When Iain and his brothers come upon a burning cabin and dead bodies, they look around for survivors. They find an injured young woman and her nephew. They bring them back to their home and nurse the woman back to life.
This book was ok. I had some problems. First, the description of the woman makes you think of England when it actually takes place in the US Ozarks, where English nobility doesn’t matter anymore. Both characters are written fairly well, except I really didn’t like some of their interactions and thoughts about the other. It also dragged a bit in some places.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Iain and Emily share a love that was bound to happen. The English Lady and the Scotsman is a tale as old as time. Damsel in distressed saved by the handsome gentleman. It's a not so well written book, but it isn't a complete lost. The characters are lovable. Enjoy the read....

I’ve tried many times to read this author and just can’t get into her stories. She seems to be well liked, but no story of hers has ever drawn me in. This was a DNF for me, Just couldn’t get into it.

This was a good start to a new series, it has all the elements needed to make it an exciting and interesting read. It has likable characters combined with an unusual setting and a steamy love story - what's not to like?

Iain MacEnroy is the oldest of the seven MacEnroy brothers, they are a family of displaced Scots that moved to America when their Laird's wife threw them off their land. The incident has given the brothers a deep hatred/distrust for the gentry. They fled to America hoping to start a new life, but on the way to Arkansas Territory, their parents where killed and Iain was left to raise the brothers. Through hard work and sheer determination, they have succeeded in building a home and establishing themselves. Iain meets Emily Stanton when he comes upon her burning home and finds the bodies of her sister and brother in law. They bury the dead and realize that there were others in the house and follow the trail of blood to Emily and her young nephew.

Emily Stanton is on the run for her life and the life of her three year old nephew - she is the granddaughter of a Duke and by an unusual condition bestowed by Queen Elizabeth, the dukedom may be passed the son of daughter, making Neddy (the nephew) the heir to the duke. However, a distant cousin is determined to get rid of Emily and her nephew to ensure he inherits - he has already killed her parents and several other family members that tried to protect Emily and her sister, forcing them to flee England. But it seems that Albert has found them. Emily's sister begged her to take Neddy and run when the attack began, the attack that killed them and left Emily grievously wounded. When Iain finds her, she knows that her family is dead and she has no place to go. When she passes out, Iain makes the decision to take them back to his home, even knowing that she is English.

Emily slowly heals and is grateful to the MacEnroy's, she is not sure what will become of her and Neddy, but she feels safe for the first time in years. Iain knows there is more to Emily's story than she is telling and he is torn between his growing attraction and admiration of her with his distain for the English/gentry. As they grow closer, Iain runs hot and cold with her, but when her life is threaten again, he does not hesitate to protect her.

The story is non-stop from the first page to the last, but it is on the violent side (the villain is relentless) and personally I found the final confrontation with the villain a bit underwhelming. I loved all the characters, the love scenes where steamy, the story flowed well and it focused entirely on Iain and Emily (vs. using this book to set up the series). It is an action-packed, emotional read that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next.

I would happily recommend this book and look forward to reading the other brother's stories.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

This is the first book in a new series by Hannah Howell and it is definitely a strong start. The setting of the American Frontier is certainly a change, but one that allows for the romance between Iain and Emily to unfold in a believable fashion. Emily is in living in the American Frontier in order to hide from the deadly ambition of an uncle, only to have his hired killers find her family. Injured and trying to keep her nephew safe, Emily accepts Iain's help and shelters at his family's compound. As she recovers and starts to find a place in Iain's household, she also confides the truth behind her circumstances to Iain. The setting of the American Frontier definitely plays a role in bringing Emily and Iain together, allowing them to leave behind the expectations and frictions of the countries they have left behind in order to find love and happiness with one another.

Iain and his brothers find Emily Stanton hiding with her nephew after they first find her sister and husband slaughtered and their house on fire. Emily had been shot so the MacEnroy brothers take them back to their homestead and heal her.

Emily knows that once she’s healed that she should leave as she’s putting the MacEnroy’s in danger but she feels so safe with them – especially with Iain – that she just can’t make herself go. Iain thinks that Emily is the most beautiful woman he’s ever met but when he finds out that she’s English gentry he grows cold. The English gentry are the ones who forced the MacEnroy’s from their home in Scotland and burned it down. He has no love for them and because of this has a hard time trusting Emily. Of course as Iain gets to know Emily he finds that she’s nothing like the woman who forced them to flee their Homeland. As Emily and Iain gets closer as time goes by they find themselves not only fighting for their lives but fighting their attraction to each other as well.

