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Lockhart Family #2
Highlander in Disguise
GRIFFIN LOCKHART HOLDS THE KEY TO HIS FAMILY'S FATE. SINCE HIS BROTHER LIAM FAILED TO RECLAIM THE PRICELESS HEIRLOOM THAT COULD SAVE THEIR ANCESTRAL SCOTTISH ESTATE, IT'S NOW UP TO GRIF TO FIND IT --- AMONG THE LORDS AND LADIES OF FASHIONABLE LONDON SOCIETY.
Disguised as a Scottish earl, Grif attends the most glittering balls, hunting for the woman who is rumored to possess his family's treasure. Along the way he catches the eye of Anna Addison, a highborn young woman whose sharp tongue and even sharper wits have limited her marital prospects but enable her to detect Grif's deception. Determined to find a husband this Season, Anna draws Grif into a scandalous bargain: She will deliver his precious heirloom --- and keep secret his true identity --- if Grif can teach her how to seduce a man and win his heart. Well aware of what a man wants from a woman, Grif reluctantly instructs her. Soon Anna is besieged by suitors and Grif's exasperation with the troublesome beauty turns into heated desire. With time running out, Grif commits a reckless act in order to claim not only his treasure, but the passionate woman he believes is his and his alone.
Disguised as a Scottish earl, Grif attends the most glittering balls, hunting for the woman who is rumored to possess his family's treasure. Along the way he catches the eye of Anna Addison, a highborn young woman whose sharp tongue and even sharper wits have limited her marital prospects but enable her to detect Grif's deception. Determined to find a husband this Season, Anna draws Grif into a scandalous bargain: She will deliver his precious heirloom --- and keep secret his true identity --- if Grif can teach her how to seduce a man and win his heart. Well aware of what a man wants from a woman, Grif reluctantly instructs her. Soon Anna is besieged by suitors and Grif's exasperation with the troublesome beauty turns into heated desire. With time running out, Grif commits a reckless act in order to claim not only his treasure, but the passionate woman he believes is his and his alone.
374 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
18 people are currently reading
771 people want to read
About the author
Julia London
191Ìýbooks3,020ÌýfollowersJulia London is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of more than two dozen romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular historical romance series, the Cabot Sisters, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch, and The Perfect Homecoming.
Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. To keep up with all the Julia London news, please visit . Follow her on Facebook at
Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. To keep up with all the Julia London news, please visit . Follow her on Facebook at
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 6, 2020
Griffin Lockhart goes to London to find the family heirloom known as 'beastie' that will bring prosperity back to his family. In order to do so, he borrows money from a neighboor -who asks their sister's hand in marriage as collateral- and appears in London society pretending to be a rich scottish earl. Griffin is completely in his element in the middle of London's ton and immediately catches the eye of many matchmaking misses and their mamas. But he is immediately attracted to this year's favorite of the ton, Lucy Addison; a demure, angelic and beautiful yound woman. Unfortunately his choice places him in a rather dangerous situation: this girl is also courted by his English cousin who would accuse him of theft of the 'beastie' if he ever found his real identity and the girl's sister, Anna, a not so demure nor so beautiful woman with more brains than her sister, is suspecting him.
Anna is attracted to Drake, Grif's english cousin but she sees that he's going to offer for her sister soon. So, she decides to blackmail Grif and threatens to expose him as an imposter, unless he teaches her how to seduce a man; specifically Drake Lockhart. Grif has little choice but to go along with her plan. However, the more time he spends with Anna, the more he is attracted to her. And when finally their plan succeeds and Anna becomes the unexpected toast of the ton, Grif is surprised to feel not relief that his role is over, but jealousy.
This book started out as light and humorous with funny dialogues between Grif and Anna, but became much more serious and emotional as the story developed. Grif was an awesome hero, a man of wit and looks but also dignity and honor. His despair when he realizes how deep his feelings for Anna run, touched me. I really enjoyed this book and had Anna not stood by her stupid plan for way too long -longer than necessary IMO- this would be a 5 stars' book. As it is, I had to take one star off.
Update 2012: on my second re-read of the book, I still loved Grif as much as the first time and surprisingly, didn't dislike Anna as much. So, at least 4.5 on my scale:)
Update July 2020
5 stars. Seems like Anna isn't so bad after all and Griff is to die for anyway...
