The Vintage Girl By Hester Browne

[amazon_link id=”1782065652″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’The Vintage Girl’ is the latest book by Hester Browne.

When Evie Nicholson is asked to visit Kettlesheer Castle in Scotland to archive the family heirlooms, she jumps at the chance. Evie’s passion for antiques means that, for her, the castle is a treasure trove of mysteries just waiting to be uncovered.

But in each heirloom lies a story, and in the course of her investigations Evie stumbles upon some long buried family secrets. Add handsome, gloomy heir Robert McAndrew and a traditional candlelit ball to the mix, and Evie’s heart is sent reeling with an enthusiasm that may just extend beyond the Kettlesheer silver.

It’s unfortunate that I haven’t read any of Hester’s books in a while. I still have ‘The Runaway Princess’ to read from last year, so when I saw that ‘The Vintage Girl’ was next in my current book pile to read, I was delighted.

Beautifully presented with feminine cover, this book had my attention from the very start. Seen from the perspective of Evie, a girl who loves everything vintage. Sad that she didn’t leave in a time, of exquisite balls with tiaras, men who wear frilly shirts and women with heaving bosoms, she wishes 2013 was more like that. But in her job as an antiques dealer, she gets to deal with the past and enjoys nothing more than trawling through old boxes of mementoes, imagining the story that goes with the old trinkets, the stories of past loves and adventures. So when she is asked to go to Scotland for a personal favour to sort through the rooms of Kettlesheer Castle, she jumps eagerly at the adventure.

Set off for Scotland, she meets handsome and grumpy Robert (who by the description of him, made me imagine Proudlock from Made In Chelsea) who is a dashing character and a wonderfully witty lead male with a dry sense of humour that had me guffawing on regular occasions. He finds it hard to understand Evie’s obsession with the past and challenges her on what her love for everything vintage is. I particularly enjoyed these conversations with the two of them, as they passionately disagreed with things and he did leave Evie quite flustered with his confrontations and sarcasm. As well as handsome Robert, there was also Fraser who was the boyfriend of Alice, Evie’s older sister and an unwanted crush of Evie’s. Fraser was a soft spoken gentleman with a successful wine business and a sweet heart.

‘The Vintage Girl’ is an absolutely delicious story and one that I couldn’t put down. As on my first day of starting the book, I ended up reading it whilst walking back home from work! Wonderfully written with just the right amount of humour and romance and with the inclusion of a past sweet love story, this book had my whole attention throughout!

One of the nicest, magical and funniest of books that I have had the fortune of reading in the while, it’s great to see Hester back. Now, I just have to find the time to read ‘The Runaway Bride’!

You can buy [amazon_link id=”1782065652″ target=”_blank” ]The Vintage Girl[/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.