A LILLI BY ANY OTHER NAME by Virginia Barlow

Fiction, Historical Romance

5*****

Blurb: Disguised as a boy to escape her uncle and his assassins, Rebecca Lillian Van Rassner runs a trapline with her father in the Canadian northwest. Yearning for her old life in New York, love, and a husband, she gives up all hope, until a handsome mounted police officer stumbles upon their cabin. And captures her heart with his mesmerizing blue eyes and heated kisses.
Officer Max Calhan patrols the extreme north to bring villains to justice and discovers a wispy boy who transforms into a beautiful woman filled with surprises, secrets, and dangerous relatives. Determined to find the truth, Max discovers there’s more to Lilli than just a name.

Thoughts: Lilli lives in the wilds of the Northwest Territory with her father. She dresses like a boy and is known to the people at the fort as Willie. She spits and swears and scratches her backside and fights and shoots. All the things a fifteen-year-old boy raised in the wilds should do. Except that she’s a nineteen-year-old woman used to the high society comforts of New York. Unfortunately, her uncle is determined to kill her like he did her mother. Her father moved her away from any society in order to save her life.

Enter a handsome Mountie. Lilli doesn’t know what to do about her attraction to Max. After all, she’s supposed to be a boy. Then Max discovers her secret and the fireworks between the two begin. But Lilli has other problems. Her father’s been badly injured and becomes addicted to the opium the doctor gave him for the pain. She has to run their trap lines, find a way to stay safe from her uncle, fight her attraction to Max, and come up with money for supplies. I love her spunk and fire.

The attraction between Max and Lilli is nicely done. There’s plenty of conflict and tension throughout the story as well as passion. And, of course, since it is a romance, the two do finally end up together, but not without a lot of problems before they get their HEA.

Definitely recommended.

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”