Once Upon a Highland Scandal
Lords of Vice Series - Book 8
Short Story in Christmas Brides Anthology
By Alexandra Hawkins
St. Martin's Press - October 2014
Historical Romance
Lady Ellen Courtland loved her Papa and would do almost anything for him. Except, that is, marry by decree. With his health failing, and desperately wanting her settled, he schemed to make a match, by significantly increasing her dowry. Now, every fortune hunter was knocking at their door to court the displeased heiress.
Derrick Martin Hunt, Earl of Swainsbury, had come to London with one purpose. He had heard about the dowry, and wanted an introduction and invitation to the festivities Ellen's family was hosting. Upon meeting the heiress, Derrick finds himself intrigued with her, but he knows better than to tell her the real reason he was attending. She might never believe him if she did.
Once Upon a Highland Scandal was an enjoyable romance with a dash of intrigue. However, there were multiple references to seven friends that quickly made it obvious that this was part of a series. Readers of the Lords of Vice series will certainly enjoy visiting with and catching up with these characters. New readers might find there to be too much distraction from the main characters for such a short story. It might have been better as a full length novel. But at the same time, these new readers will likely want to investigate the Lords of Vice.
Included in Christmas Brides are: One Hot Scot by Suzanne Enoch, Once Upon a Highland Scandal by Alexandra Hawkins, The Scandal Before Christmas by Elizabeth Essex, and It Happened Under the Mistletoe by Valerie Bowman
Kathy Andrico - ReaderToReader.com
FTC Disclaimer: I did receive a copy for review. However, this website only posts "good" reviews. If I cannot post a positive review, I notify whoever has provided me with the book/ARC/ebook.