I finished Julia London’s Highland Scandal on a Friday, and started this review the following Monday. When I sat down to write, I realized the details of the story were surprisingly fuzzy in my mind, and I had to go back and refresh my memory; all I could really remember is that I mostly enjoyed the book, despite its flaws.

Jack Haines, Earl of Lambourne, is on the run from agents of the Prince of Wales after being accused of treason (for participating in the princess’s infidelity). He’s innocent, but has an infamous reputation for being a rake and is a close friend of Prinny’s; no one believes his claims of innocence, so he runs off to his homeland, Scotland. While there, he is taken hostage by a local laird, and given the option: be handed over to the bounty hunters and be hanged, or handfast the laird’s niece. Jack chooses the second option, and finds himself married for a year and a day to Lizzie Beal.

Lizzie is not exactly a willing partner in this ceremony; she was kidnapped by her uncle’s men from the home she shares with her crippled sister. She’s angry at her uncle, she’s angry at Jack for being complicit, she’s angry at everyone for getting her into this situation, and all she wants to do is write to her almost-fiancé to come rescue her from ruin. Jack, however, doesn’t want to be hanged, and is going to make Lizzie deal with the situation so her uncle doesn’t turn him in. What he doesn’t expect, though, is that he might fall for her. And as things start looking suspicious and her uncle’s motives are called into question, Jack has to decide what he wants more: Lizzie’s happiness, or his life.

Obviously, this plot is ridiculously contrived. Luckily, the uncle’s motivations are not what they seem at first, but it’s still a bit convoluted and the truth of the situation is revealed rather suddenly. Despite the author’s forcing together a somewhat unbelievable situation, at least she forces it together so that it fits.

My biggest problem with the characters is that it takes me entirely too long to believe that they love each other. For a long time, I thought Jack was a little bit crazy for doing something he does in the end of the book, simply because I didn’t believe he loved Lizzie that much. The transition from hating to loving each other isn’t particularly smooth, though it definitely comes around to have a believable HEA by the end. Lizzie annoyed me sometimes because she is so headstrong – and dangerously close to feisty. It got to be a bit much at times, even as I could understand her fears, both for herself and her sister. Speaking of the sister, there’s a side romance involving her that is a bit lopsided; it’s a bit heavier in the beginning, then almost disappears until the HEA. I would have liked it to be more balanced, and also to receive more attention, because it was an intriguing combination of people.

Despite my problems with the book, I found it hard to put down. Though it’s connected to her previous Book of Scandal and has another book following, this book stands alone just fine. I have a feeling Highland Scandal will fall among the ranks of imperfect, enjoyable, but overall forgettable, romances.