Hello, and welcome back! Fall is here for certain now, which makes me happy. All the trees are sporting their bright, pretty colors, though it’s supposed to rain here all weekend again. That’s good for my job, but it makes for a long weekend for the boys stuck indoors. And I suppose it means that after the wind and rain have gone, many more of those pretty leaves will have fallen from their trees. But the rainy fall weather makes for fantastic reading weather, and it’s cool enough to fire up the tea kettle or to make some hot chocolate for the reading.

This time out, I have the latest from Jane Goodger, A Christmas
Scandal (Zebra). I absolutely adore her romances, but I really do wish she wrote faster. It seems forever since her last book, even though I know it was only last fall, and I was looking forward to this one very much. Maggie Pierce has gone and fallen for the very eligible and very scrumptious Edward Hollings. But Edward has no intentions of marrying, even though he’s now an earl, even though he still has very deep feelings for Maggie. Being thrown together at their best friends’ home in England for the holidays only makes all those feelings stronger and harder to resist. But Maggie knows they have no future, despite the wishes of her mother who is desperate for something to save her now that her husband has gone to prison for embezzlement. Edward knows Maggie isn’t suitable, even if he were a marrying sort of man, but that doesn’t stop him wanting her. And giving in to the desire, well, that would be absolutely foolhardy, but the heart wants what it wants, and who are we mere humans to resist it? Of course, there are much more suitable prospective brides for Edward, and Maggie, after all, isn’t staying in England, despite her heart’s deepest wishes. But secrets have a way of coming out, and Maggie’s won’t remain hidden from Edward forever. This is a delightful story, as I expected, with charming characters you’ll recognize from last year’s release, as well as some secondary characters here who make a reader wish they would get their very own stories sometime in the future. I’m borrowing four of Cupid’s five arrows for this one.

Until next time, happy reading!