Never Seduce a Scot
Series: The Montgomerys and Armstrongs #1
Author: Maya Banks
Published September 25th 2012 by Ballantine Books

Goodreads Synopsis
Eveline Armstrong is fiercely loved and protected by her powerful clan, but outsiders consider her “touched.” Beautiful, fey, with a level, intent gaze, she doesn’t speak. No one, not even her family, knows that she cannot hear. Content with her life of seclusion, Eveline has taught herself to read lips and allows the outside world to view her as daft. But when an arranged marriage into a rival clan makes Graeme Montgomery her husband, Eveline accepts her duty—unprepared for the delights to come. Graeme is a rugged warrior with a voice so deep and powerful that his new bride can hear it, and hands and kisses so tender and skilled that he stirs her deepest passions.

Graeme is intrigued by the mysterious Eveline, whose silent lips are ripe with temptation and whose bright, intelligent eyes can see into his soul. As intimacy deepens, he learns her secret. But when clan rivalries and dark deeds threaten the wife he has only begun to cherish, the Scottish warrior will move heaven and earth to save the woman who has awakened his heart to the beautiful song of a rare and magical love.
Goodreads

Review
After an awful accident 3 years ago, Eveline Armstrong, to the rest of her clan at least, is 'touched'. She doesn't talk, she doesn't really interact at all, and only her status as the clan chieftains daughter allows her to life in peace. The truth - the accident lost her her hearing, and she can fully understand what people are saying, by reading their lips. Being seen as 'different' though, has given her a freedom to ensure she doesn't have to marry her betrothed, Ian McHugh, who scares her. The Armstrong clan have been at war with the Montgomery's for over 50 years, and King Alexander II has had enough. Eveline must marry the Montgomery chief - Graeme - in the space of a fortnight, and leave her family for good. Graeme has more than enough reason to hate the Armstrong's - after all, they're the reason his father was dead - and didn't want to marry someone who most thought of as a child, with no hope of being a proper wife or mother. When the two meet, there is a connection, but will the Montgomery's open their arms to an outsider, and one who may be more of a hindrance than anything else? As they open up to each other, outsider forces are at work to ensure that war breaks out between the two clans, but will their love be enough?

This was a book that fully surprised me. I've only really been reading Regency/Georgian romances, and hadn't realised this was set in the 13th century until I started it, but as soon as I met Eveline, I knew I needed to read her story. She was such a strong character, who had overcome so much, and I loved her character growth throughout the entire book! Because of her hearing loss, and subsequent recovery, everyone thought of her as 'different', not 'normal', some even going as far as saying she was 'daft'. She really wasn't though - she was so intelligent to use her situation to ensure she didn't have to marry a bully, and be unlikely to ever marry at all. Meeting Graeme, she still wasn't too happy about the forced nuptials, but with him, she could hear a little, and there was a kindness that comforted her. Graeme was a strong leader, and could be scary if needed, but with Eveline he was loving and soft, and never pushed her. When the revelation about her true condition was revealed - after her suffering at the hands of her new clanswomen - he took it on the chin, and helped her adapt to life as a Montgomery. Their relationship was so sweet, and felt wholly real, that you just couldn't help but smile when they were together. The plot twist was something I was not expecting, and I honestly didn't know how it would be solved in a way that didn't damage clan relations, or start a war, but I loved it! I can't wait to read Highlander Most Wanted now.

Dates Read:
August 10-11, 2020

Rating
4 Stars