Review: Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3) by Evie Dunmore
10:00
Series: A League of Extraordinary Women #3
Author: Evie Dunmore
Published September 2nd 2021 by Piatkus
Goodreads Synopsis
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 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.
Going toe-to-toe with a brooding Scotsman is rather bold for a respectable suffragist, but when he happens to be one's unexpected husband, what else is an unwilling bride to do?
Goodreads
Review
When Hattie Greenfield finds herself marrying her father's business rival, Lucian Blackstone, she hopes for a happy marriage, and a chance to be able to explore her art further, and gain renown. However, where she sees the opportunity for love, Lucian sees the marriage as a path for revenge and power, and hopes that by dragging Hattie to a remote Scottish town, she will forget all her notions of love. As a self made man, who dragged himself from the mines, and created a fortune to rival that of the aristocracy, Lucian can't forget he holds little power, and he will do anything, even marry, to get some semblance of power. But rather than changing Hattie into a meek wife, their time in Scotland revitalises her, and she realises that though the woman in the colliery may not have 'power', they hold all the strings, and she will fight for everyone to have the right to vote, and control over their lives, not just the well to do.
I loved this book. Hattie and Lucian were the perfect couple for this story, and their chemistry was off the charts. Though their marriage was a forced one, it was clear both were attracted to the other, and the banter and animosity together was joyful to read. They made each other be the better version of themselves, and though it wasn't an easy path, it worked out well in the end. I love how political these books are, and the history being told (both real and embellished) is so right! Most people in Victorian England weren't bothered about the Suffrage movement, because if you were from a working class family, your dad, husband, son, etc. wouldn't have the right to vote, so why would you care if the well to do women did? The women in the collieries and villages around the UK at this time worked just as hard as the men, and they kept the communities and families going. Being removed from Oxford and London, Hattie soon realises what most people are a facing, and I loved the way she worked with the families to gain their trust and respect, and wanted to help them, even if it was the 'right' thing to do for a woman in her position, nor would the ton care for it. The character growth over the course of the book was amazing, and I really hope that Hattie and Lucian are seen in the fourth book, which I'm dying to get my hands on. Another great book by Evie, one I can't recommend enough!
Dates Read:
Rating
5 Stars
0 comments