Hit Me with Your Best Scot by Suzanne Enoch

Coll is the last of his brothers not married and if he wants to save his ancestral home, he needs to get married soon. When he mets Persephone, he notifies his mother that he has found the woman he will be marrying. There are only a couple of issues...Persephone is an actress (whom his mother doesn't approve of) and she has no desire to ever marry.
Persie has made a life for herself in the theatre. When Coll first starts coming around she is intrigued, but when it appears that her life is in jeopardy she asks him to become her protector. It seems that someone from her past is willing to kill her so that she doesn't claim an inheritance that is hers.
Can Coll protect Persie from her past and will thier attraction for each other turn into something more?

Scot Under the Covers by Suzanne Enoch

Miranda is shocked to learn that her brother has lost her in a gambling debt. She is supposed to marry a man that she has just met. Unfortunately for her, nothing about the man appeals to her. In her desperation to get out of the marriage, she enlists the help of Aden who is a known gambler. Who better to beat a gambler than one of his own kind. Miranda has long made it known that she despises gambling, so why does she find the man that is helping her so appealing?
Aden is shocked that Miranda has come to him for help as she made her feeling for him very clear the first time they meet. But after spending time with her, he soon realizes that she is the one for him. Can he convince her to take a chance on him?

Some Like It Scot by Suzanne Enoch

Munro "Bear" MacLawry lives up to his nickname. Always the big and brawny one in the family, he has always been protective of his family. But as each of his siblings marry, Bear finds himself more and more alone. They all have their own families now and Bear is definitely not ready to settle down no matter how hard his brother pushes him. When he finds Catriona MacColl hiding in the woods, he finds someone in need of his protection...or does she?
Catriona and her sister are hiding from an English Duke as well as their father's family each for their own reasons. Finding the abandoned building was a blessing as winter was approaching, that is until Bear show ups. Having been raised like a boy by her father, Catriona resents Bear's presence as she believes she can take care of her sister and herself just fine. But when Bear shows up every day and makes their life better by fixing up their temporary home, she is surprised to find herself looking forward to his visits.
Can two individuals who think they don't need a partner find the a love that they didn't know they wanted?

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous in Plaid by Suzanne Enoch

Rowena MacLawry has been in love with Lachlan MacTier since she was a child. But after three months in London and a lifetime of rejection from the man, she has finally made the decision to give up her dream of marrying him.  She is moving on with her life and hopes to make a decision on a husband during her brother's wedding celebration.
Lachlan has always thought of Rowena as his best friend's little sister. Having been a part of the MacLawry family for so many years and not wanting to jeopardizing that, he always downplays Rowena's romantic gestures toward him. But when she comes back from London, Lachlan can no longer deny the woman she has become.
Just when Lachlan realizes he feels more than friendship for Rowena she finally makes her break from him. When the hunted becomes the hunter, anything can happen!

Christmas Brides Anthology

One Hot Scot by Suzanne Enoch This is book 0.5 in her Scandalous Highlanders series.

Julia Prentiss is wandering the woods trying to get away from the man that kidnapped her from her aunt's wedding. She comes across a man emerging from a lake and he is NAKED! She can't believe what she is seeing. She doesn't know whether to hide and ask the man for help.

Duncan Lenox feels obligated to help when he comes across the stranded lady. He has been out trying to find when is killing his animals and staying at his cabin. Duncan takes Julia back to the cabin where they proceed to get to know each other.

The kidnapper shows up at Duncan's cabin, but he puts them off. He later takes her to his home and proceeds to marry her.

I am a HUGE Suzanne Enoch fan and have read almost all her books, but I really couldn't get into this book. I know that with a novella the action needs to go quickly, but to meet the man, jump into bed with him and then marry him within 24 hours is just a bit unbelievable.   

After writing this review last November, I did read the books that came after this (The Devil Wears Kilts and Rogue with a Brogue) and thoroughly enjoyed them.

Once Upon a Christmas Scandal by Alexandra Hawkins

Lady Ellen can't believe that her father has increased her dowry so that there will be more men for her to choose from when she finally decides to take a husband. Her father is dying and he wants to see her settled before he does.  Knowing that every fortune hunter that hears about it will be at her door, Ellen is not looking forward to the holiday parties her mother is throwing.

