Smitten by Books

One lucky commenter is going to receive a print copy of ECHOES OF SCOTLAND STREET and another commenter will receive a digital copy! 

**Digital copy is open to international entrants.

From the New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street comes a seductive story of forgiving the past and making up for lost time.…

Shannon MacLeod has always gone for the wrong type of man. After she drifted from one toxic relationship to the next, her last boyfriend gave her a wake-up call in the worst possible way. With her world shattered, she’s sworn off men—especially those of the bad-boy variety.

Cole Walker is exactly the sort that Shannon wants to avoid—gorgeous, tattooed, charming, and cocky. But his rough exterior hides a good man who’s ready to find “the one.” He’s determined to pull Shannon from her self-imposed solitude to win her heart.

As Shannon opens up in the face of Cole’s steady devotion, the passion between them ignites to blazing levels. But when Shannon’s past comes back to haunt her, her fears may destroy the trust Cole has built between them—and tear them apart for good.…

Other books in the Dublin Street series:

Readers were introduced to Cole Walker in the first book of Samantha Young’s On Dublin Street series. I knew then this kid was going to have his own book. Yeah, he was going to have to grow up some and lucky for us, in fiction, characters can grow up at the speed of light.

So after five other wonderful love stories, Ms. Young gives us Cole’s love story quite aptly titled Echoes of Scotland Street. I say aptly titled because readers discover from the opening scene, that Cole and our almost-auburn-haired heroine, Shannon MacLeod, met on Scotland Street when they were fifteen. For their respective ages, I thought they had a rather grownup conversation. At least deeper than I imagine of most fifteen-year-olds.

“I smiled. “So, are you a hero, Cole Walker?”

He scratched the side of his chin, looking off into the distance. “What is a hero, really?”

Fast forward nine years later and Shannon and Cole meet again. This time, our heroine is coming out of a pretty dismal relationship hero and she’s on the outs with her family. Actually, she’s only had one dismal relationship after another. I’m not a fan of reading about the physically abused woman (too depressing) but Ms. Young manages to make Shannon’s history work for me. Getting back to them getting back in contact, they end up working at Inkarnate (a tattoo parlor—clever name) together. That’s cool. Two years ago, I would have scrunched up my nose at the idea of a tattoo parlor as the setting for a romance. I’m much more evolved now. 😉

But here’s the deal. Cole is sexy as hell and Shannon is a bad-boy magnet. At least that’s how she sees herself—and how her family does too. And I’m going to totally agree with her on that. When you read about her past relationships, you will too. Cole is attracted to her and gets his flirt on. Shannon is not about to get involved with Cole because, with his tattoos, sexy swagger and fabulous looks, she immediately pegs him as just another bad boy.

And she does jump to this conclusion. Actually, it’s more of a flying leap. I wasn’t a big fan of hers when she uses the scorched-earth approach to rebuffing his advances. Ouch!

“I can’t stand guys like you.” My words were low, filled with venom that caused Cole’s body to jerk back in surprise. “Good-looking guys who assume every woman will just fall at their free, grateful for a crumb of their attention. Well, I’m not one of them. I don’t respect players like you.  I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. There’s nothing behind that charming smile but empty promises. You have nothing real to offer me and anyone who finds herself a victim of your flirtation. The difference between me and them, however, is that I’m smart enough to see you for what you really are.” Breathing ragged, I concluded. “Nothing.”

Shannon, what the hell are you doing? That was my reaction to that. Next thought? Boy is she ever going to have to eat her words. What did make me happy me is Cole’s reaction. As in “Forget You.”

Their cold war can’t last too long, but it lasted long enough to satisfy me. And make Shannon squirm as she realizes how wrong she is about Cole. During the course of this “cold war”, she meets the whole Dublin Street crew—or tribe as they fondly call themselves. Which means we catch up with the whole gang. I didn’t mind the backstory summary paragraphs as we get the names and relationships of every single one of them (including the names, descriptions, and ages of all their children), but if this is your first On Dublin Street book, you’ll probably get a little lost in all of it. Btw, Jocelyn is now a fairly famous author. I was thrilled to read that.

Once Shannon gets beyond her preconceived notions of Cole, the delicious tension that’s been building between them from the get-go, explodes. Here’s where you really get Ms. Young’s trademark take-control, alpha hero and the subsequent sexy-as-hell love scene. And boy can she write a deliciously hot love scene. Although I’ve yet to understand why the men are always coaxing the women to “Come for me.” I can see them thinking and hoping the woman comes, but not actually saying it aloud. But that’s just my little quirk.

Of course them finally getting together doesn’t automatically mean smooth sailing. They still have a lot of “family” stuff (hers) they need to work through. But I loved the journey they had to take and the trials their fledging relationship has to endure. I felt appropriately anxious and happy with the way things turned out. And I really do love that the whole Dublin Street gang are such supportive, nice people who truly love and care for each other.

All in all, a lovely story. And I sense Logan, Shannon’s brother, will be getting his own book, and I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on it.

Reviewed by Beverley
Heat Level: Hot

**US residents only