Embrace The Lace. I instantly loved this story. It was the humor and the special romance that won me over. My favorite characters are Andrew and Van. I instantly had a feeling that once the two meet that this was going to be a fun and enjoyable book.
I loved how the writer combined the language and the instrumental items from the future in with the things of the past. Many of times I laughed on each occasion Andrew addressed these strange oddities that Van introduced him to. And of course the romance was very sweet, as it was so charming. The book is an easy page turner, as well as an entertaining book. The writing was great.
The story and dialogue was easy to read. This certainly is a book that I will add to my personal romance paperback bookshelf. I anticipate to read more exciting book from this writer. I give this book two snaps and a twist. Until next time my fellow readers. Read on!
I received a copy of this book for a voluntary honest review

Bottom line: An anachronistic time-travel romance, perfect for Outlander fans who don't mind suspending a little disbelief.

"Embrace the Lace" was a lighthearted easy read. Our heroine is Evangeline ("Van"), a modern girl who falls through time back to 17th century Scotland. Andrew, a widowed Scottish laird, needs a wife to maintain his status as clan chieftain, and rescues Van when she appears out of nowhere in a pond. Love to the rescue, with a few complications along the way!

One drawback to this otherwise fun read was the uneven pacing in the first third of the book. I would've liked to see a bit more time taken in developing Van's relationship with the castle's inhabitants. The castle folk immediately trust her, and I would've liked to see a bit more friction as she worked to earn their trust with her magical modern food and inventions. Additionally, the nicknames/dialogue may be difficult for some readers, due to both the anachronistic modern speech as well as the written depiction of the Scottish accent.

The book's pace picked up after the first third, as shenanigans and hijinks kicked in due to the uncle's attempted takeover of the clan. Brown Tom was (of course) my favorite character, and I enjoyed the hints about Andrew's mother and the nature of magic in this world.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read with a few rough edges.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There were a few inconsistencies in the story line. The characters were spunky and lovable but the not smooth. I recommend reading this if you enjoy romantic comedies and fantasy combos. There were lines that weren’t original but it wasn’t difficult to get through this book quick.

Avery good fun Scottish time travel romance with good characters, little magic,,Fairies and a troublesome Uncle.
Paisly goes to a renaissance fair falls into a pond and ends up in the 16th century in Scotland.
A fun enjoyable read..
Voluntarily reviewed.

Embrace the Lace will draw its readers into a fantastic laugh out loud Scottish time travel adventure that had me comparing it to author Lynsay Sands’ excellent and humorous Scottish historical romances only with Embrace the Lace there is a little time travel twist thrown in that has the story standing out in what is hands down the best I have read in quite some time.
With a narrative that brings together the 17th century past in Laird Andrew MacIver and 21st century present Paisley (Van) Evangeline Darling into what is an uproariously funny romantacy of skillfully written prose, faery magic, clan intrigue, classic misunderstandings and finely crafted characters who don’t hold back, the reader will be held just as spellbound and captivated as the Laird himself when first encountering the soon to be newest member of his household. For any reader who enjoys an immersive well done fantasy romance this is the book which I highly recommend.
Kudos to author Shannon MacLeod!

Firstly, thank you to Shannon MacLeod and NetGalley for this copy of Embrace the Lace

This was a 4 star read for me.

A twist on Outlander and other historical romances, Shannon MacLeod brings us a wonderful, light-hearted romance filled with brave women and the men who love them. I read this in a day, and really enjoyed the plot and characters.

- 1 star for some of the slightly cringy language / phrases Van uses.

Well, this was an interesting story. It is a time travel romance.

Laird Andrew MacIver has lost his parents, his wife, and his unborn child. It has been a long enough time that his clan expects him to remarry. Remembering the passion between his parents, he wishes for a passionate marriage for himself.

Somewhere in the future Evangeline (Van) Darling us visiting a society that does historical re-enactments. She is shown a fairy pool and on a whim, wishes for the fae to do with her as her fate decrees.

Suddenly, Van is pulled under water and when she comes back up, screaming since she can't swim, she is saved by Andrew. Their love story starts there.

Yes, this story kept me engaged. The whole plot with the jealous, evil uncle is a bit on the nose for me and the dios ex machina of them being saved multiple times is a bit *eye roll* for me. However, I was engaged enough that I had to finish the book in 1 sitting.

I received an ARC of “Embrace the Lace” by Shannon MacLeod from NetGalley, but the review is my own.

I love historical romance and I love time travel, and I love time travelling historical romance novels. I absolutely did not love this book.

The good points are limited: I continued to read the book, because I thought the plot was interesting.

Also, MacLeod clearly has an ability to write but her skills are lost in sarcasm and writing for the screen rather than the page. Excessive dialogue (rather monologue) is hard to read (visually, just chunks of text on the page), and there was a lack of emotional exploration of the characters or narrative development (sometimes there were good attempts at descriptions of scene, scent, and facial expressions, but not enough).

