Highlander in Disguise - Julia London

Griffin Lockhart holds the key to his family's fate. Since his brother Liam failed to reclaim the priceless heirloom that could save their ancestral Scottish estate, it's now up to Grif to find it -- among the lords and ladies of fashionable London society. Disguised as a Scottish earl, Grif attends the most glittering balls, hunting for the woman who is rumored to possess his family's treasure. Along the way he catches the eye of Anna Addison, a highborn young woman whose sharp tongue and even sharper wits have limited her marital prospects but enable her to detect Grif's deception. Determined to find a husband this Season, Anna draws Grif into a scandalous bargain: She will deliver his precious heirloom -- and keep secret his true identity -- if Grif can teach
her how to seduce a man and win his heart. Well aware of what a man wants from a
woman, Grif reluctantly instructs her. Soon Anna is besieged by suitors and
Grif's exasperation with the troublesome beauty turns into heated desire. With
time running out, Grif commits a reckless act in order to claim not only his
treasure, but the passionate woman he believes is his and his alone.

Highlander in disguise is the second book in a trilogy about the members of a Scottish family whose search for a family heirloom leads them to find love.

In this book it’s Griffin Lockhart who is sent by the family to London in search of the “beastie”, what they call to their treasure. He knows the treasure was given to a woman called Amelia so he pretends to be a Duke, calls on a family friend to introduce him in society and starts on his search by the said Amelia. In one of the functions he meets Anna Addison, an intelligent young lady of moderate looks who is in love with Drake Lockhart, a cousin of Griffin, who shows some interest in him to the point of starting to believe that there is something strange in his story.

When Anna sees that Drake and her sister Lucy are developing an affection she decides to blackmail the charming Griffin to teach her how to seduce a man. Not only will she not reveal that he is a fraud but she will lead him to the beastie if he helps her to get Drake back. Grif isn’t very enthusiastic as physically it’s Lucy who attracts him but the truth is that he can’t forget Anna’s sharp remarks and he doesn’t resist her challenge. I think the story strong point was in fact the dialogues between Anna and Grif, they antagonize each other from the beginning and as the story develops so do their feelings to the point that they end up strongly attracted to each other. However Anna keeps her blackmail long after she has regained Drake’s attention because she doesn’t want Grif to leave and he keeps on believing she is just using him to get Drake back. This continues for far too long and it ended up ruining things for me as it became a less original story. London does write well and the story is easy to read if lacking a bit of sparkle to make it unforgettable.

Grade: 3/5