Under Scottish Stars by Carla Laureano

About the Book
Recently widowed Serena MacDonald Stewart focuses on her children to the exclusion of her career, her art, and her sanity. When her brothers ask her to oversee the family guest house on the Isle of Skye, it’s a chance to dust off her long-ignored business skills and make a new start. But her hopes for a smooth transition are dashed when the hotel manager, Malcolm Blake, turns out to be irritating, condescending . . . and incredibly attractive.
Malcolm Blake gave up everything―his home, his girlfriend, and his career―to return to Skye and raise his late sister’s teenage daughter. With few job opportunities available on the island, he signs on as the manager of the MacDonald family hotel, which he’s soon running successfully without interference from the owners. That is, until Serena shows up, challenging his authority and his conviction that there’s nothing missing from his new life on Skye.

Before long, Serena and Malcolm have to admit the spark between them is more than mere irritation. But as single parents, there’s more on the line than their own hearts. Will their commitment to family be the thing that draws them together or the only thing that could keep them apart?

My Thoughts
After adoring book one of this series and not being a fan of book two I went into this one with a little trepidation not knowing which side it would land on. In the end it kinda fell somewhere between the two but I did enjoy it overall!
Serena took me a little bit to warm up to. I had liked her in the previous books but she was a little harsh and judgmental with Malcom and that rubbed me wrong. She came to her senses though and got more likable as the book went on.
Malcom was great and I really admired the way he stepped up to the plate with his niece, never once complaining about how it had interrupted his life. I liked the ways he flirted with Serena getting her a little off balance (though there were a couple comments he made that gave me a little pause they didn’t go to far).
The two of them made a cute couple and I enjoyed watching them fall in love.
I also appreciated the way all the kids were written, especially Kylee, Malcom’s teenage niece. Given her circumstances it would have been easy for her to be the sullen moody type but instead she had a good head on her shoulders and was kind, respectful, and helpful.
It was fun to see how the other MacDonald siblings’ lives were progressing and catch up with them a bit. And of course being back on Skye was a treat!

If you were a fan of the first two books the wait is finally over and I think you’ll enjoy this one!

Meet the Author
Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.
Connect with Carla online at her website (www.carlalaureano.com) or on any of these social media platforms:
Facebook.com/CarlaLaureanoAuthor
Twitter.com/carlalaureano
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