The Scot Beds His Wife (Victorian Rebels, #5)

by Kerrigan Byrne

[stacey_is_sassy]

Not my favourite Rebel...

I get why it seems easier to lie but it really does end up biting you on the bum. While I enjoyed my revisit with The Scot Beds His Wife it really is not my favourite of the series. There are so many lies and secrets kept, that I spent a lot of time frustrated with both Gavin and Samantha. Most of the fault lies with Samantha, but Gavin really does not help.

The thing that made listening a little better than just satisfactory is the chance to catch up with the gang. I am loving my revisit to this series. This is my first re-read of the series and now that I know how it all plays out, I'm enjoying seeing all the puzzle pieces falling into place. How all the parts are linked is fascinating, and I'm only now realising how much works goes into making a series. Nicknames from childhood have more of an impact when you know what kind of man they've turned into. This re-read/listen has been amazing and I've loved every minute of it...even when I've not particularly liked how things play out.

I have listened to Derek Perkins narrate a few different stories and some I've liked and some I've not really enjoyed. As a Victorian Rebel, Mr Perkins excels. He is Dorian Blackwell.
He is Christopher Argent. He is Liam Mackenzie. He is Col Talmage. And now, he is Gavin St. James. He brings each of the Rebels to life whether they be Highwayman, Hunter, Highlander, Duke, or Scot. They could not have cast a better man for the job.

When I initially saw that the whole series was performed by one male, I was a little wary. It's only now that I'm 5 books in, I've realised that this romance series could ONLY have been performed by a male. Unlike other romances where the heroine is the focal point, this series is about the heroes finding love. Sure, we get thoughts and feelings of the heroine, but it really is all about the hero.

I can't wait to catch up with The Rook to check out his Dragon Tattoo.

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The axe didn’t fall as I expected

I was so excited when The Scot Beds His Wife hit my Kindle. I am a HUGE fan of Kerrigan Byrne and the Victorian Rebels series. In the previous instalments, I’ve taken emotion and physical punches (of the book reading variety) within the first few pages of the book. In this case, it was almost light. Well, maybe not light, maybe murky would be a better term. It wasn’t as dark as I expected. Sure, there was a wee bit of pain, torture and suffering but it was almost like I was observing it through a mask. But, maybe Kerrigan Byrne did that on purpose? See, our hero, Gavin, Earl of Thorne, he wears a mask to hide his darkness. Maybe we’re given this murky picture because Gavin has pushed his darkness so far behind the mask, that even he doesn’t see it clearly anymore.

His mask is the smirky smirk of a profligate rake. Gavin sleeps around A LOT! This, unfortunately, is not an endearing characteristic to me. Even when we find out why he is the way he is and what led him to be that way, I still struggled to see past it. He throws it in your face, talks about it openly and wants you to turn away in disgust. Because, if you don’t, there might be a connection. Connections mean feelings and emotions. Gavin doesn’t want to feel or connect.

Again, I am faced with a deceitful heroine. I wanted to hate her but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. While we don’t “see” her suffering, we do see her strength and courage that’s grown from her suffering. Sam almost gives you the impression that she’s one of the boys. She wears pants, rides astride, swears like a trooper and outshoots most men. I don’t think she is trying to be one of the boys, she just happens to do those things. The pants because they’re practical. Astride because it’s safer and easier than side-saddle. Swears like a trooper, because, well, I don’t know about you, but sometimes a swear word is the only way to express something passionately. The out-shooting, because she wants to live, and if you’re better than the opposition holding a gun, or you can’t outrun a beast, best to practice until you are the best.

Sam is a very complicated character. She’s worked hard since she was little, escaped a bad situation, been led astray and made a snap decision that changed her life. Her new life includes moving countries and finally finding a place where she can settle and live her life in peace. Unfortunately, her peace is a wee bit far off when the most beautiful man she’s ever seen tries to steal her peace.

I’ll be brutally honest, The Scot Beds His Wife took a wee while for me to warm up to. As I mentioned before, Gavin’s reputation does not show him in his best light. Sam holds her secrets too close to her heart and they’re exposed before she can protect herself. It's a steamy read with Gavin's previous experience coming to good use.

I kept waiting for the dark. It was like there was an axe hovering over me, waiting for me to relax so that it could attack. Every page turned was going to be the one when things would go wrong. I waited and waited and waited. Towards the end, I started panicking. How were we going to resolve everything that’s still up in the air? When were the secrets going to come out? This is one of those stories that ends with a BANG, CRASH and KABOOM!! Friends and enemies collide with some very interesting information coming to light.

For a little while, I thought this was going to be the first book in the series that I didn’t like but I should have trusted that Ms Byrne would deliver the goods. Happy smiles and hearts aflutter, with an ending just the way I like it.

Just a warning though, there is A LOT of swearing and I mean A LOT. Didn't worry me too much and actually made me chuckle because it was so unexpected.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.