ARC REVIEW: The Pleasure of the Rose by Jane Bonander

Monday, August 22, 2016

Long a master of the historical and the heartfelt, Jane Bonander pens a sweeping Scottish romance, perfect for readers of Mary Balogh.
"Jane Bonander reaches out to her readers' hearts." —RT Book Reviews
As Fletcher MacNeil sat in a jail cell, the last thing he expected was a Scottish solicitor bearing news of an inheritance. Fletcher, half Comanche and half Scottish, is the only surviving heir to Castle Sheiling and a fortune beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he must escape his current predicament and travel across the ocean—to a world of loyal clans and kinsmen where Fletcher’s very appearance marks him as outsider.
Rosalyn Geddes, housekeeper of Sheiling, is relieved to hear that the new earl of Kintyre has been located in America. But the last thing she expected was the mysterious, darkly handsome man who appears on the castle doorstep. Rosalyn cannot believe he is a MacNeil, let alone the new earl. But there’s something about this man—a power and magnetism that draws her in.

Fletcher learns that his inheritance comes with a caveat—he must produce an heir within one year’s time or the fortune goes to a rogue cousin of the late earl. A marriage of convenience is proposed, and Roz reluctantly agrees. What begins as purely a business transaction blossoms into something more. Roz begins to feel herself open up to the possibility of love, but the question of whether Fletcher will leave her once he’s met the terms of the will continues to loom over their relationship. Can they overcome Roz’s tragic past and Fletcher’s uncertain future?







I had absolutely no expectations when I started this book, and to be quite honest I had put off reading it because of the cover. Let it be known that I'm quite a judgey reader and I tend to judge a book by its cover and in normal circumstances I probably wouldn't have read this book. Which would have been a shame because I really enjoyed it.

The tale takes place in two settings, it begins in Texas where Fletcher, maker of arrows finds himself about to be hung. Back in Scotland, the pairs of the Macneil clan has died and there is no other heir meaning the title and assets will go to a cousin. Which is how Fletcher find himself a Duke, his father having been the youngest son of the late Macneil himself.

One thing I really liked about this story was the fact that Fletcher is half American Indian and half white, I'm pretty sure I haven't read an HR like that before. When Fletcher arrives in Scotland he meets his housekeeper Rosalyn who doesn't really act like his housekeeper. I didn't like Rosalyn at first, probably because of her comments and opinions which made her sound very ignorant, but I ended up really liking her. So there probably could've been more detail and development when it came to Fletcher and Rosalyn's relationship and this is probably my only complaint. Everything fell into place way too easily.

The entrance of fletcher's siblings brought a little conflict into the story especially because of Kerry who turned out to be a little diva. I actually felt like that part of the story was lacking something I just can't say what it was. All in all this was quite an enjoyable read I cruised through it. If you enjoy HR of the old school kind then I would definitely recommend you give this a go!

ARC kindly provided by publisher in return for an honest review

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