Aulay Mackenzie has only ever felt himself when at sea. In an effort to save his family’s shipping business, Aulay decides to make his first commissioned trip, taking on cargo for another, despite his family’s concerns over the risk. Barely away from port, Aulay comes across a distressed ship and offers assistance to its beautiful passenger, Ms. Lottie Livingstone.

Lottie’s clan is at the end of its rope, hoping to sell their illegal whiskey overseas, when their ship is attacked, leaving her father severely injured. Lottie’s plan to commandeer Aulay’s vessel goes smoothly, despite her attraction to its captain. However, once things start unraveling, Lottie isn’t sure she should continue with her plans.

Devil in Tartan is an enjoyable highland adventure. Taking place mostly at sea, Lottie and Aulay are forced to spend time together in confided quarters, allowing their mutual attraction to boil over and develop into a friendship. However, it’s not sunshine and roses. Aulay stands to lose everything due to Lottie’s scheme, and Lottie bears the weight of saving her entire clan from losing their homes and land. Aulay’s constant struggle between his duty, family, and his feelings for Lottie create incredible emotional turmoil and conflict.

Aulay and Lottie are both lonely souls, doing what they can for their families. But whereas Lottie sacrifices herself to keep her family together, Aulay runs away from his, not feeling worthy under his father’s roof. Yet the pair, drawn by a powerful attraction, have the time to see the real individuals beneath the layers of protective outer shell that each has built to keep themselves emotionally distant. They grow close and fall in love, even though Aulay’s hurt overshadows the love for a while. Luckily Lottie doesn’t grow bitter, and remains open and caring, allow their reunion to proceed and love to grow, even after the damage she does.

Overall, I enjoyed Devil in Tartan. The romance and story progress and a slow and steady pace, allowing time for both self-discovery and a deeper mutual bond.

My Rating: B+ Liked It A Lot

Amount of sex 4 / 5
How explicit 5 / 5
Story 4.5 / 5
Overall: 4.5 / 5 (rounded to a 5)
Review: That Lottie Livingstone is something else. Strong, creative, and courageous. After the family rents are unpayable to the laird, Lottie's father decides to illegally distill whiskey. Then they take the seas to sell it in Denmark (so as not to get caught). It is then they meet Captain Aulay MacKenzie. While trying to save her family, Lottie finds a deep mutual attraction to the captain, but can they overcome the issues of Lottie's family and their illegal whiskey.

This is a very adventurous book. Lots of twist and turns that make it slightly difficult to talk about without giving spoilers. Lottie's family is an interesting group. While trying to do the best for each other and their clan, they are haphazard and risk themselves and others. Captain MacKenzie is a man of the sea who wants to make his family proud but struggles to compete with his brothers.

The characters are rich and the plot is far from predictable. This is not your typical historical romance. The reader is taken on the adventure with the Lottie, with their hearts in their mouths, wondering if there is a happy ending possible.

Great adventure and great characters!

For me, it took a little bit to get "into". But it did start to get to good.
I did enjoy the book overall.
Lots of adventure.


*I received my copy from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Lottie and Aulay's story!!

Both Lottie and Aulay were determined to save their clans by selling their cargo, it is too bad that they ended up having to go head to head with each other trying to accomplish their own tasks.

I loved that Lottie was going to do everything in her power to get the money that her clan needed, even doing things that she knew were wrong and wouldn't normally do. Aulay had his own code of honor. Even after falling for Lottie, he knew that he had to take them to his father to be punished for their crimes.

Can these two get past this and find happiness together?

I love this series. This is Aulay MacKenzie’s HEA that doesn’t start out that way. Aulay is the sea captain of his family, now down to one ship. Not long after leaving port for Amsterdam, he comes across a sinking ship and rescues the survivors and some of their cargo. Who then attack him and his crew.

Lottie Livingstone from Lismore island is trying to save her family by taking their illegal whisky to Denmark to sell so they can pay their back rent. Her father has been severely injured, and her 2 younger brothers are not a lot of help. Selling the whisky is her last hope.

Aulay is beyond angry when he is knocked out and tied up in his cabin. Lottie’s men are unable to handle a large ship so some of his men are sailing the ship. She promises she’ll pay them when the whisky is sold. Docking in Denmark, Lottie and Aulay go to find the supposed buyer only to find a den of thieves. They make it back to the ship and head back to Scotland as they don’t have enough supplies to last them all the way to Amsterdam. Lottie’s father has died and must be buried at sea.

The crew think a ship is following them but can’t see it at first. Trying to outrun the ship trailing them in the fog, his ship sunk but they made it to shore. Aulay lost everything and will now have to repay the man whose cargo he carried. He decides they will walk over the hills to Balhaire, his family home.

There is so much more happening in this book, but if I told it would make this a very long review and I do not want to spoil this wonderful book for anyone who reads this. Julia London is a wonderful author, and this is a book I can highly recommend. I’m thankful for the ARC and have ordered the paperback so I have the entire series.

