This book had an interesting start that really threw you into the story. And the finish was good, even if it did feel a little quick after some action at the end. Overall, I liked Melody and Cameron. Melody had a lot of growing up to do, but the different circumstances she faced definitely taught her that lesson. The healing of familial relations was a nice touch. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the deceit, but it played well in the flow of the story. I would recommend this one for those who enjoy a good clean romance with Scottish flare.

This is the author’s second novel but my first from her and I really enjoyed it. Take me to Scotland and I’m there. Melody’s Father arranges her marriage to a Scot but she refuses and is disowned. To make it worse the man she loved only wanted her for her money so know he wants to hold her for ransom and she flees. She stumbles into the arms of a Scot and she is taken in as a servant. I loved Cameron as he slowly falls for Melody. I feel like his sister was helping along nudging them together. The end hints at a story for her and I’m so happy. There is a twist that has my jaw drop and the romance was simply swoony.

Step back in time to London and Scotland as Melody fights to direct her own life rather than follow her father’s directive. In Scotland’s Melody, Katie Stewart Stone, fate intervenes time and time again. If you like a Regency romance with some drama thrown in, you’ll enjoy this one.

A light romance set in England and Scotland during the 1800s. I found the plot predictable, and the pace of the novel was slow in certain places. Otherwise a good book if one wants a quick and light read.

A single point of view regency romance, this book is probably the most accurate in portraying how a young marriage age girl thinks selfishly. I’ve read so many dual point of view romances lately that I forgot that single point of view is a thing. While I missed hearing the male’s point of view, it was refreshing to hear the story completely through the female’s eyes. I was completely captivated by her journey to discover true love, and the different journeys she has to take in order to discover what love truly is. The one thing I didn’t like was how selfish and self centered Melody was, but we all know that our 18-19 year old selves were that way at one point or another.

Thank you to the author and Net Galley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own, I was not required to share a review of this book.

Scotland’s Melody is a sweet romance between Melody and Cameron. After leaving her family and her childhood home for a chance at love, Melody learns she has been deceived and must flee for her life. In an attempt to evade her pursuers, she takes refuge inside Cameron Findlay’s carriage and soon is under his and his sisters care as a servant in their household.

I had a few issues with the pacing of the book which made it a little harder to read. The beginning has a lot of excitement and is quite fast paced, but then it slows down quite a bit and I found many parts that seemed to drag. Overall I would have like to find a little bit more balance there.

Melody can be a little immature at times, but she is resilient. I enjoyed watching her grow throughout the story. I wish the book had been duel point of view so we could have seen more from Cameron’s side of things, but he is a likable hero.

"Scotland's Melody" wasn't a book I enjoyed much.
Nineteen-year-old Melody decides to run away with a footman (not a wise decision), rather than marry the man her father chose for her, but quickly realises her mistake. Alone, disowned and unprotected, when faced with danger, she throws herself into the carriage of her stranger, Cameron. Not a wise decision - but then again, it wouldn't be her first one -, it ends up being providential as she finds a friend in this stranger and her sister. There is a twist thought - but one that the reader understood from basically the moment Melody and Cameron meet.
I didn't like the immaturity of the heroine, the dishonestly of the hero, and unfortunately, it affected my enjoyment of the book. I also didn't find it very realistic at all.

*I received a free e-ARC and this is my honest opinion*

Melody is 19 and flees her family home after her father announces he has arranged a marriage for her. She believes herself in-love with a footman. After finding him in London she realizes he was hoping to use her for getting her dowry or a ransom. But her father has disowns her. Again she runs, eventually taken on as a house servant by Cameron which quickly changes to companion for his sister Elsie.

There is attraction between Cameron and Melody but she is hesitant to trust her feelings as she has been mistaken before. The characters are well developed as are their motivations. The story plays out very predictably. If you’re surprised by anything, you don’t read a lot of historical romances. There is occasional awkwardness in writing because the story is told in first person from Melody’s POV. The meaning is there but you get a lot of information about Cameron’s feelings or reactions based on how she reads his face.

A few things I didn’t love. I found Melody’s vacillating on trusting her feelings frustrating. I understood her reasons but you can’t break rules of society by freely kissing and then keep putting Cameron on perpetual hold. Her father explaining he regretted his actions didn’t make a lot of sense. When did he regret it? Not when he told the footman he wouldn’t pay a ransom. Nor did he make any effort to try and find his 19 year old daughter. Her sister was able to find her, but he didn’t try. And what was the actual moral of the story. She should have just stuck to the arranged marriage? Nothing she did on her own really accomplishes anything.

My favorite character in the story is sister Elsie. She is fun, helpful and has her own love interest. I care enough about her to look for her story in Stone’s next novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this book was a winner for me. I have been thinking about this book for a few days and how to review it, and I realized that I don't think I have read one quite like it. There were elements that I don't really remember in other books before and I liked the combination of tropes.

I think what drew me in was the flaws in each character. That may sound odd, but I appreciate that both of the MC were not picture perfect. They each had their flaws that made them more personified. Melody was rash and didn't always think things through. For example, marrying a man she didn't truly know and rejecting her family 100%. I can understand being upset with her circumstance, but she took it a bit too far. However, I can appreciate her kindness and longing for something pure and wholly hers, instead of it being made up for her. Melody was also practical. She was hard working and didn't think herself above trying to work, which most women of her social standing at the time would have never thought of. I will always love Melody for that.

