A Scot in the Dark

Saying that this isn't my favorite Sarah MacLean book is a bit like saying that The Truth isn't my favorite Discworld book: it's still pretty damn good. MacLean's books are so consistently good that the variation within them is both heightened and almost meaningless.

This is the story of Lily and Alec. Lily is Alec's ward, though Alec doesn't actually discover this until she finds herself in the center of a scandal and he swoops in to repair her reputation as much as he can. This dynamic isn't my favorite thing in the world, but MacLean pulls it off pretty well. Mostly by not having is be a long-established thing.

Alec was a bit frustrating as a hero. He's got this tragic backstory that leads to commitment issues. But it drags out so long that when he finally spilled his guts I barely killed. Just get over it and admit you love this girl, I wanted to scream. But other than that, he's a very honorable (possibly too honorable), intelligent, kind man whose discomfort in society is mostly fun to read about.

Lily, on the other hand, is basically perfect. (All of MacLeans' heroines are basically perfect.) And if she's in love with Alec, well what can I do but root for her? Lily is desperately lonely, so she falls for the first guy to pay attention to her and learns the hard way that some guys are assholes. But she's strong and resilient, and she refuses to let other people dictate the rest of her life because she made one mistake. Which I admire.

It was also great to see the Talbot sisters again. I really hope that Sesily eventually gets her own book. And I'll have to go back and read Georgiana's book now, as she was absolutely delightful in this installment.

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