A review by smiley7245
Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

The ending was not as strong as the middle for this book. This book has two of my favorite tropes and I really enjoyed a good portion of it, but I felt let down my the conclusion.

Forced marriage and only one bed. Throw in a light enemies to lovers and this book seems like it could have everything that I would want in a book. But it fell flat at the end. So, Hattie goes to an art showing at Mr. Blacktone's house, only she doesn't know it's been cancelled and he doesn't know it was supposed to happen at all and when he walks to greet her he greets her with a kiss. She slaps him and runs away. He realizes who she is and finally agrees to one of the invitations that Mrs. Greenfield has been sending. They see each other at a lunchon and make conversation by the buffet. He opens the house up for the art shows. He plans to be seen with her, alone. But instead, they get caught kissing. She can't even say it was forced because she leaned in. So, they get married and he sells his 30% shares in a Spanish railway for half price. The do not consummate on the first night or the second. On the second day she sees a woman in the parlor with her hand on his face and she assumes that she's his mistress and that he's violating his marriage vows after two days. Really, it was a friend who was trying to help him seduce his wife. She goes to Lucy who gives her the means to run away to France where she could be safe. But, as she is heading to the train he grabs her and moves her to a different train, going to Scotland. It's rough going for a while and then it's less rough. The inn only has one bed and it takes entirely too long for it to work it's magic. In fact, it takes her getting drunk at a wedding, and him not doing anything and her getting to know him before anything happens. Then they are both insatiable. He is falling for his wife and she for him. Meanwhile, he is working on safety for the mine he bought and she is learning how to use a camera. Then, the mine collapses and he gets cold again. She returns to London to find the not mistress who tells her that his mother and sister both drowned in a mine that was owned by the man who he bought this mine from. Later, she hears noise coming from his study but it's not him, it's his man of all affairs and he is searching through his desk. He takes her hostage but her husband shows up and saves the day. They make up and then she tells him she wants to separate because she needs to be wooed, to know if she's in love with her husband because she's in love with him or because he was her captor. She goes to France and ends up teaching the other runaway women about photography. He waits 6 months then comes to get her. To court her. They go back to Scotland so she can take pictures of the miners and the book ends with them married again and her putting on an art show with her pictures of the miners from Scotland.

I enjoyed most of this, so much so that I had to text two different friends about it. But while the end was in line with the motives of the characters, it was lacking.