5 Stars!! I really loved this book!! I haven't read any of the previous books in this series but it is a standalone so I still understood everything going on! I'm definitely going to have to read the other books in the 'Victorian Rebels' series!! I loved how Samantha, a.k.a Alison, wasn't a typical female character! She wasn't a virgin, she was married before, she curses, she works as a rancher & she can shoot a gun and ride a horse better than the men! I really liked how many emotions I felt while reading this. The author had some really sad and upsetting things happen to the main characters & it made me feel so bad for them! I had to remind myself that I was reading a fictional book!! The writing was so convincing & the characters had great chemistry, I could feel it just by reading the book! It's a well written book that I thoroughly enjoyed & I Highly recommend it!

It took me a while to get into this one. The heroine was a gun toting woman who was a little to head strong for my liking. The hero was all to happy to follow her around like a lovestruck fool though she tried shooting him every chance she got. There were a lot of f bombs dropped. Not.my favorite of Kerrigan's

This novel was a good read. The characters both have pasts they are trying to escape from, but the past always catches up to the present and the consequences are never as they seem.
Samantha Masters saved the life of Alison Ross in the Wild West of America. Alison does not want to return to Scotland to claim the land, but does not want the Mackenzie clan to have the land. She asks Sam to go in her place and gives her the paperwork as Alison Ross.
Gavin St. James, Earl of Thorne, has bedded all types of women, but has never given one his heart after an incident that estranged him from his brother. Gavin's father was a horrible man and he tries to remove himself from the Mackenzies by trying to buy Erradale from Alison Ross. He thinks it will be easy to persuade her to sell....however, he is in for a rude awakening when he meets "Alison Ross".
Sam and Gavin argue and have much sexual tension between them. Each is carrying their own secrets from the other. Both are afraid of how they other will respond to their secrets. Sam in running from the Wild West and realizes she needs to marry Gavin to keep herself safe from those who want revenge on her. Gavin realizes marrying Sam will give him the property he desires and one step closer to his goal. Both go in knowing the ends justify the means. Neither took into account the passion and desire they bring out in each other and the possibility of love. However, the secrets they carry could affect their relationship and destroy any possible progress they have made with each other. When Sam and Gavin's pasts catch up with them, how will each respond to the others secrets and lies?

I really liked the book over all. Thorne and Samantha are two dominate characters that work really well together. There is quite a bit of colorful language that didn't really seem to need to be in the book to make the story line work and sometimes seemed like that was all the author could come up with. The story was good once I got past the language issue.

Byrne always brings the best kind of romantic drama to her books, dark Victorian romances with a twist. How she makes these characters relatable and redeemable when they have done so much bat shit crazy stuff in their past(s) is amazing. I loved the humor that was peppered throughout the book. And this is one damn passionate book, I am going to take a cold shower now....

Damn it, now I have to wait for the next book in the series.

Gifted read by netgalley.
Although this was an interesting story with good characters and development, set in the Scottish highlands I had some issues.
The first being that it felt like it was set in modern day and the past. Some things were said and done that indicated the future not the highlands 1800's. The use of the word fuck repeatedly. Not that I have a problem with the word but pretty sure that slang was not used at this time period.
The second issues being all the lies and deceit by both Allison/Sam/bonny and Gavin. Now some I can deal with to make the story but the deceit of parentage, that I couldn't overlook and it made me not enjoy the book as much.
So overall a decent highland read with interesting characters and story if just a little hard to follow at times.

Byrne has done it again with this roller coaster ride of a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last. I loved...LOVED the idea of an American outlaw (albeit unwilling one) as the feisty heroine who sets our lost boy Lothario on his ear. The chemistry between Sam and Gavin was electric, the story fast paced and emotionally charged...In other words, as close to perfect as you can get. CAN NOT wait for the next story in this series, but I know the wait will be worth it. A +++

A definite buy me buy me buy me book!
Your either going to be a total lover of this story or the opposite!
From first page to last this one had my imagination going. Mixing in the American side with the Scottish was a truly unique way of giving the story a great start! I loved the heroine as well as the hero. I would of maybe wished for a little more action from one of the American characters but I feel that is coming soon with the ending this one had! You will travel from the old west in America to the Scottish highlands and love every moment of it! I must admit this book took me totally by surprise, I never expected the opening nor the way the book would proceed. This author is definitely one to watch for she is writing in a manner that is unique and interesting.

