loves Julian and when she finds him injured in front her home she decides to she can't loose him too. The romance and unveiling of the layers of mystery makes this my favorite of the series.

If you enjoy this genre I would suggest a few of my recent favories;
Desires of a Perfect Lady ,Married by Morning (Hathaways, Book 4) and Sex and the Single Earl.

I liked the series didn't love it. I just think I am burnt out on this historical timeframe, 1800's. It is not exciting enough and the men are not manly enough for me. That all being said the 3rd book in the series does have my favorite and most likable couple of the trilogy, Julian and Lily, and I was looking forward to their romance. I think because of that romance, very sweet and genuine, I ended up enjoying this book. The mystery which started in the first book never really was that intriguing. The climax all came out of left field in the end. Sure the loose ends were tied up, but I wish they would have solved some of it through out the first 2 books instead of leaving it all until the last 50 pages. Very good Epilogue though, I like when the author comes back many years later to give a glimpse all the characters lives; how many kids they have, etc.

I'm not a fan of historical romance, so I wasn't expecting much from this book. Rhys, the hero, captured my attention immediately - strong, but tortured. Merry, the heroine was a strong, independent and realistic woman. I enjoyed the setting of the book, and loved the way the story unfolded. I may wind up being a historical romance fan after all - this book was certainly a push in that direction. I'm now reading "Three Nights with a Scoundrel", and will look forward to reading more of Tessa Dare's books.

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare, the third in her Castles Ever After series, though my least favorite in the series so far, was still a wonderful read, and completely shows off all the things I love about Tessa Dare’s books.

I was smitten with Maddie from the moment I read that first letter of hers to Captain Mackenzie. Her personality just came off the page, not that her personality is loud at all. She’s shy, and she panics (although quietly) when she’s in large groups and is the center of attention. This aspect of her personality was something that I could completely relate to, and I wish more characters in books were shy and quiet. But even though Maddie is quiet, and prefers time alone, that doesn’t mean that she is a pushover, or that she doesn’t have passions and interests.

Because Maddie has an issue with crowds (including balls and parties that go along with the Season) she, on a panic induced impulse, invents a suitor, Captain Logan Mackenzie, who has left for war. And she writes diligently to this invented man for years and years, which allows her to skip all those pesky Season parties, to fool her family. But somehow, unbeknownst to Maddie, these letters that she mails, do end up finding their way to the real Logan Mackenzie. And when Logan shows up at the Scottish castle that Maddie has inherited, Maddie is quite lost for words. Such a fun premise, right?

Logan has come to Maddie’s castle with one goal in mind, to marry Maddie, and give the soldiers he leads a place to call home. I’ve said this many times, but I just cannot resist an honorable man, and Logan is that in spades. His devotion to his men is just amazing, and while he doesn’t really let Maddie say no to marrying him, he doesn’t push her in other ways, and he does respect her. Another reason why I love Logan – he’s a reader. At one point he is even reading Pride and Prejudice! Also, he needs to wear reading glasses, and that just gets me and makes me all swoony.

It’s pretty obvious that Maddie and Logan are a good fit, and I just love that. But of course, Maddie and Logan need to get to know each other, and that results in some hilarious moments. I love how Maddie would do what she could to give Logan a hard time. There is this one scene where Maddie get’s Logan to read one of the letters that Fake-Logan wrote to her (Maddie wrote it) aloud at dinner and there is a poem that is really pretty awful. But Logan has to go along with it, and it is hilarious, and probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole book.

As much as I enjoyed When a Scot Ties the Knot, this isn’t my favorite Tessa Dare book. As much as I was shipping Logan and Maddie, I don’t feel like these characters were quite as memorable as some of Tessa Dare’s other couples. But still, When a Scot Ties the Knot is not to be passed over by any historical romance fan!

This was my first Tessa Dare novel and it made me laugh out loud which is something I rarely do when reading this genre. The book had some interesting plot twists that actually made sense in the context of this period novel. Characters are likeable and its an entertaining read.

I enjoyed this book very much. The shy girl who wanted to draw and a make-believe hero who turned out to be real! Add a Scottish castle and it's a perfect scenario. While my favorite of this series is "Say Yes to the Marquess" this one is well worth reading. No plot spoilers from me. I think you'll like it.

