A Scot for Halloween: A delightful emotional timeslip romance

by Cynthia Luhrs

The scent of saltwater and rum lingered in the air as Mary realized her quiet beach walk had somehow crossed paths with the 18th century.

When introverted bookstore owner Mary Snow stumbles upon a gold coin and a centuries-old map hidden within the pages of an ancient book, she thinks it's nothing more than a quirky find. That is, until Aiden Cameron, a swashbuckling pirate captain from the 18th century, quite literally washes ashore. As Ocracoke Island gears up for Halloween and the frenzied Pirate Jamboree, Mary is drawn into a world of secrets, folklore, and a dash of magic. But with every step into the mystery of the veil separating their worlds, Mary realizes she’s not just racing against time to help Aiden return to his own era, she's also falling for the frustratingly handsome rogue, challenging her beliefs about love, adventure, and destiny. Can a heart trapped in the present find its rhythm with a man from the past?

Genres: Time Travel

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2024

About the author

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“Would you like an adventure now, or should we have our tea first?”
-Alice in Wonderland

Cynthia Luhrs spends her time out on the deck, looking out over the mountains, imagining what if. She writes women’s fiction, time travel romance, contemporary romance, family sagas, paranormal romance, and thrillers. Readers say her books (well not the thrillers, those are gritty) are light-hearted reads to escape reality.
She lives in the mountains of North Carolina, has always been a reader, and is overly fond of sparkly flip flops and pretty pens. Though now that she lives in the mountains she’s going to have to find fabulous boots, mittens, and hats!

Reviews

[Nancy L · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was cute but had editing issues and to make matters worse, I listened on Audible. VV used was so wrong! The men sounded like hyperactive 10 year old girls and the females had British accents...in Ocracoke Island, NC where they had lived all their lives. And the Scottish pirate? What accent was that? So overall it was just meh.

[Sharen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Cynthia Luhrs’ time travel books are always really good for curling up in a comfy chair with cups of tea and enjoying.
They always have adorable cats, charming characters (this one has a handsome pirate), romance (no graphic sex), mysteries (no graphic violence), evildoers doing evil deeds (Jake is a real jerk), things to learn, no editing issues, and best of all no cliffhanger endings.

[Justine · Rating 2 out of 5]

cute, quaint, and… meh

This starts with a pirate with looks stolen straight from the Johnny Depp Disney playbook. He’s less the scoundrel than JD’s pirate, but he’s still utterly predictable. The main characters are likable and Mary - our heroine - is amusing. Unfortunately, I found the story a bit boring overall.
If you find yourself pulled out of a story due to poor editing, this may add to the list of disappointments. More than once the author repeats the same scene with only a few altered details. She even used the same joke about “can’t reveal all my secrets” (paraphrasing) twice, as an example. This felt like a second or third draft that needed some more editing from someone who wasn’t a friend, and who wasn’t concerned with telling the author to go back and tighten up the details.

[Bonita Clifton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, atmospheric read!

A clean, imaginative romance delving into the salty mysteries of the Outer Banks, N. Carolina. What's not to love about a cozy bookstore, it's bookish owner, quirky townspeople, a meddling bookclub, a Halloween jamboree, and a sexy time-traveling pirate? And let's not forget a jerk of an ex-boyfriend. Pacing was a bit slow, and even though the writing was superb, I found myself wanting something more to happen. The ending was satisfying and a bit unexpected. Highly recommend, and I'll definitely be reading more of this author's work.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an okay story. Nothing terrible but nothing great either. I felt some of the narrative was very repetitive. I did like Aiden's character and the way he interacted with the heroine. I found it hard to believe that Mary pretty much told everyone she knew that Aiden was a time traveler and everyone just accepted it. I also didn't understand how the ex-boyfriend's character changed so much - at first he's just kind of an ex and they didn't see things the same and he's a little shallow. Then he becomes a villain.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute time travel story. Clean, except for a few cuss words. Easy read

This is my first time reading this author. I enjoyed the book. Cute, simple plot. Easy read. Clean, except for a very few cuss words - didn't bother me at all. There was some repetition with words/characters' thoughts a few times throughout the book, but still okay. The ending was predictable, but still cute to read. I'll try the next book in the series because I enjoy clean time travel stories.

[Elisabeth Eastman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great change of pace for those of us who read Cynthia Luhrs time travel stories. This time around the time traveler doesn’t really keep his secret to the people around him. Also, if you’ve ever been to Ocracoke Island, it’s fun to read about the familiar places. Of course the Halloween season makes it special as well. Sympathetic characters, and just enough drama to make you wonder until the end.

[Linda Winner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!

While I hate Halloween I do love pirates! So I was a little conflicted. However, Cynthia is one of my favorite authors so I decided to give it a try. Personally I thought a little more romantic interaction would be nice but it had a HEA so it was still a fun read! I love Cynthia Luhrs!

[SuzyHD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Little Tale

Good little time travel storyline but not much to it. It was fun to read with some entertaining characters. In my opinion it was longer than it needed to be. I absolutely loved the name of the book store and the sayings on the items for sale.

[Laura Wonderchick · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s not to love about finding a charming Scot? Just a fun time travel story! Many thanks to the author for this copy for read and review

[Jim Umhofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost interest in this one quickly.

[Ruth Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scot for Halloween

I love stories like this , time travel adventure, this is well done and I enjoyed reading this story I was captured completely

[AmiA. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Scot for Halloween has an interesting plot with main characters I like. It does need a proofreader/editor to tighten up writing but I enjoyed the surprise conclusion very much.

Kindle Unlimited

[Mary Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars

I love time travel stories and this one delivers the romance, pirates and a charming array of characters. I fully recommend this book.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun book in a fun series.

[Laverne Music · Rating 5 out of 5]

tissues needed

Such a beautiful story and so well written. But fair warning - tissues will be needed in the last couple of chapters!

[Coring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Good book to read to pass the time while waiting for my faucet get fixed. Need to know there was no mention of whether she got her bookstore back.

[Lita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A twist on time travel romantasy - instead of the FMC going back in time the MC travels forward. It was a fun read and a sweet, clean love story.