Julia London

A Brawny Highlander, a flirtatious Sassenach, smuggling, and kilts. Rawr! Julia London has cornered the market on sexy in Sinful Scottish Laird.

Daisy, Lady Chatwick, is a widow with a young son. Her late husband's will says that Daisy must remarry in three years or forfeit her son's inheritance. Having married for duty once, Daisy is hoping that this time she can marry for love so she packs up her household and heads to the impossibly remote Scottish Highlands, ostensibly to check on Ellis' show more Scottish hunting lodge but really to escape the fortune hunting men in London clamoring for her large purse as she waits for her first love, Captain Robert Spivey, to return from his latest voyage and rescue her. As Daisy, Ellis, her gloomy, catastrophizing cousin Belinda, and the rest of the household travel north, their carriage runs into trouble and they meet the rugged, imposing Cailean, Laird of Arrandale. He is not best pleased to see a Sassenach in the valley but finds himself intrigued by the beautiful widow. Daisy, for her part, is immediately struck with lustful thoughts for this man who will turn out to be her nearest neighbor.

Daisy, like the flower she's named for, is a pretty hardy and cheery character. She's a hard worker, helping put the neglected hunting lodge and its environs to rights without benefit of a huge staff doing it for her. She's discovered the power of being free to direct her own life in the past two plus years and she's not looking forward to ceding her rights to a husband again. She's never been the stereotypical "merry widow" but she acknowledges and embraces herself as a sexual human being, which allows her to flirt with and tempt Cailean, a man who has good reasons for trying to resist her. He is set to take over as laird of his clan now that his father is slowing down. He and his brother run a smuggling operation to help keep their people afloat and prosperous in a time of crippling taxes. That the delectable Daisy is waiting for her Rob, a captain of the Royal Navy, and the man who has been chasing Cailean and his men forever, does not go down well. Daisy and Cailean waffle between fighting their attraction and giving in to it as they come to know each other better. Young Ellis comes to revere the brawny Scot and Cailean is wonderful in his interactions with the boy. When Rob shows up in the Highlands, the antagonism between he and Cailean is palpable, even if Cailean doesn't think he Cailean is competing for Daisy's hand.

The chemistry between Daisy and Cailean is steamy and development of their love story is quite satisfying. The historical aspects of the novel are well researched and form a nice framework for the story. But the best part of the novel is Daisy's awakening to her own strength and worth. She is intelligent but unfortunately constrained by the times. Her love for Cailean is hampered by practical roadblocks on both sides, a situation that is rather refreshing and one that can be overcome with work and ingenuity. This is the second of the Highland Grooms books but it stands entirely on its own. Readers who like a heroine with a little more agency than usual and a thoughtful, loyal hero in a kilt will enjoy this one quite a bit. show less

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Mrs. Hollis Honeycutt, a young widow, has watched her beloved sister and her best friend carried off by Alucian princes, leaving her in London with only her popular gazette to entertain her. She’s feeling out of sorts and lonely.

Marek Brendan is the advisor to the Weslorian Minister of Trade, if his superior would ever listen to him. He’s kept to the edges of events as Britain hosts his country and Alucia to facilitate trade negotiations, but show more something seems off. Neither the king’s appearance nor what Marek sees in the negotiations make sense.

Despite growing discontent with her life, Hollis still loves to write and to track down a good story. Is she to ignore the rumors she overhears about threats and plots then? Of course not. Even if her family doesn’t believe her, Hollis is on the case.

This is the third book in the series A Royal Wedding, which could easily have fallen into a pattern. Instead, Hollis and her true love meet under vastly different circumstances than found in the first two books. They’re both outside looking in. Marek’s upbringing and background set him apart while Hollis knows her presence is only tolerated because her sister married the Alucian crown prince.

She doesn’t wallow in this understanding, though. Hollis takes the opportunity to meet some real Weslorians. And who better to start with than the handsome, but aloof, fellow who saved her from an undignified spill onto the street as they were going in?