Tessa Dare does it again. Picked this one up during a Kindle sale and read it in two days. Sigh-worthy and so very well written. Highly recommend for fans of historical romance. A kilted hero who reads - and respects his lady love's career ambitions? Yes, please!

I really enjoyed this novel. I picked up at an airport and by the time I landed at my destination I had finished it - I couldn't put it down. There was plenty of wit, suspense, and tension. The characters are likable and I was rooting for them the whole time. Very happy I picked this one up.

This the back story four men are in a club where they own a part of horse and when one of the men die - it pushs the three unlikely men to become friends (sort-of). This is the second book Rhys St. Maur story who had abusive father and left his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire after a terrible fire. While riding back to London he stops off near his ancestral home and meets Meredith Maddox owner of the local Inn.
Ok - I liked this book and I invested into the series - so I am off to find Three Nights with a Scoundrel- which I think will be my favorite of the series...

If you read lots of novels I would start this series - BUT if you only read a few books a year I wouldn't say this series was the top of my list...

OH I totally loved this book. I read it in a few hours. At the age of 16 Madeline Gracechurch makes up a beau, who of course is fighting Napoleon because the thought of a London season terrifies her. She writes to the imaginary Captain Logan Mackenzie. Imagine her surprise when years later living in a castle the real Captain Logan shows up and wants to make the betrothal real and insists on marrying her.

After years at war with a death wish never granted, battered combat vet Lord Rhys St. Maur comes home to Devonshire. He enters the Three Hounds Inn in Buckleigh-in-the-Moor where a fight has broken out. Before he can intercede a beautiful woman ends the dispute. He learns she is no barmaid but Mrs. Meredith Maddox, the widowed wife of the old owner.

Meredith loved Rhys before he left for the service. She fears she still does. He is attracted to her but believes he does not deserve love. As she encourages him to work hard at overcoming his demons, they investigate the murder of his friend and nasty treacherous smugglers while the locals distrust Rhys.

This is a terrific Stud Club Regency romance (see One Dance with a Duke) starring a feisty kick butt female and a PTSD veteran who had memorial issues before he ran off to die at war. Readers will enjoy their escapades as the townsfolk trust the double-dealing smugglers more than the returning lord; which speaks volumes of the class warfare. Starting with Meredith stopping a fight in the inn by ripping skin off the combatants, Twice Tempted By A Rogue is a strong Stud Club entry.

Harriet Klausner

I definitely preferred the storyline in Twice Tempted by a Rogue to that of the first in the trilogy One Dance with a Duke. I loved the idea of someone that felt so worthless and unlovable (Rhys) paired with someone that had always loved him no matter what (Meredith). I think this is the first book I've read that had a widow so that was a welcome change for me! I liked how confident she was in her abilities to take care of the people that frequented her inn. I also really liked that the mystery of the murder of the Stud Club founder took a back seat for most of the book, a lot less horse talk.

We did get to learn a bit more about Julian who takes center stage in the third and final book, Three Nights with a Scoundrel. In the first book I didn't really like him but he's starting to grow on me and we are also introduced to Cora who plays a role in the mystery and has a sorted past but ends up fighting for a new life for herself, I liked that!

Rhys and Meredith's back and forth keep me going through most of the book, with new revelations about their shared past constantly being brought up but towards the end I started to feel like the magic was sort of fading for me. I don't know what it was, maybe the predictability of the genre? I really don't know. Overall still a fun book

That was the perfect blend of love, laughter, and---lobsters.

A unique Highland story, with entertaining characters and a romance that made me laugh as much as it made me swoon. I loved the letters, loved watching the relationship between Maddy and Logan unfold, and I hated to see it end. I can't wait to see what Tessa Dare comes up with next!

Well, I've just finished this book, and it really didn't turn out to be anything like I was expecting at all. In some ways it was better, but in a lot of ways it was a disappointment.

I really liked getting to know Lily better. I liked seeing her deafness while trying to live a regular life. At times it felt a little too easy for her, but enough authentic moments of confusion and fear and embarrassment were mentioned, that it didn't bother me too much. In some ways her characterization felt very thin, though. She seemed extremely well adjusted and at peace, except for a few occasions. It seemed like she was just there to be a foil to Julian. This was very much his story. He had to grow and adjust while Lily was already where she needed to be. She had no real character growth, and the lack of it was a little frustrating.

