Worthy of Legend

Set in 1906, the enjoyable if uneven third entry in White’s Secrets of the Isles series (after To Treasure an Heiress) follows a woman’s search for lost treasure. On the island of St. Mary’s off the coast of Cornwall, England, Emily Scofield lives alone except for her maid so as to avoid her bullying brother and uncaring father. After her friends happen upon the 17th-century diary of a pirate’s wife that discusses an Arthurian artifact hidden on the islands, the group sets out to find the treasure. But Emily’s search becomes complicated when her brother learns where she is and becomes intent on tormenting her, testing her commitment to seeing the good in all God’s children. Meanwhile, Bram Sinclair, Earl of Telford and a member of Emily’s social circle, loathes bullies and takes it upon himself to protect Emily, who struggles to see herself as worthy of Bram’s blossoming affection for her. The plot may be complicated and at times overstuffed—the hunt for the artifact and Emily’s struggle with her family never fully mesh—but the chemistry between Emily and Bram is electric and makes for a resolution that will satisfy even if it’s unsurprising. Though convoluted, this has plenty of charm. (Sept.)