Scotsmen Prefer Blondes by Sara Ramsey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a Goodreads first reads book that I won. I believe that any review is a trust/duty between myself, goodreads & the author to review any book with my honest opinion. Honesty will always supercede my gratitude for a free book.
4.5 overall score
The Muses of Mayfair Series portrays the stories of women who should be living in modern times. They have dreams, ambitions & goals beyond marriage and the constraints placed upon women living in the early 1800's. Society scripted the lives of all women in that time period and they were trained from birth not to veer from the script. Each book delves into the life of one of these women. We live the stories through their hearts and how they dealt with the conflicts between their lives in society and their dreams.
Scotsmen Prefer Blondes (Muses of Mayfair #2) by Sara Ramsey is the best historical fiction book I have read this year. What makes it better in my eyes than other books is that she had a way of breathing life into the dialogue and actions of the characters that reminded me of my feelings when I first fell in love over 40 years ago. The human heart doesn't change whether it is 1812, 1972, or 2012 and she was able to capture the human heart in her book. Ms Ramsey is a sorcerer of words! (I had a woo-woo moment when jotting that note and turning the page - seeing Malcolm described as a sorcerer by Ms. Ramsey.) This is one of those books that I need to shout “READ THIS and listen to your heart as you read it”. If you do, you will come away not only entertained but enriched. I am still astounded that this is only the 2nd book she has published. If the others are as good as this one then she will have a long successful career and I will be a very happy fan.
I can't imagine the frustration women had in 1812 (and prior years) knowing their only worth was as a birthing machine and/or eye candy. Sure, some women enjoyed that role as they do today but many wanted much more. Amelia and her friend Prudence were such women. They wanted nothing more than to be left alone to pursue their dreams. Amelia's as a writer & Prudence as a historian. Prudence was up for auction (so to speak) on the marriage mart and her soon to be husband, Malcolm, wanted a docile woman to help further his career. Amelia, being a good friend of Prudence, intervenes and things don't turn out as Amelia hopes. We learn they usually don't. Being a strong woman, Amelia feels she can extract herself from the situation she inadvertently created but there was one element she didn't account for...Love conquers all.
By page 4, I was hooked on the witty dialogue between Amelia & her best friend Prudence. It was so easy to envision the “two spinsters” discussing men, marriage & their life ambitions in a joking manner. That joking between the two made it real. I cracked up when I read (pg 23) about “drunken hyenas”. The description was so unique, yet accurate, that I again applauded Ms. Ramsey and was so loving this book. To say I was highly entertained throughout the book is easily an understatement. It woke up emotions that I had forgotten. She captured the feeling of first falling in love. The confusion when you are drawn to that person, wanting to be close yet feeling wary & the excitement/fear felt in those early days of courtship. I was astounded that she was able to put all those mixed emotions into words and recreate those feelings in Amelia. Amelia was a strong woman but she reacted differently to Malcolm than she had to any other person. Her reaction to him confused her and she questioned herself, her out of character behavior and sometimes her sanity. Although I can't describe those emotions felt from a man's perspective, I can say that Malcolm felt real. He thought he wanted “eye candy” or a quiet wife to help with his ambitions but early on he realized that Amelia was anything but that quiet wife and yet he couldn't stay away from her even when he was warned by a friend. He thought he was getting a marriage of convenience but felt protective. Many times what we think we need and what we need is vastly different. Malcolm was slowly growing into that knowledge...aware of emotions that he had earlier tried to put aside for the good of the clan.
The protagonists who are both normally strong characters found themselves in the situation where they are being driven – not by their strong wills – but by hormones & pheromones. They know they aren't behaving as usual but are drawn by their instinctual need for each other. Ms. Ramsey was able to capture those feelings and tell how love can drive you beyond logic. She went beneath the surface and captured each characters emotions & insecurities during "love's mating dance". The love scenes were perfect. Again, I was in Amelia's place, inexperienced, yearning for more but not quiet sure what more was. She had the advantage we do today of having knowledge (she was around 28) but not the practical experience. She felt excitement, fear of the unknown and those other jumbled emotions of making love for the first time. It was hot, romantic and sweet. Malcolm was awesome. And later scenes, well let's just say they grew exponentially & you won't be disappointed.
Scotsmen Prefer Blondes (Muses of Mayfair #2) isn't just a love story, it has action, drama, adventure and will keep you highly entertained. It is a book that can be read as a stand alone and enjoyed as I did. However, I plan to go back to pick up the first book in the series and late this summer read the third one. Am I satisfied? YES! Will you be? I hope so. I did read one reviewer who said she was disappointed that Amelia caved to Malcolm and wasn't strong. My response to that is everyone behaves out of character when they fall in love. Amelia was self aware enough to know she was acting out of character. She would have caved it she had reacted that way to everyone. Love allows us to be weak but also gives us strength. The only thing that would have made this book better in my eyes is if it were in Audiobook format. I've thought of who I would like to narrate it and decided Tavia Gilbert would be the person who could do the fast flying, witty dialogue between Amelia & Prudence. She would do Malcolm justice too! However, if I got my wish...Malcolm would be portrayed by a man with a good Scottish brogue when needed. He only pulls the brogue out to impress the ladies. I would also like to see the BBC get this series and recreate the books on the big screen. They do period pieces so well. They would have to cut out or curtail some of the love scenes but I could always go back to those in other formats. I'd especially love to see the drunken hyena scene but I don't think it could be portrayed as well as my imagination or memory. Now I am anxious to see if others who have read the book got as much out of it as I did. We all like or dislike books for different reasons and I've said why I loved this one above others. Please let me know what you thought. Remember, it is 1812 and their behavior is based on that time period.
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