Scotsman of My Dreams by Karen Ranney

Narrated by John Lee

The second in Karen Ranney’s current MacIain series, Scotsman of My Dreams is an enjoyable character-driven romance in which the reclusive, wounded hero meets the unusual young woman who is destined to help him rebuild his life.

Hellraiser Dalton MacIain, bored with the predictability of his life in London and wanting excitement, left England with a group of followers in order to fight in the American Civil War. Deciding which side to fight for on the toss of a coin, five, including Dalton, fought for the Union while the remaining seven men joined the Confederate army. Dalton very soon learned that the gruesome realities of war were a far cry from the glory and adventure he had anticipated, and is contemplating a return home when he is shot in the face, losing one eye and the sight in the other. Following months of convalescence in America, he returns home to be greeted with the news that his older brother has been killed in a hunting accident, and that he, Dalton, is now the Earl of Rathsmere.

For seven months, Dalton has holed himself up in his London house, aimless, all too aware of his unsuitability to fill his older brother’s shoes as earl and frequently wondering whether he would have been better off if the bullet had done its job. His staff generally steers clear of him, all except the kindly housekeeper who tries to cosset him a bit, and his rather creepy secretary, who, although he has worked for Dalton for years, makes him feel profoundly uncomfortable.

Into Dalton’s dreary, self-pitying existence bursts the unconventional, outspoken, trouser-wearing Miss Minerva Todd, whose brother Neville had been one of the band of “MacIain’s Marauders”, who had followed Dalton to America, but who has not yet returned. She demands Dalton tells her what happened to Neville, but he angrily sends her away. Minerva is undaunted however, and refuses to take “no” for an answer. She won’t leave Dalton alone, going so far as to follow him on the very rare occasions he goes out, and even breaking into his home late at night; until, utterly furious, he tells her that he has no idea about and no interest in Neville’s whereabouts, because the last thing he remembers seeing is Neville aiming a gun at his head.

Minerva is shocked, but adamant that her brother would never have done such a thing, and insists that Dalton helps to find Neville so that they can find out the truth of the situation. In fact, Dalton has already called in James Wilson, a friend of his who works as an investigator, because Dalton has recently received information that his older brother’s death may not have been an accident.  Wilson is of the opinion that Dalton’s life may be in danger and, having already formed his own ideas on the subject, Dalton is inclined to agree.

While there is a strong element of mystery to the story, the bulk of it is devoted to the romance that develops between the rather unlikely central couple, and to the rehabilitation of Dalton MacIain. Minerva is twenty-nine and a dedicated archaeologist; and although unwed, is not a virgin, having decided some years ago that while she was unlikely to marry, she didn’t want to eschew passion.  She and Dalton strike sparks off each other right from the start; their dialogue is laced with sexual attraction and the relationship that develops between them does so at a good pace and is imbued with tenderness and humour.

At the beginning of the book, Dalton is a wreck of a man, full of insecurities, self-pity and self-loathing. Returning to his previous, hedonistic lifestyle is not an option, or something he wants to do; and never having expected to inherit an earldom, he has no idea how to run it. Yet he is starting to realise that perhaps his decision to go to America had more to do with wanting to do something with his life than with boredom, and, with Minerva’s love, help and support, he regains his self respect and finds his purpose in life. They are a well-matched couple – both intelligent, stubborn and determined, but with an underlying vulnerability that makes their growing and genuine friendship – and then their love story – a real delight.

John Lee is a very experienced narrator with a very large number of audiobooks to his credit (almost 200 at Audible UK) although this appears to be his first foray into the romance genre. His voice is pleasing to the ear, he enunciates clearly and both narrative and dialogue are well-paced.  He does, however, take a while to settle in, which may perhaps be because his interpretation of Dalton is a little different to what I’d been expecting. I rarely go into listening to a book with an exact idea of what the characters should sound like, and – if the narrator is good – I come away from it happily thinking that yes, he/she sounded exactly right. But in this case, Dalton sounds altogether too suave and collected at the beginning of the book, when he should come across as a little more embittered and rough around the edges. Mr Lee’s interpretation of Minerva also took a while to get used to; he avoids falsetto when portraying her, but she occasionally sounds a little too “dowager-ish”, which made her sound less appealing than I’d have liked. The more intimate scenes, however, are well done, sounding appropriately emotional but without stepping over the fine line that lies between sexy and funny. All the secondary characters are well-differentiated and portrayed according to age and station, although once or twice I did find it necessary to pay attention to the dialogue tags in scenes between Dalton and Wilson. This didn’t spoil the story – it’s just that the difference in tone and timbre between them is very subtle and my ears didn’t always pick up on it straight away.

I enjoyed listening to Scotsman of My Dreams, although at a pinch, I’d have to say I liked the story more when I read the book. That doesn’t mean the audiobook isn’t worth listening to – I just felt that it didn’t quite hit all the marks. That said, John Lee acquits himself well and I would certainly be interested in hearing him narrate more romance.

Caz

Narration: B-

Book Content: B

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: Minimal

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Harper Audio