A lot of other reviewers have pointed out that SCOT IN THE DARK by Sarah MacLean doesn't exactly drip with historical accuracy. There are idioms that aren't time-appropriate, and the behaviour of both the hero and heroine are a bit more modern than Regency. There's also the annoying trend in recent times to make "Scottish" shorthand for "brute" in romances that's a bit trying. (Side note: I'm getting increasingly desperate for a Regency-era romance with someone from Scotland who is not from the highlands, does not hate England, and is comfortable enough in a suit that they don't spend half the book complaining about it. I'm sure those folks existed. Give me a hero from Edinburgh, will ya?)

There are folks for whom all of the above is going to mean they tap out of this book. They're the ones who are probably already turned off by the cutesy title and the connections to modern-day gossip culture. This series, after all, is a bit inspired by US Weekly and the Kardashian clan. I read and write for other sites where loyal romance readers cannot get behind it.

I hear them. I get it. I'm not among them.

SCOT IN THE DARK worked for me because I simply decided to be taken with MacLean's dialogue, characterization, and charm. Does everything strike as accurate? Nope. And I don't care. She weaves book magic, taking me in completely to her world and I'm always happy with the time I spend there. SCOT IN THE DARK is, in many ways, a contemporary romance with corsets, but I loved it anyway. If you're looking for a good book to fly through in the best kind of escapist fashion, complete with a heroine completely exercising her own agency after being a colossal idiot, then get this one immediately.