I spy a Romance

The cover caught my eye….
Did it catch yours too?

On the run from a dangerous man, Ava Sutton flees to the Isle of Mull off the coast of Scotland. Masquerading as a titled, English lady, Ava must convince the cynical and darkly handsome chief of the Macleans of Aros to wed her before the devil tracks her down.

Tor Maclean, the new chief of Aros Castle, has sworn off marriage after his first wife tricked him into it. Despite his efforts to scare away the Englishwoman, his father arranged for him to wed, Tor is drawn to her fire, courage, and beauty. But when truths are revealed, and hearts as well as lives are on the dagger’s edge,  Tor doesn’t know if he can forgive or if he will truly become the solitary Beast of Aros Castle…

Beauty Among Ruins

• Publisher : Thomas Nelson
• Date: January 12, 2021
• Author: J’Nell Ciesielski
• Paperback : 416 pages

Summary:
In Ciesielski’s latest sweeping romance, an American heiress finds herself in Scotland amid the fallout of the Great War, and a wounded Scottish laird comes face-to-face with his past and a woman he never could have expected.

American socialite Lily Durham is known for enjoying one moment to the next, with little regard for the consequences of her actions. But just as she is banished overseas to England as a “cure” for her frivolous ways, the Great War breaks out and wreaks havoc. She joins her cousin in nursing the wounded at a convalescent home deep in the wilds of Scotland at a crumbling castle where its laird is less than welcoming.

Alec MacGregor has given his entire life to preserving his home of Kinclavoch Castle, but mounting debts force him to sell off his family history bit by bit. Labeled a coward for not joining his countrymen in the trenches due to an old injury, he opens his home to the Tommies to make recompense while he keeps to the shadows. But his preference for the shadows is shattered when a new American nurse comes streaming into the castle on a burst of light.

Lily and Alec are thrown together when a series of mysterious events threatens to ruin the future of Kinclavoch. Can they put aside their differences to find the culprit before it’s too late, or will their greatest distraction be falling in love?

My Review:
I picked this book up from my local library! This was my first time reading a book by this author and I liked the story quite a bit. I could not put the book down unless I had to shoveling snow or feed my kids (which I did!). I ended up reading this whole book in one day because it was that good. The characters, setting and plot kept me entertained and I just had to know what was going to happen next with Lily!

Family, adventure, friendship, mystery and a hint of romance that takes in Scotland in a castle just was amazing. The description of the castle was great. I even wanted to go visit it. There is just something about castles that are fascinating to me. Anyways, the time frame of the story was during WWI era. There is a tiny bit of history mentioned too. The story had a great flow. Each characters had their own personality and quirks! It mesh well together and kept me amused. I must say I really enjoyed seeing Lily grow. You will see how she ends up being independent and realizing helping others is good. Even Alec changed a bit for the better. Even the witty banter between Lily and other characters was fun to read. I had to smile and chuckle at those bits. The attraction between Lily and Alec took time to build which was perfect for this story. A slow attraction with friendship and respect blended in a great deal. It clicked!

The ending was fantastic! I kept guessing who the culprit could be and I guessed right. I am not going to tell you who it is. You will have to just read the book. You bet I will be on the look out for more from this author.

The Bookshop of Second Chances Review

• Author: Jackie Fraser
• Date: May 4, 2021
• Publisher : Ballantine Books

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an E-Arc for a review!

Summary:
Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She’s been let go from her office job with no notice–and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly twenty years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn’t know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs.

Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and shaggy, tulip-covered lawn. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can’t seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle’s antique novel collection. His gruff attitude–fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord–tests Thea’s patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn’t felt in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from.

My Review:
Scotland, a bookstore, coping with changes life and finding romance slowly is a great combination in this story. I loved the story. It took me a while to read it because once again life has been throwing me some curveballs. The writing for me was a bit different but not in a bad way, it was amusing.

Thea is the main character in this book who I could identify with a bit. She finds out her husband leaves her for another woman which all the emotions hit her. While she is dealing with this, she finds out she has to deal with her Great Uncle cottage in Scotland. Off she goes! I love how she adjusts to the life there. How she tries to figure things out for herself.

While being up there she meets Edward who is such a grumpy character that owns a bookstore. He has his own baggage that he is dealing with too. You’ll learn more of that as the time goes on. Anyways, Thea’s interaction with Edward is hilarious. They throw comments to each other and yet they do talk to each other. I could see a communication between them. It was totally different and strange at the same time but they click. It was like a slow connection to each other, that’s how I saw it.

It is an up and down story but at a slow pace which was really nice. There was tons of drama, detail of landscapes and even some swears from the characters which made it enjoyable too. Just when I think I knew what was going to happen next, I was wrong. That kept me interested in the story. You should definitely give this book a read if you wan to try for something different!