I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m always going to love Jennifer McQuiston’s books, even if I have big problems with her plots. I just love her writing, and her settings, stories and characters feel really refreshing, using tropes but in different ways to the usual.

And so it is with Moonlight on My Mind. 

First, I will say that you should really read the first two books in this series—What Happens in Scotland because it is fantastic, and Summer is for Lovers because we meet Julianne, the heroine of MoMM, in it. I started reading MoMM before I’d read #2 and decided to pause and read Summer is for Lovers, because it felt like I needed to have an introduction to Julianne before continuing with MoMM. And it did help—she is such an enigmatic character that the initial introduction helped me get to know her character better.

Now onto the actual book. The premise is a little silly: Man suspected of murdering his brother marries the woman who originally accused him of it, ostensibly to save her reputation (she travels up to make amends without a chaperone) but really because a wife can’t be compelled to testify against her husband. Even though she should (and does, I think) realize the latter, she seems to keep her blinders on about it and gets a little upset later when she realizes. But by that point, they are in so deep with each other that it isn’t too big a bump in the road, thankfully.

Their chemistry is fantastic and based on more than the physical. ALTHOUGH, there is a brilliant scene at a house party they throw where he appears, all cleaned up, and then there is this amazing magnetic attraction as he makes a beeline for her. It gave me Sookie-seeing-Bill-for-the-first-time vibes—time stopped.

McQuiston, in her end notes, says her editor kept reminding her not to forget the romance, and that was good advice: This turns into more of a whodunnit than I normally like in a romance, but she balanced it out nicely in the end. There is some pretty shocking behavior from Patrick’s relatives, and lots of very effective red herrings.

Final note: I love that their first time is rubbish and awkward. So many virginity-loss scenes in romances end up with the heroine having about 3,000 orgasms easily, and it was nice to acknowledge that that isn’t always (ever?) the way.

P.S. Shoutout to McQuiston for naming the local pub the King’s Widge. Wonder if she’s read The Proposition??