Book Review: One Night in Scotland by Karen Hawkins

One Night in Scotland (Hurst Amulet, Book 1) by Karen Hawkins

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star; Original edition (November 23, 2010)

Goodreads Description:

New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins begins a sparkling new series with this thrilling tale of a desperate beauty on an urgent quest, a dark earl scarred by his beastly past—and the ancient treasure that binds their fates.

A mysterious abductor . . . Someone is holding her brother prisoner in exchange for a gold-and-onyx box covered in mysterious runes, so Mary Hurst boldly sets out from the family vicarage to find the priceless artifact. But the man who possesses it, Angus Hay, the Earl of Erroll, is less than sympathetic to her plight.

A forbidding stranger . . . Himself a prisoner of his dark past, Angus refuses to yield the box—or allow Mary to leave! Suspicious of the alluring lass’s mission, he vows to wrest a confession from her, but unearths a fiery temper and a will as strong as his own.

An unbreakable curse . . . Passion flares between them, but now there is more at stake: an unknown enemy is hunting down the precious box, and will stop at nothing. Risking all for love, Angus must solve the mystery behind the runes . . . and trust the only woman who can awaken his forgotten heart.

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Mary's brother, an adventurer and Egyptologist, is being held captive in Egypt until he returns an artifact he bought and sent to a colleague in Scotland. Mary sets out to retrieve the object to save her brother, but the Earl of Erroll (the colleague who possesses the artifact), does not trust her and is unwilling to just give her the artifact until he has proof that she is who she says she is.

My favorite character by far is Mary. She has a lot of spunk and maintains cool and collected at times when many people would break down. Refusing to be cowed by a domineering man, she stood her ground and I can definitely admire that in this character.

I really enjoyed the plot from start to finish. It felt just a little like Beauty and the Beast to be honest with you. However, the one love scene was extremely anti-climactic and the ending felt a bit rushed. I understand this is the beginning of the series so not every question gets answered, but I hope that we get to read more about the earl and Mary because the story ended a little abruptly and I want to know how things end up for them. I would also love to learn more about the earl's past, specifically about the fire and his wife. I feel like maybe there was foul play or something.

This is a series I will continue to read. Also, apparently some characters from this series were also in some of the books from the Maclean Curse series so you might want to check that out as well...I know I will.

3.5/5

I recieved this book from the publisher for review. Any opinions expressed are my own.