The Lady and Her Quill (The Ladies of Sommer by the Sea #1)

Lady Alicia Hartley is a successful lady author known for her strong female characters and engrossing plots. JC Melrose is a veteran soldier haunted by his experiences in battle, who finds healing in writing fictional accounts of soldiers at war. All while seeking the villain who killed many of his men. When a bad review of Lady Alicia’s latest book references JC Melrose’s work as well, Lady Alicia immediately finds herself disliking the man and uncertain about her future. However, an encounter with the handsome and witty Justin Caulfield, and a challenge to write the best story of stolen gold, converge their paths, and perhaps even their hearts. But can their stories match reality when demons of the past reemerge? If it’s up to lady Alicia and Captain Caulfield love will conquer all.

An interesting take on lady novelists, “The Lady and her Quill” takes a heroine ahead of her time, and a soldier haunted by his past and throw them together with great success. While the story has a happily predictable ending, the plot does take its time getting to the end. A great deal of focus is placed on the captain dragging his feet to confess his pen name to Alicia in the beginning. Additionally, the secondary plot is rushed with the smugglers only  mentioned briefly at the beginning before it rushes to all happen at once in the last part which can jolt the pace. Still, the story does resolve all the issues and the characters grow together in a sweet way. Overall, this is a fun story for historical lovers who like a little spy action mixed in with their romance.

Sarah E Bradley