Unfortunately this was archived before I had chance to download/listen (my fault on poor time planning) but I have bought a physical copy and will return with review once I have read.

*SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!*

Gosh, I had a difficult time deciding on a star rating for this one! I really enjoyed it, but it was really fucking long. I definitely would have preferred for it to be about 100 pages shorter, though it likely would have been difficult to get the full story arc in there in less pages.

I haven't read many medieval stories, so I don't really know if this is even remotely historically accurate? I'm sure I could google it, but I'm just not inclined. I feel like I would have liked the text to be slightly less anachronistic? I'm probably being overly snooty about this, but there were times that it really dragged me out of the story, hearing language that is very clearly modern. The word 'fuck' is liberally used throughout, despite not even being a word for another 150-ish years (from the time the story is set, 1333). I do feel like I'm being overly critical of this, and I truly don't mind reading historically-set stories that do use anachronistic language, it just felt overly anachronistic. (how many times can I type <i>anachronistic</i> in this review...) I certainly don't need all of my medieval romances to have the same sort of language as, for example, For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale, which I found a bit difficult to read because the language used is more accurate for the time period, but I would also like for the language to be accurate enough that I'm not pulled out of the story when modern terms are used.

Overall, I did really enjoy the story, even though it felt like it kind of dragged towards the end. I liked both the main characters, Harry and Iain, I liked how their story developed and how hints that were planted near the beginning of the book were fully seen by the end. I LOVED the revenge story. I loved Harry's relationship with Alys, though I have seen some folks maybe not love it, because it seems too convenient (I guess it is, but also, I'm happy to see ace rep and it worked for me).

The book is quite graphically violent, but then I would kind of expect it to be, based on the setting.

So, I'm going with 4 stars, because I did enjoy it, despite the anachronistic language and length of the book, and might even pick it up again at some point in the future.

this was a nice enough little M/M historical romance. There were lots of feels, the couple got together pretty quickly, but that was surprising, because Harry is the englishman, and English knights killed Iain's
family . There was potential for a lot of conflict,,but it was just 500 pages of repetitiveness. sorry, needs a good editor

I definitely have mixed feelings on this one so let's start with the good:

It was well-written. No random grammatical errors from the author, that editors couldn't catch. The story itself was very interesting; a gay romance story set against the backdrop of medieval politics and filled with action, drama, political intrigue and of course lots of sex. Speaking of, I enjoyed the shell out of the steamy sex scenes, unlike who seemed turned off by it. This story had plenty of drawbacks but the sex was not one of them.

Now on to the negatives...

I thoroughly disliked the present tense writing style Campy adopted for this story. All the historical fiction novels I've enjoyed have been written in past tense so reading this felt jarring to say the least. Next, it was filled with anachronism that just devalued the story, to a passable historical fiction. One in just couldn't take seriously in any way. Also, one thing that irked the hell out of me was this infusion of our modern attitudes and sensibilities to a medieval story. Makes literally no sense and all it does is again, take away from the "historical" part of the fiction. I'll give the author credit though for the fourth part that does much to address this..but not a whole lot to save the story.

Finally, I was disappointed in the language employed for the story. Written in plain, modern English that does little to remind the reader they're reading a historical fiction novel. I'm not asking for biblical level language, but I mean come on.

This was a brilliant story, with all the right ingredients available, but rather poorly put together.

This book only barely didn't make a five star from me. The only issue I had was the length feeling eons long. Other than that, I cried, I grinned, and I shouted at the characters in my head. I went through the gambit of emotions during this one. The main characters had such strong well-rounded personalities that had me irritated with them at times but also always wanting to come back and forgive them. Definitely some strong trigger warnings in this one.

A decent, well narrated story. I think the romance might have gotten a bit much for me!

Thanks to the publisher for granting me access to an eAlc via NetGalley

I was intrigued when I read the blurb of this book, and was looking forward to some historical fiction.

While I cannot confirm how historically accurate the book is, I found the story lacking. There is just too much graphic sex and really not enough story for my liking.

