Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Some Like It Scot (Scandalous Highlanders #4) by Suzanne Enoch


Review and Character Study Playlist


Some Like It Scot by Suzanne Enoch is actually very different from most of the books I read. Heck, it’s even different from most regency books I’ve read. It's not overly explicit and it's not full of plot twists or deception; I’ll even admit it starts off fairly slow. However, as a whole, the book is very genuine and relatable. Bear and Cat’s shared feeling of being a misfit within their own clan and their slow-to-build emotional connection, was especially satisfying as it developed over the course of the book.


The Good

  • Cat’s feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt are relatable for a lot of female readers (they are certainly relatable for me at least). I’ve read quite a few books where the heroine feels unworthy for one reason or another, but no other book I’ve come across explores the heroine’s feelings so thoroughly or walks us through her internal transformation so meticulously. It’s worth reading this book simply to explore Cat’s character development.
  • This book had serious tension. Tension between Bear and Cat, between Bear and Ranulf and between the entire MacLawry family kept me engaged and absorbed once I fell head-first into the story.
  • The MacLawry familial bonds: I really enjoyed Rowena standing up for Bear and the closer look at the relationship between the brother and sister. Bear reaching out to Rowena in order to get Cat prepared to meet his family was really very sweet.
The Bad
  • The book is slow to start. For readers who have read the previous Scandalous Highlanders books and met Bear before, the initial set-up of this book will seem tedious. On the flip side though, this book can certainly be read as a stand-alone since Enoch explores the MacLawry world so thoroughly in the beginning.
The Unique
  • I love me a Highlander. I love me a shirtless man in a kilt on a cover. For those of us who have read books set in Regency Scotland before, this world is not new; the lairds, the Highlands, the kilts and the terminology just aren’t that unusual anymore. Enoch is able to make many of the pieces of this world seem unique again by viewing them through Cat’s eyes. Since Cat has been somewhat removed from typical Highland culture, and certainly typical feminine Highland culture, to view the world through her lens is a very interesting take on this popular romance time period.
The Playlist
  • The playlist I worked on for Some Like It Scot was crazy fun to work on. I tried to really capture Cat’s transformation in the lyrics of her songs. "Another Day" by Mark Broussard, "Ready to Run" by the Dixie Chicks and then "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten each point to a different point in Cat’s emotional journey. Bear’s songs all relate to his desire to make Cat realize her worth and the intensity of his feelings for her. For Bear I included three love ballads sung by men: "Make You Feel by Love" by Bob Dylan, "Just The Way You Are" by Bruno Mars and "She’s Always A Woman" by Billy Joel. There are two HEA songs too; "1000 Stars" by The Webb Sisters and "All Day and All of the Night" are on different ends of the music spectrum but the lyrics both fit Cat and Bear’s HEA perfectly. Bonus: The Piano Guys’ version of "Fight Song/Amazing Grace" with bagpipes!


I rate this book:
HeartHeartHeartHeartHeart
What did you think of Some Like It Scot? Are there any songs that remind you of Bear, Cat and their HEA?

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