Scotland's Melody - Review

Scotland's Melody

By: Katie Stewart Stone

Publication: January 1, 2023

208 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction, Regency, Adult

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Melody Foster has been granted every luxury available save one: the ability to love whom she chooses. When her father reveals that she is to marry a wild Scot she’s never met, Melody defies him and declares she will never marry without affection. Her choice to marry Richard, a footman in her father’s household, prompts her family to disown her, and she goes to London to risk everything for love. But she is blindsided. Without a penny to her name, her love is worthless to Richard, and he decides to change tactics. Perhaps she could still serve a purpose—after all, her family can’t sit idly by while she is held for ransom . . . Desperate to escape the man she thought she loved, Melody finds allies to aid her: first, her old governess and then Cameron Findlay, a handsome stranger who is startled by the distraught young woman who catapulted into his life. Cam finds himself sympathetic to the young woman’s plight, so he and his sister agree to take her on as a servant in their household. Cam and Melody are powerfully drawn to one another, but can Melody ever trust her heart when it was so terribly wrong before?

I have to admit that I don't love the cover for Scotland's Melody, but the description pulled me in, and I decided to request it. Of course by the time I was approved to read it, I noticed reviews were starting to come in, and they weren't all high ratings (although I didn't read any of them). So I got a little nervous about Scotland's Melody and put off reading it for quite a while. I started to feel guilty that I was behind on my review books and finally decided to pick this one up. I wasn't disappointed at all.

Melody reminds me a bit of my husband. Although I wouldn't have classified my husband as rebellious when we were dating, I have since learned that he chaffs at rules. Rules of any kind make him want to defy them. And Melody is the same way. Just tell her she can't do something, and you're bound to find out the opposite at some point. Directly, if she can work it that way. And so once Melody's father lets her know he's arranged a marriage for her, she bucks and goes straight into defiant mode. She doesn't consider that her sister(s?) had a happily arranged marriage, so her father obviously puts careful thought into his choices. All Melody knows is that she won't be forced to marry someone she doesn't love. And so she sets out to find love on her own. She even admits through the course of the book that her falling in love with Richard was likely done so to spite her father.

Melody is certain because she followed after Richard and announced to her father that she's marrying a former footman she has burned all bridges with her family. She makes no attempt to return home after she finds out what kind of man Richard actually is. As the description says, Melody seeks help from her former governess, and then one day, literally running from Richard, she jumps inside what she thinks is an unoccupied carriage only to find that it is occupied after all. Occupied by Cam, who is shortly joined by his sister, Elise. Elise decides, almost immediately, that Melody will join their household as a servant to save her from the unsavory men chasing her.

It quickly becomes known that Melody, try as she might, is not cut out to be a maid. And Elise once again schemes for Melody to become her companion. Elise was a favorite part of this whole book. She's always scheming but in a good-natured way. I loved that Cam was usually aware that she was up to something, but instead of scolding her, he chose to have fun with her.

Cam and Melody slowly begin to build trust with each other. (Trust with Elise was almost instant.) I want to discuss their relationship more, but I don't want to spoil anything. I had questions, and my questions were answered. It was one of those too hard to believe, yet I didn't even bother questioning it too much because I was too busy grinning from ear to ear. Melody had a lot of growing to do, and that made the journey that much sweeter.

Favorite quotes:

-It was a lesson I could take away from all this strife: counting our blessings makes our lives a little brighter, even in the darkest moments.

-"You underestimate how long I'm willing to wait for you."

-"Aye, well, love is strange. Sometimes we cannot tell the signs of it and other times we think it is real when it is not. You can never know what someone is thinking, can you?" "It would simplify matters a bit." His expression turned playful. "It would make it all less exciting, though. What is love if not a great mystery to excite the mind, heart, and body."

Scotland's Melody turned out to be better than I was expecting it to be. I think low expectations usually work out that way, but it's hard to go into a book thinking you're not going to like it because then what's the point of picking it up to begin with? In the end, I'm happy that I read Scotland's Melody, and I would love to see Elise get her own book as a companion novel. Scotland's Melody easily gets 4 Stars. Have you read Scotland's Melody? What did you think? Let me know!