Marek’s not quite what he seems, and in the loud chatter of Queen Victoria’s tea party, his appearance of being standoffish is heightened because he can barely understand a word she’s saying. He’s deaf in one ear and partially in the other, a fact he does not share with every foreign lady who accosts him.

Hollis is nothing but persistent, however, and quickly declares him both a friend and a fellow investigator trying to uncover the truth of these rumors. After she accuses him of planning a coup, that is.

The characters are once again delightful and different in spirit as well as circumstances compared to the couples from the previous books. The story is true to the Victorian period, with Hollis taking advantage of the increased freedom offered a widow to make her gazette a success while causing her family, birth and chosen, no end of alarm. She may balk at the restrictions, but her behavior does not pass without notice any more than other events escape the dangerous consequences of the time. Despite the deviation from history to produce a slew of princes to marry, the book successfully brings to mind the period in which it is set.

I’ve mentioned for the previous two books how the description, especially of clothing, seemed a bit much for me. Oddly enough, when the story focuses on the very producer of iHoneycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies and every chapter begins with a clip from same, I didn’t feel as though fashion distracted from the intrigue at all. It may be Hollis is less interested in fashion than it would seem.

Beyond the rumors of a coup, there’s more going on than anyone knows… That is until Hollis turns a sharp gaze to following the clues her groundwork lays before her, and the careful reader. This is one of the fun parts about this book because Hollis is not tripping over the intrigue but rather diving in against all recommendations, even those of her best friend Donovan.

I appreciated how Marek recognizes what makes Hollis tick. He sees her as she is rather than how he’d want her to be. Even more, he’s entranced by her nature. The development of their relationship from initial draw to love is well written both for the story and the period. There is open door intimacy before their happy ever after, but the physical is only one aspect of their attraction. The connection is complicated by what she knows, by their different home countries, and the responsibilities that keep each where they are.

I’ve enjoyed this book as much as the others in the series. Julia London is talented, and capable both of telling a compelling story and seeding a mystery so I can make my guesses alongside the characters. Besides, I liked Hollis and Marek a lot. I’m glad they found their answers, though they might not be what you suppose.

P.S. I received this Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher through NetGalley. show less

Can't say as I found any of the characters likable, which is a shame after enjoying the first two in the series. Phoebe didn't seem capable of thinking her way out of a paper bag except when it was convenient for the plot, and what's-his-name-hero-guy spent the majority of the book bullying everyone, including Phoebe, and prosing on about his "spiritual" six-year journey across the globe. (Where he apparently failed to discover any new ways of looking at the world.)

“Family was funny that way. Either you were in it. Or you weren’t. There was no halfway.”

-5 stars-

Spice:
1/5

Yes just yes.
This book was amazing!! It had me laughing, it had me crying, and most of all it had me wanting to stare at a wall and just process what I just read.
I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this book, but I'm just going to come out and say it: I loved it. When I say I cried. I can't even tell you. This book had some really heavy topics while integrating amazing humor that show more made me laugh.
I loved Lorna and just her personality!! I freaking loved the way she and Bean developed such a close relationship. That whole thing just made my heart warm so much. I think Lorna had just the right amount of sass, humor, and trauma. When I say trauma, I mean a BUNCH of crap things she had to deal with, with her sister, Kristen.
I loved the strong mental health rep in here! It was such an amazing element to this book that just made it better! The way Julia London wrote this book just spoke to my soul. The writing just was so good and made me feel like I legit needed to stare at a wall for a couple of hours.
I will warn you, Everything Is Probably Fine, is heavy... And I wouldn't actually necessarily classify it as a romance. Sure, there was a cute romance twist but don't go into this book thinking it's Romeo and Juliet.
Overall, this was just such a good read all around. After reading Everything Is Probably Fine, I can really see why Julia London is a best selling author. She made the characters come alive in the book. I loved every single second of it!

“She tells herself everything is probably fine but then...” show less