Review: Scotland by Starlight by Nancy Volkers

Title: Scotland by Starlight

Series: Sequel to A Scottish Ferry Tale

Author: Nancy Volkers

Genre/Audience: Romance, adult

Publication: CreateSpace, 2011

Source: For review, CLP Tours

Summary: In A Scottish Ferry Tale, we meet Cassie, a young college-aged woman on a trip to Scotland, who meets Ralph, a Scotsman who is in his 40s. The two fall quickly in love, but Cassie goes back to the states, and her indecisiveness nearly destroys their relationship. In this sequel, Cassie and Ralph have reunited for good, and Cassie moves to Scotland to start her life with Ralph, to whom she soon becomes engaged (again!). This story chronicles their new life together, with their friends, family, and ups and downs of the relationship.

My Thoughts: I read and reviewed A Scottish Ferry Tale months ago and absolutely loved it. I was charmed by the vivid setting and the lovely Ralph. I was really excited to read the sequel, and while I still enjoyed it, I wish I had read it sooner after finishing the first one. I had a difficult time remembering all the details and occurrences of the first book, so I was a little frustrated at first while reading. I remembered the basic premise of the first story, but would have liked more of a detailed recap. I also was confused by a lot of the characters and had no recollection of who they were. I think I would have liked this book even better if I had gone right from the first book to this one. 

I really enjoyed the romance and chemistry between Ralph and Cassie. It was evident from the very first book that they truly belonged together. I love stories like this, and reading about true love. The romance is excellent, but also realistic, with disagreements, jealousy, etc.

The first half of the book was a bit slow for me, but about halfway through, it really picked up the pace and I started to get back into their story just like the first time around. These books, by and far, are some of the best self-published books I have ever read. The writing flows smoothly, the story line is unique, and there are basically no grammatical or editing errors, which I really appreciate (I do have a degree in English, after all).

I would highly recommend you pick up this series if you love romance, vivid settings, and other countries. However, I'd recommend you read them back to back to get a better reading experience without forgetting any of the first story, like me. As I said, I LOVED A Scottish Ferry Tale, and I really liked this one too, but forgetting some of the details and characters made it just a little less enjoyable for me... still highly recommended though.

My Rating: 3.5/5