Echoes Of Scotland Street by Samantha Young

Shannon MacLeod has always gone for the wrong type of man. After she drifted from one toxic relationship to the next, her last boyfriend gave her a wake-up call in the worst possible way. With her world shattered, she’s sworn off men—especially those of the bad-boy variety.

Cole Walker is exactly the sort that Shannon wants to avoid—gorgeous, tattooed, charming, and cocky. But his rough exterior hides a good man who’s ready to find “the one.” He’s determined to pull Shannon from her self-imposed solitude and win her heart.

As Shannon opens up in the face of Cole’s steady devotion, the passion between them ignites to blazing levels. But when Shannon’s past comes back to haunt her, her fears may destroy the trust Cole has built between them—and tear them apart for good...


Wasn't it just recently when this series started and out Cole was just a baby? Okay, maybe not literally. But you know what I meant. It's the characters that you see grow as you read a series along that is hardest to let go of and whose stories are the hardest to form an opinion on. Do you get happy because they finally have their own story or do you feel bad that they're all grown up, acting all adult-like? Gasp.

But ever since I read a grown-up Cole in the previous book I should've been ready for this already. I'm still trying to convince myself that he had grown up now. After all, it was to become such an awesome man. Although it is kind of expected considering how awesome his family was.

Thankfully, SY delivered. This book was a wonderful addition to the series. The fact that Cole was a tattooed hottie actually made it easier for me to accept that he's all grown up. A serious hottie just like all the men in his family, this time with a touch of badass. Ahh, sigh. And I guess it was only right that he finally gets his woman and his HEA.

It also made sense that Cole's story focused on trust and that was really important considering how his life was like when he was younger. Although Shannon didn't start out to be my favorite character, she really grew on me. And trust me, by the time you get to the last page of this book, you'll love her, too. I did. 


PS Also, I'm sooo glad this isn't going to be the last book in the series because I'm not ready to say bye-bye to this beautiful family yet. Nuh-uh.

PPS Is it just me or does the guy on the cover looks bit like Jame at first glance? Double sigh.


Fina verdict: 9/10. Great read.


On Dublin Street series reviews:
On Dublin Street
Until Fountain Bridge
Down London Road
Castle Hill
Before Jamaica Lane
Fall From India Place

Fall From India Place by Samantha Young

When Hannah Nichols last saw Marco D’Alessandro, five long years ago, he broke her heart. The bad boy with a hidden sweet side was the only guy Hannah ever loved—and the only man she’s ever been with. After one intense night of giving into temptation, Marco took off, leaving Scotland and Hannah behind. Shattered by the consequences of their night together, Hannah has never truly moved on.

Leaving Hannah was the biggest mistake of Marco’s life, something he has deeply regretted for years. So when fate reunites them, he refuses to let her go without a fight. Determined to make her his, Marco pursues Hannah, reminding her of all the reasons they’re meant to be together.

But just when Marco thinks they’re committed to a future together, Hannah makes a discovery that unearths the secret pain she’s been hiding from him, a secret that could tear them apart before they have a real chance to start over again...


It seemed like just yesterday when I started reading the first book of this series and I can still remember reading Hannah in that book. She was a young teen then and it's still a bit hard for me to accept that she had already grown and having relations with a man! Hahaha. I'm such a mama with these characters.

I was rooting for this duo when I first read about them as teenagers in the previous book in the series. I did all that but never expected they would eventually have their own book. And what a book it is. Wow.

I didn't know that the teenage love between Hannah and Marco that I read then would forever change their lives. I really felt for what Hannah went through as a young lady. It couldn't have been easy and for her to try to trust again the same person that nearly destroyed her life was probably one of the hardest things she could've decided to do.

I thought it was kind of unfair realizing that Marco had moved since they had broken up. I thought his current situation was a bit convenient for what was going on in Hannah's life. But then I got THAT ending. No such thing as convenient now as these two are determined to drum up their own happy ending, no matter what.

It was beautiful to read about people who love each other enough to learn to accept the past, no matter how painful. And then move on from there knowing that trust, although hard to come by, will be the catalyst to keep a relationship together. 


Final verdict: 8/10. Great read.


On Dublin Street series reviews:
On Dublin Street
Until Fountain Bridge
Down London Road
Castle Hill
Before Jamaica Lane

Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young

One simple lesson in seduction between two friends can turn into so much more...

Despite her outgoing demeanor, Olivia is painfully insecure around the opposite sex—usually, she can’t get up the nerve to approach guys she’s interested in. But moving to Edinburgh has given her a new start, and, after she develops a crush on a sexy postgrad, she decides it’s time to push past her fears and go after what she wants.

