The Brotherhood of the Black Tartan series is one of my new favorite historical romance series and one I can eagerly recommend to readers interested in late Regency stories set in England and Scotland. It has adventurous heroes, daring heroines, 5 unique love stories that explore a variety of tropes, and one uniting past event that ties the group together in a story thread that comes into their present timeline. I’m sharing my thoughts on each book in this post, and I’m highlighting my favorite quotes from each book in the series in another blog post linked below.
Companion blog post: Series Review: Brotherhood of the Black Tartan by Nichole Van
These books are best read in order, especially concerning the ongoing plot thread and quite the twist that happens close to the middle of the series. For that reason, the book descriptions and premise of the final book, in particular, constitute mild story spoilers. I would caution you in reading any details about Remembering Jamie if you want to avoid spoilers! I will try to be as non-spoilery as possible in my thoughts.
For more information on each book, click the book titles to view them on Goodreads.
Suffering the Scot
“Her extensive etiquette training had never covered this particular scenario: When a young lady of excellent breeding finds herself tumbled into a muddy stream and cursing like a sailor before a group of Scotsmen . . .” chapter 4
“He knew there was fire just underneath her surface, perhaps a secret version of Lady Jane she hid from others. Given her expansive vocabulary when upset, Lady Jane could not be the chilly lady she would like others to believe. Not entirely. And somehow, knowing that, nearly put a smile on his face.” chapter 8
“You. Do. Not. Find. Him. (Or his knees.) Attractive! A woman was in dire straits indeed if she found a man’s kneecaps fetching.” chapter 9
“He was kind and observant. He listened attentively to her questions and gave an ear to her ideas and explanations. He saw her as an equal intellectually, challenging and meeting her head- on in arguments. He had ceased goading her as he had before— as if challenging her to react— and now met her comments with good- natured teasing and dry wit.” chapter 17
“It is easier tae meet someone’s low expectations than tae change their prejudiced assumptions.” chapter 19
“Wasn’t this a woman’s lot in life? Her world could be tumbling down around her, but a proper lady would sit and calmly stitch poppies and butterflies despite the chaos. Embroidery, in moments like this, was not nearly violent enough for Jane’s taste. Clearly, a sadistic man had dreamed up the pastime.” chapter 27
Romancing the Rake
“Oh. Be still her heart. A biology-educated rake. The man was truly a menace to bluestockings everywhere.” chapter 1
“This woman. Instead of crumbling into a weeping heap, she swallowed, pinched her lips together, and rallied. And damn if he didn’t admire her all the more for it.” chapter 11
“This was the Lady Sophie of his memory, the woman who delighted him with her unexpected comments, with her ability to always be three thoughts ahead of him.” chapter 14
“Would Lord Rafe ever stop being this man to her? The one who undid her, unraveled her heart and made her yearn for things she had given up years ago. Even now, he was unearthing bits of her soul—hope and desire and longing that she had thought broken beyond recovery—and offering them to her, encouraging her to rebuild. But . . . she had trusted him once, and he had shattered her.” chapter 16
“His Sophie. He had gone and done it. He was thinking of her in possessive pronouns. Words like his and mine and us. A man was done for when a woman started to alter his very grammar.” chapter 17
“She appreciated that Rafe handed her the gun and had faith that she could keep them safe. She knew she was competent, but most men would not assume so. Jack certainly would never have trusted her in this situation. But Rafe was not like most men. He treated her as a partner, a friend in every sense of the word. She and Rafe . . . they were equals. Working together.” chapter 22
“Love, she realized, was not the sort of thing to neatly fit into parameters and boundaries. No . . . Love took many forms and needed to be accepted as it came. To do otherwise was to risk a life of eternal disappointment.” chapter 29
Loving a Lady
“Tension still hung in the room. That bitter orange color clinging to furniture and dripping down the walls.” chapter 1
“From her earliest memories, she had adored this view. The vastness of the ocean. The red sandstone cliffs extending up and down the coast. The green sweep of fields and gorse. This landscape was a soothing calm on a sunny summer’s day and a glorious terror in the throes of a January storm. Today was somewhere between those two extremes.” chapter 7
