In spite of a rather convoluted plot and a herky-jerky beginning, the novel settles into a funny and fast-paced rhythm. The...
A nobleman’s son returns from eight years of spy work on the Continent to discover that he’s about to be disinherited, if he’s not convicted of murder first.
Gracie (The Winter Bride, 2014, etc.) returns with the third book in her Chance Sisters series, featuring Jane Chance, who has spent a lifetime evading lecherous men because of her beautiful face and figure. She and her sisters (one biological, two sisters of the heart) have escaped from poverty thanks to Lady Beatrice Davenham, an eccentric and lonely old lady. Two of Jane’s sisters have recently made brilliant love matches, but Jane is more practical. Her parents were disinherited for running off together. They both died in poverty, leaving Jane under the protection of her sister Abby when the girls were only 6 and 12 years old. Jane is determined not to let love lead her into such foolish behavior that might possibly subject her future children to a life of hunger and peril like her own childhood. She accepts the proposal of a rich but dull baron in spite of her growing attraction to Zachary Black, a mysterious figure who changes accents more frequently than he changes clothes. Zach, meanwhile, can’t declare himself to Jane until he’s cleared of a long-ago murder charge and routed the cousin who's trying to take over his inheritance. With both Jane and Zach using assumed names, their eventual unveiling will make them more compatible than they expect.
In spite of a rather convoluted plot and a herky-jerky beginning, the novel settles into a funny and fast-paced rhythm. The main characters are vibrant and complex, and if some of the secondary characters are a bit typecast, the author’s skill as a storyteller makes this well worth reading.Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-425-25927-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
A satisfying treat, with extra scoops of excitement and romance that make up for certain lapses in credibility.
Once-in-a-lifetime romantic passion and graphically depicted torture sessions are only the two extremes of this lively time-travel romance set in 18th-century Scotland—an imaginative and lighthearted debut by a promising newcomer.
World War II has finally ended and Claire Beauchamp Randall, a British Red Cross nurse, has gone off to Scotland with her historian husband, Frank, to try to resume their married life where it left off six years before. Their diligent attempts to make a baby come to a halt, however, when Claire discovers an ancient stone circle on a nearby hilltop, slips between two mysterious-looking boulders, and is transported willy-nilly to the year 1743. Stumbling down the hillside, disoriented and confused, Claire is discovered by Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, an evil English officer who happens to be her husband's direct ancestor and physical look-alike. Randall notes Claire's revealing 1940's summer dress, assumes she is a whore, and attempts to rape her, whereupon she is rescued by the fierce MacKenzie clan, who take her to their castle and confine her there. Claire adjusts to her changed circumstances with amazing ease, using her nursing experience to tend to her hosts' illnesses while she impatiently awaits a chance to return to the circle of stones. Before she can get away, circumstances force her into a marriage with James Frazer, a Scottish renegade from English justice and Jonathan Randall's archenemy. Young Jamie's good looks, passion, and virility soon redirect Claire's energies to defending her stalwart new husband against her former mate's evil clone, and the fierce, courageous but historically doomed Scottish clans against the course of destiny itself.
A satisfying treat, with extra scoops of excitement and romance that make up for certain lapses in credibility.Pub Date: July 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-385-30230-4
Page Count: 640
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1991
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SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Complications abound in this well-crafted, light holiday romance.
Talented baker Polly Waterford doesn’t know what to do when her best friend, Kerensa, swears her to secrecy. Kerensa’s drunken one-night stand may jeopardize not only her pregnancy, but also her marriage, not to mention Polly’s engagement to Huckle.
Fans of Colgan's (The Café by the Sea, 2017, etc.) Mount Polbearne stories will delight—and new fans will find an easy, charming entry into the saga—as Polly, Huckle, and Neil (the puffin) return for the Christmas season. Having survived the dissolution of her graphic design business, Polly is now happily ensconced with Huckle, whose honey business is not yet thriving, in the historic lighthouse they bought in the sweet Cornish village (practically an island) whose only road to civilization is submerged under the sea twice each day. As the yuletide season approaches, however, Polly must face a bewildering number of obstacles. Is she ready to marry Huckle? Is she ready to start a family? How can she know when her own father abandoned her before she was even born? How can she give up an entire day’s profits to the Mount Polbearne Christmas fair? How can she save the endangered puffin sanctuary? How will she ever bake enough for the fair plus cater a huge holiday party for Kerensa and her fabulously wealthy husband, Reuben? And how will Kerensa ever survive Reuben’s wrath if the baby turns out not to be his but some 6-foot-4 Brazilian man’s? Supported by the ever faithful Huckle and Neil's endearing eeps, Polly carries on from the cozy bed in the icy lighthouse, trailing flour and knishes wherever she goes. Keeping secrets, pleasing everyone, and balancing so many jobs keeps Polly busy—that is, until a massive winter storm threatens everything.
Complications abound in this well-crafted, light holiday romance.Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-266299-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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