Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore
Title: Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3)
Author: Evie Dunmore
Publisher: Berkley 2021
Genre: Romance
Pages: 426
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Seasonal TBR
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 desire for 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.
I started this book loving the characters and the premise. I was so very into the storyline until about 40% of the way through. It started to get very repetitive for me and I really started to lose interest. My main issue is how Lucian continues to treat Hattie even after they are married, and especially after they have sex. I get the enemies to lovers trope. I get the one bed trope. My issue is fundamentally how he treats her. He’s okay with having sex with her, but cannot have a simple conversation without becoming antagonistic and condescending. I just could not take it. Sure, Hattie is a bit spoiled, but she consistently shows so much compassion for people that it was hard to have Lucian treat her like a child. The dichotomy did me in. I just could not root for their relationship at all. I had high hopes at the end that the big decision would stick, but then we get him showing up all ready to profess his love. I just couldn’t buy it. very disappointed in how this one worked out. It didn’t get my all the warm and fuzzies that I want from my historical romances.
A League of Extraordinary Women
#2 A Rogue of One’s Own
#3 Portrait of a Scotsman
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