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.