The narrator was very good, and used a range of accents and voices for the characters. In fact, his narrating was the most enjoyable part of the book for me.

I didn't like this one and while I did finish it I don't feel to keen on saying I enjoyed it. I didn't, but I did recommended it to a few friends and they have all enjoyed it just wasn't for me

It is a fairly long book and as I don't listen as long as I read books so it took me a long while to finish. It is a slow burner but well read. The characters are well drawn and mostly likeable. An interesting and enjoyable listen.

I received an audiobook arc of this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.
 
I enjoyed the overall premise of this story – I can’t comment on the historical accuracy of the events or descriptions of day to day living in the book, but they certainly felt authentic (or as close to that as you expect from historical fiction).  I also enjoyed the depiction of different types of relationship which the main character has throughout the book as the political machinations are intriguing.
 
The characters are likeable and you definitely end up rooting for Harry, Iain, Alys and the cast of surrounding characters, whilst hating Rabbie and Montagu.  Overall, the story telling is very effective and it’s definitely a ‘page turner’  I wanted to know what happened next.
 
The only criticism I have is the over abundance of sex scenes and their explicit nature.  The book wasn’t marketed as erotica but when you’ve got sex scenes which last for a long time, go into every detail and are relentless in their frequency, it’s difficult to see it in any other way.  There were points where the story seemed to finally be moving on after a prolonged sexual encounter only for everything to stop once more so that the author could have yet another sex scene that would last for the rest of the chapter.  I got it fairly quickly – Harry and Iain and in love and can’t keep their hands off each other – I didn’t need to be told over and over and over again, to the detriment of the story itself at times.  I don’t think the book needs a content warning, but I also don’t expect such a focus on sex in historic fiction. 
 
Overall this was an enjoyable read, I just think about 50 pages could have been edited out to make the pacing of the story better.  The end of the story was very satisfying for all the characters I’d got to know through the book and I’d happily read more of the exploits of Harry, Iain, Alys and everyone else.

It was entertaining and held my attention.
Not the greatest at historical accuracy but it was a god time.

This was an interesting step back in time into a very challenging era of history. The love story was a difficult Sottish/English romance set during a period of intense fighting between the two monarchies. I occasionally felt like it went a little long, but overall it was entertaining. The audiobook was a great way to read this one.

The Scottish Boy is a historical romance with varied pacing that read like a Bernard Cornwell with respect to the detailed accounts of warfare, military skirmishes, and politics, but with a lots of steamy interactions between the two main characters, Harry and Iain.

Iain's entire family is slaughtered by Harry's military troupe, and Harry is then tasked with concealing Iain at his remote estate. A sweet and thoughtful romance develops between the young men, but politics begin to throw their relationship off balance and eventually leads to their separation. Both men must forge their identities, while hiding their secrets and surviving the cutthroat political environment.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC
4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved this audiobook, and the narrator was really good too. I have to said I had high expectations, and they were fulfilled, so much so that I bought the physical copy without even having finished the book, and I don't regret it. Iain and Harry's relationship has a lot of ups and downs, but I loved reading it develop over the years that the book took place. I don't have much to say, since in general I am very satisfied with everything, the story, the plot, the characters and the end 10/10.
My only complaint and for what it gets a 4, more like a 4.5 was that the book had way too many sexual scenes... I got really bored for a big part of the book just because it was pure sex sex sex, and I think they made the book too long. I'm not against sex scenes, but I tend to get bored when they happen more than three times in a single book (I only have read one book that had a ton of sex scenes, and it was still the best thing I've ever read). But overall I would have preferred to read Iain and Harry talk more or idk do other romantic activities instead of just so many long sex scenes.
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Gracias a NetGalley por la copia avanzada del audiolibro.
Me ha encantado este audiolibro, que lectura más maravillosa. Le tenía altas expectativas y se cumplieron, tanto que compre la copia en físico sin siquiera haber terminado el libro, y no me arrepiento. La relación entre Iain y Harry tiene un montón de altibajos, pero me encantó ver su desarrollo durante los años en los que trascurrió el libro. No tengo mucho que decir, ya que en general estoy muy conforme con todo lo que pasó, el final fue un 10/10.
Mi única queja y por lo que se lleva un 4.5 fue que el libro tuvo demasiadas escenas sexuales Me aburrí mucho durante gran parte del libro solo porque era sexo sexo sexo, solo hiciero que el libro se alargara de mas. No estoy en contra de las escenas sexuales, pero como ya dije, me tiendo a aburrir cuando pasan más de tres veces en un mismo libro (nada más conozco un libro que tuvo un montón de escenas de sexo y aun así fue lo mejor que leí en la vida). Pero en general hubiese preferido leer a Iain y Harry hablando más o idk haciendo otras actividades románticas, en vez de leerlos en tantas escenas sexuales larguísimas.

