Once Upon a Tartan

Another awesome tale from one of my all time favorite authors. In my opinion, this author can't do wrong. She writes stories that I am more than glad to read, over and over again.

'Once Upon a Tartan' is the second story in MacGregors series and I thoroughly enjoyed every character put forth, from Hester and Tiberius to Fee and our heroes horse, Flying Rowan.

And then, there's the setting of Scotland and another complex plot that will touch your heart. But as usual, it's Ms. Burrowes unique prose that holds my attention from page one and straight to the end.

"A list of known aphrodisiacs had circulated among Tye’s confreres at university, but lemon verbena had assuredly not been among the foods, fragrances, and substances named.

Nor had fresh air, or the scent of heather, or the sound of a burbling Scottish stream, or proximity to tartan wool, but something or someone had so unbalanced the relationship between Tye’s self-restraint and his base urges as to violate every tenet of common sense.

One did not accost decent young women, no matter how much in need of kissing they might seem.

One did not kiss young ladies who had given no overt indication they were receptive to such advances.

One did not allow oneself into compromising situations where any wandering neighbor might come upon one.

But one was also having great difficulty forgetting the kiss, and the compromising situation, and the decent young lady from whom the kiss had been stolen."

Melanie for b2b

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher

I said I was sure to read it in a day and so I did. There is just something with Burrowes romances that makes me wanna read and read and not put them down before I know what happens.

Victorian times, Scotland, and a sad heroine. Hester felt a bit different as she left London in a scandal and is now staying with the McGregors (as her brother in the previous book married a McGregor..and then more, just read it and find out ;). She is looking after young Fiona. Hester was very kind, sweet, curious and getting over what had happened. She had a calm over her that I liked.

Tye, oh Tye. I know he meant well. Yes I liked him cos he was all sweet and caring. But he did not always think what was best for Fiona when he came barging in. But still he was so....so, mmm. I wanted him and Hester together, they made sense. And at the same time I knew the drama was coming and was scared. Even though we all know everything will work out in the end.

Another easy and sweet romance from Burrowes. I like this one the most in the new series. In book 1 too many people fell in love ;)

Good book. Hester and Fiona first appeared in The Bridegroom Wore Plaid. Fiona is the child of Ian's sister Mary Fran and her first (now deceased) husband. His family never accepted the marriage, and has not acknowledged Fiona's existence since then. Mary Fran has recently married Hester's brother, and the are off on their honeymoon. Hester, who is visiting for the summer, has been left in charge of caring for her new niece while they are gone.Tye has been sent to Scotland by his father to bring Fiona back to England. He expects it to be an easy task, as his father gives him the impression that the girl is living in poverty with a mother who can be bought off. What he finds is something entirely different, which throws his plans completely out of order. He finds that Fiona is well cared for, if a little wild by his standards. But it's his introduction to Fiona's Aunt Hester that makes him realize that things are not going to go as he expected. Upon hearing who he is, Hester has no trouble letting him know just what Fiona's family thinks of his and their actions, and that she is extremely suspicious of why he's there now. Tye figures he'd better take some time and get a better idea of what is happening before making his move.In the previous book, Hester had been a bright, vivacious and social young woman, ready for her London season. Now, she is quiet and rather sad, having been banished to Scotland by her mother, after breaking her engagement and causing a scandal. She doesn't trust the pompous sounding Englishman, no matter how good looking he might be. She's been fooled before, and refuses to risk it again. Taking on the care of fun loving Fiona is just what she needs.I enjoyed Tye's first encounter with Fiona. He's brusque and sarcastic, but he is also quite kind. I liked seeing the care he took of her when she hurt herself, and how he indulged her with the ride on his horse. He gives a first impression of being rather pompous, with the large number of big words that he uses, but he also seems to enjoy the way Fiona asks about them. Fiona isn't at all what he expected, and he is surprised by her immediate acceptance of who he is.Sparks flew between Tye and Hester from the beginning. At first they were antagonistic ones, I loved seeing the way Hester tore into Tye about his family's treatment of Fiona and Mary Fran. Meanwhile, Tye didn't understand why Hester was so wound up, since she is not a blood relation to Fiona. When Aunt Ree invites Tye to stay for awhile, Hester is not happy but has to accept it, and Tye plans to use the time to figure out what to do. At dinner that night, Hester has calmed down some and Tye is on his best behavior. At that point both begin to realize that they are attracted to each other.They fight the attraction at first. Hester has things in her past that she feels have changed her chances for the future she wanted. She also still mistrusts Tye's reasons for being there. Tye fights it because he knows that what he has to do is going to have consequences he doesn't want to think about. But no matter what they do, the attraction grows stronger. They also begin to get to know each other. I loved seeing Tye's reaction to her confession about her scandal, and the effect it had on her confidence. As Hester learns more about Tye's family, she senses a conflict in him even thought she didn't know what it was. I liked seeing her try to help him through whatever is troubling him. The love scenes between them are sweet, hot, and pretty amusing. Tye's fight for self control gets more and more difficult as Hester gets more confident in herself.Tye realizes that he wants Hester in his life, and he also figures out that his mission might be more successful if he can bring her along too. His hints to Hester about his intentions have her questioning her feelings and wondering what his really are, since he hasn't said. He makes some critical mistakes in how he handles things, leaving Hester feeling betrayed. Carrying out his mission from his father has left Tye feeling very conflicted. He suspects that there is something else going on too, and resents being placed in the middle of it. I liked seeing the way that he comes to his senses and does the right thing. Tye's father is a manipulative old goat, and though he has his reasons for what he has done, they are still wrong. I liked seeing Hester stand up to him. There are still problems to overcome, and both Tye and Hester have to face their fears before they can have the future they want. I liked their conversation at the end, and how Hester stood up for what she wanted from him.One of the things I like best about Grace Burrowes's books is how big a part family plays in them. The closeness and support that is shown by the MacGregors is great. Ian may seem to be pretty laid back, but when the threat to Fiona is revealed, he makes sure that Tye knows just how big a fight there will be. On the other side, Tye's family is pretty dysfunctional. His father is a mean old man who I really didn't like, even after his reasons were revealed. The relationship between him and Tye's mom was one that could have been fixed if they had just talked to each other. Except for her game playing with her husband, I did like Tye's mother. I especially liked her when she met Hester and Fiona, and her attitude toward them both.Fiona and Aunt Ree were two of my favorites outside Tye and Hester. I liked Fiona's easy acceptance of Tye as her uncle, something that came about because of the relationship she already had with her other uncles. I loved her chatter, and the way she and Tye had their wordplay going on. She could be really sweet, but she also had her moments when she wasn't, making her very believable as a character. She was also quite observant, and I loved seeing her get Hester headed to England with them. Aunt Ree was quite a fun old lady. She was also very observant and had her own ways of getting people to do things. I liked the advice she would give to Hester. She reminded me a lot of Lady Osbaldstone in Stephanie Laurens' Cynster series.

I figured out what the scheming grandfather was up to rather early on, but I still couldn't wait to have everything resolve. Honestly, I would have loved more scenes with the grandmother. She seems like a force to be reckoned with, as does Aunt Joan. I hope Burrowes turns a few novellas to that family. Could be fun reads.

Tiberius "Tye" Flynn is an English Lord who has been sent by his father to retrieve his deceased brother's child in Scotland. The child, Fee lives with an elderly aunt and another more distant family relative, Hester Daniels. The rest of her Scottish family are in the vicinity and shower her with love and attention. Her mother, Mary Fran, and her new Step father, Matthew, are currently on an extended honeymoon leaving Fee in the hands of Hester. Tye, who is supposed to need only two days to kidnap Fee ends up spending 2 weeks with Fee and her Aunt Hester. The longer Hester and Tye are together the deeper they fall in love. However, when Hester finds out that Tye is there to "steal" Fee she hardens her heart against Tye. This is another "Grace Burrowes'" historical romance that is full of family love and devotion with a healthy, fun story line. I love Grace's style and presentation and mostly her respect and expertise with family interactions. This is definitely another "Win" for Ms. Burrowes.

