Saturday, May 1, 2021

Review: All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byrne

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Title: All Scot and Bothered
Series: Devil You Know
Author: Kerrigan Byrne
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: September 29, 2020
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ASIN: B08472FB6T

They are a dangerous duke, a fierce lord, and an infamous earl—dark, bold, brave men who know exactly what they want. And there is only one woman who can bring them to their knees...

He is first and foremost—at everything. A man who's made his own way in the world through ruthless cunning and sheer force of will. A strong and imposing Scot who can turn on the charm but does not suffer fools. His title: Lord Chief Justice of the High Court. His name: Cassius Gerard Ramsay. His mission: To investigate the goings—on at London's most notorious gaming hell, owned and operated by one of the most intriguing and desirable women he's ever met.

IN THIS GAME OF LOVE, THE RULES DO NOT APPLY

Cecelia Teague was an orphan facing a rather dire future—until a secret benefactor from her mother's scandalous past swept into her life. Sent to prestigious boarding school and later to university, Cecelia believed high society was at her fingertips...Then, from out of nowhere, she became the inheritor of a gambling establishment. Now Cecelia must live two lives: one as a proper lady who finds herself undeniably drawn to Lord Ramsay and the other as a savvy gaming hell owner trying to save her business from the very same man. He has no idea she is both women...and Cecelia would like to keep it that way. But what happens when consuming passion and escalating danger threaten to reveal the truth?

My rating:

***copy provided by publisher through NetGalley***

Lord Chief Justice of the High Court, Cassius Gerard Ramsey's childhood had made him a hard man. He doesn't indulge, he doesn't suffer fools and he trusts no one. When he meets Cecelia Teague, he thinks it's his prolonged abstinence that makes him burn for her, but it turns out it's the woman herself...Until he discovers her secret.

Cecelia Teague has recently come into an inheritance. It's a gaming hell one man is determined to close and see the owner in shackles. Unfortunately, that's the same man that makes Cecelia tingle: Lord Chief Justice of the High Court, Cassius Gerard Ramsey.


After the wonderful first book, its successor ended up to be quite a disappointment.

The blurb promised something the story didn't quite achieve. I hoped the big secret of who the new owner of the gaming hell/school for young ladies was would last longer than just one chapter. But the major problem this book had was the hero. And I'm sad to say this, since I love Scottish heroes. But let's face it, Ramsay was a dick and an asshole. He sure didn't come across as such in his half-brother's book.
I didn't appreciated the heroine that much either. Especially her constantly keeping secrets even after the guy opened himself up to her. It still took her butler to lay it all down for Ramsay.

With a dickish hero and a mulish heroine, the romance left much to be desired. Beside their affinity in bed and common childhood traumas (which she neglected to mention, mind you), the two had rather little in common, resulting in their "romance" to be anything but. I couldn't root for the two neither as individuals nor as a couple.

The only saving grace this story had was the suspense subplot about missing children (a bit of a peeve: you can't give a supposedly Russian girl a surname obviously from the Balkans!), the conspiracy reaching high up in the British society and court and the main villain whose reveal came as rather a surprise.

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