Wow. I think I liked this one more than the first one. This was darker and angstier. Both Cecelia and Ramsay had such heartbreaking childhoods that were so similar but led them in totally opposite directions. There were several spots when the story brought me to tears.

Plain and simple, this was very good and I'm so very glad I read it.

All Scot and Bothered has a unique plot that pulls you right in and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Cecelia had a rough childhood – her Father seemed to hate her just for being born a girl (some of this is tied in to his own past). She was saved from this awful childhood by a beautiful woman in a beautiful dress, who knew her Mom quite well. Cecelia’s whole life changed from that moment on and she cherished and embraced every moment. She is a champion of women and those who life on the edge of society – the ones that others look down on just because of their position in society or their career path. When she inherits a gambling establishment, things really get interesting!

Lord Ramsay appears to be a tough person on the outside, he follows the rules and almost seems to be heartless. But under all of that are notes of kindness, someone looking for love that he feels he doesn’t deserve. I really loved watching his character evolve throughout the novel, slowly we see him become the man we knew he could be (even if he couldn’t see it in himself).

The plot was exciting, full of action, suspense and a side of romance. It is well written, and had me on the edge of my seat. I loved the characters as they were not your typical characters that you would find in a novel set in this time period – they are flawed, they fit outside of societal norms, all of which makes me love them that much more. This was a great read from start to finish.

The opposites attract trope gets the Kerrigan Byrne angsty and steamy treatment in this sunshine and the grump story that is the second installment in the Devil You Know series. Cecelia and Ramsay were both victims of abuse as children but grew up with vastly different attitudes. Cecelia remained positive and hopeful while Ramsay turned out closed off and mistrustful of women. How they got together despite their incompatibility is the meat of this fast-paced thriller. I enjoyed this story and I'm looking forward to the next in the series. Small deduction in rating because of the cover that doesn't represent the curvy beauty of the heroine.

CW for child abuse scenes and on-page deaths.

Kerrigan Byrne knows how to write a love story. No matter how her H/h are thrown together, no matter how damaged they are, she brings them to their HEA in a way that is completely believable. This second book in the series that features the Red Rogues is just as good as the first. While the prologue here is heartbreaking, it isn’t quite as devastating as that in the first book. For that, I am grateful, but I still think content warnings wouldn’t be amiss. I look forward to the next book.

I think this book has a really appealing set up for those interested in romances that have characters who are really on the edge of society and the dark underworld of London.

Byrne has continued an intriguing mystery with book 2 in this series, and brilliantly matched Cecelia and Ramsey together. I had a hard time putting this down, can’t wait for the next abs final book!

Kerrigan Byrne is quickly becoming a favorite Historical Romance author for me.

I really am enjoying the Devil You Know series.

This book continues with the redheaded friend trio with Cecelia's and Lord Ramsay's love story.

Both have a lot of childhood mistreatments to unpack and I loved how the author showed this growth and how growing through their painful pasts also grew them closer together.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy for my sassy review.

I was so excited to get a copy of this book as I was initially intrigued by the cover and synopsis, however, by the end of the book I just felt like the story was lacking. It took a period of time before I could get into the story and romance between Cecelia and Ramsay. While the plot was overall alright, the relationship between the two characters just didn't fit for me. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't really like Cecelia and Ramsay's character. In the end, it was an overall alright read.

eARC was kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I always enjoy Kerrigan Byrne's stories, and this one was no different. She's a wonderful writer and storyteller. I especially loved Cecilia - she was kind but had a backbone, which I appreciated. Also love how she's typically described as curvy and luscious (though, annoyingly, the female cover model does not seem to depict such a character).

I would've liked to have learned more about Cecilia's childhood besides the prologue (especially regarding how she came to live with her "father"), and more about her years at school and relationship with her two friends. I read the first book in this series ages ago and I truly couldn't remember much, and there's not much given to fill readers in.