I enjoyed this audiobook, although initially I was a little shocked at the explicit details within the sex scenes. However, if you can deal with that side of it then there’s a really lovely love story that’s slowly growing as the story goes along.
I thought the narrator was great and did a really good job with the different accents and voices.
Overall I enjoyed and I would recommend it to others as long as they’re not even slightly prudish!
My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was an absolutely charming historical romance. The scene setting was gorgeous and the characters wonderfully developed. Would definitely go back to this author for further historical adventures

This book made me extra anxious. I was either heartbroken, plain sad, furious, scoffing, or rolling my eyes.
I listened to the audiobook and liked the different accents and how the characters were portrayed vocally.
This book is about Harry and the scottish boy his army kidnapped and put in his custody. This is about Harry developing lust then feelings tiwards this boy that first hates him, then learns to teust him.
The book spans months then years and it was an excruciating journey. My heart is tired. I liked it, enjoyed it even with the many more sex scenes that I pictured initially. It was one hard ride for my heart.

DNF 37% - didn’t realize this was MM romance which just isn’t my preference. The characters are also extremely young for such a graphic sexual novel.

In the mid-1300s, a war is raging between England and Scotland, and all knights are called upon to serve their country. Harry is a young, recently knighted boy who still believes in chivalry and honor. But after witnessing some horrendous acts by his fellow knights and being forced to take a Scottish prisoner home with him, he wonders if he may regret his decision to become a knight. As time goes on and the Scottish boy continues causing trouble for Harry, Harry finds himself inexplicably drawn to the handsome, wild boy.

I’m aways excited to find historical fiction set during this time. However, I felt that the historical details were lacking overall. I would have loved for there to be more exploration of the cultures and setting than there was. The plot was also lacking with it hardly even being present during the middle sixty percent of the work. Most of the book was simply sex: a lot of poorly written, explicit sex scenes.

The enemies-to-lovers aspect of the work was executed relatively well, though it all occurred rather quickly. There was some good tension between the characters at the beginning, though I believe the author missed some major opportunities to create more meaningful tension between them, especially in relation to them being from opposite factions and having friends/family murdered by the other’s acquaintances.

On a related note, Harry was a boring protagonist. He was completely noble and honest, caring for everyone and only wanting the best for them. The mistakes he made were always well-intentioned and easily forgiven, and even the character who disliked him ended up softening towards him in the end. Similarly, Iain is angry and dangerous, except around Harry. That’s the extent of his character development. Neither of these characters felt well-rounded or relatable to me. They felt more like sex objects than real, relatable characters. There was also only one major female character, and she also was only motivated by Harry, which was a major disappointment.

Overall, I felt that the author relied on explicit sex scenes to carry the unexceptional characters and plot through to the end of the book. I was disappointed by this work and don’t recommend it unless you’re looking for plenty of mediocre erotic scenes.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was so thrilled to get my hands on a copy of this audiobook! I've been dying with curiosity to read it. Anyway, The Scottish Boy is a queer historical romance between Harry de Lyon, a newly knighted country squire, and Iain, his prisoner turned squire. It's set in the 14th century and I am not remotely an expert on that period, so I have no idea about its historical accuracy, but from my layman's point of view, Alex de Campi seems to have done a good job of evoking the period (in broad strokes, at least). I liked the details about historical politics and about jousting, weapons, clothing and food etc. Also, I had no idea that medieval artificial insemination was a thing? I have got to find out more about the history of midwifery!

