Review: Glasgow Grace by Marion Ueckermann

Enjoyable Scottish Romance

Amazon Description

Opera singer, Skye Hunter, returns to the land of her birth as leading lady in Phantom of the Opera. This is her first trip back to bonnie Scotland since her mother whisked her away to Australia after Skye’s father died sixteen years ago.When Skye decides to have dinner at McGuire’s, she’s not going there only for Mary McGuire’s shepherd’s pie. Her first and only love, Callum McGuire, still plays his guitar and sings at the family-owned tavern.

Callum has never stopped loving Skye. Desperate to know if she’s changed under her mother’s influence, he keeps his real profession hidden. Would she want him if he was still a singer in a pub? But when Skye’s worst nightmare comes true, Callum reveals his secret to save the woman he loves. Can Skye and Callum rekindle what they lost, or will her mother threaten their future together once again?

My Review

I’ve never quite understood the American fascination with Scotsmen, from Diana Gabaldon in the general market with Outlander (Crossstitch in the UK), Carla Laureano with Five Days in Skye in the Christian market, and Nick Hawkes with The Celtic Stone representing the Australian market. The Scotsmen I've met have all been very nice men, but nothing swoonworthy. Next you’re going to expect me to believe not all Navy SEALS are perfect Christian gentlemen, and not all cowboys are salt-of-the-earth types.

I also don't get how Callum and Skye two hadn’t reconnected online before now, if they really had that level of connection as teens. My teenage daughter Snapchats Every. Single. Day. with one of her friends from primary school in London, a boy she hasn’t seen for nine years. Yes, I get that Facebook and Snapchat didn’t exist sixteen years ago, but there was still email and internet chat rooms and FriendsReunited (mostly a UK site, but hey! this is set in Scotland which is still part of the UK. Although they might be rethinking that after Brexit). Robin Jones Gunn utilised internet chat rooms to in Echoes in 1995). Of course, it’s possible my teen isn’t normal …

So, leaving aside my lack of appreciation for the dark and cold northern land, and Skye and Callum’s lack of ability to utilise modern technology to stalk reconnect with old friends … Yes, this was a great romance novella.

I’m not always a fan of romance novellas where complete strangers meet and fall in love in a handful of pages. I prefer novellas like Glasgow Grace, where the characters have some kind of history to build on—it makes it seem more realistic to me. So I did enjoy that aspect of the story.

I also loved both Callum and Skye. Skye was perhaps a little naïve and innocent, but that’s not a bad thing. Callum was everything a hero should be—I might not see the fascination with Scotsmen, but I can certainly see the fascination with men who can sing. And play guitar. Especially at the same time. Swoon.

So the characters were great, the writing was good, and the plot was a perfect mix of predictable and unpredictable (hey, this is romance. There are certain things we expect as readers, and Glasgow Grace delivered with sleighbells. Okay, perhaps no sleighbells. But plenty of winter magic.)

Recommended for anyone who likes contemporary Christian romance in a non-US setting. Especially those who love Scotland and Scotsmen.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

You can find out more about Marion Ueckermann at her website (http://www.marionueckermann.net/), and you can read the introduction to Glasgow Grace below: