Once Upon a Tartan (MacGregor Trilogy #2) by Grace Burrows

Historical Fiction

What Goodreads Says:

"Hester MacDaniel is recovering from an engagement gone awry by summering at her brother's holding in the Highlands, and looking after her brother's young step-daughter, Fiona. Tiberius Flynn, heir to the English Marquis of Quinworth, appears on Hester's doorstep claiming he's Fee's paternal uncle, and he's been sent by her English relations to make the girl's acquaintance. Tye believes his brother's dying wishes compel him to take Fee south with him, but he doesn't plan on Hester capturing his heart, even as she fights him tooth and nail for custody of Fiona."

When I read Book One in the MacGregor Trilogy , The Bridegroom Wore Plaid, I wondered where this trilogy was going.  Every main character in that book got their HEA so instead of setting up the next story it looked like there was not place to go for a new story.  I should have known that Grace Burrows had a plan and a very good plan at that.  Like book one Once Upon a Tartan is set in the Victorian Age.

Backstory:  The basis for Once Upon a Tartan is the early marriage of Mary Fran and the child she had from that marriage.  This was a marriage that the groom’ s family never recognized and a child (Fiona or Fee) they never acknowledged.

Plot: Fee has a loving family in Scotland and now Tiberious Flynn has come to take Fee away to live with her father’s family.

Tension:  Plenty of internal and external tension.  The need to protect Fee, the attraction between Tiberious and Hester, Hester’s past, the split between Tiberious’s parents, Tiberious’s must do as his father wants even though he does not think it is a good idea

Writing:  Very well written.  Every thing moves at a nice pace with the story evolving in a way that held my attention through the book.

Characters:  Tiberius Flynn’s character is shown through his actions.  In spite of what he has to do he is very likeable. Hester MacDaniel  has had a very troubled past with her parents and the man they wanted her to marry.  Her backstory is well told and let me know the kind of woman she was.  Both are very strong and likeable characters.  There are some of the characters from the first book that play a important role in the book and then there are Tiberius parents who are mostly in the background but are an essential part of the plot.

I loved Once Upon a Tartan.  I had a hard time putting it down before I finished and am waiting to see where Burrows goes with book three.

Sourcebooks published Once Upon a Tartan by Grace Burrows in 2012

I received an ARC of Once Upon a Tartan from Netgalley.