Two rebellious souls… An innocent deception… One scorching catastrophe… cruel wager during her come-out in London, she vows to put off the penniless noblemen vying for her sizeable dowry. But her season is cut short after her mother discovers the subterfuge, and Fenella retreats to Scotland.
Lachlan MacNaughton has neither the temperament nor the patience to be the next MacNaughton chief, preferring to knock heads together rather than placate bickering clansmen. He readily accepts a reprieve to help with the family’s textile mill in Glasgow. A sizzling chance encounter in the rain introduces him to the new female bookkeeper. His grandfather may want him back in the Highlands, but his heart has been lost in the Lowlands.
The attraction between Fenella and Lachlan sparks a passion not even two rebellious souls can deny.
But an innocent deception tests their newfound love and threatens the freedom they both crave.
A MacNaughton Castle Romance
Book 1 – Deception and Desire
Book 2 – An Allusive Love
Book 3 – A Bonny Pretender
more
I absolutely loved this witty and sensual story. Lachlan was a braw highlander sent to help run the family factory, the last thing he was looking for was a wife. Fenella having been the butt of whispers and cruelty cannot even trust a man. But Lachlan breaks through her defenses. But when tragedy comes and a secret is revealed Lachlan does not handle it well and Fenella may lose her true love. I received a complimentary copy and I am voluntarily reviewing
Deception and Desire by Aubrey Wynne is set in the Scottish Highlands and Glasgow. It is a story of two rebellious souls, an innocent deception, and a scorching catastrophe that grips the reader from the start. Fennela is tall, intelligent, and unaware that she possesses beauty. She struggles with her coming out season in London as her position seeking mother pushes for her to find a titled man. Lachlan, a principled man of honor wishes he could pass on his destiny to become chief and manage the clans in the highlands of Scotland. It is a wish his grandfather is not eager to grant! He loves the highlands and the thought of leaving makes his heart ache. However, he knows he doesn’t have the temperament to be an arbitrator and settle disputes and that he must find a path for his life and talents, even if it means working in the family’s Glasgow textile business.
Fate intervenes and both Fennela and Lachlan find themselves in Glasgow. Fennella’s heart and ego were severely wounded when during that first season in London she was the not only an embarrassment to her ambitious mother, but also on the receiving end of a mean prank played by the cruel and entitled Viscount Shelton. She is sent to her grandmother’s in Glasgow in because of her responding shenanigans that were an attempt to ward of other suiters after that planned humiliation. Lachlan came to the same area in an attempt to find a match for his life skills and perhaps to buy himself some time hoping his grandfather would see that his brother was a much better match to become chief of the clans in the highlands.
The characters come to life and one feels their joy and pain as life unfolds and they find their purpose and direction amidst the backdrop of family rules and needs, finances, and politics of the early 1800’s in Scotland.
This work by Aubrey Wynne will compel you to keep reading with your emotions vacillating between humor, indignation, sadness, and even anger. I loved the book and look forward to more work from this talented author!
What a delightful tale! It has been so much fun reading the MacNaughton series of stories. Getting to know this family is such a treat. Fenella and Lachlan are a dynamic pair. A must-read for historical romance lovers.
I found this book to be a simple read. I think the writer did a good with the characters personalities. They brought some humor and entertainment to the story. The romance was hot and tempting between Fenella and Lachlan. I looked for some excitement from the plot of the story. For my reading the plot reads with non excitement. There was no aha! No whoa didn’t see that coming. No deep interactions among the characters to pull the drama out and tell me a story. It was hard to visualize the story from where the writer was trying to lead me.
Just how bad is it to be too tall; especially is you are a woman of London Society? Fenella Franklin knew only too well. Yes, she has a large dowry, but she is not from a long line of noblemen. At her come out she was the object of a cruel wager and it almost broke her. After her father discovered the wager, he allowed her to go to Scotland and stay with her grandmother. What a difference that made in her life as her Grandmother helped her overcome her disappointment. Lachlan MacNaughton is not happy with being second in his grandfather’s clan and goes to their Glasgow Mill to help the family. These are wonderful characters as they discover each other and how to make their lives work together and for the Glasgow Mill. I enjoyed this very much and I cannot wait for the next MacNaughton Castle romance