Julian was interesting and likable, but when I learned more about him I felt rather let down. I really felt that he blew his issues way out of proportion. Maybe if he was with any other girl it might have seemed more logical, but with Lily there was no doubt of their love for each other or their friendship. Really, the only conflict in their relationship was Julian himself. He had to get over himself enough to stop worshiping her and start seeing her as a partner.

I found the book pretty engaging for the first 200 pages, but after that it started to bore me a bit. I jut felt that I was reading something pointless. There was no real issue, it was just a matter of waiting for Julian to figure it out and stop lying to Lily. I really started to dislike their relationship when I figured out he would never tell her if he had a choice. The fact that Lily was so sweetly patient about most everything was disappointing too. I wanted her to push him and make him grow a pair. It was so frustrating!

The reveal about Leo was pretty obvious from the time we first saw the contents of one of the letters. The reason for his death surprised me though. I was just like Julian, I was expecting something more. I found the whole thing a bit of a let down to be honest. Maybe if certain details had been handled better? It's just hard not to feel disappointed when all you get is a surprised, "you didn't know?" from Lily. We spent three books building this up, can't we make this a bigger deal?

But even with those issues, I was all set to give it four stars until the end. I'm referring to the scene beginning when Julian and Lily are in the carriage and he makes a false assumption about their destination. When Lily corrects him it leads him to finally reveal all. I was glad that Lily blasted him for his opinion of her and her love for him, but I was pretty ticked off that she rolled over so easily. I was not nearly so forgiving as she was. I really wanted more of a reckoning there. It was just one more example of how frustrating Lily's perfect and forgiving attitude could be.

Loved this story about two damaged people, each caught up in a tangle of lies. How they resolve they resolve their differences and discover their secret desires is what makes this book so very special. Some interesting side characters are included.

Another great book by Tessa Dare, I have to say if these books were made into movies, they would be X rated. You can feel the true love between her characters. The love stories in this last book of the trilogy will tear at your hear strings. Most of the bends the story takes you will never see coming. New life is born and celebrated. New love is form and old lasting love is celebrated and mourned, You will not be disappointed with the ending of this book.

The back story of ther series is - four men are in a club where they own a part of horse and when one of the men die - it pushs the three unlikely men to become friends (sort-of). This is the final book of the series - Julian and Lily's story. Julian has always loved Lily but he doesn't feel worthly of her and always kept his distance. Lily loves Julian and when she finds him injured in front her home she decides to she can't loose him too. The romance and unveiling of the layers of mystery makes this my favorite of the series.

If you enjoy this genre I would suggest a few of my recent favories;
Desires of a Perfect Lady ,Married by Morning (Hathaways, Book 4) and Sex and the Single Earl.

I liked the series didn't love it. I just think I am burnt out on this historical timeframe, 1800's. It is not exciting enough and the men are not manly enough for me. That all being said the 3rd book in the series does have my favorite and most likable couple of the trilogy, Julian and Lily, and I was looking forward to their romance. I think because of that romance, very sweet and genuine, I ended up enjoying this book. The mystery which started in the first book never really was that intriguing. The climax all came out of left field in the end. Sure the loose ends were tied up, but I wish they would have solved some of it through out the first 2 books instead of leaving it all until the last 50 pages. Very good Epilogue though, I like when the author comes back many years later to give a glimpse all the characters lives; how many kids they have, etc.

I'm not a fan of historical romance, so I wasn't expecting much from this book. Rhys, the hero, captured my attention immediately - strong, but tortured. Merry, the heroine was a strong, independent and realistic woman. I enjoyed the setting of the book, and loved the way the story unfolded. I may wind up being a historical romance fan after all - this book was certainly a push in that direction. I'm now reading "Three Nights with a Scoundrel", and will look forward to reading more of Tessa Dare's books.

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare, the third in her Castles Ever After series, though my least favorite in the series so far, was still a wonderful read, and completely shows off all the things I love about Tessa Dare’s books.

I was smitten with Maddie from the moment I read that first letter of hers to Captain Mackenzie. Her personality just came off the page, not that her personality is loud at all. She’s shy, and she panics (although quietly) when she’s in large groups and is the center of attention. This aspect of her personality was something that I could completely relate to, and I wish more characters in books were shy and quiet. But even though Maddie is quiet, and prefers time alone, that doesn’t mean that she is a pushover, or that she doesn’t have passions and interests.