Anna is attracted to Drake, Grif's english cousin but she sees that he's going to offer for her sister soon. So, she decides to blackmail Grif and threatens to expose him as an imposter, unless he teaches her how to seduce a man; specifically Drake Lockhart. Grif has little choice but to go along with her plan. However, the more time he spends with Anna, the more he is attracted to her. And when finally their plan succeeds and Anna becomes the unexpected toast of the ton, Grif is surprised to feel not relief that his role is over, but jealousy.
This book started out as light and humorous with funny dialogues between Grif and Anna, but became much more serious and emotional as the story developed. Grif was an awesome hero, a man of wit and looks but also dignity and honor. His despair when he realizes how deep his feelings for Anna run, touched me. I really enjoyed this book and had Anna not stood by her stupid plan for way too long -longer than necessary IMO- this would be a 5 stars' book. As it is, I had to take one star off.
Update 2012: on my second re-read of the book, I still loved Grif as much as the first time and surprisingly, didn't dislike Anna as much. So, at least 4.5 on my scale:)
Update July 2020
5 stars. Seems like Anna isn't so bad after all and Griff is to die for anyway...
March 12, 2009
Highlander in disguise is the second book in a trilogy about the members of a Scottish family whose search for a family heirloom leads them to find love.
In this book it’s Griffin Lockhart who is sent by the family to London in search of the “beastie�, what they call to their treasure. He knows the treasure was given to a woman called Amelia so he pretends to be a Duke, calls on a family friend to introduce him in society and starts on his search by the said Amelia. In one of the functions he meets Anna Addison, an intelligent young lady of moderate looks who is in love with Drake Lockhart, a cousin of Griffin, who shows some interest in him to the point of starting to believe that there is something strange in his story.
When Anna sees that Drake and her sister Lucy are developing an affection she decides to blackmail the charming Griffin to teach her how to seduce a man. Not only will she not reveal that he is a fraud but she will lead him to the beastie if he helps her to get Drake back. Grif isn’t very enthusiastic as physically it’s Lucy who attracts him but the truth is that he can’t forget Anna’s sharp remarks and he doesn’t resist her challenge. I think the story strong point was in fact the dialogues between Anna and Grif, they antagonize each other from the beginning and as the story develops so do their feelings to the point that they end up strongly attracted to each other. However Anna keeps her blackmail long after she has regained Drake’s attention because she doesn’t want Grif to leave and he keeps on believing she is just using him to get Drake back. This continues for far too long and it ended up ruining things for me as it became a less original story. London does write well and the story is easy to read if lacking a bit of sparkle to make it unforgettable.
Grade: 3/5
In this book it’s Griffin Lockhart who is sent by the family to London in search of the “beastie�, what they call to their treasure. He knows the treasure was given to a woman called Amelia so he pretends to be a Duke, calls on a family friend to introduce him in society and starts on his search by the said Amelia. In one of the functions he meets Anna Addison, an intelligent young lady of moderate looks who is in love with Drake Lockhart, a cousin of Griffin, who shows some interest in him to the point of starting to believe that there is something strange in his story.
When Anna sees that Drake and her sister Lucy are developing an affection she decides to blackmail the charming Griffin to teach her how to seduce a man. Not only will she not reveal that he is a fraud but she will lead him to the beastie if he helps her to get Drake back. Grif isn’t very enthusiastic as physically it’s Lucy who attracts him but the truth is that he can’t forget Anna’s sharp remarks and he doesn’t resist her challenge. I think the story strong point was in fact the dialogues between Anna and Grif, they antagonize each other from the beginning and as the story develops so do their feelings to the point that they end up strongly attracted to each other. However Anna keeps her blackmail long after she has regained Drake’s attention because she doesn’t want Grif to leave and he keeps on believing she is just using him to get Drake back. This continues for far too long and it ended up ruining things for me as it became a less original story. London does write well and the story is easy to read if lacking a bit of sparkle to make it unforgettable.