The bad points boil down to two major issues that I have with this type of book: (1) I hate potty-mouthed, never-stays-quiet Americans put in historical romance settings (as the parlance of the book may state: read the room); and (2) so many anachronistic points that the author acknowledges - in the Author’s Notes at the end of the story – but, rather than simply bad research, it turns out these are purposeful choices. As she (and the FMC) say, they give “zero f*ks” about those rules.

So, if you don’t mind a story in which our FMC, Van (short for Evangeline – insert eye roll here), thinks it is cute to call Laird Andrew MacIver “Andy” even when he has asked her not to (because not respecting people’s chosen names is sarcastic/funny rather than insulting/disrespectful); or, if it doesn’t make you scream that Van “invents” a bicycle for the village people; or, if you’re not annoyed that there is easy access to chocolate, powdered sugar, cinnamon, the creation of cream cheese and a McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches on a new grill (that Van creates/invents for the kitchen); or, you’re okay with the establishment of baseball teams (NY faces off against LA), then maybe this book is for you.

I’d also note that Van likes to refer to 1659 as “medieval” Europe – presumably the person with some knowledge of history and the study of engineering would know that the seventeenth century is not the Middle Ages?

Or maybe your are a reader of historical Scottish romance novels and are alright with your Scottish heroes wearing leather trews rather than kilts (yes, I know tartan pants did exist during this period for winter weather clothing). I’m just not that reader.

Some dialogue for your consideration:
“Put a sliding halt to this crazy right now, do you hear me?”
And: “Listen up, a*hole, you...you...little dictator laird wannabe. This is your final warning. Leave now and take your crazy with you, or sh*t is gonna get real.”

Or, when Van accepts that she has travelled back in time: “How freakin’ cool is that?”

I’m sorry, but it’s not cool – not cool at all.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley and BooksGoSocia. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Published: March 21, 2023
Series: NA
Pages: 321

"Embrace The Lace" by Shannon MacLeod, new author to this reader was a fun and entertaining read. Likeable main characters and sub-characters that somehow made this story all come together. A bit of a slow burn to love with fantasy and magic rolled up with a bit of suspense. Although there are some iffy areas in the story and transitioning of the plot, I thought it was still an enjoyable read.

Paisley Evangeline Darling (Van for short) attends a renaissance festival in the US, but somehow ends up in a pond in Scotland and is rescued by Andrew MacIver. Not only has she travelled across the world, she's also travelled in time - back to the 17th century.

Add in some more low level magic, a nasty uncle and women competing for Andrew's reluctant hand in marriage.

Highly entertaining story with some slow romance and Van getting stuck into her new life and improving operations at Andy's castle.

3.5 stars rounded up.

For the first 25% or so, I was highly skeptical. I felt that the FMC was two juvenile in her dialogue. The plot kind of felt a bit flimsy. But I stuck with it and I'm so glad that I did. The pop culture references just kept coming and each was as cheesy as the last but I started to enjoy it for what it was. By the end, I was chuckling out loud and enjoying everything about it. It doesn't take itself seriously, so you shouldn't either. It is cheesy and a bit juvenile and has some nerdy pop culture references, but because of all that I loved it all the more. I can't give it full stars because there was some punctuation errors that would pull me out of the story and remind me that I was reading a story and not experiencing it. Some of the plot devices felt a little convenient instead of an integral part of the overall picture. But that being said, I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read in the historical comedy romance world. Spice level is very low.

What to say? I'm not a fan of historical books but this one is so much more. You have Lairds and Ladys. I laughed out loud ( good thing I was by myself ). Magic. Of course an evil uncle. I will try my best to give a little review but I don't want to give too much away.

Laird Andrew is chieftain of his clan. He is a fair and kind Laird. He is a widow and must find a bride so his uncle doesn't try and take his clan. He wants a marriage like his parents had. His mother passed years ago and his father passed a couple of years ago from a broken heart.
Evangeline or Van as she likes to be called, has gone to participate in a Renaissance fair before she goes back to school to be an engineer. She falls into a pond and comes out in the 1600s. She's feisty and has a mouth like a sailor and asks way too many questions. Andrew saves her and takes her back to his castle. It takes Van a little while to realize she is not in her time anymore.

Andrew didn't realize how lonely he was until Van shows up. Van gets into all kinds of mischief and there is never a dull moment with her around. Within no time, she has the whole clan wrapped around her little finger. But before they can have their happily ever after, they must defeat his uncle, who has set them up for murder. And he believes Van is a witch. Van has help from some mysterious people to save Andrew.

* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for Netgalley*

An enjoyable and fun read and I fell in love with the characters Van and Andrew. Reading the description was enough to draw me in and by the second chapter, I was rooting for Van and Andy. With a cast of characters, you have good and evil, while Van tries to incorporate her future with the past.
While this is the first book I have read from the author, I will be going back and reading others while waiting for her next book.

Nice easy read with lots of heart. Its written well and find the world and word building a great easy way to spend a few hours reading.

This was a nice, fun read. Likable characters, mystery, action in a time traveling storyline.I especially liked that Van took over a horrible kitchen staff, with horrible food, and made breakfast sandwiches for everyone. The new kitchen implements were a nice touch to the story.