Because Maddie has an issue with crowds (including balls and parties that go along with the Season) she, on a panic induced impulse, invents a suitor, Captain Logan Mackenzie, who has left for war. And she writes diligently to this invented man for years and years, which allows her to skip all those pesky Season parties, to fool her family. But somehow, unbeknownst to Maddie, these letters that she mails, do end up finding their way to the real Logan Mackenzie. And when Logan shows up at the Scottish castle that Maddie has inherited, Maddie is quite lost for words. Such a fun premise, right?

Logan has come to Maddie’s castle with one goal in mind, to marry Maddie, and give the soldiers he leads a place to call home. I’ve said this many times, but I just cannot resist an honorable man, and Logan is that in spades. His devotion to his men is just amazing, and while he doesn’t really let Maddie say no to marrying him, he doesn’t push her in other ways, and he does respect her. Another reason why I love Logan – he’s a reader. At one point he is even reading Pride and Prejudice! Also, he needs to wear reading glasses, and that just gets me and makes me all swoony.

It’s pretty obvious that Maddie and Logan are a good fit, and I just love that. But of course, Maddie and Logan need to get to know each other, and that results in some hilarious moments. I love how Maddie would do what she could to give Logan a hard time. There is this one scene where Maddie get’s Logan to read one of the letters that Fake-Logan wrote to her (Maddie wrote it) aloud at dinner and there is a poem that is really pretty awful. But Logan has to go along with it, and it is hilarious, and probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole book.

As much as I enjoyed When a Scot Ties the Knot, this isn’t my favorite Tessa Dare book. As much as I was shipping Logan and Maddie, I don’t feel like these characters were quite as memorable as some of Tessa Dare’s other couples. But still, When a Scot Ties the Knot is not to be passed over by any historical romance fan!

This was my first Tessa Dare novel and it made me laugh out loud which is something I rarely do when reading this genre. The book had some interesting plot twists that actually made sense in the context of this period novel. Characters are likeable and its an entertaining read.

I enjoyed this book very much. The shy girl who wanted to draw and a make-believe hero who turned out to be real! Add a Scottish castle and it's a perfect scenario. While my favorite of this series is "Say Yes to the Marquess" this one is well worth reading. No plot spoilers from me. I think you'll like it.

Tessa Dare does it again. Picked this one up during a Kindle sale and read it in two days. Sigh-worthy and so very well written. Highly recommend for fans of historical romance. A kilted hero who reads - and respects his lady love's career ambitions? Yes, please!

I really enjoyed this novel. I picked up at an airport and by the time I landed at my destination I had finished it - I couldn't put it down. There was plenty of wit, suspense, and tension. The characters are likable and I was rooting for them the whole time. Very happy I picked this one up.

This the back story four men are in a club where they own a part of horse and when one of the men die - it pushs the three unlikely men to become friends (sort-of). This is the second book Rhys St. Maur story who had abusive father and left his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire after a terrible fire. While riding back to London he stops off near his ancestral home and meets Meredith Maddox owner of the local Inn.
Ok - I liked this book and I invested into the series - so I am off to find Three Nights with a Scoundrel- which I think will be my favorite of the series...

If you read lots of novels I would start this series - BUT if you only read a few books a year I wouldn't say this series was the top of my list...

OH I totally loved this book. I read it in a few hours. At the age of 16 Madeline Gracechurch makes up a beau, who of course is fighting Napoleon because the thought of a London season terrifies her. She writes to the imaginary Captain Logan Mackenzie. Imagine her surprise when years later living in a castle the real Captain Logan shows up and wants to make the betrothal real and insists on marrying her.

After years at war with a death wish never granted, battered combat vet Lord Rhys St. Maur comes home to Devonshire. He enters the Three Hounds Inn in Buckleigh-in-the-Moor where a fight has broken out. Before he can intercede a beautiful woman ends the dispute. He learns she is no barmaid but Mrs. Meredith Maddox, the widowed wife of the old owner.

Meredith loved Rhys before he left for the service. She fears she still does. He is attracted to her but believes he does not deserve love. As she encourages him to work hard at overcoming his demons, they investigate the murder of his friend and nasty treacherous smugglers while the locals distrust Rhys.

This is a terrific Stud Club Regency romance (see One Dance with a Duke) starring a feisty kick butt female and a PTSD veteran who had memorial issues before he ran off to die at war. Readers will enjoy their escapades as the townsfolk trust the double-dealing smugglers more than the returning lord; which speaks volumes of the class warfare. Starting with Meredith stopping a fight in the inn by ripping skin off the combatants, Twice Tempted By A Rogue is a strong Stud Club entry.

