With the genius in red text.
In March of this year I went to a bookstore, as I am wont to do. I saw The Abduction of Julia, by Karen Hawkins. I will never regret the money I spent on that book. After I finished it I discovered that I had lucked out, not only was it the first in of three linked books, but it was the first of all Miss Hawkins’ books.
After The Abduction of Julia, comes A Belated Bride and The Seduction of Sara. Then comes the five books of the Talisman Ring series featuring Sara’s five brothers, in order: An Affair To Remember, Confessions of A Scoundrel, How To Treat A Lady, And The Lady Wore Plaid, The Lady in Red.
This is where the evil genius part comes into it. Either Miss Hawkins is an amazing evil genius and had parts of the Hurst Amulet series in mind when she started the MacLean Curse series, or she’s just extremely clever and amazing, and put those parts together later on.
The first of the MacLean Curse books, How to Abduct A Highland Lord, is about Fiona Maclean and “Black” Jack Kincaid. Each chapter has a little epigraph, supposedly Old Woman Nora of Loch Lomond telling her “three wee granddaughters” about the MacLean’s family curse. The next four books of this series feature Fiona’s brothers as the heroes. (God bless Scotland!) Now remember Old Woman Nora’s three granddaughters? They’re the three Hurst sisters, descendants of the witch who cursed the MacLean family. Two of them are married, and into the MacLean family no less. The two eldest MacLean brothers marry the twin eldest Hurst sisters.
The Hurst Amulet series follows on from the MacLean Curse series. Much Ado About Marriage, a re-written, re-release set in Elizabethian times, gives a cursory look at the events that caused the MacLean Curse to come into existence (don’t break a witch’s heart and steal her amulet kids) and prequel to the Hurst Amulet series. Fia MacLean, the heroine marries Thomas Wentworth. Fia also achieves her dream of becoming a playwright, Fia also has a large dog, a horse and a rabbit – which poor Thomas has to drag across Scotland.
Now Michael Hurst goes looking for the Hurst Amulet (the one that a MacLean stole to get their family cursed) only her gets stuck as a “guest” in Egypt, until a box can be returned. Only he’s already sent said box to England for examination.
Mary Hurst the third Hurst sister gets her story in One Night in Scotland with the delicious, tormented Angus Hay, earl of Erroll. Angus is a friend, who Robert sent the box to, only a warning about thieves comes a little too soon and he thinks Mary is trying to steal it. Mary then hands the box onto her seafaring brother William.
William Hurst gets his story in a Scandal in Scotland. Marcail Beauchamp (a former flame) drugs William and steals the box. Unfortunately she’s already handed it on when William catches up to her. Marcail is an actress – she mentions that one of Shakespeare’s lesser performed plays is such because a trained dog, horse and rabbit are difficult to find.
Now we come to A Most Dangerous Proffession, Robert Hurst, is tracking down Moira MacAllister, who took the box from Marcail.
Currently Listening: The Story of Us – Taylor Swift
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