4.5 stars - Oh love me some Glasgow Lads!

Well, well, color me surprised.

I honestly didn't know what to expect going in. I enjoyed Playing for Keeps (Glasgow Lads, #1) so immensely, but at the same time I didn't really get a feeling for Collin or Andrew there. I did know however that I would probably want to punch Andrew a time or three. I could just feel it, way before starting this book. And guess what? I wanted to do so quite often in the beginning. At one point I just wanted to use a chair for a slap and be done with the whole thing.

The only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that Andrew was not an asshole by choice. Even though some might see it as a weak defense, he really didn't know better. Collin on the other hand, was so very passionate about politics, you couldn't help but root for him. Outside of soccer and politics however, he remained a little flat for me in the beginning.

What I really liked about this story was the progress of things. The relationship developed at a fast, but believable pace. Some things didn't add up in the end, but I enjoyed it so much, I didn't really care. I was also somewhat surprised more than once because things did not go exactly as I thought they would, which was really good thing. Big bonus points for not making it work instantly, not making it easy for these two very different men, and a cherry on top for some pretty hot steamy scenes.

One thing is indisputable, if you don't have the stomach for politics, especially for all the games, propaganda and complexities involved in a referendum for separation - don't read this book. I'm pretty sure, there is no way to actually enjoy this if you don't like politics and political agendas in your romance. Me, I was like a fish in the water. I won't go into detail much, because this is a book review, not a fundamental debate. One thing that bugged me though, was the black and white perspective - you were either one the black or white side. In a way, it's probably a realistic description. I don't think that there was a way to remain in the grey zone during that time in Scottland. Not if you're a Scot. But for me as an outsider, things were made out to be a little too clean-cut here. Which lead to my scepticism concerning Andrew's actions in the end. But that's a personal thing, and probably wouldn't affect other people's reading experience that much.

One other thing was the ending. The way the final "conflict" came into being felt a little forced to me. While I absolutely understood Collin's devastation and desperation, his attack of Andrew didn't really add up. Anger, frustration, even some rage are understandable, blaming your partner for the outcome of a referendum on the other hand, is not. And after everything these two went through to get to this point? I didn't fully believe Collin's reaction. Especially the part about never wanting to see Andrew again. Just didn't really fit. Also, the whole part about the attacks on Andrew felt a little forced at times, and I had a hard time buying all of it. A little too much drama in the end? It wasn't really bad, just not really perfect either.

Other than that, I came to like this story very much. Even Andrew grew on me more and more, especially after meeting his asshole of a brother. What a son of a gun. All in all, another really good book in the series. Avery Cockburn just has knack for bringing lads together who, objectively, should have way too many complex issues between them to make it work. But they still do and I love it.

Definitely recommended, for everyone who doesn't mind politics as a major issue in their romance books.

Geez, I can't believe I'm going to say this...


This was barely an okay read for me, and that's only because of the second half. Part of it most certainly was that I have slight problems with historical books on a general level. I like history, I even studied it at Uni, but it's the usage of historical "facts" to create the backround of a romance story that turns me off more often than not. Because it happened too often that I got somewhat excited about a historical book and then realized how utterly lacking in research they were. Which is something that turns me off more than anything else when it comes to books.

Fortunately, that worked reasonably well here - as I came to expect from KJ Charles. Certainly it's not possible for us - as modern human beings of the 21st century - to recreate historical settings par for par. But KJ Charles has a knack for using time-typical expressions, problems and occurrences to actually make it work. She is clever about it, and usually she integrates the backround into the creation of unique, larger than life characters with complex personalities and fascinating life stories.

She tried to do the same here, but only partly succeeded. One of my biggest problems was that the characters fell somewhat flat for me. Harry remained pale and intangible throughout the whole book. Maybe I never connected to him because he himself had absolutely no clue who he was or what he wanted, so I was never really to understand him. I'm really not sure, but the fact is, he didn't hold my interest. Julius was better in a way, more interesting and layered. I enjoyed reading some of what he did or had to say. On other occasions though, he faded into the general BLAH I didn't like.

The beginning of the story - and I'm really sorry to say that - Bored. Me. To. Tears. I know, I should have drawn my conclusions from the title, but I just didn't think "fashionable" was going to be THAT literal. Because let me tell you, I was hoping for different things when it came to "making a gentleman" out of Harry. But all I got was endless discussions of cloth and waistcoates and cuff links and knobs and god knows what. I sinned, I skimmed - I admit it freely.

It got better in the second half. I quite enjoyed the poitical problems, the intrigues and even some parts of the family business. Plus, KJ Charles knows her smut. I enjoyed the sexy times very much.

But overall, the dialogues didn't flow as freely as I'm used to from this author. The characters lacked character, and the very last part of the story bordered on riciculous in its' wildest solutions of all the issues. Didn't work for me. Not going to read the other books in the series, I think. It just wasn't for me this time.