This fated-lovers regency romance featuring a haunted English lord and a determined Scottish lass penned by USA TODAY bestselling and HOLT Medallion winning author Bree Wolf proves that true love never dies…but sometimes it does test you.Scotland 1812: Returning to England after ten years, MAGGIE MACDRUMMOND finds herself confronted by a man of her past. Long ago, she lost her heart to her … heart to her childhood friend, only to have it crushed upon the first test of devotion. While Maggie spent the summer in Scotland with her family, the man she loved married another…without a word. Without warning. Without any thought for how his decision would crush her.
Ten years later, Maggie still cannot forget the man who’d once stolen her heart…and possesses it still. She is haunted by the moments they shared together, her heart foolishly longing for someone who treated it without care.
Determined to finally rid herself of his influence over her, Maggie travels to London to face him.
NATHAN PENHALE, EARL OF TOWNSEND, lives from day to day, from one distraction to another. His life holds no meaning, no depth, no substance. He is but a shadow of the man he’s once been. Until the day Nathan glimpses the woman with the fiery-red hair who captured his heart long ago at a ball. It takes no more than a look into her soulful blue eyes and his dead, shrivelled, dysfunctional heart once more begins to beat in his chest.
Shocked, Nathan can do little else but stand and stare at the ghost from his past, returned to torment him after ten years of agony. Nathan knows he ought to turn and leave, ignore her siren’s call for it will only lead him to his doom. But his foolish heart urges him down a different path. And then her eyes meet his…
Read Fooled & Enlightened and fall in love with this heartwarming tale that will tug at your heartstrings and keep you up till the wee hours of the morning! Each love story in this series can be read as a stand-alone. However, most readers prefer to read them in order.
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Fooled & Enlightened: The Englishman’s Scottish Wife
Love’s Second Chance Series #16
Bree Wolf
https://www.facebook.com/breewolf.novels/
Release date 05/19/2020
Blurb :
Scotland 1812: Returning to England after ten years, MAGGIE MACDRUMMOND finds herself confronted by a man of her past. Long ago, she lost her heart to her childhood friend, only to have it crushed upon the first test of devotion. While Maggie spent the summer in Scotland with her family, the man she loved married another…without a word. Without warning. Without any thought for how his decision would crush her.
Ten years later, Maggie still cannot forget the man who’d once stolen her heart…and possesses it still. She is haunted by the moments they shared together, her heart foolishly longing for someone who treated it without care. Determined to finally rid herself of his influence over her, Maggie travels to London to face him.
NATHAN PENHALE, EARL OF TOWNSEND, lives from day to day, from one distraction to another. His life holds no meaning, no depth, no substance. He is but a shadow of the man he’s once been. Until the day Nathan glimpses the woman with the fiery-red hair who captured his heart long ago at a ball. It takes no more than a look into her soulful blue eyes and his dead, shrivelled, dysfunctional heart once more begins to beat in his chest.
Shocked, Nathan can do little else but stand and stare at the ghost from his past, returned to torment him after ten years of agony. Nathan knows he ought to turn and leave, ignore her siren’s call for it will only lead him to his doom. But his foolish heart urges him down a different path.
And then her eyes meet his…
My review :
When the truth comes out, will it be enough to erase ten years apart …
If one thing is certain, Mrs Bree Wolf is the Queen of the sorrowful and hopeless stories until a twist comes up to reward her couple an unexpected HEA.
To think Maggie and Nathan’s friendship and romance were torn apart because of someone’s selfishness, with no only need than to stay in one place, and then the hurt it brought in its wake.
They paid a heavy price and made a lot of mistakes while trying to overcome the hurt they felt, they were lost and thus acted without hope in sight.
So even when they learn the truth, years have gone by, and their new self weights between them, they are no more the younger version of themselves, they have lived, made errors and hurt others.
To me, the most awful part is the person who had torn them apart is no more there to answer for her sins. I can’t believe someone loving one’s own child could destroy its dreams only for the sole purpose to just stay in one place.
This story is a tale of love and family, the blood bond but also the one created by the heart. Why the children are in some way the heroes of this story as they are who bring together or tear apart Nathan and Maggie.
I thought the children all wise beyond their age, yet when you read the Comtesse de Ségur’s Sophie’s Misfortunes, she is only 4 years old. So are they too wise, or do we have a false vision of the maturity of the children from the past, life was harder and often shorter, they had to learn quick to face it, they were probably not sheltered like we do with ours.
After the kids, there is one more important character and even if he is an absentee protagonist, while only in the shadow, Ian, Maggie’s late husband presence weights a lot in the story. He was a victim, a wronged man but also a loving father and a desperate husband.
