Sinful Scottish Laird

January 23, 2017
London continues her mid-18th-century Highland Grooms series (after Wild Wicked Scot) with a sparkling and witty installment. Daisy, Lady Chatwick, has decided to leave London and take her young son, Ellis, to Auchenard, the property he owns in Scotland. Daisy hopes that Robert Spivey, her first love, will arrive in Scotland to ask her to marry him. Her deceased husband’s will requires that she marry within three years of being widowed in order to keep her husband’s fortune for their son. In Scotland, Daisy meets the one man who seems enamored of neither her nor her money: Cailean, Laird Arrandale. Eventually Cailean shows Daisy that he is very attracted to her, but he never once mentions being interested in marriage. Daisy becomes conflicted as she tries to determine whether to wait for Robert or take a chance at love with Cailean. The complexity of the relationship between Daisy and Cailean sets this novel apart from many in its genre. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.

February 1, 2017
An 18th-century widow must remarry to fulfill the terms of her late husband's will.Daisy Bristol is the mother of 9-year-old Ellis, Lord Chatwick. Under the terms of her husband's will, Daisy must remarry within three years of his death or Ellis will be disinherited. Daisy is incensed that her late husband thought her so incapable of managing Ellis' inheritance and raising him alone, but she has no choice. To escape the fortune hunters in London, she flees with her household to one of Lord Chatwick's properties, a decrepit hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands. There, she meets a brawny highlander, Cailean, the laird of Arrandale, who lives on the neighboring property. He had his heart broken by an Englishwoman when he was a young man, so he thinks the worst of his new neighbor, especially when she pursues him sexually. Because this is a romance novel (the second in London's Highland Grooms series, following Wild Wicked Scot, 2016), the reader knows that Daisy and Cailean will end up together. The suspense lies in the way they'll overcome their fears and the very real barriers to their relationship. Daisy is the more interesting character. She behaves like a flibbertigibbet, but she also thinks strategically. She has a tendency to misjudge people because she sees the best in everyone, but in the end, she's good at finding allies and inspires loyalty in those close to her. Cailean is a little more predictable. He's still sulking from his youthful love affair. He's duty-bound to help his family and his clan. And he's unable to resist the advances of a beautiful woman. The story is absorbing and entertaining, and the author can be forgiven for writing a compelling heroine and a rather humdrum hero.

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February 1, 2017
Who knew there were so many fortune-hunting fools in London? Daisy Bristol, Lady Chatwick, certainly didn't, at least until her husband, Clive, died, and she discovered that he stipulated in his will that Daisy must marry again within three years or lose her son's inheritance. Fortunately, Daisy's first love, Royal Navy Captain Rob Spivey, has promised to wed Daisy. So now all Daisy needs is a place to lie low and wait until Rob returns home from his last commission. A place like Auchenard, her late husband's hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately, in addition to needing some major repair work inside and out, Auchenard comes with one more annoying feature: an incredibly sexy neighbor named Cailean Mackenzie. London (Wild Wicked Scot, 2016) continues her scintillating and sensual Highland Grooms series with another superbly entertaining historical romance that is tailor-made for readers who crave sassy Sassenach (English) heroines and the sexy Scottish men who love them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)