Historical Romance published by Avon 27 Jul 21
This is a historical novel with distinctly modern elements in the storyline. It raised my eyebrows a few times as I read, but, by and large, I just went with the swing off things and took it in stride.
Merritt is definitely a modern woman. She’s a widow and running her husband’s shipping business, though her younger brother is the public face. She’s determined to seize life with both hands and take her happiness where she can find it, even if it’s a gruff, gorgeous Scot who tries to maintain a proper distance between them.
Our introduction to Keir MacRae is interesting, to say the least. The poor gentleman is soaked and reeking of whisky when one of the barrels of the lilquor is dropped by Merritt’s crew, who are unloading the cargo. Merritt is brought in to charm him out of his bad temper, of which she does a stellar job, soon having him fed, bathed, and back out to the docks in record time.
From there the story takes a few interesting twists and turns that have readers a little lost, trying to figure out what’s happening – other than the sexual tension and release of it between the two protagonists. The next twist finds Keir’s cargo destroyed, him suffering from amnesia, and Merritt and Keir guests at a country estate where Merritt nurses Keir back to health.
More secrets are revealed. It appears that Keir is not who he has believed himself to be all his life. Most devastating of all, he might not even be Scots, when that is a large part of his identify. I’m glad his new family finds some obscure Scottish roots to appease him and all’s well that ends well.
It’s a great summer read which I definitely enjoyed.
Grade: B
Summary:
“The devil never tries to make people do the wrong thing by scaring them. He does it by tempting them.”
Lady Merritt Sterling, a strong-willed beauty who runs a shipping company, knows London society is dying to catch her in a scandal. So far, she’s been too smart to provide them with one. But then she meets Keir MacRae, a rough-and-rugged Scottish whisky distiller, and all her sensible plans vanish like smoke. They couldn’t be more different, but their attraction is powerful, raw and irresistible.
From the moment Keir MacRae arrives in London, he has two goals. One: don’t fall in love with the dazzling Lady Merritt Sterling. Two: avoid being killed.
So far, neither of those is going well.
Keir doesn’t know why someone wants him dead until fate reveals the secret of his mysterious past. His world is thrown into upheaval, and the only one he trusts is Merritt.
Their passion blazes with an intensity Merritt has never known before, making her long for the one thing she can’t have from Keir MacRae: forever. As danger draws closer, she’ll do whatever it takes to save the man she loves . . . even knowing he might be the devil in disguise.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
