My Fair Lily (Farthingale, #1) by Meara Platt
Series: Farthingale #1
Published by Booktrope on October 13th 2014
Genres: Historical
Pages: 264
Goodreads

Funny, Light Romantic Historical Romance

FINAL DECISION: This was a book that made me laugh, made me smile and made me really like the characters. Light and enjoyable, the darkness of this book is never deep but just enough to keep the story interesting.

THE STORY: Ewan Cameron is Scottish but is also the estranged grandson of the Duke of Lotheil. Ewan agreed at his father’s deathbed to come to London with his sister to meet with his grandfather for three months. Ewan intends to thwart his grandfather by emphasizing his Scottish background and intends to marry a Scottish woman. Ewan ends up meeting Lily Farthingale when his dog knocks her over into a puddle. A bluestocking, Lily has her own reasons to dislike Ewan’s grandfather. He is blocking her attempts to join the Royal Society. Despite this, Lily wants to help Ewan navigate being a proper English gentleman in order to bridge the gap between Ewan and the rest of his family.

OPINION: I loved the lighthearted romance here. Funny and sweet and a book that made me smile, I enjoyed the interactions between Ewan and Lily. Lily is an intelligent heroine so I loved how Ewan and his big dog knock her off her game. Lily’s kindness is also demonstrated by her attempts to close the breach between Ewan and his family. She is treated poorly by Ewan’s grandfather and yet does the right thing for Ewan.

Ewan is entirely entranced by Lily. I liked that he almost immediately puts Lily first even when he is rejecting the possibility of there being anything between them. Their interactions were so special that I had to smile every time they started bantering with one another.

I also enjoyed the relationship between the Farthingale’s which is boisterous, nosy and an authentic family. It is rare that a book has so many likeable characters. Even those characters who first appear the villains are provided the opportunity to show their true natures. The lack of obvious bad guys makes this book enjoyable to read.

The plot of the book includes a mystery regarding whether someone is attempting to kill Ewan or to hurt those around him. I liked the story because it twisted in a manner I did not expect.

This is the first book I have read by Meara Platt. The book is well written with characters that I really liked, a situation where the characters acted in reasonable manners and a story and romance which left me smiling and satisfied.

WORTH MENTIONING: This series has an interesting dynamic. There are five sisters, three who are married. The stories of the two unmarried sisters are told first but then the married sisters stories are told later.

CONNECTED BOOKS: MY FAIR LILY is the first book in the Farthingale series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.