Miss Leslie’s Secret

This inspirational Regency romance by Moore (Miss Whitaker Opens Her Heart), set in the Scottish Highlands, is sweet and uplifting. When ex-soldier Sgt. Conall Stewart catches a young lad, Jamie, stealing from him, he returns the boy to his headstrong, independent mother, Aileen Leslie, who excuses away her son’s mischievous ways. Then Aileen discovers Conall’s war medal in her son’s pocket and realizes Conall was telling the truth. She orders Jamie to work for Conall as punishment, and it becomes a labor of love, honor, and respect. Conall becomes a surrogate father to Jamie, leading to spending more time with Aileen, who sees in Conall everything she’s ever wanted in a father for her son and a husband for herself. The trio naturally form a family unit, and, rather abruptly, Conall asks Aileen to marry him. But then a truth known only to Aileen and her nosy spitfire neighbor, Dores, is revealed, making their prospects as damp as their beloved city of Dunaid. Moore flawlessly works in a lot of cultural references, and though the romance is thin, it will still warm readers’ hearts. (Sept.)