ARC Review: A Scandalous Matter by Margaret Locke

A Scandalous Matter is book number three in the Magic of Love series by Margaret Locke. It has a little taste of magic and time travel in it and a lot of love. It was an enjoyable read for the most part.

Amara Mattersley cannot believe that she is in present day America. She is overwhelmed because she was born in Regency England. Her sister-in-law revealed to her she was from the future and offered Amara the opportunity to leave her scandalous reputation behind by time travelling to the future. Matthew Goodson is very focused on his career goals of obtaining tenure. So when he randomly gets kissed by an oddly dressed girl who speaks with a strange accent, he barely processes the peculiarity. What does break through his focus is the strong attraction he has for Amara.

The various freedoms women have in the current day encompass Amara. She tries to start college, she wears some scandalous (for her) outfits, and she explores her sexuality... with Matthew. The two agree to a purely physical relationship, no strings attached. They however can't help the emotions taking over them.

The romance was sweet. I did enjoy the couple discovering each other. There were some hard issues the two have to go through, and that made me a little more saddened than I like to get from these books. I was a little frustrated with Amara's goal to go to college. When she arrives in today's time, she cannot immediately begin school because it's the middle of the semester. I felt this was a cop out by the author a little. I really wanted to see Amara attend school. Instead all she focused on was her social freedoms.

All in all, I still like the magical concept of the love manuscript. The romance was sweet, and it mostly gave me that good feeling I need from romance books like these. It was an interesting idea that left me not fully knowing what genre this book falls under. I really liked that confusion, because it was something different.

**ARC provided by Author**

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ARC Review: A Matter of Time by Margaret Locke

Eliza James wants to find love, and she truly doesn't feel like she's going to find it in the twenty first century. Luckily for her, her best friend, Cat, has discovered she can write stories and they can magically become reality. Cat and Eliza don't really think it will work, but Cat writes a story where Eliza time travels back to Regency England to find love.

Deveric Mattersly thinks he is dreaming when he arrives to an odd ball. He meets a mysterious woman (Eliza) who kisses him and they land back in his study with the woman in his arms. Against his normal character he lies and claims she's an American relation who needs his family's help. His mother is very suspicious and believes Eliza is after her son and his dukedom.

Surprisingly, Eliza doesn't fit in as well as she'd hoped in Regency England. Despite reading Jane Austen's books several times, she can't quite control her way of speaking and she misses things like Facebook and pizza. There is an attraction between Deveric and Eliza, but Cat made it so that the Happily Ever After wasn't a "for sure" thing. Both parties have the freedom of mind to choose another way of life.

Deveric is dealing with his past demons that are completely ridiculous, but he is a man and men sometimes blame themselves for silly things. I was a little frustrated with Eliza for not adopting the Regency lifestyle and rules since that's what she wanted when she traveled back in time for it. Despite this (which no one can ever be perfect or there would be no conflict) the budding romance between the two is very compelling.

Margaret Locke really had an interesting idea when writing these books. I love the power that Cat has that has enabled the possibility of time travel. Her writing flows smoothly and I finished it relatively quickly. I highly suggest reading this book and its predecessor because it's so unique. I loved that and felt it was refreshing.

**ARC provided by Author**

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ARC Review: A Man of Character by Margaret Locke

Catherine Schreiber is a middle aged woman who was scorned by love and hasn't been back on the playing field for about six years. Her life changes incredibly when she receives a package from her deceased father that her mother found looking through old possessions. It's a very old manuscript written in Latin that her father had planned to gift her on her 25th birthday, ten years ago. It takes her some time to translate it, but some weird things begin to happen.

Cat is asked out on three dates by three different men in a matter of a couple of weeks. Oddly though, the first two vaguely remind her of stories she wrote when she was younger. It's very weird and she begins to question her sanity. She enjoys the attention, but she's not sure if its real. All the while there is a handsome (but apparently taken) guy, Ben, frequenting her favorite coffee shop. She is definitely attracted to him, but refuses to even consider him because she doesn't want to be "the other woman".

Margaret Locke's idea to create this power and story is very clever. I was constantly wanting more, because I wasn't sure if the power was real or not for quite some time. I loved all of the characters and I found much of this book to be funny. I was disappointed in the amount of focus there was on the other guys in Cat's life. I just wanted more interaction with Ben! Locke really immersed me into her world which is hard for me to do with a contemporary setting. I really wanted to be in that book store and coffee shop with the characters.

I'm very glad I was introduced to this unique book! I am excited to delve into the sequel which follows the adventure of Cat's best friend. Beware though readers! Margaret Locke will have you infected with curiosity for her other characters and what happened to them! (I guess that's smart on her part.)

**ARC provided by Author**

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