To Have a Highland Thief by Lori Ann Bailey

To Have a Highland Thief by Lori Ann Bailey
Series: Wicked Highland Misfits series book #1
on March 16, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Historical / General, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Enemies to Lovers, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Scottish
Pages: 300
Goodreads

Having lost her parents at a young age, Flora MacGregor grows up as the substitute mother for a group of notorious criminals. She hates stealing, but to save her adopted brother, she takes to the streets to pick pockets. Her mission is accomplished when she lifts a jewel-filled box from a handsome Englishman. After she hides the treasure, he tracks her down, detains her, and demands the return of his goods in exchange for not reporting her to the authorities. When a dangerous man she's wronged in the past closes in to exact revenge, she agrees to return the items if Isaac hides her from the threat. Although she's becoming enamored with the earl, following through on their deal isn't an option.Isaac Nathaniel Hamilton, 7th earl of Dunbridge has spent years trying to regain the family shipping fortune lost by his gambling uncle. After winning the deeds back, a captivating Scottish lass bumps into him and takes his prize. She refuses to give it back until he offers to protect her from a crime lord intent on revenge. As he teaches her to act like a lady to conceal her at a country estate until the danger has passed, he soon discovers that there is much to admire about the person she already is.She needs his protection, but can he trust the word of a thief?

To Have A Highland Thief is book one in Lori Ann Bailey’s new Wicked Highland Misfits series. In this first installment, Flora MacGregor is a pick pocket living on the streets of Aberdeen, Scotland trying to care for her fellow  young criminals. When she picks the pocket of Lord Nathaniel Hamilton the Earl of Dunbridge, she has definitely chosen the wrong mark.  Nathaniel is trying to salvage his family’s lost fortune and the priceless item that Flora has unwittingly stolen is vital to his family’s legacy and welfare. What follows is an enemies to lovers trope. I loved this romance. The characters are complex and thought-provoking, and Flora and Nathaniel have lovely chemistry. The story moves at a quick pace with surprises along the way. “Her lips landed on his, gentle like the time a butterfly landed on her yellow skirt. She closed her eyes, and the air shifted as the velvet softness of them seeped into her. When she opened them, his blue gaze was riveted on her – confused, then hungry and intense.” I can’t wait to read more.