REVIEW: Echoes of Scotland Street by Samantha Young

In Echoes of Scotland Street (On Dublin Street #5) by Samantha Young, Shannon has always had ‘bad boys’. After a really bad experience in her last relationship she has lost friends, and her family has turned their back on her. Shannon escapes Glasgow for Edinburgh to start over in a place familiar to her from when she spend time with her Gran in her home on Scotland Street.

Of all places for Shannon to finally get a job, she finds one at a tattoo parlor. Where Cole, a boy from a brief moment in time of her youth, now a hot ‘bad boy’, is her boss. Cole remembers Shannon…and Shannon certainly remembers him even if she won’t admit it. They both feel the chemistry sparking between them, but Shannon knows his type and is determined not to be involved with another man ‘like him’ again. Cole doesn’t understand her reactions and actions, nor her mean, hurtful words, but for some reason he is still drawn to her. When Shannon decides they can be friends but never anything more, Cole is happy to start there.

Both of them have ghosts and hurts in their pasts…but Shannon lets her ghosts rule her present. She has no trust in any man, but slowly as Cole pursues her the walls she’s built up start to crack and she realizes how judgmental she’s become. They become closer and slowly their relationship builds up. But just when Shannon is feeling confident and happier than she has in a long time, her past crashes into her present, and she has some difficult choices to make. Will she finally succeed in driving Cole away for good this time? Or can she find a way to bring the past and present together?

Echoes of Scotland Street is a story filled with complex relationships! I really liked Cole. As bad as his childhood was, it has made him a strong, honorable, lovable man. I liked the maturity of his character and that he didn’t let his past shape his present, and he doesn’t hold wrongs done to him against everyone else. I just really liked him. I could not figure out what he saw in Shannon, but it shows the power of love that he feels so much for her. Shannon was difficult for me to connect with or even really like. She is a young woman who lets what has happened in her past cloud her present, and she is full of assumptions and judgment. She is not very nice at all to Cole, and seemed like an immature character. Samantha draws out Shannon’s story, so it is quite a while before we find out everything from her past and what’s going on with her. It was nice to see Shannon’s character grow and mature through Echoes of Scotland Street, but a crisis threatens to undo all of that.

Echoes of Scotland Street is well paced and intriguing with a lot of secondary characters, some who show up more than others. I really liked Rae, Shannon’s room mate. I have read some but not all of the previous On Dublin Street series books. Echoes of Scotland Street was easy to read without reading all of them. I’m not sure how much of Shannon and Cole’s stories follow from these, but I’m not sure it would make a difference.

Samantha took me on an emotional roller coaster ride in Echoes of Scotland Street from frustration to happiness, with lots of conflict through out. She explores more than the relationship between Shannon and Cole, showing us the importance of family relationships – both good and bad, friends, and not jumping to conclusions.

If you’ve read the previous on Dublin Street books you will really enjoy this. If you haven’t I would recommend it if you don’t mind a lot of angst in the heroine and patience in the hero!

Book Info:

Published October 7th 2014 by NAL | (On Dublin Street #5)

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 wakeup 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…