Historical Fiction
Miss Leslie’s Secret is a Regency romance novel. Just like For Love or Honor—the previous book I reviewed— the hero in this novel, Conall Stewart, is a retired war hero–though the similarities between the two end there. Upon returning from war, he finds his family gone, so until he finds them, he is renting a farm in a small village called Dunaid, Scotland.
Conall is a kind and gallant gentleman, unlike many of the war-roughened retired soldiers. After catching a young boy, Jamie, stealing from his library in Dunaid, and upon finding out that there is nobody to guide the boy, he takes him under his wing. Meanwhile, he is attracted to Jamie’s mother, Aileen Leslie, who he doesn’t realize is a widow and tries to keep his distance. Once he realizes that Aileen is a widow, he starts pursuing her in earnest and finds himself falling in love with her.
On their wedding day, though, the secret Aileen has been hiding comes out, leaving Conall feeling betrayed and angry. That doesn’t stop him from trying to rescue Aileen and Jamie from a smuggler, and after all the misunderstandings have been cleared up, Conall and Aileen are happily married.
This was a delightful novel. Mrs. Ross and Mrs. Campbell, with their match-making techniques, were a totally adorable pair of little old ladies; and Davy was the epitome of friendly, helpful neighbor—always there when Conall needed him. The romance between Conall and Aileen was everything you would expect a regency romance to be: innocent, pure, and simple. I love Jennifer Moore novels, and this one was no exception.
I would recommend this one for those who are looking for a sweet romance novel—or more specifically, a sweet historical romance novel—without any drama.
Bookpeek 