I did enjoy Ramsay, sort of. I'm a huge fan of enemies to lovers, and this began wonderfully with a great slow burn, but then all of a sudden it seemed like Ramsay changed his mind and it felt very insta-love, which I strongly dislike. That was frustrating. I think his issues tie into the plotting issues - it felt confusing! And as soon as we left London and went to his childhood home, it got even worse.

Overall, I enjoyed this story but definitely not a 4 or 5 star read like others I've read by Kerrigan Byrne. Hoping for more clarity and more convincing slow burn romance in the third book.

I really enjoyed the first book in the Devil You Know series, but the differences were like night and day from that one to this one. He's a jerk, but considering the era, his attitude toward women wouldn't be too far off. The character that drove me crazy was Cecelia. Not that she was a strong woman, even in historical romance when a lot of women tend to swoon, a strong woman can be a breath of fresh air. The problem is Cecelia was all over the place. She bounced around from one response to another. She might be afraid one minute and flirty the next. I never knew how she'd react at any given moment and the result was that none of it rang true. As I said, I don't expect a lot of realism with historical romance. I expect a fun, entertaining story, maybe a bit of escapism. Unfortunately, when a character is so contradictory, it's just distracting and irritating, at least in my opinion. I really expected good things with this series after my experience with the first book, but I came away from this one disappointed. I'm hoping that this is just a one-off and things will improve with the next book, so we shall see.

I very much did not enjoy this book.

The heroine Cecelia is delightful - strong willed, intelligent, and sweet, despite a childhood of abuse. When she inherits a school for women and associated gambling hall, she finds herself in the sights of Lord Ramsey, a misogynistic, self-righteous blockhead who believes the worst of her because she's a woman and women are evil.

In addition to hating women generally, he also hates her because he desires her (Hellfire anyone?) and sets out to destroy her life because he thinks she's into child trafficking. Once it's been proven she's being framed, the ONE apology he ever gives is met with "no it's fine" 😍 because she's always wanted a protector and he somehow fills that role.

There's so much more that annoys me but I simply can't be bothered anymore.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley

I really enjoyed so many aspects of this book—mostly because I such a huge fan of Kerrigan’s writing! I was very uncomfortable however with the use of queer villain tropes.

This was good, took a bit to get into the story and a while for Ramsey to seem human. Curious about Franks story.

I love all things Kerrigan Byrne and can't wait for whatever she decides to write next.

Thank you so, so much for sharing an early copy of this title!

Another hot and sexy Kerrigan Byrne book! All Scot and Bothered was so good. The writing was perfect and the characters were everything. I really enjoyed book 2 and I can't wait till the next one in the series.

This book was hard for me to read, however I like that Cecelia was a strong person and didn't take any crap. I also liked that she fought for what she loved.. THe back and forth between Cecelia Ramsey really annoyed me and instead of this being a fast read for me I had to fight myself to finish it.


** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**

I love alter ego plots and this one of a high society lady who also secretly runs a gaming hell was so fun! The fact that the man looking into her establishment falls in love with both of her identities is just icing!

4.25 Stars / 2.5 Steam Fans

When Cecelia from the Red Rouges inherits her dead aunt's business that could be considered shady, Ramsey is the lawman that is bound and determined to take it down. Cecelia and Ramsey are entwined in a mystery that causes the two of them to flee the area to a small cottage in Scotland. Cecelia starts to learn Ramsey's secrets, and Ramsey lets down some of his walls to see love.

Video review available in Week 44: Oct 25 – Oct 31 weekly book reviews.

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All Scot and Bothered by Kerrigan Byre was so so good! This book was filled with so much passion and a little bit of angst. It was what every good Historical Romance is made of and I would highly recommend this book.

Consider me a new Kerrigan Byrne fan! I enjoyed the sweeping nature of the plot, the themes, and the style of this one. I did think it was about 50-100 pages too long, and I got impatient with some of the drawn-out thinking and exposition scenes.