Scan barcode
ceng1018's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ok book in the series. I was frustrated by the main characters dragging the story line along but ended well.
romancejunkie1025's review against another edition
5.0
Devil in Tartan was truly an adventure to read. With drama, battles, death, intrigue, lust, passion, and ultimately the healing power of true love, Julia London shows that the nature of man hasn’t changed through the years, leaving us still seeking those same needs today that have always made life worth living. Aulay has always looked for his place in the world. A middle son, one not known for his ferocity or any other particularly marketable skill, his ability to command the seas is what has always given him the feeling of acceptance from his father and Laird. Now, faced with the chance to change that, to truly find out where he belongs Aulay might just find that a tiny angel-haired lass will be the one to lead him to that happiness and the missing piece of his life he has always sought on the open sees, but only if he will allow himself to seize the chance at her love. Lottie has no idea what she needs in her life, but she wants her freedom and to keep her clan from becoming destitute, so she is determined to follow through with her father’s foolhardy plan, even with disaster after disaster standing in their way, until suddenly there is just no point in continuing on that journey anymore. Now Aulay and Lottie both have to face the truth of their life and decide if that missing piece they both seek could be found in the other person’s arms. I loved every moment of this story, even though I cried through a good last quarter of the story and I always enjoy seeing how Ms. London finds a way for her lovers to prevail over everything they are up against. I am really looking forward to seeing what if anything will be coming next in this series and of course reading whatever series comes our way next. If you are looking for a light and fluffy historical romance—this isn’t it folks, but if you want to read a story about the true and real love of two people that just happens to be set in the past and revolves around the historical Highland Clans so many of Scottish descent (myself included) find so fascinating, then you cannot go wrong with Devil in Tartan.
For a full review see my blog at:http://romancewitchreviews.blogspot.com/2018/01/arc-review-devil-in-tartan-highland.html?m=1
For a full review see my blog at:http://romancewitchreviews.blogspot.com/2018/01/arc-review-devil-in-tartan-highland.html?m=1
nellesnightstand1's review against another edition
3.0
This one fit both my challenge tropes! Nothing says enemies to lovers & forced proximity to a lass duping a Sea Captain and "borrowing" his ship!
A 37-year-old man, Auley Mackenzie is at home on the sea. It's where he's the most comfortable He feels that without it he would be lost.
Lottie comes along and takes his ship and makes him fall for her.
I had times where I loved Lottie and times where I felt she was just so silly. But considering she's in her early 20's and the apple of her clan's eye, it was understandable. That girl had a lot shoved onto her shoulders and she did what she had to do even if she didn't like or want to do it.
Auely took a back seat to Lottie in this one, in my opinon. He wasn't very fleshed out. I liked how she showed the disconnect he felt with his family.
This was an enjoyable, adventurous story!
A 37-year-old man, Auley Mackenzie is at home on the sea. It's where he's the most comfortable He feels that without it he would be lost.
Lottie comes along and takes his ship and makes him fall for her.
I had times where I loved Lottie and times where I felt she was just so silly. But considering she's in her early 20's and the apple of her clan's eye, it was understandable. That girl had a lot shoved onto her shoulders and she did what she had to do even if she didn't like or want to do it.
Auely took a back seat to Lottie in this one, in my opinon. He wasn't very fleshed out. I liked how she showed the disconnect he felt with his family.
This was an enjoyable, adventurous story!
nellesnightstand's review against another edition
3.0
This one fit both my challenge tropes! Nothing says enemies to lovers & forced proximity to a lass duping a Sea Captain and "borrowing" his ship!
A 37-year-old man, Auley Mackenzie is at home on the sea. It's where he's the most comfortable He feels that without it he would be lost.
Lottie comes along and takes his ship and makes him fall for her.
I had times where I loved Lottie and times where I felt she was just so silly. But considering she's in her early 20's and the apple of her clan's eye, it was understandable. That girl had a lot shoved onto her shoulders and she did what she had to do even if she didn't like or want to do it.
Auely took a back seat to Lottie in this one, in my opinon. He wasn't very fleshed out. I liked how she showed the disconnect he felt with his family.
This was an enjoyable, adventurous story!