Harriet Klausner

When a Scot Ties the Knot is another great book in the series. Characters you fall in love with and a story so good you just can't put it down until you've finished the entire book. I would recommend this book, series, and author to anyone who enjoys romance, laughter, and a heartfelt story.

I decided to wait until I read the whole series before writing any reviews. The first book `One Dance with a Duke' was good. But `Twice Tempted by a Rouge' was terrible, I tried so hard to like it but I just couldn't. So if you read that one and didn't like it don't skip this book because of it! I loved the characters in this book; Julian reminded me of Derek Craven (In Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas.) in that he brought himself up from awful poverty and was very wealthy. He loved the heroine Lily since he met her. Some of the others might think the mystery of the story is too bland or boring but I thought it had a good ending, although a rather quick one. I also liked the epilogue telling about all the families several years after the end.

This is the third book in the Stud Club trilogy, and I recommend that you read "One Dance with a Duke" and "Twice Tempted by a Rogue" first. I love Tessa Dare's books as she writes about the lifestyles of the times and her characters are flawed. I really feel that I know each character and I'm sympathetic to their problems. The book is well-written and fast-paced; kept me interested until the end.

This is the second installment of the Stud Club series. Rhys St. Maur is one of the most vulnerable heroes in romance fiction genre...and it takes a strong woman to help him return to real living. Meredith has loved Rhys for all her life and now he returns a truly wounded warrior. The novel is rich with subordinate characters. A good read.

This book delivers. It is a sweet story. I was smiling at the end. Yes it has it's moments that make you sad but the story is so well written, it draws you in. Worth the money, I got it as a library book but I would have paid.

I love Tessa Dare! I recommend her to anyone who loves regency era romances and romances with wit. You will need to fan yourself after reading the sex scenes. They are never disappointing. Her books are real page turners and the Stud Club series is probably my favorite.

I've never written a review on a book before...ever! But this book was better than any adjective I could use to describe it. It was full of humor...I literally laughed out loud sometimes. There were plenty of sentimental and sweet moments. I loved Fluffy and Rex. Being a fan of the show "Friends", I kept thinking how Maddie and Logan were each other's "lobster". The sub characters were funny and heartwarming. This was everything I wanted in a romance! I love all of Tessa Dare's novels and this is now my favorite!

I just couldn't get into this story. Gave up. Didn't even want to skip ahead. Heroine was so dumb. She makes up an imaginary boyfriend so that her family will leave her alone about getting out there and finding a husband. That's all well and good, but fake boyfriend mysteriously shows up one day and within 24 hours of meeting, she agrees to and marries him. However, it's not a real marriage because they don't get around to consummating it, so during the lull, our heroine decides to try and get out of the marriage. That's where I gave up. Nothing about this story feels genuine....it's so contrived that it hurts. Huge disappointment, as I've really been enjoying Tessa Dare's books lately! I'm giving this a 0.5 star. Honestly though, I'm not sure what the half star is for.

I gave this 3 stars instead of the solid 4 it could have been because I put it down quite a few times. Really liked the main characters the story was interesting but,somehow that wasn't enough to move the storyline along. But, in the end I'm glad I stuck with it. The ending was satisfying. I liked how Leo's story wrapped up. Really you can't go wrong with Tessa Dare she is an auto buy for me. She does what she does better than most.

Three Nights with a Scoundrel is the last of the Stud Club Trilogy. The book sees to the end of the mysterious death of founder Leo, who's sister, Lily finds love in this book with friend Julian. Throughout the other two books Julian came off as an ass and just rather unlikable but in this book you really get to know him, and for me I think he ended up as my favorite of the three male leads in the books.

I liked the premise of this book, friends that become more and that carried me for awhile but by the middle I was ready to just be done. Luckily I really enjoyed the ending, the mystery to Leo's death was pretty interesting, and there was a nice conclusion for the whole series, so luckily that saved the book for me.

In Book One, One Dance with a Duke, we learn that Lily is deaf but it's not mentioned for the first 25 pages of this book, which is thought was really bizarre. If you were new to this trilogy you would really have no idea. The believability that she was deaf sort of came and went for me.

Overall, a nice conclusion to the series.