Grade: 3/5
October 12, 2010
I knew "Miss Addison" from the first book in this series "Highlander Unbound" would appear in this book, great set-up by the author. The beginning scene in this book with "Mared" ,Liam and Grif's sister, and Payton Douglas makes me very excited for the third book in this series which I am assuming is going to have them starring in it. I love how Payton describes Mared "She was as pretty as she was insufferable".
Anyway back to Grif and Anna, I love how Grif calls Anna trouble and describes her saucy during their second introduction. I just felt like I was about to experience some really hot smoldering chemistry. I also like how the author has Grif taking a second look at Anna and then really seeing her, some great real life advice for everyone!
I didn't know what to think about Anna's scheme to attract a man, "Drake Lockhart" who obviously likes her sister, Anna is suppose to be a strong, smart woman but when Grif calls her a fool I found myself heartily agreeing.
Grif training Anna to be a seductress makes for some really great scenes. My heart softened for this couple after a make-out scene between them. They are both repairing each others appearances; for some reason Anna tying his necktie and him finger combing her hair w/out them really realizing what they are doing really tugged on my heart strings, great scene.
The sensual level of the book I would describe as overall steamy. In the scene where Grif has Anna in a chair and "teaches her a lesson" nothing could have pulled me away from finishing that scene, whoo-hoo hottt!
It was kind of a nice change to see the male lead being forlorn for the female. I don't know, this book wasn't a keeper for me but was a good sequel for the first in the series.
B
Anyway back to Grif and Anna, I love how Grif calls Anna trouble and describes her saucy during their second introduction. I just felt like I was about to experience some really hot smoldering chemistry. I also like how the author has Grif taking a second look at Anna and then really seeing her, some great real life advice for everyone!
I didn't know what to think about Anna's scheme to attract a man, "Drake Lockhart" who obviously likes her sister, Anna is suppose to be a strong, smart woman but when Grif calls her a fool I found myself heartily agreeing.
Grif training Anna to be a seductress makes for some really great scenes. My heart softened for this couple after a make-out scene between them. They are both repairing each others appearances; for some reason Anna tying his necktie and him finger combing her hair w/out them really realizing what they are doing really tugged on my heart strings, great scene.
The sensual level of the book I would describe as overall steamy. In the scene where Grif has Anna in a chair and "teaches her a lesson" nothing could have pulled me away from finishing that scene, whoo-hoo hottt!
It was kind of a nice change to see the male lead being forlorn for the female. I don't know, this book wasn't a keeper for me but was a good sequel for the first in the series.
B
April 5, 2015
This was a book I picked up randomly at an outlet store because I like Julia London as an author. It was a fairly good book, but it wasn’t anything special.
For about the first third I wasn’t the biggest fan of Grif, the hero. I didn’t completely understand why he made some of his decisions. But it did get better eventually.
I did like the chemistry between Grif and Anna. But some of their relationship felt a little rushed-especially in the end. Lust was there in abundance, but love I’m a little skeptical of. One issue was that they kept not talking to each other. I’m just not a fan of that style of conflict.
There were also a few story points I felt were left unresolved. Mostly, this is connected to Anna’s sister. I just don’t think these will be addressed in the next/last book.
I will probably read the other two books in the series, but I’ll probably borrow them from the library.
Originally posted:
For about the first third I wasn’t the biggest fan of Grif, the hero. I didn’t completely understand why he made some of his decisions. But it did get better eventually.
I did like the chemistry between Grif and Anna. But some of their relationship felt a little rushed-especially in the end. Lust was there in abundance, but love I’m a little skeptical of. One issue was that they kept not talking to each other. I’m just not a fan of that style of conflict.
There were also a few story points I felt were left unresolved. Mostly, this is connected to Anna’s sister. I just don’t think these will be addressed in the next/last book.
I will probably read the other two books in the series, but I’ll probably borrow them from the library.
Originally posted:
February 16, 2015
I thought the character development could have been a little more thorough. Grif's feelings for Anna evolved too rapidly and were tied too closely to their amorous encounters. I also thought that the disappearance of "the beastie" was a little too trite, although it set the stage quite nicely for the next installment in the trilogy.
June 15, 2015
A little bit less comedy than the first book in the series but a lot more romance .
January 30, 2023
2.5
Es la maldición del segundo libro, nunca me gusta el segundo libro y este no fue la excepción.