A 37-year-old man, Auley Mackenzie is at home on the sea. It's where he's the most comfortable He feels that without it he would be lost.
Lottie comes along and takes his ship and makes him fall for her.
I had times where I loved Lottie and times where I felt she was just so silly. But considering she's in her early 20's and the apple of her clan's eye, it was understandable. That girl had a lot shoved onto her shoulders and she did what she had to do even if she didn't like or want to do it.
Auely took a back seat to Lottie in this one, in my opinon. He wasn't very fleshed out. I liked how she showed the disconnect he felt with his family.
This was an enjoyable, adventurous story!
emilyakerman's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
rainelle_barrett's review against another edition
1.0
I read the first 100 pages of this book and I have come to the decision that’s this book is dry. 80 pages of this book stayed stationary with the two lead characters staying in the captains cabin with her father discussing trying to save the whiskey. One word?! Boring! This is my honest review. Sorry Julia. I will still read your other books though.
joanav's review against another edition
3.0
I received an eARC at no cost from the author.
Devil in Tartan is the fourth book on the Highland Grooms series, by Julia London.
Having read the first three books, it’s impossible not to make comparisons between them. Sadly, for me, this was my least favourite book.
It had an interesting premise, and I liked Aulay, but I just couldn’t connect with Lottie.
Lottie is described as strong, courageous, fearsome woman, but even if she was trying to do her best to save the (illegal) family business, she just didn’t act nor did justice to her descriptions. She was, no doubt, intelligent enough to use her pretty face to fool men, but that didn’t make me like her more – it actually made me like her less.
And Aulay, although I did like him more than Lottie, he too was a bit of an empty character. He was a painter, which I liked, but felt it wasn’t explored enough. I liked that Julia London mentioned his role in the family, how he felt, because that made me connect with him more, but it just felt like it was lacking something.
I liked revisiting characters from the previous books, but it was for such a short while that it wasn’t enough to save the book from a simple 3 star rating.
I just couldn’t connect with the characters as much as in the previous books, and I felt that with both Lottie’s crew and Aulay’s crew always around it felt a bit too crowded and there were too many characters (and sometimes I even got confused with who was whom – and I read the book in just two days, and rarely get lost in these books, but with this one it was hard to remember all the minor characters).
Julia London’s writing isn’t being put in question here, she was as good as always, I just felt like she tried to put too much in one book and ended up not focusing enough on what was really necessary. Still, it was a different read, and I managed to enjoy parts of it.
Devil in Tartan is the fourth book on the Highland Grooms series, by Julia London.
Having read the first three books, it’s impossible not to make comparisons between them. Sadly, for me, this was my least favourite book.
It had an interesting premise, and I liked Aulay, but I just couldn’t connect with Lottie.
Lottie is described as strong, courageous, fearsome woman, but even if she was trying to do her best to save the (illegal) family business, she just didn’t act nor did justice to her descriptions. She was, no doubt, intelligent enough to use her pretty face to fool men, but that didn’t make me like her more – it actually made me like her less.
And Aulay, although I did like him more than Lottie, he too was a bit of an empty character. He was a painter, which I liked, but felt it wasn’t explored enough. I liked that Julia London mentioned his role in the family, how he felt, because that made me connect with him more, but it just felt like it was lacking something.
I liked revisiting characters from the previous books, but it was for such a short while that it wasn’t enough to save the book from a simple 3 star rating.
I just couldn’t connect with the characters as much as in the previous books, and I felt that with both Lottie’s crew and Aulay’s crew always around it felt a bit too crowded and there were too many characters (and sometimes I even got confused with who was whom – and I read the book in just two days, and rarely get lost in these books, but with this one it was hard to remember all the minor characters).
Julia London’s writing isn’t being put in question here, she was as good as always, I just felt like she tried to put too much in one book and ended up not focusing enough on what was really necessary. Still, it was a different read, and I managed to enjoy parts of it.
gracesbookss's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, however, I did get put into a reading slump towards the end and I just could NOT get through it! I love Julia Londons' Highland Grooms series. I think it is just a fun time, but for some reason, I did NOT want to finish it. To clarify, I dont think my reading slump was due to this book but rather due to the start of the spring semester of my sophomore year of college.
halleymalley1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0