Throwback Thursday: Midsummer Magic by Catherine Coulter

Author: Catherine Coulter
First published in 1987 by Penguin


Philip Hawksbury, the Earl of Rothermere, obeying his father's dying wish, hies himself to Scotland to offer for one of the daughters of Alexander Kilbracken, the Earl of Ruthven. 


Frances Kilbracken, informed of the earl's arrival and his mission, disguises herself as a bespectacled dowd so she won't be the one selected by the young earl. But choose her he does, and for all the wrong reasons. 


Midsummer Magic is one of Ms.  Coulter's earlier historical romances.  If you can ignore the fact that Hawk is a big jerk in the beginning, this book is actually pretty enjoyable.  This is an arraigned marriage story.  Philip has been promised to one of the Kilbracken daughters.  He decides that he will be safest by choosing the dowdiest looking one.  That way he can dump her at his country estate and head to London to party.  After leaving her for a while, he comes back to his estate to discover that she is not the woman he thought she was.  


It was fun to watch Hawk and Frances fall in love.  I thought he did a good job of redeeming himself in the end of the book. Both of them are head strong and are a good match.  There is a small mystery in the book.  It wasn't overly exciting but it was a nice edition to the story.  This is the first in a trilogy and I look forward the reading the rest of the books.  The audio book was enjoyable.  If you missed this earlier work, give it a shot.