I loved how the relationship between Harry and Iain developed! I was, admittedly, a bit iffy about it at first, considering the power imbalance between them and the circumstances of their first meeting. I guess you could call it a meet ugly? Harry participates in a raid on Iain's home in a backwoods Scottish keep, in which his mother and servants are murdered and Iain imprisoned by the story's villain, Lord Montagu and his minions. Harry is horrified and doesn't actively participate in the violence and tries to be kind to Iain as they transport him to England, but as he himself acknowledges, he was complicit. His youth and naivety at the time, guilt and acknowledgment of his own complicity somewhat mitigates his culpability (it would be hard to root for him otherwise), but it was still a little uncomfortable to read. Harry is also pressured by Montagu to keep Iain imprisoned on his estate, on pain of losing it to the more powerful baron, so in a way they're both trapped. I'm not sure if that's better or worse? In any event, de Campi manages to pull off a believable progression in their enemies-to-friends-to-lovers relationship, which is impressive, given their deeply inauspicious start. And they are sweet together; even in their sex scenes, which were fairly explicit, in case that's an issue for other readers.

Both Harry and Iain feel fleshed out as characters and there are a few other standouts, like Alys, Harry's friend and alternative 'love interest'. She was great, please give me more politically astute women finessing her way to the life she wants to lead! There's a major asexual character and a few characters of colour who are important to the plot, both of which I love to see. In the first case, it's rare to see an asexual character in romance, let alone a historical romance, so good for Alex de Campi for going there. And it's also brilliant to see a medieval historical fiction that doesn't whitewash history. People immigrated and travelled! Before the 19th century! I may not know much about the period, but I know that! On the other hand, Harry's vassals have a touch of the 'Happy Slave/Serf' about them. They're all likeable, particularly Annie, Harry's motherly housekeeper, and it's all very cosy with their 'one-big-happy-family' vibe, which makes for a nice comfort read but is probably not historically accurate. Does it also perpetuate an idealised vision of the period's oppressive class system? Probably. That said, 'The Scottish Boy' isn't trying to be a hard-hitting work of historical realism and, to be fair to de Campi, Harry's closeness with his vassals and his responsibilities to his estate is a major source of conflict in his relationship with Iain (he must keep Iain prisoner or risk losing his estate to Montagu), so playing up the camaraderie between Harry and his servants etc. is justified for narrative purposes.

A few of the big plot twists in terms of Iain's identity and the resulting drama were fairly predictable, at least for me, but I still enjoyed the angst. And the last third took a major turn I was NOT expecting but enjoyed immensely. It gets a bit Game of Thrones for a second there, and I loved that we also get a bit of And Then There Were None and The Scarlet Pimpernel as the plot progresses. Thank you, Alex de Campi, it was a wild ride!

Finally, kudos to Richard Pearce for his fantastic performance as narrator! He had just the right earnest tone throughout that really suited Harry, as our main viewpoint character. His character voices and accents were also excellent; I especially loved Iain and Annie's Scottish and West Country accents (though the former is an interesting choice, given it's established that Iain mostly speaks in courtly French, but I enjoyed it anyway) and his Montagu had a great sinister rasp. He also doesn't attempt a falsetto for any of the female characters, which I appreciate. Sex scenes in audiobooks are a bit touch-and-go, but Pearce did a decent job, kind of speeding up to create a sense of urgency, I suppose? Not particularly sexy, but it was fine, and your mileage may vary, anyway.

Overall, The Scottish Boy was great, easy listening that I would absolutely recommend to fans of queer and historical romance (as long as you're not a stickler for absolute historical accuracy).