Devil in Tartan (Highland Grooms #4) by Julia London.... I've loved this series and this one was great...Aulay..the youngest son...not a warrior like his two older brothers...he loves the sea and to paint... Lottie...the daughter ...and caretaker of her father and brothers since her mothers death. I enjoyed reading about her brother Drustan who was born with disabilities and it was great seeing him come into his own. There is plenty of adventure, laughs, love and some tears...Thank you Julia for letting preview this book. I hoping there is a next book and that it is Catriona's story.

Devil in Tartan is book #4 in Julia London’s Highland Grooms series. Although part of a series, this can be read on its own, however, it helps to be familiar with the Mackenzie clan. I found this installment to be a refreshing change of pace for the author. This story takes place mainly on the high seas on the ship of Aulay Mackenzie, where he is trying to help his clan financially after they lost so much in the Uprising, as did many Highlanders. Unfortunately for Aulay, his ship is deceitfully taken over by a group of “sailors” led by Lottie Livingstone. She only wants to borrow his ship as her ship has been fired upon and has sunk. What develops is such a confusing relationship between the two main characters. Aulay is torn between his distrust for Lottie and his physical attraction towards her. He wants to get his revenge for her piracy, but somehow feels that he must help her and her family. The confusing relationship worked itself out perfectly for me by the end of the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lottie Livingstone has a very big problem. Her ship is sinking and her father is injured, leaving everything in her hands. In order to save their shipment and her crew, Lottie and her shipmates devise a plan to overtake the ship coming to their aid. Lottie just wants to "borrow" Captain Aulay Mackenzie's ship, then she'll be on her way. They must get their shipment to Aalborg or they will lose their homes.

Aulay is irate when he is tricked by a conniving, yet beautiful woman. He means to have his revenge as soon as he escapes captivity. Aulay will stop at nothing to receive justice, but the longer he is around Lottie and gets to know her, the harder that idea becomes. Someone has to be held responsible in the end, but how can Aulay let the woman he has come to love, Lottie, suffer?

DEVIL IN TARTAN... another spectacularly written historical romance by author Julia London, who has long been a favorite of mine. Lottie is an obedient daughter albeit a little willful at times. When her father is injured, she has to do things she never thought she'd do, but she doesn't back down from the challenge. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned, but Lottie learns to adapt to her situation. Aulay, on the other hand, has a hard time. He is a proud, arrogant man who doesn't take the situation he's been forced into so easily. I very much enjoyed watching these two butt heads. DEVIL IN TARTAN is the fourth book in Ms. London's HIGHLAND GROOMS series and I cannot wait to read the next installment.

This is a great adventure story, with Lottie and her strength was so wonderful! Auley and Lottie together were too great. Very entertaining and fun to read

I received an eARC at no cost from the author.

Devil in Tartan is the fourth book on the Highland Grooms series, by Julia London.

Having read the first three books, it’s impossible not to make comparisons between them. Sadly, for me, this was my least favourite book.

It had an interesting premise, and I liked Aulay, but I just couldn’t connect with Lottie.

Lottie is described as strong, courageous, fearsome woman, but even if she was trying to do her best to save the (illegal) family business, she just didn’t act nor did justice to her descriptions. She was, no doubt, intelligent enough to use her pretty face to fool men, but that didn’t make me like her more – it actually made me like her less.

And Aulay, although I did like him more than Lottie, he too was a bit of an empty character. He was a painter, which I liked, but felt it wasn’t explored enough. I liked that Julia London mentioned his role in the family, how he felt, because that made me connect with him more, but it just felt like it was lacking something.

I liked revisiting characters from the previous books, but it was for such a short while that it wasn’t enough to save the book from a simple 3 star rating.

I just couldn’t connect with the characters as much as in the previous books, and I felt that with both Lottie’s crew and Aulay’s crew always around it felt a bit too crowded and there were too many characters (and sometimes I even got confused with who was whom – and I read the book in just two days, and rarely get lost in these books, but with this one it was hard to remember all the minor characters).

Julia London’s writing isn’t being put in question here, she was as good as always, I just felt like she tried to put too much in one book and ended up not focusing enough on what was really necessary. Still, it was a different read, and I managed to enjoy parts of it.

Devil in Tartan is set up to be a great Scottish romance, but with all the characters it left my head spinning. I wanted to like Lottie, but I didn't feel like her character developed the way I had expected. I need to read the other books in the series to see if I like the development better.

I've read titles by Julia London before and I've absolutely enjoyed them, and this one was no different. This is the fourth installment in her Highland Grooms series, and I'll be honest, this is the first in the series that I have gotten to read. However, now that I've read this one, I'm going to go hunting for the rest of them! Lottie is a young woman on a mission to save her family, and winds up taking control of a ship giving her a bit of honorable pirate air about her. I loved Lottie. She was a great character to me and charmed me, I loved reading about her romance between the irritating, but irrevocably handsome Aulay. Aulay was wonderful in his own right, but I just really love a historical romance where it gives a good focal point to the female lead.

