Format: Net Galley Advanced Reader Copy
Genre: Historical Romance
Page Length: 432 pages
Publisher: Berkley (September 7, 2021)
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mr. Darcy‘s Rating: “You have bewitched me, body and soul.”
A Chasing Mr. Darcy Review
Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore is the third book in A League of Extraordinary Women series. If you follow me on bookstagram, you know my account is borderline an Evie Dunmore stan-account because I love her book so much.
Here’s a plot synopsis from Amazon: London banking heiress Hattie Greenfield wanted just three things in life:
1. Acclaim as an artist.
2. A noble cause.
3. Marriage to a young lord who puts the gentle in gentleman.
Why then does this Oxford scholar find herself at the altar with the darkly attractive financier Lucian Blackstone, whose murky past and ruthless business practices strike fear in the hearts of Britain's peerage? Trust Hattie to take an invigorating little adventure too far. Now she's stuck with a churlish Scot who just might be the end of her ambitions....When the daughter of his business rival all but falls into his lap, Lucian sees opportunity. As a self-made man, he has vast wealth but holds little power, and Hattie might be the key to finally setting long-harbored political plans in motion. Driven by an old desire for revenge, he has no room for his new wife's apprehensions or romantic notions, bewitching as he finds her. But a sudden journey to Scotland paints everything in a different light. Hattie slowly sees the real Lucian and realizes she could win everything--as long as she is prepared to lose her heart.
I loved this book. I completely fell in love with Hattie and Lucian, and I found their struggle towards love very relatable and real. Their love isn’t an insta-love; they do have a physical attraction to each other initially, but the love comes muuuuuuuuuch later. Both fight their feelings tooth and nail, and it was such an interesting dynamic between pure as porcelain Hattie and rough/tumble Lucian. Hattie is as refined as Lucian is rugged, and the balance they provided each other was nicely written. Hattie also suffers from a reading disorder, and while it’s never called dyslexia, that’s what it appears to be. Lucian’s patience with Hattie is remarkable, and he never discounts her value because of her disability. I liked the unfailing support he showed her throughout the story. I also enjoyed the somewhat off-brand humor between them during the story, as well as the use of slang terms for certain lady parts (IYKYK). I laughed at loud at some of these parts, mostly because of Hattie’s shock at Lucian’s free use of such words.
My only complaint about this book is the ending. I didn’t care for the last fifty pages that much, and I wasn’t super satisfied with the way Hattie and Lucian found their way back to each other. I did like the ending for the most part, so I don’t want to give away too much in case I spoiler something for a reader. I just felt like the ending was a bit jumbled.
This is still a five star read for me, though, and I think everyone who loves romance should read Evie Dunmore’s books!
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