“She hadn’t realized how much she needed a witness to her pain and guilt until this moment. Someone to look into her soul and say, I understand. I have stood in this place, too.” chapter 11
” ‘I see it like this. If a woman asked for my help, I would offer it, as far as was proper. That said, as a former prizefighter, I recognize the value in knowing how to defend one’s self from attack. I would want any woman in my life to have the skills necessary to choose her own destiny, as it were. There is power in knowing ye can fight your own battles, if ye ken what I mean.’ ” chapter 16
“How was he to behave around her now? How was he to keep his adoration from shining through every look, every word? Worse, was he going to have to thank Andrew and Rafe for their high-handed interference?” chapter 18
‘ “Well, I have had about enough of this brooding. Care to talk about it?’ The older man stretched, knuckles cracking. ‘Not particularly,’ Ewan replied because he was . . . well . . . brooding.” chapter 24
Making the Marquess
“What did one call a group of solicitors anyway? Were they a pride, like lions? A murder, like crows? Several of Alex’s closest friends were naturalists. He should have a clever answer for this. A quarrel, perhaps?” chapter 1
“… the lady was not to be pigeon-holed. She was not monolithic but human and approachable and mussable. And Alex didn’t wish the words mussable and Lady Charlotte to ever come near one another in his brain.” chapter 9
“ ‘How do you do this?’ Her words held a nearly plaintive tone. ‘You pluck the very thoughts from my brain.’ ‘Me?’ Alex barely stifled a surprised laugh. ‘I would have said the same thing about yourself. Though I think there is another truth here. That just as ye can know someone for years and never understand them, the opposite can also occur. Ye can know someone for only a wee while and feel a deep connection.’ ” chapter 13
“He had vastly underestimated her. As usual, Lottie’s external harmony led one to assume that her inner life was similarly peaceful. But like the mole on her cheek, her small outer imperfections were wee emblems of the riot of living inside her head. And, in the end, wasn’t that the answer to his question— Why had she kissed him? She had kissed him because Lady Charlotte, despite her demure princess-like appearance, was herself a dragon.” chapter 14
“The sight of Alex dragging a pencil across the back of his hand, naming tendons, should not have set her heart to pounding and yet, everything about the man was a hammer to her good sense.” chapter 17
“Life isnae so black and white. Winds turn, masts crack, sails have tae be jury- rigged. We make do until a new breeze comes and pushes us in an unexpected direction. Change is hard. It’s often messy and hurts like bloody hell. But sometimes, ye have tae leave the past and move forward into an unknown future.” chapter 25
Remembering Jamie
“ ‘So [he] makes off with a King’s ransom for luring me to you, while I receive nothing?’ ‘Oh, I didnae say that.’ Kieran wanted to list outright everything he would give her—his beating heart, his endless devotion, every last shilling to his name.” chapter 2
“… it was the fire of her that drew him in. The sense that she would always meet him as an equal. Perhaps sensing his thoughts, she paused, her gaze tangling a bit too long with his. He smiled wider, perhaps a smidge challenging now. True to her nature, she didn’t flinch.” chapter 9
“The North Sea stretched before them, a rippling mass of shadow and light. The ocean currents and the near-constant wind conspired to create a crosshatch pattern on the water. In Scotland, the water itself bore the stamp of a tartan. But as a sailor, Kieran understood only too well the danger of a crosshatch sea. It spoke of strong, competing currents that could easily drag a man down to his death. Was that what he and Jamie faced now? A swirling tartan sea that would spell the doom of their love?” chapter 13
“He sobered, his eyes turning soft and thoughtful . . . which was, again, somehow even worse. She was rapidly realizing that underneath the charm and flirtation rested a sincere and earnest heart.” chapter 14
“I’m happy tae tell ye how fetching ye look in trousers, lass. Women would never wear dresses again, if I could help it.” chapter 19
“Where did friendship end and attraction and romantic love begin? Were the two even capable of being separated, in the end?” chapter 28
Did any of these quotes stand out as a favorite? Or, did one spark your interest in a particular story? I’d love to gush with you over these characters in the comments.
The Green Mockingbird 