X Marks the Scot (Bad Boys of the Highlands #2) by Victoria Roberts

Summary:

He was a Highland rogue—
wicked with a bow and just as wicked with the ladies.

Declan MacGregor hadn’t a care in the world beyond finding a soft bed and willing woman…until he had to escort Lady Liadain Campbell to the English court. The woman needles him at every turn, but he can’t just abandon her to that vipers’ nest without protection.

She never asked for a bodyguard…

Liadain wasn’t thrilled to be left in the care of her clan’s archrival. It was as if the man never had a lady tell him no before! And yet as whispers of treason swirl through the court and the threat of danger grows ever sharper, her bitter enemy soon becomes the only one she can trust…
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 352 pages (Mass Market Paperback)
Source: Toronto Public Library
Available Formats: Print/E-book
Publication Date: February 5th 2013 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

X Marks the Scot is the second book in the Bad Boys of the Highlands series by Victoria Roberts and I was so glad to finally knock this one off my mountainous TBR pile, and frankly I really wanted to see how the author's second historical romance would compare with the first book in the series which I absolutely loved.

The events in X Marks the Scot take place perhaps a couple months after Temptation in a Kilt left off and this book centers around the youngest MacGregor brother Declan and the half sister of the bloody Campbell, Liadain whom we met in the first book and their rocky road of romance.

Declan, is pretty much like Charlie Harper from Two and a Half Men. He's a drunken whore monger who has no problem going to bed, the stables or hiding behind some bushes with a different woman every night, and he's convinced that he's perfectly content living this way. The only things standing in his way are his older brothers Ciaran and Aiden as well as Liadain whom the king has just ordered him to wed.

Liadain, is a healer and she wants nothing more than to live on her own independently just as she has for most of her life when she played second fiddle to her brother and father. When we were first introduced to Liadain in Temptation in a Kilt I was instantly curious about her. She displayed a lot of courage in the first book and so I was glad that she was our heroine in this one. Laidain is definitely not a push over and she's a true Scottish woman with the fiery temper and headstrong attitude that I love seeing my heroines have. She also inherited the sharp Scottish tongue and wit and she wasn't shy on letting loose on Declan when he ticked her off which happened more often than not.

I also enjoyed seeing the couple Ciaran and Rosalie from the first book making an appearance in X Marks a Scot. Before I read this one I was hoping that we would see them again because I loved seeing where the two of them were at in terms of the relationship in this one and I hope to see more of them in the final book in the trilogy when it gets published.

The story line in this one was a bit more complicated as Declan seems to manage to cast himself into a plot that he's completely unaware of that implicates him in a political aspect him until the last 15% of the book and while I liked the drama that this added to the story I wish that it had been brought about in a bit of a different way. I did however like that this book didn't center around two characters who immediately fell in love with each other. Oh no, Declan and Liadain fought tooth and nail against their feelings for each other which just made things even more apparent to me as a reader and to the other characters in the book as well.

Overall, I thought that the pairing of Declan and Liadain was great. The chemistry from these two was just great and while there were a couple of love scenes in this one where as the first book in the trilogy had none, I would have liked to see a little more passion on behalf of the two of them but that is of course my preference. The writing was just as good as the first book except for the political part in the book that I felt could have been flushed out a little bit more. However, the book was well paced other than that and I am anxiously awaiting the third and final book in this trilogy and will be sad to see these characters go.

I would recommend X Marks the Scot to all fans of historical romances especially to those who love their historicals with some kilted rogues, lots of action and a whole lot of chemistry between the characters and a heroine who isn't afraid to speak her mind. Plus if you're in a mood for a book that'll offer you some giggles I really think this one should be read. I do suggest reading the first book in the trilogy first since events in that particular book lead us on the beginnings of the love story in this one.

 

I read this book for the following reading challenges:

 

2013 150+ Reading Challenge

 

Really Liked It!
★★★★

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