STARLIGHT by Carrie Lofty delivers a passionate and seductive romance amidst the industrial revolution of late 1800's Scotland and shows us that fighting for those we love can bring the greatest rewards.
Alex Christie leaves behind his life in America to travel to Glasgow in order to complete a challenge from his late father; make the Christie Cotton Mill profitable within two years or forfeit his one million dollar inheritance. Without the money, Alex will have no way to protect his infant son from his cruel father-in-law's bid for custody.
As a trained astronomer, Alex has no idea how to run a cotton mill, but he's determined not lose his son to the man who tortured his wife. To make the situation more difficult, he must contend with the other mill owners who want to cut wages and benefits, the union who will strike against the unfair conditions, and a mysterious saboteur that could potentially shut his mill down forever.
Polly Gowan, daughter of a famed union leader, needs to find the saboteur before the police. Without the culprit, the owners of the mills will use all their influence to shut down the union and destroy all she and her father have worked for. She will use everything in her power to sway Alex toward her cause because there is nothing more important to her than protecting her people.
As they work to get to the bottom of the attacks, the temptation to forget their different stations in life and their different goals grows harder to resist. For the first time, their very personal desires war with their duty and both must decide what is worth fighting for.
I love historical romance and love the setting of urban Scotland in STARLIGHT. Ms. Lofty brings the world of the working class to life in the second book of the Christie Family series; their struggles, their sorrows, and their dreams. Through it all she shows us a world filled with courage, hope, and the limitless possibilities of love.
Esteemed astronomer Alex Christie, the eldest and most steadfast of the Christie siblings, has never possessed his late father's ruthless business drive. But to protect his frail infant son from his cruel father-in-law's bid for custody, the young widower must undertake Sir William Christie's posthumous million-dollar challenge: to make a Glasgow cotton mill profitable. At sea in an industrial world of sabotage and union agitation, Alex meets Polly Gowan, daughter of a famed union leader, who hopes to seize a mysterious saboteur without involving the police. Because a sympathetic mill master would aid her cause, Polly becomes Alex's guide to urban Scotland. From soccer games to pub brawls, Alex sees another side of life, and feels free for the first time to reveal the man--vital and strong--behind his intellectual exterior. Polly is utterly seduced. Their ambitions, however, remains at odds: Alex vows to earn the mill bonus to save his child, while Polly fights for the needs of her people. Is there strength enough in their sparkling passion to bind them together in their quests--and in a lasting love that conquers all?
No excerpt available.
© 2003-2026