When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare: Book Review

I usually don’t read historical romances because they give me anxiety. All those rules, the rigid society, the couples not supposed to kiss or do anything scandalous—but they usually do. And I get so stressed out because someone might see them, and there might be consequences.

Plus, there’s often icky stuff about how women should behave and all that nonsense. But Cari Can Read on YouTube recommended this book, calling it funny and entertaining, so I figured, why not? The plot seemed so intriguing and fun I couldn’t resist. And you know what? I had such a good time with it!

A quick verdict: This book was so surprising. It contained almost none of what I feared from histroms and it was everything I wanted it to be. Fun, entertaining, a bit swoony! It’s far from a perfect book and you can read more on that below, but it did its job well and I would highly recommend it, especially if you’re new to historical romances.

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• My rating: 4 ⭐
• Is it spicy? Yes, verra spicy
• Standalone or series? Part of a series, but I read it as a standalone and had no issues, the stories are each about a different character.
• Read if: You want a fun, swoony historical romance or you’re new to the genre and don’t know where to even begin. This is a good intro and feels very modern despite the era it’s set in.

Thoughts and Feelings

In this book, our heroine, Madeleine, starts writing letters to an imaginary man she completely invents to avoid the pressures of courtship. She doesn’t want to go to balls; she just wants to stay home, read, and draw. Which, yes, me too! Her plan works and nobody bothers her about finding a husband because everyone thinks her fictional Captain will come back from war one day and marry her.

Her scheme works a little too well. She even ends up inheriting a castle from her relatives because of her ‘betrothed.’ But guilt catches up to her, the lie spirals, and eventually, she tells everyone he died at war.

Fast forward to her peaceful life in a castle in Scotland, where she can draw all day long and no one bothers her. Sounds perfect, right? But then, her perfect life is disturbed when a real Captain with the same name as her fictional one shows up and demands she marry him. Or else he’ll expose her lies and letters, which included some pretty embarrassing personal details.

So, they end up married. But here’s the catch: to make the marriage official, they have to sleep together. He’s all for it, but she’s hesitant, not because she dislikes him, but because she likes him too much. She’s terrified she’ll fall in love with him.

He’s kind, tough but caring, and she’s falling for him fast. But he’s convinced love isn’t real, so of course, there’s some angst. Honestly, the dynamic is so entertaining.

There were a few things I didn’t love, though. Spoilers ahead!

One big issue is that Madeleine ends up groveling at the end when, he should have been the one groveling. His anger over her killing off the fictional Captain doesn’t make sense; she had no way of knowing he was real. Plus, he’s the one who made her life difficult by demanding marriage and refusing to acknowledge his own feelings.

Also, I skimmed through the sex scenes. I’m very picky with these, so take my opinion with a grain of salt — they might work for you. I found them a bit cringey, but the dialogue was fun. 

Another thing that made me a bit uncomfortable was how Logan, the male lead, is constantly described as a ‘beast of a man,’ while she’s this dainty English woman. Given the historical context (and the fact he’s Scottish) it felt a little icky. But I still enjoyed their interactions and the supporting characters were a delight.

I do wish Logan’s horniness was toned down a bit, though. It was constant, and I just wanted more character development rather than him constantly trying to get her into bed.

Overall, I had a great time with this book. The setting, the side characters, the humor—loved all of that. It’s not super historically accurate, but that’s probably why I enjoyed it. It’s a light, sweet, sometimes spicy romance that feels modern but has all the hallmarks of a historical novel.

I’d recommend this one to anyone who enjoys historical romance or even those who don’t usually read the genre. It’s a fun, easy read, and I’m definitely open to trying more from Tessa Dare in the future.