Scotland, 1811. Coming from the Highlands to Edinburgh in search of a husband, Alison Lamont finds herself in all sorts of trouble.
Thrown out of a fashionable ball for a stolen kiss, Alison flees from a riot in the notorious Old Town and meets Willie Kemp, an eccentric boatbuilder. While she falls deeply in love with Mr. Kemp, her aunt wishes her to marry the obnoxious but rich John Forres.
… Forres.
Alison takes drastic measures to solve her dilemma, including a long trip through the snow-covered Pentland Hills. But who left the mysterious footprints outside her cottage, and what secrets is Mr. Kemp hiding?
Praise:
★★★★★ – “I would highly suggest this book to anyone looking for a sweet love story set in historical times.”
★★★★★ – “A beautifully written romance with historical information tossed in for good measure. I was swept away immediately.”
★★★★★ – “By far the loveliest book I have read in a long time. The characters were real and the story line was engrossing.”
★★★★★ – “Hopefully, Swift will carry on with the lives of her characters and we can enjoy the way she paints this era of Scottish history.”
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I am reading this again, loved it! Now one of my favorites. When you can fall in love and be truly in love- knowing exactly what you want! I would love to say more but it would give everything away.
I am reading again so I can laugh and enjoy more. Especially knowing what the end is.
Great book- thank you for this! Nice and refreshing
too hard to get into. Nothing to draw me into the story.
Different approach. Clever and well done.
It was a fun book written as from a grandmother writing to her granddaughters about how she met their grandfather.
Predictable
I’ve heard that choosing ones mate can certainly be a trial, as well as falling in love. But this story gives me full understanding at the lengths some are willing to go to make the right choice. Through all of Allison’s story I expected the ax to fall hard and was surprised at the outcome. A very enjoyable read. Thanks Helen!
This was a very whimsical period piece, I enjoyed the characters
It is a better than average romance.
The story is written supposedly to the grandchildren of the main character, which works very well. Loved this book!
The writing and sentences are unnecessarily convoluted and long. The sort that does this not for “historical accuracy” but to say “look how many words I know.” The book takes 10 pages to say “my cousin is a beach.”
Perhaps it’s me, but when the writing is like this my interest goes for 100 to 0 very quickly.
Found it entertaining, a little surprising and creative, very pleasant read.
Started slow, then clever and entertaining little story
A lovely romance
Slow start but hang in there it gets better. Interesting ending.
Tricky ending.
I loved this story and how it was told from the heroine’ s point of view as she was looking back on her life.
Ridiculous, no semblance of reality.
Interesting twists in The Handfasters keep you turning page after page.
Although this is kind of like a rags to riches story, it went about it in an unusual way.
A charming adventure.