The Winter Laird

Scanlon’s first Mists of Fate novel finds unexpected love for a modern-day professional matchmaker who’s sent back in time. Brianagh O’Rourke runs Boston’s premier matchmaking service, Celtic Connections. She reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, but then gets cold feet and travels to Ireland, where her cousin shocks her by transporting her to the 15th century so she can fulfill her destiny. Nioclas MacWilliam, laird of the clan MacWilliam, is literally the man of her dreams, but as seductive as he is, she longs to go home. She reluctantly agrees to become Nioclas’s bride for three months, after which she will be allowed return to the present. Scanlon’s novel is brimming with romance, but she takes the time to seriously consider how a very independent 21st-century woman would react to learning her entire life has been foretold. Readers who believe in the power of love and lust to overcome any obstacle will be riveted to this fast-paced read. Agent: Victoria Lowes, Bent Agency. (Nov.)