Devil in Tartan (Highland Grooms #4)
by Julia London
Anna Swedenmom's review Jan 08, 2018 · edit
really liked it

A buy book. A good read.
Now having said that let me explain the four instead of five stars. I absolutely positively love this authors writing. However, in this particular book. I felt like it was not her best work. It is not the oh my goodness I cannot wait to turn the page type she normally writes. Having said this, I will say this book has a way of creeping up on the reader, it is not usual. The setting is not the normal ton setting and mix that with the characters and the plot line and you still have a good read. I enjoyed the book even though the pace was not fast, it was steady at the most part. There were some traveling times of back and forth with not a lot of action. All in all the adventure and the romance makes it a good read, not to mention you have a wonderful author that is able to paint the pictures in your mind as you are reading the story. I was given this book free in return for an honest review via netgalley. Regards, Anna

When I saw a book by Julia London available on Netgalley I was thrilled. London wrote one of my top ten favorite historical romances, The Devil Takes a Bride. She is one of the few authors whose books I frequently re-read.

This is my first book in this series, although I've read most of London's other series. For whatever reason, I haven't read many historical romances set in Scotland and this made for a nice change of pace for me. This is not your typical ballroom historical romance and it is an understatement to say Lottie is not a "fresh from the schoolroom chit." I loved Lottie! Her struggle to save her family fortunes leads her to take control of a ship and thrusts her into the role of bootlegging pirate and she fills the role with panache.

Aulay is hot, as are all of London's heroes. I thought his chemistry with Lottie was perfect--just the right amount of astonishment, irritation, disbelief, and lust to start off with, but which grew into something more meaningful as the two get to know each other.

I loved both h&H but really enjoyed Lottie. Oftentimes a hero will "outshine" the heroine in a romance novel, but I felt this book belonged to Lottie.

What more can I say? If you have read London before, you'll be pleased. If you haven't? You're in for a treat!

Highly exciting and energetic story. Unusual and wonderful. I loved the
Characters and the dialogue. Held my attention throughout. Well written.

Julia London is a well loved author but for some reason this book did not do it for me. I was so looking forward reading Lottie's story but her actions just did not measure up to her cleaverness or beauty.

Wow- Aulay and Lottie had so much trouble and burdens I wondered how they were ever going to manage to get through them. The book shows with love,family and the clan all things are possible.

This is about the third Mackenzie brother, Aulay, who is a sea captain. He's always felt inferior to his two brawnier brothers and his more socially adept sisters, and has never felt his father appreciated him. He's always felt more comfortable at sea, and it's on a voyage to Europe that he and his ship are basically kidnapped by a band of travelers from a small island in Scotland, who are ostensibly travelling to Denmark to sell their cargo of illegal whiskey. Their leader is a stunning white-blonde woman, and their interactions cause danger, loss, and a cause for introspection on Aulay's part. A good addition to the series, I hope that the daughter's are included soon.

I received an ARC for an honest review
.

This is an enjoyable and well written adventure. What makes it stand out from other historical romances that feature Scottish highlanders is the fact that the Devil in Tartan referenced in the title is both a skilled sea captain and a painter. This fourth book of the Highland Grooms series can be read as a standalone, although readers familiar with the previous books will better appreciate the large cast of characters returning from earlier in the series. This one took me several chapters to get settled, but once I did I was intrigued with discovering how things would resolve. I did feel that I was never quite completely emotionally invested in Lottie and Aulay as a couple. I am looking forward to spending time with more books in this series and recommend this one to anyone looking for a unique twist on a Scottish highlander historical romance.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

**THIS IS A DNF REVIEW**

Over the last year, I've gotten more and more interested in historical romances about Highlanders. I had always stayed away from them for whatever reason and once I read one, I was hooked! There haven't been any that I can recall that I didn't at least like. Unfortunately, this book is the first one that not only did I not care for it, I couldn't even finish it.

As usual when I can't finish a book, it all boils down to the characters. The hero was okay. I didn't dislike him but I didn't love him either. Aulay, the hero, was just... not anything special. He talked about how he wasn't the oldest, the smartest, etc. And the only thing he ever cared about was being out on the sea and doing his paintings. Umm, a highlander story and the highlander is an artist sailor? It might have been interesting but there were too many issues with the heroine for me to want to stick around.

The heroine, Lottie, was the worst. Her family are illegally making alcohol and act like they're the aggrieved ones when they get called on it. She then proceeds to steal a boat so they can take their illegal booze somewhere to sell it. She's apparently beautiful and from what I could tell, that was her only redeeming quality. I totally understood that she was under pressure to keep the family together and out of jail and all that. And she was desperate. And stealing a ship wasn't her idea and she regretted it. And and and. So many ands. But I never liked her. In fact, I couldn't stand her.

I think this author is fairly prolific so I'm pretty sure most people would like this book. In fact, Devil in Tartan has a pretty decent rating overall. So I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading this. It just wasn't for me.