Nate Sawyer is a gorgeous player who never commits, but to his close friends, he’s as loyal as they come. So when Olivia turns to him with her relationship woes, he offers to instruct her in the art of flirting and to help her become more sexually confident.

The friendly education in seduction soon grows into an intense and hot romance. But then Nate’s past and commitment issues rear their ugly heads, and Olivia is left broken-hearted. When Nate realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he will have to work harder than he ever has before to entice his best friend into falling back in love with him—or he may lose her forever...


I am a sucker for bestfriend stories and this book was no different. Where do I start to gush about this beautiful piece of work?

I already love this series. It hasn't been perfect--there've been ups and downs since the first book. But to add this book to the line-up really just upped the bar for this series. Even when I thought at first that the characters were too young, it still appealed to me. And we don't have mega-billionaires here in this series so if that doesn't float your boat, then this book or series isn't for you.

But that's what makes this book, like the rest of this series, sooo appealing. SY made her characters realistic and made them more relatable. I enjoyed reading the first few chapters when Nate and Olivia were still friends. I was glad they had their nine months of friendship as a fallback. It was a solid foundation for their relationship even if you can feel the attraction off the pages when they first meet.

When they decided to take their relationship to a more less platonic level, I thought it was sooo bad it could only be good in the end. And it was! I loved that Olivia really had a spine and made Nate work on having her back. I think I loved that the best. And it was great visiting with the other characters in the series and reading about how much their characters and stories have grown since the earlier books and novellas. Oh, I'm still gooey in the inside. Help!


Final verdict: 9/10. Great must-read.


On Dublin Street series reviews:
On Dublin Street
Until Fountain Bridge
Down London Road
Castle Hill

Castle Hill by Samantha Young

Braden Carmichael never imagined he’d fall as hard and as fast as he did for Jocelyn Butler. He also could not have anticipated how difficult it would be to convince her to give in to love. But now that he has her, he’s never letting go. He’s got it all planned—the passionate proposal, the dream wedding, the sexy Hawaiian honeymoon—even the perfect family they’ll start.

After trying to flee from her painful past, Joss is finally allowing herself to embrace the future. But when things start moving faster than she anticipated, she finds herself panicking over something Braden can’t understand. After everything they’ve been through, Joss is sure that their love can survive even her worst fears. But, this time, she may push Braden too far—and risk losing everything all over again...


Another Braden and Jocelyn read. Who can refuse to read more Braden, eh? Certainly not I.

I love these two characters, epecially Braden, that it's easy to forget that they were not married yet. They were good as married in the books since their very own, On Dublin Street. But then again, here it is.

This novella puts everything in perspective the status of Braden and Jocelyn's relationship--from their engagement to their wedding, from their honeymoon to the first few months of married life. It's like a super extended epilogue. But then it also introduces a side of Braden I haven't met yet--the brooding, silent side of him that I don't exactly like.

But then as soon as he and Jocelyn decided to confront the first issue that hounded them as a married couple, they were back to their two adorable selves. I want to say I'm ready for more of these two but lemme breath for a bit because this novella took a bit off of me. I don't like it when these two fight. Ugh!


Final verdict: 8/10. Good read.


On Dublin Street series reviews:
On Dublin Street
Until Fountain Bridge
Down London Road

Down London Road by Samantha Young

It has always been up to Johanna to care for her family, particularly her younger brother, Cole. With an absent father and a useless mother, she’s been making decisions based on what’s best for Cole for as long as she can remember. She even determines what men to date by how much they can provide for her brother and her, not on whatever sparks may—or may not—fly.

But with Cameron MacCabe, the attraction is undeniable. The sexy new bartender at work gives her butterflies every time she looks at him. And for once, Jo is tempted to put her needs first. Cam is just as obsessed with getting to know Jo, but her walls are too solid to let him get close enough to even try.

Then Cam moves into the flat below Jo’s, and their blistering connection becomes impossible to ignore. Especially since Cam is determined to uncover all of Jo’s secrets even if it means taking apart her defenses piece by piece.


And I was right--Braden and Adam from this series had some very big shoes to fill. Seriously. I loved the first 1.5 parts of this series so much I could cry and that was why I thought this was a bit of a letdown. The bar has been set.

Samantha Young still did an amazing job on this book. I still love her storytelling and I am determined to see this series through. Maybe this is a just a bump along the way. 

