Scot Under Covers by Suzanne Enoch

March 12, 2020
“MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left my cake out in the rain
And I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no, oh” – Jimmy Webb

http://www.suzanneenoch.com/
Have you ever noticed that the songs which stay in your mind are usually the ones which history isn’t always kind to? Usually they are the ones that one isn’t always fond of, however they are usually the ones which you remember. They stick in your head, and they don’t go away. Unless, of course, another irritating song comes along. “Young girl get out of my mind. My love for you is way out of line…blah, blaaaah, blaaaah.” Well, sometimes that happens with books. As we all know, I have a bad memory. It is very frustrating to try to remember which series is which. However, on the very first page of Scot Under the Covers, (the latest book in the Suzanne Enoch’s series Wild Wicked Highlanders), a blinding light of remembrance went off. I had no trouble remembering this series. Why is that, you ask. Well, my little Petunia’s I’ll tell you. Much like a bad tune, I remembered this book because I had such a strong negative reaction to the parents, especially the mother Francesca, Lady Aldriss. I also thought the future heroes of the series were rather immature. Did I throw the book against the wall? Nah, I read it, and I had some interesting reactions to it. Let us explore them.

First, let’s start with the hero, Aden, and the heroine, Miranda. I liked Aden, sort of. Aden is a rather introspective hero. He does not take anyone into his confidence. That of course, could lead to trust issues. On the positive side, he is extremely protective of his siblings. That protective attitude brought up some issues with me, which I will talk about later. He has a wonderful sense of humor, and is fond of wagering. In fact, when the story begins, he and his brother, Coll, are wagering which of the two is able to knock a bucket off a distant wall by throwing their boots at the bucket. It was an amusing first chapter. It was made more amusing by the fact they were wandering around the streets of London in their bare feet and kilts. Their mother was not amused. While Aden might enjoy a fun wager here and there, his reputation as a gambler might be a tad bit exaggerated. This is not a good thing because Miranda hatesssss gamblers. . .  She hates gamblers because of her Uncle. He lost a bunch of stuff and disappeared into America, leaving his family behind. Miranda is rather obnoxious to Aden when they are first introduced. All that snootiness changes because of her brother Mathew.

Mathew. We were introduced to Mathew in the first book of the series, It’s Getting Scot in Here. Mathew is Miranda’s brother and the fiancé of Eloise. Eloise is Aden’s sister. See how I connected the dots. Well, it seems that Mathew has a problem. He has been hornswoggled by the villain, Captain Vale. He owes Vale 50,000 pounds. Even I know that 50,000 pounds is a lot of money. Well Mathew cannot pay that amount. When I read the first book in the series, I liked Mathew. Compared to the MacTaggart brothers, Mathew seemed to be really nice. Well, he may be nice, but he’s also a slimy toad-coward. There is no polite way to say this. He sells Miranda to Captain Vale in exchange for his debt. I have more to say about that later. When Miranda finds out what Mathew has done, she is livid. Guess what! She has a plan…and it involves Aden.

Miranda’s Aden plan. Who better to bring down the evil gambler Captain Vale, then the very smart gambler Aden MacTaggart. Might as well keep it in the family, that way no one will hear about any kind of scandal. Aden, who is in lust with Miranda agrees. Besides, he has a plan.

Aden’s plan. It’s a secret. Yes, Aden has a plan, but we don’t know what it is. He does a lot of conniving, but it’s all secret. He involves his brothers, but doesn’t tell them why. He feeds Miranda lines to say to Captain Vale, but doesn’t let her know what effect those lines might have. He doesn’t let us, the reader, in on the plans so that we might follow along. It’s alllllll hush, hush, and very irritating. And, when the big reveal happens, it’s all very anti-climactic. 

Mommie-dearest. In the first book in the series, I detested Francesca, the MacTaggart’s mother. Not only did she separate the siblings, she abandoned her sons, and never communicated with them. Then, for some mysterious reason, she decided to force them back into her life. She does this by threatening the livelihood of the tenants on the MacTaggart estate. No matter how much I tried, I could find nothing to like about this woman. It seems to me that Ms. Enoch has painted herself into a corner with Francesca’s character. I’m not quite sure if Francesca can be redeemed in this series. Having said that, there were some scenes in this story which have Francesca revealing a little bit more of her past, and that gave me some hope. But, Ms. Enoch has a long way to go for me to see Francesca as something other than a manipulating, selfish woman. 

Siblings, loyalty, and Mathew. As I mentioned earlier, I have more to say about Mathew’s loathsome actions and Aden, Miranda, and Eloise’s reaction to them. Selling your sister to a creep is not what I would call an attractive trait in ones beloved. Sure, Miranda was livid when her brother sold her to Captain Vale. She eventually forgave him; too quickly in my opinion. Aden, Eloise’s overprotective brother, seemed to adopt a let’s-wait-and-see attitude. He didn’t beat Mathew up, look at him menacingly, or warn Eloise of the kind of man she was engaged to. When Eloise found out, she had a don’t-do-that-again-you-naughty-boy reaction. I would think Mathew’s actions would warrant a major blow-up, maybe even a break-up. Maybe he’d leave, find himself, then come back and do some major groveling in a later book. Then, the plotline Ms. Enoch has painted herself in a corner with would not work. The issue of Mathew being a good guy, but still trading his sister for a gambling debt, lowered my opinion of this book. I think Mathew deserved harsher retribution than he got.

Overall, I liked this book better than the last. Aden made a good hero, and after a few chapters, I even liked Miranda. I would have wished that Miranda and Aden had spent more time together in the story though. I also wish Aden’s plan had not been so secretive. My biggest issue with this story was Mathew. I did not like what he did, and I did not like the resolution of his problem. 
 
Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Warm

 

Mathew