And while I prefer my romances not too full of griefs, but Mrs Wolf has a way to stitch everything the right way.
4.5 stars.
I was granted an advance copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.
https://www.facebook.com/429830134272830/posts/621218845133957/?d=n
This story has so many levels and at times feels really complex, but at the same time I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to know what happened next. Maggie and Nathan have a second chance at love, but now that they’re both available there are so many other road blocks along the way. I loved the story and it’s complexity. I definitely felt all the emotions while reading this; anger, fear, sadness, delight, joy and love. I definitely suggest reading the previous Macdrummand books in this series to give you the back story, especially Garrett and Claudia’s. It would also be good to read Derek’s story to get some of Nathan’s back story, but I’m not sure it’s as critical. His back story is covered pretty well in this story. This was a great story and I’m very intrigued by the epilogue to see what comes next.
Nathan and Maggie find their way back to each other after ten long years. Their angst was truly heartbreaking and I cried buckets over their sad story (and that of Ian MacDrummond). I adored the children in the story, particularly seven year old, going on thirty, Bree with her gift of second-sight. Recommended read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
ONE MAGNIFICENT JOURNEY!!!
Astounding! Bree totally rocked this unbelievable and brilliantly composed delight, laying out this arresting storyline and gripping plot with on point realism so rich and lively it takes your breath away. Satisfaction rocks this jewel, bringing it home with such intensity and precision, riding roughshod and imparting one prize winning wonder, launching this baby to a whole new level. Rolling with the drama, intrigue, turmoil, secrets, betrayal, deception, spiraling suspense and unnerving situations, along with a boatload of heartache while dodging disaster, you have one intoxicating masterpiece. Speculations, hope, strength and determination press forward, fusing this bad boy together piece by piece smoothly. Anarchy, escapades and havoc run amuck, kicking this bad boy into a roaring tempest, catapulting it into a tailspin with an explosive culmination. Braided, bound and entangled, grounding in it’s strength and awe-inspiring in it’s depth. The characters, dialogue, interactions and charged atmosphere along with relatable qualities and individual traits, blend and flow, transforming into genuinely approachable personalities. The scenes are written with such realism, impressive talent and unique insight, blasts this sparkling jewel to life, making the storyline pop. Awesome job Bree, thanks for sharing this little treasure with us.
Have read the whole series and all are very good reads. Highly recommend this author.
5 stars
I received a free copy of the historical romance Fooled & Enlightened The Englishman’s Scottish Wife:Love’s Second Chance series : Book 16 by Bree Wolf and this review was given freely.
Complex and easy flowing with a few twists and a touch of the mystical in the form of young Blair, this struggle of duty over longing and love provides us a deeper insight into the cause of the
broken relationship between Ian and Maggie MacDrummond and although if did not lessen my sympathy for Ian it did increase my empathy towards Maggie. Ends happily but with a cliffhanger.
Separated by lies, Lady Margaret Brandley, daughter to the Earl of Tynham ruins her life with an unhappy marriage while Nathan Penhale, Earl of Townsend buries his heart ache with multiple women and
alcohol until fate and a little help from Blair cause the now widowed Maggie MacDrummond to return to England and confront the man she thought broke her heart.
We met Maggie in a previous novel and this is her story of how she came to stay in Ireland and how her subsequent marriage and motherhood, changed her forever.
Maggie left England, with her family, on a visit to Scotland 10 years earlier. Upon her arrival she saw everything her mother had tried to describe to her. Scotland was a beautiful land but it wasn’t where her heart lay, until word came from home that shattered her heart into pieces.
Nathan said goodbye to Maggie that afternoon hoping she would return quickly. He was starting to realize his feelings for his friend ran deeper than just friendship. When her brother returned to England without her, he couldn’t believe he’d lost her to another.
Maggie and Nathan spent a decade living lives manipulated into place by another. When the truth is finally revealed, can they mend the rift that time and distance has put upon them?
I loved meeting Maggie and her children and was wondering how their story would continue when Maggie followed her heart’s call. Seeing the children interact with Nathan and even the heartbreak Niall wears so prominent on his sleeve pushes the story forward to an honest, realistic conclusion. I enjoy Ms Wolf’s book greatly and this was no exception. I voluntarily read an advance copy without expectations for review, all opinions expressed are my own.
Maggie believed she was betrayed and Nathan married another. He did much worse. He goes from girl to girl instead. I hated this and quite frankly didn’t like Nathan.
Ten years later, they meet again and Nathan has lead a life of dissipation and loose girls. But Maggie is still hung up on him.
I enjoy Bree Wolf’s writing but Nathan was not up to her usual characters.