Review : Echoes of Scotland Street by Samantha Young

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Echoes of Scotland Street (On Dublin Street #5)
Author : Samantha Young
Publication Date : October 7th 2014
Publisher : Penguin NAL
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Shannon MacLeod has always gone for the wrong type of man. After she drifted from one toxic relationship to the next, her last boyfriend gave her a wakeup call in the worst possible way. With her world shattered, she’s sworn off men—especially those of the bad-boy variety.

Cole Walker is exactly the sort that Shannon wants to avoid—gorgeous, tattooed, charming, and cocky. But his rough exterior hides a good man who’s ready to find “the one.” He’s determined to pull Shannon from her self-imposed solitude and win her heart.

As Shannon opens up in the face of Cole’s steady devotion, the passion between them ignites to blazing levels. But when Shannon’s past comes back to haunt her, her fears may destroy the trust Cole has built between them—and tear them apart for good…

Personal Thoughts

Ahh! This is the book that started my love affair with Samantha Young's books and this series. I have no idea why I kept pushing this book away. I was convinced for some baffling reason that this wouldn't be the series for me, but something about Echoes of Scotland Street just drew me in, and I pretty much devoured it and rushed to get the rest of the series. The rest is history.

Samantha Young writes male characters who are so darn easy to fall for. Cole Walker is probably my favorite guy in this series, now that I've read the whole thing. You can't help but fall for this tattooed guy who looks like a complete bad boy from the outside, but on the inside has a heart made of gold. Gosh, he made me want to hop on a plane to Dublin and find someone as swoon-worthy as him. He was pretty much the perfect love interest : down-to-earth, cared about his family, devoted, all kinds of charming and so loveable (YEP! This is going to be an annoying Cole gush-fest!). As you can imagine, it was love at first mention for me and Cole. Shannon, the protagonist of the novel, rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning. I didn't like how judgmental she was and how she pretty much dismissed Cole because of his looks. She did have her reasons for being so horrible, but it was still frustrating to me how she kept pushing Cole away and hurting him (Can you tell I'm possessive of Cole?). Thankfully, her attitude didn't last for too long. I did enjoy her growth as a character and I enjoyed her character as she began to trust Cole and see the errors in her ways.

Shannon and Cole together were explosive! They had so much chemistry together. I felt like a peeping tom at their scenes together because they were so intense and there were sparks all over the pages. Their relationship was the perfect symbol of slow burn romances. I loved the slow development of their relationship. It made me swoon hard and their sexy scenes were definitely hot. Of course, like most Samantha Young books, the characters battled with some issues, but they weren't over the top and never felt too dramatic. I loved seeing all the different couples from the previous books and see them work together. My favorite element of this series is the strong bonds of friendship that exists between all the characters. Some of them may not be related by blood, but they were as tight as a family and I just loved their closeness. Their interactions were just delightful.

Fans of the series will definitely be pleased with Echoes of Scotland Street. It was satisfying in so many ways. Romantic, intense and completely swoon-worthy are the perfect words to describe this latest installment in this series that I can read over and over again.


Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

 Thank you to Penguin NAL for the e-ARC of Echoes of Scotland Street.