I was given this book in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom

Samantha Masters seals her fate when she pops a bullet between her husband's eyes to save stranger Alison Ross.
Alison Ross is a well off Scottish heiress who wants to stay in America but has promised to never let the Mackenzie clan get her family's Scottish lands. together they hatch a plan with benefits for both. Samantha goes to Scotland masquerading as Alison, saving her from both the federal marshalls and her brothers-in-law, and also claiming and protecting Alison's lands.
They never saw Gavin Mackenzie coming...and he was totally unprepared for Alison aka Samantha.
Gavin and 'Sam' worked together on the land he wanted, even as the magistrate he was trying to push his own agenda. She was in awe of him and angry at him at the same time, creating some humorous and some testy moments. He found her amazing by how much she actually knew about ranching and her ability with a gun.
When she realized her husband had gotten her pregnant the day she shot him, she accepted Gavin's proposal believing it would be her babe's best chance.
The brothers-in-law show up and create havoc and sins of the past catch up with Gavin, after he throws her out. When he gets of out prison (quickly) due to Sam's and his brothers intervention, he runs after her to make things right.
A wonderful historical romance with colorful characters and rich descriptions. I loved it!
I requested and received from NetGalley to my delight, an ARC copy to peruse.

When I first read The Highwayman I was blown away by the depth of the story. It was so much more than your typical historical romance novel. It didn't shy away from tragedy and pain and the dark, gritty side of life. The rest of this series has been just as amazing. I was a little more cautious going into The Scot Beds His Wife since the Hero has a reputation of sleeping with every female he sees ( I really hate manwhores). Ms. Byrne was able to make the reader see him as more than a lothario but as a man who hides behind this vice. Someone who is so desperate to hide his pain and his shame from the world that instead of being turned off by his licentious ways I empathized with him. I loved Sam and her "foul mouth". It is so refreshing to see a strong, independent heroine who is NOT some perfect virgin. I loved that she swore and could shoot and ride as well as any many. Ms. Byrne is an amazing author. She gives you flawed, damaged characters who are so deeply drawn that you find yourself swept away in their stories and invested in their path to redemption, love, and happiness.

That's child abuse!

Damn, I wish his mother could get a divorce, or at least run away with Thorne, maybe even Liam.

Thank God his mother survived!

Crap, I thought Liam would turn out okay. I guess that night was the tipping point. Is Hamish the one who was hanged? Because I wouldn't have minded that.

Did the government allow you to change your last name like that?

What just happened?

Really, Sam, You just met a hot Highlander, and you're thinking you might have to shoot him one day?

What is he, in the mafia? Does he always travel in a pack?

Whoa. She is really taking this acting job seriously. If I didn't know better, I'd think she actually was Alison Ross.

A lot of cursing going on.

Small world.

They did not have that phrase in the 1800's.

Yep, Callum knows.

She keeps tripping up with things that the Scottish-born Alison would know.

He was going to shoot a pregnant cow! Shouldn't he know the signs of labor if he is going to be a cattle baron? Although it is cute how mesmerized he is by the miracle of life.

Shoot, she's pregnant. A baby is always a blessing, though.

Damn, things just escalated quickly. Her brothers-in-law must have followed her.

When did Dorian enter the picture, I wonder.

Aw, I sense a love match between his mother and Callum's father.

Only he could propose, and in the next breath plan their eventual affairs.

Should pregnant women be taking laudanum? I always wondered.

Whose name will she sign on the marriage certificate?

Yeesh, a branding iron? Ouch!

I like how she talks back to His Lairdship.

Does this make the real Alison a bigamist?

Um, guys? Did you forget you're outside, and that he was about to go on a ride with other men?

They're just so cute together!

Colleen was schizophrenic.

Just when you think your problems are over, the cops show up.

Sex on a train.

They say the true test of a relationship is travel.

Ruh-roh!

Haha, I know, right?

Such a great set-up for future books.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

That title makes me a bit embarrassed, but I had fun reading the latest in Kerrigan Byrne's Victorian Rebels series!

Samantha Masters shot her husband dead between the eyes after a failed train robbery, saving the life of Miss Alison, who was en route to Scotland to save her family's estate from the damn Earl of Thorne. Alison (who I believe may be a future heroine) gives her identity to Samantha, giving her the opportunity to start a new life on Alison's estate. All Samantha has to do is keep it out of the hands of the Mackenzie family.

All Gavin, Earl of Thorne, Mackenzie wants is to take over Erradale, the estate he thought he could easily buy off the young ex-patriot. He isn't expecting the firecracker, pistol toting, crack shot, filthy mouthed lass who comes to fight his claim.

Both struggling to hide from ugly pasts, this is an excellent enemies to lovers tale!

What I most enjoyed was Sam's character. She is not afraid of the hero, doesn't take his shit, and fights most of her own battles. Gavin, while a total dick in the beginning, is redeemed by the end. I'm assuming the next in the series will be about the enigmatic Rook.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!