Great adventure with a bona fide villain (even two or three), and a braw Scottish hero with a hankering to rescue.

On cramped limbs, I shrank back in the musty cupboard, the strip of daylight under the door slicing over my ballet flats.The strife comes from outside the relationship, and the hero and heroine fight together as a couple against it.

Gordain set a fast pace, and I did my best to keep up, glad for the early morning jogging routine I’d gotten into.She has a wisdom and grit about her that it never really feels like you are reading a 17/18-year-old heroine. The novel opens with excitement as Gordain flies a helicopter to rescue Ella from her family home of Belvedere and literally saves her from the clutches of her evil Uncle Richard. Gordain is best friend’s with Ella’ brother James and he comes to her rescue when James asks him to help Ella escape from their evil uncle Richard. But I am happy to report that she ages three years over the course of the book and by the end, feels like a grown woman. This can be a standalone book if you wish to do so but characters from the previous book and this book did make appears through the series.

This book is about the younger brother of the Scottish Laird, Gordain who just happens to fall for the British Lord’s sister. Little does he know, she is in love with him but due to her early life, she doesn’t know how to give or receive love. I loved how they fought to overcome their demons - both internally and externally - and each became the other's hero. After a beat, his footsteps moved away, then the ballroom’s double doors swung out with an unmistakable thud. He can be frustrating at times because he makes choices counter to his heart, and it causes issues between him and Ella.To quote the Scottish poet Robert Burns in “To a Mouse:” “The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/ Gang aft agley. At times I just want to shake some sense into these two as everyone knows they are meant to be together, but then I also understand Gordain's hesitation about Ella's age but also the other strife going on in his life. As always, Vines has a deft hand with love scenes and paints a love story with characters who are hopeful, yet vulnerable.

Ella has finally broken out of her gilded cage, but with her limited life experience, she doesn’t trust her instincts.Ella and Gourdain are alike in that they have been seeking after love, deprived them by the “father figures” in their life. I will finally admit that when I first started this series, I was chomping at the bit for Gordain's story. Both have had to grow up quickly in the absence of love and care, and this causes brokenness that is only found whole in each other. Gordain who is a little older than Ella (about 5 years) is a feeling unworthy of love not to mention that Ella is the sister of his best friend. Richard’s voice reverberated through the halls, and an almighty crash followed—a table thrown over, or a bookcase, perhaps.