I love discussion posts! It’s always been one of my favorite parts of reading. I mean, in truth it’s the whole reason I started blogging in the first place!

Also, Cat has been hounding me to read It’s Getting Scot in Here since she finished it. She’s been dying to talk to someone about how much she loved this story, and we had a blast going over it.

So, if you’re interested in hearing about the meatiness, juiciness, and all the stubstance… definitely read below!

*Please note, as this is a discussion there are potential spoilers below. Beware.

It’s Getting Scot in Here
by Suzanne Enoch
Wild Wicked Highlanders #1
Historical Romance
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
February 26, 2018

I adored this book. Totally loved it.  Actually, I’m going to read it again.  It’s going into standard ‘Cat’s having a shit week and needs escapist romance therapy’.  What did you think of it, Birds?

I feel like this is going to fall a little flat after your excitement, but here goes… It was good.  It wasn’t too light and fluffy, but sometimes it felt too thick.

Thick like bad mashed potatoes or thick like thic muthafugga?

I’m not sure what EITHER of those is like!  Thick like, too dense. Like, I wanted to skim a bit.  But then, I’m not as into the history of a historical. I did appreciate the little things, like the way the author remembered to hide Amy’s bloody flower.  Actually, bloody flower juices is probably a better description.

*snorts*  BWAAAHAHAHAHA.  No. Juices can go directly off a cliff with his friend moist.  

I get what you mean by too thick, all joking aside.  My impression of that was more along the lines of gratitude that it wasn’t all fluff n stuff.  It dealt with weightier (but not too weighty) interpersonal relationships. In a bit more realistic way – taking into account that everything is relative.

I swear, I thought you were going to say “meatier” and I was going to die laughing!

I agree.  I think that’s one of the reasons I read historical romance infrequently.  I feel like so often it’s just fluffy and unbelievable, and then I get frustrated because I know I’m going to forget all about it quickly.  So, it’s true that It’s Getting Scot in Here stood out because it had more substance.  (I almost wrote “stubstance”! What is happening!?!)

Like many of our discussions it’s going completely off the rails.  And I almost did say meatier, but felt I should start participating in this discussion in a more meaningful way.

Speaking of meaningful, I think my favorite part of the entire book was the cat-milking story.  I nearly fell off my chair. I definitely scared my pets.

Yeah, when I was reading that scene I thought of you.  I remembered you talked about it in your review, and it made me laugh.  I love how it wasn’t only told once, but was mentioned repeatedly throughout the book.  I loved how Amy said she kept picturing the cats getting loose with little cheeses strapped to their backs!

Any author that manages to refer to wee kittie nipples in any story is a underrated genius in my book.  Seriously. That goes back to the little touches you talked about earlier. Way too often in the world of fluffy trash novels (omg, I love them so much, but it’s truth) the little stuff is so overlooked the story falls flat, or you get little bits of description that feels significant, but it ends up just being filler.  This story never felt that way. And by the end I was a little in love with Niall.

Absolutely!  I love the little stuff.  When it’s done well, it always stands out to me.  Even how after Niall and Amy’s first night, when he used his shirt to keep Amy’s bed clean, Francesca saw him come home with his shirt wadded up in his hands.  Even that small touch, just referencing it in such a small way, felt significant. It made each scene more believable.

Speaking of Francesca, I had such mixed emotions about Niall’s mother.  On one hand, I hated the idea that she left her boys behind. On the other, my heart broke for her.  Every time she ached for their love, I felt it.

I know what you mean there.  Initially, I flat out hated both of his parents, selfish a-holes.  Who does that? Who values a location or a house or opportunities for parties, or a need to be all Scot all the time, over little humans you pushed out of yourself?  Again, that shows how talented this author really is. Not only has she set up one hell of a great series, but under the individual main stories you can see the setup for that deeper story between Francesca and Angus.  By the end I felt for Francesca. Still hate Angus.

By the end, I got the impression the bigger issue was Angus.  When Francesca asked Niall if he was honest when he said he’d bring Amy back to London for the season it felt like foreshadowing, maybe leading up to us finding out Angus refused to tolerate his new wife’s Englishness.  I’m betting there are two sides to their story, but right now I’ve come to love Francesca, and while I’d NEVER leave my child, I feel like Francesca wasn’t given the opportunity to be happy in Scotland. Does that even make sense?

That makes complete sense – my comment above was directed at both parents, not just Franny (though looking back I can see Angus pushed out exactly zero humans).  Lust overcame the culture clash for a hot decade and then it all melted away. Granted, that was how things did work then. You were stuck. At least Franny had the money to go, and Angus didn’t chain her down in the root cellar.  

True, very true.  And Franny and Angus were both better than the shit parents Amy was blessed with.  At least I believe both Fran and Angus loved their kids. Just not each other.

I completely forgot about that witch.  If I were to have one gripe about the story, Amy’s mother was the only flat character, to me.  Selfish, evil people exist, but that woman seemed to eat angst for breakfast and drink the tears of her enemies.  She had no side but conniving and cruel.

It’s probably terribly cynical that I fully believe there are mothers out there like that.  I also believe they were allowed to be more blatantly cruel and evil back then, when their worth was decided based on who their daughters married. I hated her.  I wanted to see bad things happen to her. And they didn’t.

I’m hoping that we’ll see it somewhere in future stories.  After all, Jane is still waiting in the wings. Maybe Amy’s bitch of a mother will turn out to be an even bigger villian.

I really hope we see more of Angus’ side of things.  I know Suzanne Enoch’s writing well enough by now that I don’t think she’ll disappoint.  I can’t wait to read the next one.

I hope we get more of Angus and Francesca’s history too.  I wouldn’t mind a prequel. Also, and I’m not sure you’ll see it, but I really really really hope Jane is a future bride in the series.  Perhaps with Aden.

YES! That would be awesome.  See? Even Jane had depth and movement as a character.  

I loved Jane.  I couldn’t stand her in the beginning.  I pictured her as dour, and sour, and all things icky.  However, as the story went on I grew to care for her. I see a story there, in how she ended up working for her aunt as Amy’s companion.  I want to read it. And I want her to be loved. I caught the way she drew Aden’s attention a few times, and I couldn’t tell if it was on purpose (like attraction), or if it was just in how she was working for the Baxters.  Either way, I ‘ship’ it.

That’s another thing a good author does; a good author gives you subtle series foreshadowing that you think you feel, but it isn’t blatant enough to beat you over the head.  Suzanne Enoch did it well. My gut thinks Aden and Jane are next. And I can’t wait to read THAT! If I’m right… eep.

Agreed, absolutely.

A native and current resident of Southern California, Suzanne Enoch loves movies almost as much as she loves books, with a special place in her heart for anything Star Wars. She has written more than forty Regency novels and historical romances, which are regularly found on the New York Times bestseller list. When she is not busily working on her next book, Suzanne likes to contemplate interesting phenomena, like how the three guppies in her aquarium became 161 guppies in five months.
Some of Suzanne’s books include Barefoot In The Dark, I’ts Getting Scot in Here, Lady Whistledown Stirkes Back and The Legend of Nimway Hall.

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