I was excited for Hardly a Gentleman when I heard it had a rustic laird in a kilt with a lady posing as his housekeeper, plus I alsoi loved her last book, Viscount in Love. This wasn’t all that I had hoped for, but I still found it entertaining. It was clear they were both attracted to each other right from the start and they both loved books. It had a lighthearted feel to it, but there were times when the humor turned a little silly.

I cheered for Clara as she took the chance for escape and adventure and took the coach bound for the castle in Scotland. Even though it was unrealistic and could have been dangerous, I went along with it and I admired how she made friends and won over everyone she met. I was glad to see her escape her awful mother and was impressed when she began to get Caelan’s home organized. Her book discussions with Caelan were some of my favorite parts of the story. I hoped we might see Torie, her best friend from Viscount in Love, but instead we got Torie’s sister, Leonora, who wasn’t my favorite but she played an important part in the story.

The castle property in the Highlands sounded so beautiful when Caelen was fishing on the river. He was close to his sister and nephew and kept the property and tenants profitable by making whiskey. He and Clara were open and honest with each other about their desires and they spoke right away about her not really being a housekeeper, but I felt like their communication broke down later in the story.

Clara went on too long believing he was still in love with his dead wife that it got repetitive. Also, when Caelen offers for Clara but she turns him down because she wants someone who will fall madly in love with her and doesn’t think Caelen can (again, because of the wife). That detracted from the story for me.

While I didn’t enjoy this one as much as some of her other books, I liked the theme of embracing life’s messiness and look forward to seeing what comes next from James. This is 4 stars from me.