Swept Off Her Feet

Swept Off Her Feet
By Hester Browne
Gallery Books, 2011. 330 pgs. Fiction.

Everybody has a weakness, Evie Nicholson’s is that she is in love with the past. Every time she goes to an auction for her antiques job, she finds it impossible to resist bringing back things like old teddy bears with missing eyes and arms and then daydreaming about who has loved them in the past. The problem is nobody understands her penchant for old things. Her sister thinks she’s crazy and it’s making her boss mad. To redeem herself, Evie is given a job to travel to Kettlesheer, an old Scottish estate and appraise its vast inventory of furniture and other antiques. In order to keep Keetlesheer in good repair, the family is hoping to find a valuable artifact.

Evie is thrilled at the chance to daydream her way through this ancient house, but when she arrives, Evie meets Robert McAndrew, the moody heir who doesn’t see the point in trying to keep Keetlesheer running. Can Evie find a priceless antique, convince Robert not to give up Keetlesheer, and maybe even find love along the way?

As with all Hester Browne works, this is a charming piece of British chick lit, with a lovable but hopelessly romantic heroine and a setting full of history and romance. Browne’s books tend to be more clean than most chick lit and Swept Off Her Feet is no exception.

AJ