Unwrapping a Review of ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER by Lecia Cornwall

I’ve long been a fan of Lecia Cornwall. Her historical romances are always an adventure and her characters full-bodied, and full of depth. ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER is no exception, and was worth the wait to read since I’ve had it since it first came out in November of 2013.

***purchased a long while back for personal reading but finally got a chance to squeeze it in, and am sharing my thoughts in an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER:

A lush Scottish historical romance in the vein of Karen Ranney and Karen Hawkins.

An ancient curse, a pair of meddlesome ghosts, a girl on the run, and a fateful misunderstanding make for the perfect chance at true love.

Lady Caroline Forrester is on the run from her brother's scheme to marry her off to the highest bidder. An escape to Scotland offers a chance at employment as a governess and freedom from an unhappy marriage—it's the perfect solution. But Caroline wasn't prepared for the feelings that her new employer brings out in her.

Alec McNabb, the reluctant Earl of Glenorne, never expected to return home to Scotland. But now that he's there, he realizes he has obligations that he cannot escape. Alec needs to marry well, and quickly.

When a case of mistaken identity—coupled with the sensual, magical atmosphere of Glenorne Castle—results in a passionate encounter, Caroline and Alec must decide whether their attraction is enough to overcome the problems of their pasts, or whether this one chance at true love was over before it began… 

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A story based in forbidden love starting with an encounter based on a mistaken identity urged on by two meddlesome ghosts who are the grandparents of the romantic couple in ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER.

Lady Caroline wants away from her half-brother and his desire to marry her off to his own benefit not hers. With whispering nudges from her ghostly grandmother, Georgina Forrester—the late Countess of Somerson—she finds a position as a governess to the three sisters of Alec MacNabb, the new Earl of Glenorne. Attracted to Alec, she wishes things were different in her life, his life, and the world around them, but he’s engaged to be married to a woman who can benefit Glenorne better than she.

Life hasn’t been good to the men of Glenorne, and now Alec finds himself the new and reluctant Earl of Glenorne after a life of adventure and intrigue in Ceylon. A seemingly  more leisurely life in Scotland isn’t exactly what he wants, nor does he wish a bride in Sophie Ellison even if her dowry will do much to reinforce Glenorne. When he mistakenly believes Caroline to be Sophie, misguided good intentions, and too much ale make for an interesting encounter on the plaid. But, then what is he to do when the truth is revealed? Will the curse laid upon his clan claim the happiness of yet another Earl of Glenorne?

Lecia Cornwall’s ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER is a story of mistaken identity, star-crossed lovers, romantic triangles, and a curse, which may or may not exist, but which causes so many to second guess motives, desires, and needs as to end up causing great hesitations when it comes to admitting true feelings.

At times, there seemed to be too much going on at once in this story but once it was all settled, it made sense. I enjoyed the matchmaking interference of Angus and Georgiana, friendly albeit very nosy and meddlesome ghosts who obviously knew way too much of what was going on than anyone would want their grandparents knowing. I did have a little trouble following the timeline in the story in that, what seemed to be happening in a short amount of time actually happens over a lengthier spell but again, in the end, it all came together. I felt the story belonged more to Caroline than to she and Alec but it still worked, and since Lecia does write her heroines so they claim center stage, ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER belongs to Caroline and her highlander.

I do recommend ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER by Lecia Cornwall to anyone who loves a good highlander story filled with all kinds of ruckus because when it comes to the world of Glenorne, ruckus is what you get on a daily basis.

Happy Reading Everyone!

ONCE UPON A HIGHLAND SUMMER, a Once Upon a Highland Season novel by Lecia Cornwall, Avon Romance, available in print or ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

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