Tiberius has been sent on a serious mission by his father up to the highlands. As much as Tiberius despises himself for what he will have to do, he reminds himself that he doesn't have a choice. Hester Daniels has been taking care of Fiona, a relative, a little girl that is in need of mothering and someone to watch over her. Fiona's mother has recently gotten married and has gone on a honeymoon, so Hester has taken it upon herself to take care of this feisty little girl who has her wrapped around her finger. Hester will do anything for Fiona. When a stranger arrives on her doorstep, insisting that he is Fiona's uncle, she is more than a little suspicious. She has never met the man, and she feels as if he is hiding something very important from her. But as the three of them spend time together, she starts to soften, seeing a side of Tye she didn't imagine she would when she first met him. A powerful passion starts to build between Hester and Tye, and before Hester realizes it, she knows that she could very easily give up her heart to this virile man that heats her blood.But there is a secret Tye is hiding from her and she can't fully give him her heart until she know him body and soul.Once Upon A Tartan is the Second in the series, and is set up in Scotland. and this trilogy is part of the MacGregor clan. It starts out with a sweet scene between Tye and his niece Fiona. I enjoyed seeing the connection they instantly make, and having a weakness for charming and adorable little runts, I couldn't help but fall in love with Fiona instantly. She has such a curiosity and open trust that is heartwarming. The story then begins when Tye and Hester meet for the first time, which isn't exactly smooth sailing. Fireworks explode, because Hester has little trust in men, but especially strangers that bring Fiona home, a little girl who is everything to Hester. Hester has suffered through a scandal and has been hurt in the past, but you see she can't help but be drawn to Tye. Tye alone is sexy as sin. As the reader, you see a glimpse of what he is dealing with internally, but you don't see the full scheme of things till much later on. I liked the tension between Tye and Hester heat up, and I loved how Hester doesn't care about consequences, she is bold and daring, but protects her heart fiercely.Once Upon A Tartan was a savorful story that makes your mouth water. There were times I had to force myself to keep reading, I think either I was letting myself get distracted from reading, or sometimes I feel like this is the style of Burrowes writing at times. Doesn't fully captivate you 100% of the time. But I felt the plot was full of a few twist and turns, not overdoing it at all, but I also wished there had been a bit more to the story. I felt at the end that it was a fully satisfying read, but part of me wished that there had been a bit more of a conflict involved. I did love the aspect of adding a child into the story. It always add a certain sense of innocence and playfulness to it. It was fun seeing Tye and Fiona connect and go on adventures together, the descriptions were so well done, I almost felt like I was actually there. I felt the characterization were well done for the most part, I don't have any complaints on Tye or Hester. They were a fun and exciting couple to see get attached to each other. We also see the involvement of Ian and Augusta (the couple from the first book for those of you who haven't read this series yet), which was fun to see them again and their connection to Hester.I enjoyed this story much more than I imagined I would in the beginning. It did take me quite a few pages, before I got fully drawn into the story. But that tends to happen with Grace Burrowes. I feel like you really have to give her books a chance, you can't just quit after a few pages. For me, it takes a couple chapters, before I find myself finding true fun in the story. I do want to say that one of my ultimate favorite things about Burrowe's books, are the covers. They are so exquisite and slightly erotic, but not overly much too, just enough to entice anyone to pick it up. They have a certain quality about them, that is full of color and goes along with the theme of the story or the series. A wonderfully written love story, that is bursting with a sensuality and a certain polish to it that brings forth a vibrancy to the story. A Richly emotion filled tale that will capture your heart!!

Love released!Ah! The tangled webs woven by others and left for our various proponents to unravel.I may have been disappointed in the first offering in this series, but I absolutely enjoyed this next offering. I smiled through the entire reading.Hester comes alive as never before and Tiberious (Tye) is a quixotic joy of a man torn between duty and love.Fiona is the beguiling scrap of innocence that lines are drawn around with her Scottish family trying to protect her and her English Marquis grandfather trying to take her for his own reasons. Tiberious his son is charged with her delivery. Thus the meeting of Hester and Tiberious. There are wonderful asides and moments throughout this novel that take it from merely pleasant to greatly enjoyable.And I have to say I love the description of the wool sock in all it's abandonment. It gets to me every time and if you want to know more then you'll have to read this latest Burrowes creation.By the way, Aunt Ariadne is a joy!A NetGalley ARC