Book: Making the Marquess
Author: Nichole Van
My Rating: 5 Angsty Stars
Hello dear readers! If you’ve been with me here for very long, you know this, I will shout the praises of Nichole Van until my last breath. Her latest release Making the Marquess did NOT disappoint. It’s the fourth book in her Brotherhood of the Black Tartan series, and somehow each book just gets better than the last. She has possible written one of the BEST meet cutes in history with this book. I don’t even want to spoil it for you, but let’s just say it’s a memorable first meeting for our two main characters.
Dr. Alexander Whitaker has been the steady, levelheaded voice of reason in all the other books in this series, so I can’t express to you how delightful it was to see a bit of chaos thrown into his story. All he wants to do is run his modest medical practice in Scotland and investigate the mystery surrounding his friends and their past scientific expedition. But when a team of English solicitors turns up on his doorstep telling him he’s the long lost sole surviving heir to an English Marquisate his life gets a lot more complicated.
This story has allllll the earmarks of a Nichole Van masterpiece, y’all. A hilarious and charming meet cute? Check. A swoony Scottish gentleman? Check. A heroine with beauty, brains, and a heart of gold? Check. ANGST? Check. It’s all there. I devoured it in less than 24 hours. I laughed, I sighed, I clutched my metaphorical pearls, I sent some ALL CAPS TEXTS. In short, I loved every second of it. Where Suffering the Scot was sweet as pie with a side of angst, and Romancing the Rake was adorably funny with a side of angst, and Loving a Lady was mostly angst with a side of brooding artist, Making the Marquess really plays out like a drama for poor Alex – with a side of angst, of course. He suffers a serious injury, he’s forced into life altering decisions, he faces the skeletons in his closet, and he’s determined NOT to fall in love with the stunningly beautiful and fiercely witty Lady Charlotte. (Spoiler, Alex doesn’t stand a chance, y’all.) And if you thought that last book had a plot twist, wait for the epilogue on this one. #YIKES
All I can say is, I don’t think there will ever be a Nichole Van book that I won’t highly recommend. And if you haven’t read this series, get on it! The last book comes out this fall and Nichole has said that writing it is “wrecking” her.
Krystle Goodman is a crazy cat lady, who loves to drink exorbitant amounts of coffee, and read a shocking amount of books. She lives in Benton with her husband Josh, her son Roman, and their two cats Roxanne and Abby. When she isn’t reading, you’ll find her cooking, painting, or watching true crime shows. Watch for Krystle’s book reviews every other Friday. Send fanmail to: [email protected]
See more of Krystle’s reviews at www.mysaline.com/krystle.