Book Review - What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston

This book is best described as The Hangover meets Jane Austen.  This was a challenging task, but McQuiston absolutely hit it out of the park.  She had me on the first page.  I found myself reading half of it out loud to my less than appreciative husband because I was laughing so hard.

Romance - 4 stars

The romance in this book was good.  It felt a little rushed at times, and I wasn't always sure if the heroine was wanting a relationship or if she wasn't.  Neither did she, so that was probably the point, but sometimes the story felt a little wishy-washy because of it.  I was getting a little frustrated 1/3 of the way into the book when they main characters had not really met yet, but once they did there was no doubt that I wanted these two to get together in the end, and the way it happened was perfect.

Plot - 5 stars

The plot in this book was solid.  McQuiston did a great job putting several different smaller story-lines into play, and then wrapping them all up believably by the end.  I also enjoyed how the book was full of "mini mysteries" where different pieces of the puzzle were solved throughout, and not everything all at once at the end.

Characters - 4 stars

I gave this 4 stars because of the wishy-washy heroine I discussed above.  Otherwise, I think the character development was done very well. 

Writing - 5 stars

This is where the book excels.  McQuiston creates great imagery in her word choice.  Each sentence is put together deliberately that gives a clear idea of what is going on in the hero and heroine's heads.  She also keeps the characters in their time period well.  I always knew I was in 1800's Scotland.  I also thought she did a great job using the brogue, keeping it to the characters of lower class and only having the high class characters break into it when they were excited or drinking.

Overall - 5

Overall I give this novel 5 starts and will absolutely be reading the next book she publishes.  The first chapter of the next book in this series is included in the digital copy, and I anxiously await its release.