°Muestran a Anna nuestra protagonista como una persona tonta por un hombre, es que yo la entiendo he visto que han pasado cosas peores por un hombre, sin embargo verlo ser un despota para luego solo cerrar los ojos no es de los tipos de protagonista que me gustan.
°Uno de los personajes que no me gustó para nada fue la hermana menor de Anna, Lucy fue un personaje casi de cartón, la mostraron como una mujer caprichosa, que no tiene ninguna ambición, solo muestra su rabia hacia su hermana por no poder casarse y el buscar un esposo, pero no es buscar un esposo por x razón, solo desea uno como Anna, pero por lo menos Anna no es tan desesperante como ella.
°Griffin es una persona que aún principio les juro que creÃa que iba hacer mi personaje favorito pero tuvo actitudes que odie, fue muy machista, aunque no lo odio por completo ya que vio cuan mal se ve que una mujer u hombre a pesar que vea como otros son horrible aún los idolatran.
°El desarrollo de los acontecimientos me gustó pero creo que si se hubieran ido por una parte menos dramática amarÃa este libro, y a pesar de que creo que el final fue para el comienzo del nuevo libro, lo encontré horrible, tanto para nada.
¸é±ð²õ±ðñ²¹.
Griffin necesita ir en búsqueda de la estatuilla más horrenda y valiosa del mundo, anteriormente su hermano llegó con todo menos con ella de manera que ahora es su responsabilidad, se irá junto a mozo que realmente es su vecino para poder distraer a quienes no deben de encontrar su rastro, desde un principio va en búsqueda de una mujer, asà que se rodea de ellas, hasta que llega con Lucy y trata de sacarle información, lamentablemente se encuentran con Anna la hermana mayor de Lucy quien será mucho más inteligente que él y encontrará la estatuilla en menos de semana, pero no se la dará tan fácil, no durante los últimos dos meses, lo ha odiando y quiere verlo sufrir asà que le pedirá ayuda, que le enseñe a conquistar al patán que ama, (a mà parecer una bandera roja andante) desde besos hasta que decir en una caminata, todo por la estatuilla más fea del mundo, sin embargo comenzaran a sentir sentimientos que no sabÃan que podÃan haber entre ellos por lo cual Anna deberá de darle el dragón horrendo antes que su corazón junto a su honor esté en peligro
Es la maldición del segundo libro, nunca me gusta el segundo libro y este no fue la excepción.
°Muestran a Anna nuestra protagonista como una persona tonta por un hombre, es que yo la entiendo he visto que han pasado cosas peores por un hombre, sin embargo verlo ser un despota para luego solo cerrar los ojos no es de los tipos de protagonista que me gustan.
°Uno de los personajes que no me gustó para nada fue la hermana menor de Anna, Lucy fue un personaje casi de cartón, la mostraron como una mujer caprichosa, que no tiene ninguna ambición, solo muestra su rabia hacia su hermana por no poder casarse y el buscar un esposo, pero no es buscar un esposo por x razón, solo desea uno como Anna, pero por lo menos Anna no es tan desesperante como ella.
°Griffin es una persona que aún principio les juro que creÃa que iba hacer mi personaje favorito pero tuvo actitudes que odie, fue muy machista, aunque no lo odio por completo ya que vio cuan mal se ve que una mujer u hombre a pesar que vea como otros son horrible aún los idolatran.
°El desarrollo de los acontecimientos me gustó pero creo que si se hubieran ido por una parte menos dramática amarÃa este libro, y a pesar de que creo que el final fue para el comienzo del nuevo libro, lo encontré horrible, tanto para nada.
¸é±ð²õ±ðñ²¹.