Lord Derek Swainsbury wants to catch the killer of his sister. What better way than to act like he is courting the newest heiress as he knows the killer will go after her next? But what happens when he falls under her spell? Will she believe that he doesn't want her money?

This is a very quick read.  Hawkins did a good job of telling the story in such a short amount of words. I didn't feel like the love story was rushed or unbelievable. The connection between Ellen and Derek was almost instantaneous and fairly leapt off the page.

This novella is a part of the Lords of Vice series featuring the sister of Lord Vanwright. I've not read any of those stories, but after reading this novella I will definitely be getting them to read in the future.  

The Scandal Before Christmas by Elizabeth Essex

This was book 3.5 in her Reckless Brides series.

Lieutenant Ian Worth needs a bride and he will take just about anyone. In a rash moment, he told his father he was already married and now he needs to make it true. Ian runs into a shipmate and tells him what he is looking for in a wife - shy, undemanding and someone who will not mind his going off to sea. This shipmate just happens to have an unmarried daughter that fits Ian's needs. They arrange for Ian's perspective bride to come for a visit.

When Anne Lesley arrives, Ian hardly even notices her. Later in the day, Anne overhears Ian talking about her (let's just say it wasn't nice) and decides to go for a walk. Ian joins her and they begin to get to know each other. Anne quickly gets over her shyness and Ian sees the potential that she has as a bride.

Ian's father arrives and they must hide the fact that they are not married yet. They quickly fall in love and rush to get married with a special license.

This is the first book I have read by Elizabeth Essex. I did like her style of writing and found myself laughing at some of the antics in the story (which is always good), but I really didn't care for the story itself. Anne was way too forgiving of Ian and the things she overheard him say. It would have taken a lot longer for him to worm his way into my heart! I've looked at the other books in the series and they look like they have promise. 

I will probably see if my library has copies of them to give this author a second chance. I probably would have given this book 2 stars, but I really enjoyed the character of Pinky! He saved the book in my opinion. 

Since reviewing this novella in July, I have read another book in the series.  A Scandal to Remember was thoroughly enjoyable and I definitely want to go back and read the rest of the series. I think Essex is definitely better at writing full length novels rather than short stories.

It Happened Under the Mistletoe by Valerie Bowman.

Running from a marriage minded miss, Oliver Townsende dashes into the silver closet only to find another person hiding.  Miss Cerian Blake is hiding from men seeking her hand only for the dowry she brings.  The two of them concoct a plan to thwart their admirers, they act like they are interested in each other. What happens when their acting becomes all too real?

I thoroughly enjoyed Bowman's short story.  She got me to believe that these two could have fallen in love in such a short amount of time.  

This story is book 3.5 of the Secret Brides series and after reading this novella, I want to go read the rest of the series!!

You can get this book at the following retailers:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | IndieBound | Powells | Target | Walmart | iBooks | Kobo

Rogue with a Brogue by Suzanne Enoch

Grabbing the masked vixen, Arran MacLawry was only trying to get out of dancing with his sister's friend. Little did he know that he was dancing with the enemy.
Mary Campbell, knew that she was dancing with a MacLawry.  But when she figured out that he did know she was a Campbell, it was too good of a chance to dance on the wild side.  She had only heard bad things about the rival clan and wanted to see for herself what all the talk was.
Upon learning identity of the vixen he danced with, Arran sets out to confront her. Little did he know that even with knowing she was his enemy, the attraction he felt for her was still there. Even more surprising, was that it was mutual.
What will these two enemies do when they find that they just can't stay away from each other? 

One Hot Scot by Suzanne Enoch

Julia Prentiss is wondering the woods trying to get away from the man that kidnapped her from her aunt's wedding. She comes across a man emerging from a lake and he is NAKED! She can't believe what she is seeing. She doesn't know whether to hide and ask the man for help.

Duncan Lenox feels obligated to help when he comes across the stranded lady.  He has been out trying to find when is killing his animals and staying at his cabin. Duncan takes Julia back to the cabin where they proceed to get to know each other.

The kidnapper shows up at Duncan's cabin, but he puts them off.  He later takes her to his home and proceeds to marry her.