On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shyly pretty and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.
A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter … and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.
Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He’s wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters… and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep.
“I don’t like historical books,” I say constantly. “If it’s not contemporary, I don’t like it.”
But I’ve heard a lot of good things about Tessa Dare. I felt like I should at least try one, right?
Immediately upon finishing the first chapter of this book, I knew that I was in love with this main character. The book opens with Maddie writing a letter to her fake fiance, explaining (even though she doesn’t think anyone will actually read her letters) that she has developed a fake fiance to get out of debuting for a season in London. She then ends the letter with a drawing of a snail.
How do you not fall in love with a girl who ends her letters with doodles of snails?
But her cute writing doesn’t end there. I also loved how she gave her fake fiance nicknames, such as “Captain MacPillow” when she talks about using a heated pillow as a stand-in for him, or “Captain MacEnvy” when he’s jealous.
Honestly, how could I not like this book when the beginning was so cute?
Both the main characters were really nice to read about, from Maddie having anxiety in crowded spaces to Logan wanting to give his soldier friends a nice place to stay after the horrors of war. They felt real and easy to care about, which probably also contributed to my high rating of this book.
I don’t like historicals, but now I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading the wrong historicals.
KiiitasticBooks 