Griffin necesita ir en búsqueda de la estatuilla más horrenda y valiosa del mundo, anteriormente su hermano llegó con todo menos con ella de manera que ahora es su responsabilidad, se irá junto a mozo que realmente es su vecino para poder distraer a quienes no deben de encontrar su rastro, desde un principio va en búsqueda de una mujer, asà que se rodea de ellas, hasta que llega con Lucy y trata de sacarle información, lamentablemente se encuentran con Anna la hermana mayor de Lucy quien será mucho más inteligente que él y encontrará la estatuilla en menos de semana, pero no se la dará tan fácil, no durante los últimos dos meses, lo ha odiando y quiere verlo sufrir asà que le pedirá ayuda, que le enseñe a conquistar al patán que ama, (a mà parecer una bandera roja andante) desde besos hasta que decir en una caminata, todo por la estatuilla más fea del mundo, sin embargo comenzaran a sentir sentimientos que no sabÃan que podÃan haber entre ellos por lo cual Anna deberá de darle el dragón horrendo antes que su corazón junto a su honor esté en peligro
February 25, 2023
Tras el fracaso de la misión encomendada a su hermano mayor, Griffin, el pequeño de los Lockhart, viaja hasta Inglaterra para intentar localizar la figura en forma de dragón que puede sacar a su familia de la ruina en la que se hallan.
Bajo la identidad falsa de un conde escocés, Griff se introduce en las fiestas, comidas y escapadas campestres organizadas por miembros de la alta sociedad inglesa, todo ello con la finalidad de dar con el paradero de Amelia, la mujer que custodia la reliquia familiar.
Atenta a todos sus movimientos, la bella y rebelde Anna Addison sospecha de sus verdaderas intenciones y somete a Lord Ardencaple a una vigilancia constante que finalmente, da sus frutos. Anna pone precio a su silencio a cambio de un acuerdo que los beneficiará a ambos aunque para llevarlo a cabo, deberán pasar mucho rato juntos, a pesar de que se detestan.
La historia de amor transcurre en un espacio de tiempo muy breve (unos quince dÃas) pero la autora narra de forma muy pausada y detallada todos y cada uno de los encuentros furtivos que se producen entre Griff y Anna, con lo que el lector no percibe la sensación de que sea un romance que ocurra de forma precipitada.
Aunque pueda parecer una contradicción, quizás la autora alarga demasiado una novela que bien se podrÃa haber resuelto con menos páginas, eso sÃ, a riesgo de que la historia resultara aún más inverosÃmil de lo que ya es de por sà porque, en mi opinión y teniendo en cuenta la época en la que transcurre, no me ha resultado nada creÃble la facilidad con la que Anna puede llevar a cabo esas reuniones en casa de Griff sin compañÃa de una carabina.
La rivalidad de Griff con sus primos Lockhart ingleses ha logrado momentos muy divertidos y de tensión añadida, en especial por la personalidad un tanto ambigua de Drake, un hombre cuyas intenciones no sabes si son tan nobles como aparentan ser.
El desenlace de nuevo deja un fleco sin resolver y que da pie a la tercera y última entrega de esta serie. Realmente estoy deseando leerla, ya que su protagonista es Mared, la hermana de Liam y Griff que, a su vez, será la persona encargada de resolver el problema que afecta a su familia.
Bajo la identidad falsa de un conde escocés, Griff se introduce en las fiestas, comidas y escapadas campestres organizadas por miembros de la alta sociedad inglesa, todo ello con la finalidad de dar con el paradero de Amelia, la mujer que custodia la reliquia familiar.
Atenta a todos sus movimientos, la bella y rebelde Anna Addison sospecha de sus verdaderas intenciones y somete a Lord Ardencaple a una vigilancia constante que finalmente, da sus frutos. Anna pone precio a su silencio a cambio de un acuerdo que los beneficiará a ambos aunque para llevarlo a cabo, deberán pasar mucho rato juntos, a pesar de que se detestan.
La historia de amor transcurre en un espacio de tiempo muy breve (unos quince dÃas) pero la autora narra de forma muy pausada y detallada todos y cada uno de los encuentros furtivos que se producen entre Griff y Anna, con lo que el lector no percibe la sensación de que sea un romance que ocurra de forma precipitada.
Aunque pueda parecer una contradicción, quizás la autora alarga demasiado una novela que bien se podrÃa haber resuelto con menos páginas, eso sÃ, a riesgo de que la historia resultara aún más inverosÃmil de lo que ya es de por sà porque, en mi opinión y teniendo en cuenta la época en la que transcurre, no me ha resultado nada creÃble la facilidad con la que Anna puede llevar a cabo esas reuniones en casa de Griff sin compañÃa de una carabina.