It could be that the start of Cam and Jo's story didn't really impress me that much and you know what they say about first impressions. Cheating doesn't impress me at all and that was all I could see right off the bat when I started reading this book. Bothers me, bothers me, bothers me. But as soon as that part of the story is done with, the story quite picked up from there and I was only too happy to zap my way through it.

There were some good points and the ending was kind of okay. I think the hardest part would be just get through the first part and all was alright in the end. 

I just hated that there was a Becca, a Malcolm, and a Blair in the story. That is all.


Final verdict: 6/10. Okay read.


On Dublin Street series reviews:
On Dublin Street
Until Fountain Bridge

Until Fountain Bridge by Samantha Young

Before I got my hands on this lovely novella, I just had to read this:


An On Dublin Street Christmas

This was a very short read. But I am never going to complain about any read that has Braden Carmichael in it. I know better. I will read anything that has him in it. Anything, I tell you. Ha!

This was still a great read, happening before the epilogue of On Dublin Street during Joss and Braden's second Christmas together. Although technically, they were "not" together on their "first."

Long story short, Braden was his usual awesome self. And I want a Braden Christmas of this year. Here's hoping.



Ellie Carmichael had a crush on Adam Sutherland, her brother, Braden’s, best friend, for years, and although Adam treated her with proprietary concern he made it clear he thought of her only as a little sister. 

Over the years, as Ellie’s crush develops into love, her romantic idealism makes it difficult for her to move on. To make matters worse, as she’s gotten older, Adam’s attitude has changed toward her. His affection for her is now joined by attraction, but his loyalty to Braden, and his fear of losing the only family he has, stops him from claiming Ellie the way she wishes he would. 

But one night his attraction is put to the test, and as much as Adam would like things to remain the same everything changes between them in a simple brush of the lips. 

Soon lust, love, jealousy and heartbreak combine to force change upon their relationship...and Adam discovers the hard way that life is too damn short to spend it on regret.


When I was reading ODS and reading about the sparks between Adam and Ellie, I was thinking that there better be a book for them. It looks like all I'd be getting is this novella. Adam had always been Braden's bestfriend while Ellie has always been his sister and reading about them ending up together before really reading about their story was the epitome of an anticlimax. Once again, I shan't complain because holy guacamole...ADAM!!!

What have they been feeding these guys when they were kids? Braden was perfection so I guess it didn't come as a surprise that his bestfriend was going to be one, too. Ohmygod, ohmygod! *fans self*

Finally reading about how long Adam was really in love with Ellie was a relief. Or even back then, that their lives and their entire friendship was a preparation for what was to come. There's no more room left for wondering. But it made me sad that they had to wait until Ellie had a scary medical incident before they decided that they can be together. Blast all gentlemen! Well, not really. But they could've saved themselves from all that heartache.

I must say, Braden and Adam are going to be hard acts to follow in this series. Make no mistake about it. 


Final verdict: 9/10. Great reads. Mmmmmm.


On Dublin Street series reviews:
On Dublin Street

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare...

Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well—until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core.

Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. Knowing how skittish she is about entering a relationship, Braden proposes an arrangement that will satisfy their intense attraction without any strings attached.

But after an intrigued Jocelyn accepts, she realizes that Braden won’t be satisfied with just mind-blowing passion. The stubborn Scotsman is intent on truly knowing her...down to the very soul.


This book has been in my TBR for the longest time and I have only heard good things about it. So I thought I'd have some delayed gratification because I'm sure the book couldn't turn bad as it waited.

Of course, it didn't. But now I could hit myself for waiting this looong to read it because I love, love, love Braden Carmichael. I mean, what is there not to love? He was a romantic, caring man who knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to use whatever underhanded tactics to get them. I loved that he was the one who kept things together between him Jocelyn, who never gave up even during those times when I felt like I wanted to throw my ebook reader in frustration.

Which brings me to Jocelyn...that even with all my frustration in her character, I just couldn't bring myself not to like her. Her character was relatable and saying that I didn't like her would be akin to saying I don't like myself. But I loved it right in the end when she was willing to risk all of what she has gotten used to in her comfort zone and decided to be take the plunge to be happy with Braden. It couldn't have been easy.

This was one of those books that I was glad was part of a series because I just know that sooner or later, I would really like to take a peek at how these two were doing as stories in their circle go along.

And I think I may have mentioned in one of my previous reviews that I have a thing for endearments...and 'babe' abso-freakin'-lutely melts my insides like butter. There's another point for this book, babe.


Final verdict: 9/10. Great read, must have.