I’m not normally an American Frontier Historical romance lover but this was Hannah Howell so I needed to give it a shot. It was definitely an decent read but not one I absolutely loved.

The story is that Emily and her sister and brother-in-law fled England because their cousin was after them. He wanted the title that would go to Emily and her sister’s sons if they had any. He wanted to make sure that they never had any so that he would eventually inherit the Dukedom– yeah, the guy was nuts. I know you’re wondering about the line of succession in this book. Apparently this wasn’t a Royal Dukedom but one that was bestowed on Emily’s ancestor for some reason. That ancestor had the balls to negotiate about the line of succession and supposedly won so that it didn’t have to be a direct male line. Emily’s nephew or her own son (if there ever was one) could inherit before their cousin would.

Anyway, with Emily, and soon all of the MacEnroy’s fighting to keep Emily and little Neddy alive, tensions were running high. Because of this Iain was forced to look at Emily in a new light and realized she was nothing like the woman who had done his family wrong back in Scotland. When he finally let himself trust and love her he was a changed man. They made a cute couple.

The story itself was interesting but the book dragged in places. While I used to absolutely love Howell’s writing I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t a huge fan of it in this book. In fact, it was quite stilted in the beginning and it was a bit disconcerting. It just didn’t leave me in a good mindset for the rest of the book. Despite not loving the book I’ll probably pick up the next book in the series to see what happens with the next MacEnroy brother.

Rating: 3 out of 5

I really enjoyed Emily and Iain's story. I was surprised to see a book by Howell set in the America, but it was well done.

I don't think I have read my historical romances about Scots that have come to America and this was a nice change of pace. I really liked Emily and the fact that she would do anything to save her family. Even though Emily and Iain were of different classes, underneath it all, there wasn't really much different between the two and that is what Iain really needed to learn.

I really liked the whole family dynamic and am excited to read the stories of Iain's brothers in the rest of the series!

I loved this book. Mrs Howell wrote another smashing book. I am so looking forward to reading more about the MacEnroy brothers.

I was delighted when NetGalley-Kensington granted me ARC access to this story by one of my authors, Hannah Howell. I loved the story of Iain MacEnroy who is a guardian-protector, my favorite type of hero. He finds Emily Stanton lost in the American wilderness with her nephew, Neddy, after their homestead was destroyed by assassins. He agrees to protect her behind his walled home. She knows why the family was attacked, it's why they are in America instead of England. Her Nephew is the direct heir to a Dukedom that his cousin covets. The Duke doesn't believe Emily that he's trying to kill off the family so he's the only one left to inherit. They hoped to hide in America but the trail is uncovered and again the "accidents" continue. This story is the journey of Iain finally believing Emily and aiding her to convince the Duke the cousin is trying to kill them. He is tenacious, sending wave after wave of hired mercenaries and Iain over and over again protects them. I enjoyed the strength and courage of Emily as she rescues herself several times as well. Iain through all of this finds he can trust others in his new community as well as a "hated English noble". Thank you Kensington for granting me this ARC for review.

Author Hannah Howell is one of my all-time favorite authors having read all her books she continues to amaze me with her rich detailed stories and this book is no exception. Starting out with a dramatic opening chapter the story continues with Emily and her nephews fast paced hard hitting fight for survival while Iain and his brothers fight to keep her alive from hired guns.

I wondered how the author would pull off the Wild West, Scotsmen and an English woman to my satisfaction but she did a superb job. There were enough strong elements of Ian and his brothers Scottish side prevalent in their characters that combined with their Wild West survival skills it was believable. Emily was extremely well done. She had just enough English reserve as well as proper carriage and tone to satisfy the avid historical romance reader. But I really loved her ability to jump in and work hard doing things she wasn't trained in because of her titled life. This helped her feel like Neddy and her weren't an additional financial burden on the brothers and others people living with them.

Neddy, the nephew, was adorable beyond belief. His fears, love for Em, his desire to protect his special box and his cute comments just made me want to grab him and hug him. Everything about him was age appropriate and perfectly done.