La rivalidad de Griff con sus primos Lockhart ingleses ha logrado momentos muy divertidos y de tensión añadida, en especial por la personalidad un tanto ambigua de Drake, un hombre cuyas intenciones no sabes si son tan nobles como aparentan ser.
El desenlace de nuevo deja un fleco sin resolver y que da pie a la tercera y última entrega de esta serie. Realmente estoy deseando leerla, ya que su protagonista es Mared, la hermana de Liam y Griff que, a su vez, será la persona encargada de resolver el problema que afecta a su familia.
May 14, 2021
I liked book one, but I didn't love it. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one, and I was pleasantly surprised. I knew what was going to happen at the end before it happened, and it felt like something added in just to keep the story going. I really liked their relationship and how much they didn't like each other at the beginning. I really wanted the overarching goal to be solved in this book and then have something else be the problem in the next book instead of it being the same thing again in this book, therefore setting up the next book with the same problem.
Anyway, overall, I liked this one and I'll be reading the next one to see how things unfold.
Anyway, overall, I liked this one and I'll be reading the next one to see how things unfold.
November 25, 2020
Very entertaining story and characters. There is a bizarre story arc through the trilogy about a cursed beastie statue that half of the characters are obsessed with chasing after. As odd as it seems, it does tie things together and give purpose to what would otherwise be reckless choices. So, if you can get past that without over thinking how silly it seems, then the book is fun to read.
June 17, 2021
90% of the book was the H/H yelling at each other, not in an engaging way
I listened and read the book together. Between fast forwarding the audio and skipping chapters, I never missed anything. Really frustrating. No chemistry and no plot. They tried to make a plot but it really didn't come together for me.
I listened and read the book together. Between fast forwarding the audio and skipping chapters, I never missed anything. Really frustrating. No chemistry and no plot. They tried to make a plot but it really didn't come together for me.
November 1, 2017
Funny, edgy part two if this trilogy.
February 25, 2019
The heroin is too pathetic for me. She wanted the hero to teach her to seduce the guy that wanted to merry her sister. Pathetic!
May 28, 2019
A pretty good read
October 28, 2019
Pretty good but kind of annoying how much he pushes her away and thinks about her sister
February 29, 2020
Me encantan los personajes de esta familia. Es un poco más lento que el anterior pero igualmente fantástico. Tiene solo una o dos escenas de sexo.
Es un libro ligero, entretenido y fácil de leer.
Es un libro ligero, entretenido y fácil de leer.
November 30, 2020
Maybe the next book won't end in a cliffhanger lol
April 7, 2021
I like these. They have some mystery and likable characters. They aren’t my favorite historical romance but fun to pass the time between other books.
July 27, 2021
The concept of this book was better than the execution. By the end I didn't give a shit about Grif or Anna and their issues, least of which was atrocious communication.
March 12, 2025
Loved this one even more than the first! The only drawback was the ending, which felt too abrupt (probably to segue into the next). It’s off to an even better start than this one!
January 14, 2023
Tras el fracaso de su hermano mayor, Griff Lockhart va a Londres a intentar recuperar una estatuilla. Haciéndose pasar por un conde escocés, se introduce en la alta sociedad londinense.
March 25, 2016
Disclaimer: I'm a much bigger fan of Julia London's contemporary novels.
This was the second in a series--I don't think I've read the first one, though I probably have it hiding in a box somewhere. It didn't feel like I'd missed anything, unless the first book made the mission of "finding the beastie (a lion statuette?)" seem more reasonable. It felt as though the Scottish Lockharts preferred to depend on finding the statue to repair their lost fortunes (how this would happen is unclear) rather than switching from cattle to the more profitable sheep as their neighbors have done. In retrospect, perhaps I should have waited to read this until I'd found the first book.
Even so, the romance story was not one of my favorite types. The heroine convinces the hero to teach her to seduce another man. I've read this trope before, and there weren't any surprises here.
