There are so many tropes in historical romances, it’s no wonder that readers find themselves tripping over the same ideas over and over again. The thing that makes a story interesting, however, is not being free of the tropes. Instead, it is using them fully, and creating something new. As I was reading Susana and the Scot, I couldn’t help but notice how many of the same ideas were there – the gentlemen’s bet, “I don’t want her, but I don’t want you to have her either,” and the independent-to-a-fault lady of the manor to name a few. But Ms. York has taken those tropes and turned them into a story that was sweet and hot and funny, and that I would definitely read more of.

Andrew Lochlannach made a bet. Normally, this wouldn’t be much to speak of, but this bet? Who can be the first to kiss one hundred women. And he’s just added number ninety-nine by kissing his sisters-in-law’s sister. Oops. And now he’s being sent to provide warriors and security to his sister-in-law’s other sister. Well, that isn’t going to be awkward at all, is it? But when his brother – the Laird – sends him on a task, he will fulfill it. Whether the recipient wants him to or not.

Susana most definitely doesn’t want it. She doesn’t want the help, the additional men in her keep, or Andrew taking over the defense of her land, which has been her responsibility for years. She certainly doesn’t want her young daughter, Isobel, looking up to him, especially since this is not the first time Andrew and Susana have met. Of course, Andrew is the only one who can’t see what is, literally, right in front of his nose, and Susana has no problems taking advantage of that fact, even after they begin to regain some of their previous…intimacy. Of course, neither of them are planning on dealing with a conspiracy that extends to the lands around them, right on up to the Prince of England.

I absolutely love that Susana, though relatively unschooled in sex, takes charge of her own sexuality with no second thought. There are definitely bits of a Dom in her, which would be interesting to see play out further in their personal storyline. And I definitely love that Andrew, big, strong, independent warrior that he is, has no problems letting her take the lead. In fact, he gets off on it. The flipping of conventional bedroom roles helps make an otherwise predictable romance just that much more interesting.

The relationship between Susana and Andrew has just a touch of humor to go along with their more angsty past. I really appreciated the lighter moments of their romance, and those between the other characters as well. Instead of a one-note story, we have something that has its ups and downs, and it works well to keep the plot moving and the reader entertained.

And jumping back to the tropes for a moment, we also get the precocious child trope. Isobel, Susana’s daughter, is exactly like her mother – strong and independent and a definite hoyden. She was fun to read, but definitely did not come across as a 5-year-old. She’s more like a teenager, honestly, which bothered me at times. Luckily, it also bothered many of the other characters, one of which asked more than once “are you sure she’s five?”

The thing that did take me out of the story entirely was just how oblivious Andrew was – he didn’t recognize Susana, well, okay, it has been 6 years since their last encounter, but still. And although the reader figures out within minutes of meeting Isobel that she’s Andrew’s child, it literally takes him until the end of the story to realize it. At which point, even 5-year-old Isobel knows! It’s a bit much to think that someone who is otherwise quite astute is so incredibly oblivious.

I also have to take a moment to mention a personal pet peeve – written accents. I know we are in Scotland, I know they are speaking with a Scottish accent, and I really don’t need my dialogue peppered with “doona”s and “willna”s on a regular basis. Especially when combined with otherwise dialect-free English.

Overall, though, I enjoyed the combination of humor and angst, romance and loss, and general fun in Susana and the Scot. The few issues I had with it were small in comparison with the overall storyline. While still a fairly typical historical romance, it manages to spice things up a bit, both in and out of the bedroom!