Series: Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands (Book 2)
She needs a man-but only for a night
What do you get when you imbibe centuries-old
whiskey-besides a hangover the size of the Highlands? If you're twenty-first
century ad exec Gerard Innes, you get swept back to 18th-century Edinburgh and
into the bed of a gorgeous, fiery redhead. Gerard has only a foggy idea what he
and the lady have been up to...but what he does remember draws him into the
most dangerous and exhilarating campaign of his life.
Be careful what you wish for...
Serafina Seonag Fallon's scoundrel of a fiancé has left
her with nothing, and she's determined to turn the tables. If she can come up
with a ringer, she can claim the cargo he stole from her. But the dashing man
she summons from the future demands more than a night, and Serafina finds it
easier to command the seas under her feet than the crashing waves he unleashes
in her heart.
This was a really fun time travel romance. It begins with
Serafina complaining about her dastardly ex-fiancé, who seduced her, dumped
her, and used her money to purchase a ship's cargo, leaving her broke and with
a ruined reputation. If she has any hope of retrieving that cargo she needs a look-alike man to impersonate
Edward and sign the cargo over to her. Enter Abby and Undine. Undine is
something like a witch, whose potions have been known to bring just what is
needed. She creates the potion but warns Serafina to be careful what she wishes
for.
Gerard is a twenty-first century ad exec in Manhattan who
has just landed a big account and is celebrating. He has quite the reputation
as a ladies' man, and has invited a young lady to his room to continue the
celebrating. She's a bit worse for drink, and he's actually a gentleman and
puts her to bed to sleep it off. In the meantime, he samples some three hundred
year old Scotch, then passes out himself. He wakes up the next morning not only
in bed with a different woman, but also in a different city and a different
century!
That first scene is hilarious, with Gerard completely
confused about what happened, with some hazy memories that don't really make
sense to him. Serafina is also confused and experiencing some of the same
memories. Gerard is fortunate in that the first person he encounters turns out
to be a fellow time traveler who can fill him in a little bit. Explantations
are cut short when their activities of the previous night bring unwelcome
visitors and he and Serafina have to make a run for it. This begins a highly
amusing tale as Serafina and Gerard try to track down her cargo. There's more
to the story than just the cargo, including some piracy, threats to Scotland's
independence, spying and romancing.
I loved Serafina. She is feisty, independent and
stubborn. She has made mistakes (letting Edward sweet talk her into sleeping
with him before marriage, giving him access to her money) but she is doing her
best to rise above it. Her reputation may be in tatters, but that isn't going
to stop her. She has her plan and nothing is going to stop her from carrying it
out, even a highly distracting man of the future.
Gerard was great. I thought he took to the eighteenth
century pretty easily once he accepted that it had happened. He's quite a
charming flirt, and it is fun to see him try to work that charm on Serafina. He
also quickly becomes very protective of her, and finds himself in interesting
situations because of it. At first he's determined to do what has to be done,
so that Undine can send him home, but it doesn't take long for him to start
thinking about staying longer.
Though neither wanted a relationship in the beginning,
their connection is fast and deep. It was fun to see them bicker their way
around Edinburgh as they tried to track down her cargo. They were also
desperate to reconstruct their memories of the night before, especially to find
out if they had truly married or simply faked it. They get themselves into and
out of quite a few scrapes, frequently with the help of Gerard's fast thinking
and creative mind. It was especially fun to see him put his twenty-first century
marketing skills to work in 1706 Scotland. I really enjoyed the scenes with the
baker and tavern owner, and the part with Gerard and the fancy chemises was a
riot.
As his time in Scotland draws closer to its conclusion,
Gerard realizes that he doesn't want to lose Serafina. He makes a few missteps
in his ideas for their future, but eventually comes to the conclusion that he
will do whatever he must to make her happy. Whether that means stepping aside
for someone else, or changing his entire life is a decision that isn't easy to
make. Serafina, too, doesn't want to lose Gerard, but she doesn't want to make
him give up his family, fortune and friends. She also has to let go of her
pride a little bit, and learn that it's okay to lean on someone for a little
help now and then.
There were also a few interesting twists that came out in
the final chapter. One involving a bottle of whisky and one involving a dress
that turns out to be more than a dress. And finally one that will require a
lesson in genetics and the weirdness that is time travel.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this series,
including going back and reading the first one.
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