Happy Publication Day to Carrie Elks! The third instalment in the Shakespeare Sisters saga, Absent in the Spring, hits shelves today and Little, Brown were extremely generous enough to provide me with a copy to review.
A successful lawyer, and the eldest of four sisters, Lucy Shakespeare is used to being in control of everything and everyone around her, most particularly herself – that is until she meets the gorgeous Lachlan MacLeish.
Lachlan’s hired Lucy because he needs the best. His inheritance, the Lairdship of Glencarraig, is suddenly in doubt, thanks to his devious half-brother. Glencarraig is the only place where his memories of his family are happy ones and there’s no way he’s going down without a fight. The very last thing he wants is a distraction, but as soon as he sees Lucy, he knows he’s in trouble.
Despite their efforts to resist, it isn’t long before Lachlan has Lucy longing to break all her careful rules. As they travel from Scotland, to Paris and on to New York, Lucy can’t help but wonder: is it sometimes worth risking it all?
SHE WAS BETTER THAN THIS. SHE WAS A PROFESSIONAL THROUGH AND THROUGH. SHE MIGHT HAVE MADE AN IDIOT OF HERSELF THIS MORNING, BUT SHE WOULD MAKE DAMN SURE SHE DIDN’T DO IT AGAIN. SHE WAS LUCY MILLICENT SHAKESPEARE. SHE ATE AMERICAN BUSINESSMEN FOR BREAKFAST.
Carrie Elks never disappoints. Her books are easy and entertaining reads full of witty humour, angst and heart-warming moments and the third book in the highly enjoyable Shakespeare Sisters series is no different.
From the first meeting between Lucy and Lachlan, the spark is evident and Absent in the Spring takes us globetrotting from Miami, to snowy Scotland, to a romantic jaunt in Paris as we follow the blossoming relationship between the American businessman and his solicitor. The way in which Elks writes about these locations in such vivid and lush detail makes it all feel genuine, as if you’re actually there right alongside the happy couple!
Often fluffy romantic literature can either feel sickly sweet and overbearing or just overdramatic, but Elks knows how to seamlessly blend just the right amount of angst/will-they-won’t-they-trouble with steamy and heart-fluttering scenarios. I loved the witty one-liners and flirtatious exchanges between not just Lachlan and Lucy, but every couple in Elks’ romantic series as no matter how unlikely the situation, the couples always come across as real and the romance always has me on tenterhooks. The Shakespeare Sisters series is one of the most enjoyable chick lit series I’ve read in a long, long time and Absent in the Spring is a brilliant addition to its predecessors.
I look forward to picking up the next instalment in the series and seeign what other romantic adventures else Elks cooks up!
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