The ending was very dramatic and deeply satisfying. There are six more brothers that need to find their women and I am looking forward to reading everyone of these books.

I give this 5 STARS for the spectacular opening to a new series.

Enjoyable story that shows opposites can attract. Iain and Emily were very good together, and the story line was well written.

The setting is Arkansas, 1860. The MacEnroys (many generations removed from those featured in Highland Groom, etc.) have started new lives in the United States after being tossed off of their Scotland home. The seven brothers have settled in the Ozarks, on their own land and doing pretty well. They come across a burning cabin, unfortunately complete with a murdered couple. They are able to save Emily Stanton and her nephew. It does not long for Iain, the eldest brother, and Emily to fall for each other. As with Ms. Howell's other books, this one is fast paced, filled with danger, intrigue, likeable characters, and dastardly villains. It all makes for a very enjoyable read. I have read most of her books and have loved each one. Although "western" historicals are not my preferred reading, I will definitely continue to read this series. Looking forward to the next one.

This great author writes another fantastic book. The characters where great and you really cared about them and what happened to them.

This is the first in new series about seven brides for seven Scotsmen. The author spins the tale of Iain who finds Emily and her nephew after her family is murdered and brings them back to family compound with his brothers for protection and safety. This is good tale of western blended in with the Scotsmen who came to this country .
Ebook from Net Galley and publishers with thanks Opinions are entirely my own.

This is another stunning historical by the incomparable Ms Howell! I recommend her books to reading friends constantly & I'm always excited when new ones arrive! As with all of her writing, this novel held me enraptured & holding my breath with each new twist & turn! A wonderful novel!

This is a sweet, dramatic, suspenseful and romantic story. Iain is a nice, hard working, protective and bitter man, with a soft side. Emily is sweet, naive and protective. Iain and Emily meet under tragic circumstances, neither trusts the other but they are both attracted to the other. The storyline is full of drama and excitement. All of the characters are fascinating, the boys are all charming and likable. I loved this book and hope all of the boys and book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.

You can never go wrong with a Hannah Howell historical romance book.

The first 25% of this book had me interested and on the edge of my seat. The writing from Ms. Howell is thrilling. I am thoroughly enjoying the beginnings of character development and the intrigue she was painting. Before any true romantic interaction, I found myself getting quite restless with this book. It became slow and trudged on. I kept trying to get through it as I fell in love with the additional characters, Mrs. O'Neal specifically, and I genuinely was curious about the outcome of the story that was set up. It is not often that romance is well mixed with mystery but I really had enjoyed the initial aspect of this.

The first romantic encounter between our heroine Emily and our hero, Iain, truly came out of left field. I was thoroughly confused and not at all happy with how it came about. He goes form seething ice-cold hatred of her based on little else than a past bad experience, to suddenly kissing her after having very little backstory sprinkled in about his mild attraction to her, which he'd like to ignore. The kiss as written as well was not at all romantic nor did it leave me wanting to find out much more about them.

I'm now 3/4 through and really struggling to finish this. I'm just not invested. It's sat in my rotation for over a month and while I find myself curious about the outcome, every time I pick it up, I am disappointed with how slow moving it is. Their encounters and romantic development are stale at best. The fleeting interactions are void of passion and quick and seedy in nature. I almost get the feeling Emily is merely being pressured into the situation and that really takes all the joy out of it for me.

Ms. Howell really had me gripped with a rip-roaring beginning and lost me quite quickly after. I couldn't care less what happens to her characters or in reality, I don't have the patience to wait for her to get to the point. This may likely be a situation where I skip to the end or skim the last bit for some modicum of satisfaction in knowing out it turned out. Or more likely, I won't bother finishing this.

I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have read all of Hannah Howells Murray series and loved each and every book. I knew going in this was set in the American West. But the story line intrigued me.
But this book didn't seem up to her usual standards. There was no real emotional connection between the heroine and hero. At times i found myself saying, Didn't I just read that? It seemed in several places she repeated herself with the same or if not similar expressions.
I gave it 4 starts because I always find the first book in a new series loses some of its romance in favor of introducing characters in the upcoming books. I hope that is the case and the next book is back to the Hannah Howell we love to read.