In HOW A LASS WED A HIGHLANDER, Lecia Cornwall gives delightful and whimsical twists to the classic fairytale The Princess and the Pea. Alex Munro’s estate is in poor shape, mainly because the of Sutherland clans’ raids. Legend has it that if he finds a bride within five weeks, his run of bad luck will be a thing of the past, if not, well Alex will be dead by November. Not much choice, is there? And poor Cait MacLeod is destined to marry one of those awful barbarians, trying to remedy the situation, she is mistaken for a Sutherland by the Munro clan and taken prisoner, but she manages to charm everyone, but will she capture Alex’s heart? Does she ever! What a superb story, that would be flawless were it not for the unfortunately obligatory, and entirely unnecessary – and pages-long – sex scene. I felt it clashed with the lyricism and the tone of the story, which genuinely read like a fairytale: light, fresh, and so lovely. Everything else is magnificent: the lush prose, the attention to detail, the crisp descriptions, the splendid secondary characters, the adorable Cait and the engaging Alex, and the spin on the pea is positively brilliant. Apart from the little stumble, this is a truly charming and enchanting tale. Lecia Cornwall has the magic touch when it comes to fairytales.
Anna Harrington is next with her fabulous A MATCH MADE IN HEATHER. Garrick McGuiness and Arabel Rowland were madly in love, they had planned to elope, but family matters intruded; Garrick left, dejected, and Arabel was heartbroken. Ten years later, they are reunited under peculiar circumstances. They had not parted amicably, and time has not healed their wounds. This story is so emotional, and so meticulously crafted it felt more like a condensed novel than a novella. The characters are fully fleshed out, no detail is neglected, and we get the whole story behind the sorry mess. Ms. Harrington conveys Scottish pride as I have seldom seen, and there is a wonderful and completely unexpected moment when we feel the ice begin to melt between Garrick and Arabel; it was charming and felt completely genuine. This is a very beautifully written, engrossing grand love story that held me captive throughout.
A MIDSUMMER WEDDING by May McGoldrick is a marvellous, mesmerising, and enthralling story. In 1485 Scotland, Elizabeth May, a companion to Queen Margaret, was awaiting the man she would marry, sight unseen. Elizabeth and Alexander Macpherson had been betrothed when they were respectively three and seven years old. And Alexander is just as filled with dread as is Elizabeth. Neither had anticipated that the day they would wed would ever happen, and here they are. There is such a lovely, gentle touch to the prose, a refined elegance and wit, and yet the action scenes are breathtaking in their authenticity and impression of movement. There are so many twists and turns, most entirely unpredictable, and a most beautiful romance, I felt like clapping at times. Elizabeth and Alexander are two strong and very engaging characters, wonderfully different, and the make a perfect couple. I was so completely immersed in this story, that the outside world faded away for a while. The ending is dramatic and, as everything else in this story, absolute perfection.
The last novella is Sabrina York’s THE SCOT SAYS I DO. Catherine Ross’ brother Peter wants her to get married, Catherine wonders why the rush all of a sudden, until a blast from the past makes things crystal clear: Duncan Mackay. Peter has gambled everything the Ross family owns, and as Catherine and Peter are alone in the world, they are destitute, and Duncan, who bought Peter’s vowels, proposes marriage to Catherine, which would solve everything. I must admit this story was problematic for me: Catherine and Duncan had met when Catherine was twelve years old, and Duncan a stable boy, he had saved her from drowning, and she was hopelessly infatuated with him. And Duncan had forever lusted after Catherine, and I thought it was creepy. Maybe it was a tad too historically accurate for me – but twelve! and Duncan’s age was never mentioned – especially since Catherine describes her gorgeous Scot as a man. Eek. I also didn’t quite understand why she was besotted with him, as it seemed he had teased her to the point of tears. In my book, looks aren’t everything, but still. I also got the impression that this novella fit somewhere in a series, as I felt I should have known many secondary characters, which were marvellous, by the way. I thought there was too much happening in this novella, and not enough emphasis was put on creating some connection between Catherine and Duncan, beside a sexual one. On the other hand, they are a fine match because they are both consumed by lust; this was not a love story, but a lust story. And throughout, I could never shake the image of Duncan desiring a twelve year-old girl. I must say that I was really impressed by the quality of the writing, the choice vocabulary and the impeccable dialogues.
May McGoldrick, who are a writing team and were new to me, would have made this anthology a five-star read regardless of the other novellas because I was astonished by the charm that permeates the whole story, the magnificent period details, the cleverness of the plot; in short the utter perfection of A MIDSUMMER WEDDING.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.