August 7, 2017
Howell’s new historical series following the marital pursuits of the seven MacEnroy brothers gets off to a lamentable start. After the MacEnroy family were evicted from their tenancy by the local gentry, they fled Scotland for America and set up a home in Arkansas, where they built a fortified stockade and went on to become wildly successful in all their endeavors. When the MacEnroys rescue Lady Emily Stanton and her young nephew (English gentry who are traveling in America) from the men who killed Emily’s sister and brother-in-law, Iain MacEnroy embarks on a plodding, uninteresting struggle between his attraction to Emily’s alleged charms and his lingering resentment of the nobility. For her part, Emily is implausibly innocent, and, despite a few indications of potential for becoming spunky, fails to develop into an interesting character. Scenes and conversations are so repetitive they echo word for word in places. The book is trite, badly written, and utterly lacking in tension, passion, or humor. Fans of romance can give this a pass. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.
September 15, 2017
Iain and his brothers find a young couple murdered in a remote cabin, also evidence of a child who escaped. They find Emily, who was wounded but able to flee with her three-year-old nephew. Iain takes her to his fortress. The Englishman who tried to murder her nephew along with his parents is still after them, but Emily's new friends protect her. Despite his distrust of English gentry, Iain finds that he is falling in love with the feisty Emily, and she with him. The first in the prolific Howell's promising new series, Seven Brides for Seven Scotsman, this will be a hit with fans of historical and Scottish romances.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)