Cameron had flaws too, which were mostly found out near the end of the book so I won't go into so much details to avoid spoilers. But his flaws were also coming from a pretty genuine place, much like Melody's. They were not out to hurt someone, but to try and find happiness, they allowed their flaws to come into play. I loved that Cameron was there for her though. He didn't look over her or through her.

Those may seem negative, but to me it was big plus. There are so many books that have these perfect characters and it can seem out of touch. But to find a book that shows how sometimes our flaws and weakness can actually bring us to something that has the potential for much greater happiness? That is one to pick up. I loved finding that in these two characters. It allowed me to enjoy the more perfect aspects of fiction more effectively.

I liked that there was a string of events that led Melody and Cameron to find one another, and that there was healing in the course of the book. I enjoyed watching Melody come to see Scotland in a different light through the book. I don't know anyone that truly doesn't like Scotland in one way or another, so it was fun to watch her go through a transformation that way.

I could easily see myself picking this one up again. Katie Stone did a great job bringing in some interesting challenges these two MC's went through.
4.5 Stars

Scotland's Melody beautifully portrays that love, family, and forgiveness is what matters most. I greatly enjoyed this read and could not put it down. The characters were well developed and the story line just flowed. I definitely hope to see a sequel to this story.

Melody refuses to marry whoever her father chose for her. Even though she knows she will be disowned, she runs away with Richard, the man she loves. Quickly she realizes that Richard is not the man she thought he was and Melody doesn't know where to turn. When she unexpectedly ends up in Cameron Findlay's carriage, he does not know what to think. His sister Elsie convinces Cameron to help Melody avoid her pursuers. Will Melody be able to trust and find love again?

#ScotlandsMelody #NetGalley

This was a light and fun read, that had a few moments where I felt it was inconsistent, too light or not really feasible.... but fun nonetheless. I like the concept and story line. I felt there was more thrown in than needed to be here and there, with a bit of bow tied on top at the end. But for a light fun story, with fateful twists, it was cute and enjoyable.

Scotland’s Melody by Katie Stewart Stone, 208 pages. Covenant Communications, 2023. $15.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When Melody (19yo) ran away from home to marry the man she was in love with instead of the man her father chose, she didn’t imagine actual running would be required. Instead of living each day buoyed up by true love, Melody finds herself struggling to move forward with her new life as a disowned woman with no prospects. Determined as she is to forge her own path, Melody struggles to accept Lady Fate’s constant involvement.
Strong and independent female lead characters are becoming more abundant, and I enjoyed reading how Melody’s determination to make her own choices actually backfires at first. Melody wants to be independent, but she has to learn how to also be wise and accept help. There has to be a balance, which is a painful lesson for Melody to learn. Also, if you want a happy ending, don’t read the epilogue – it’s just build up for another book.
Melody, Richard, her family, and her friends are English. Cameron, Elsie, and their family, friends, and servants are Scottish. The mature content rating is for alcohol use and kidnapping; the violence rating is for fistfighting and knife use.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

A charming, sweet Regency romance for those who believe in fate and second chances. Melody runs away rather than be forced to marry a man she doesn’t know from Scotland. The man she thought she loved, only wanted her money and she had to run for her life. Her running brings her to a strange carriage and she meets a Scottish brother and sister. She agrees to accompany the pair to Scotland. Melody realizes her mistakes and opens her heart.

I loved the Scottish words and locations. The romance was slow burn with some delicious kisses. I adored the phrase, “Love awakens you.”

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a historical fiction novel. The main character has her fair share of set backs in love and shows resilience. Very relatable characters. I appreciated that this novel was clean. Thank you!

I was unsure about the plot description at first, but I was quickly drawn into the story and couldn't put it down. I thought the writing was well done and the romance was delightful. The heroine did drive me a bit crazy at times and I felt her misgivings were a tad unrealistic, but it was nice to see her have so much growth. As a couple of suggestions, I would say that her using a fake name while attending society events where she could be recognized by people who knew her from her season was not the most realistic. Also, I felt that her reputation/the gossip that would have occurred was not really addressed/not realistic. In summary, some reality had to be sacrificed in order for this plot to work, but overall I would recommend it as an enjoyable read and look forward to a book about Elsie.

A nice story but it felt rushed in the beginning and there was a huge lack of character development. I also didn’t like the lack of actual description; it was more of a tell me story instead of a show me. Melody was a drama queen and rather self-absorbed. I appreciated her drive to live a life she wanted but not the way she handled it.

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

From the first paragraph this book had me. I loved Elsie and Cameron. The siblings had a wonderful relationship. I enjoyed Melody's character but I also had a few issues with her character. She is fun and independent but she seemed a little wishy washy at times. I loved Cameron's fierce loyalty and love. Overall this is a book I would recommend.

The book was okay. I felt it a title rushed and than a little dragged. However the journey of wanting to make her own way, her strength was rewarding. You will enjoy it for that.

Unfortunately this one didn’t do it for me. I expected something else after reading the blurb and I was disappointed by it. A DNF for me.

Romance, mystery and some surprises all wrapped in one for this lovely book. Katie must learn to trust her heart again after being duped into a false romance, Can Cameron capture her heart? You will be caught up in this read!