This was the second in a series--I don't think I've read the first one, though I probably have it hiding in a box somewhere. It didn't feel like I'd missed anything, unless the first book made the mission of "finding the beastie (a lion statuette?)" seem more reasonable. It felt as though the Scottish Lockharts preferred to depend on finding the statue to repair their lost fortunes (how this would happen is unclear) rather than switching from cattle to the more profitable sheep as their neighbors have done. In retrospect, perhaps I should have waited to read this until I'd found the first book.
Even so, the romance story was not one of my favorite types. The heroine convinces the hero to teach her to seduce another man. I've read this trope before, and there weren't any surprises here.
August 23, 2011
I like the through-running thread in this series, the chase after the golden beastie. But some of the elements of the stories are a little contrived. For example, I'm not sure why Grif feels he has to disguise himself, other than it helps the story. Yes, it's possible the English Lockharts will connect Liam with the missing beastie. But he's not Liam, and Liam didn't steal the beastie. If the sassenach Lockharts do sort things out, they will discover that a woman sold the beastie in Cambridge, and at most they will realize Grif is after it. That doesn't make him a thief or any kind of criminal. Also the switch from strong annoyance and dislike to madly in love was a bit abrupt for me in this one. But this is still pretty good for an early work.
March 14, 2013
This was a tad different than the usual romance novel...there was something about the characters that set them apart from the norm. They were both interesting and I found many of their interactions quite humorous, but I wasn't able to fully connect with the story. Part of that might be because I didn't read the first book in the series, but I think it's more likely that there were gaps in the supporting cast, which made the book a little tedious because I had no interest in any of the characters other than the main two. An odd critique, perhaps, but there you have it. The ending was predictable for me, as well, though the kidnapping was hilarious and a highlight of the book. A good read but I'm not sure that I feel compelled to read any more by this author.
August 2, 2013
I was about to rate this book lower when I realized the only thing I didn't like about it was the heroine. The writing is wonderful, the plot interesting, the hero sexy as hell, and the romance very hot. So, my only complaint is the heroine. However, given the time setting, I can admit she was probably acting very in character when she ignored the dishonesty of the idiot male she hoped to earn a proposal from. There were a few of her actions that had me gritting my teeth and wanting to reach into the book to slap some sense into her. Luckily all the other things I mentioned above redeemed the book and I'm eager to read the rest of the series.
August 3, 2015
Finally finished!
Another story that had a fantastic story idea but was filled with way too many words. I honestly stopped half way through this book for several weeks. Finally picked it back up yesterday and read the rest in a day. The characters are likable, for the most part, and the premise is enjoyable but like the first in this series it seemed to take forever to get to the end. There were some moments that were a bit unbelievable. And I absolutely love my husband but if he shoved me in a carpet, bound and gagged, it would take a bit longer for me to forgive. I look forward to the next in this series as I have always like Mared and Payton.
Another story that had a fantastic story idea but was filled with way too many words. I honestly stopped half way through this book for several weeks. Finally picked it back up yesterday and read the rest in a day. The characters are likable, for the most part, and the premise is enjoyable but like the first in this series it seemed to take forever to get to the end. There were some moments that were a bit unbelievable. And I absolutely love my husband but if he shoved me in a carpet, bound and gagged, it would take a bit longer for me to forgive. I look forward to the next in this series as I have always like Mared and Payton.
March 1, 2015
I can't read all of this book and the sad part is I don't know why. I guess the biggest problem is that the confusion of the main characters just leaves me sad. Grif doesn't and cant take a wife because of his family financial problems and Anna thinks she is in love with Grif's cousin. Grif's cousin Drake is an idiot that can't tolerate any competition for any woman. Lucy is just a spoiled brat that needs a good bit of discipline. To make matters worse the beastie is stolen by a good friend at the very end of the story.
July 9, 2011
book 2 of the Lockhart series. Grif goes to London, posing a as a Scottish Earl, to steal the beastie from the friend of the woman who had bought it. While there he falls in love with Anna Addison. Ok, but not that compelling. 3/5. I will finish the series, though, but not too enthused about the book.
December 7, 2013
This book would have been perfect if not for one thing: the heroine's insistence on pursuing a loser guy that was two-timing btwn her and her sister. And she knew about it, but chose to keep pushing to win his favor. It was so so so frustrating to read thru that part of the book. On the good side, the interaction btwn the heroine and the hero was fun and well-written.
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