by Patricia Veryan

** spoiler alert ** Journey to Enchantment is another deft mix of Veryan’s signature adventure/romance. Like its predecessor, the emphasis is on the adventure. In the second in the series, we follow Geoffrey Delavale, Penny’s brother she thought dead in Practice to Deceive. He is a dying man, but still manages, masquerading as Ligon Doone, to rescue Jacobites fleeing from Lord Cumberland’s savagery. There is a shade of The Scarlet Pimpernel in this one, as Prudence, our Scottish heroine, idolizes Ligon Doone, while thinking contemptuously of Geoffrey Delavale, a Sassenach she suspects of being a spy. He is recovering from his war wounds at her family’s estate on the banks of Loch Ness by virtue of the fact that though fighting against Bonnie Prince Charlie, he is an old friend of her brother Robbie. The second half of the book is a chase through the highlands, as Geoff, Prue, and their compatriots are running from soldiers, bounty hunters, and paid assassins. It ends with a tense nail biter of a showdown between Geoff and Prudence and the evil and greedy Uncle Joseph, the wanton Aunt Sybil, Roland Otton, and the Captain who has been pursuing them. I did enjoy this one a bit more than the first of the Golden Chronicles as I found the hot tempered Prudence more funny and engaging than Penny, and the brave and noble Geoffrey much more mature than the sometimes not-too-bright Quentin Chandler. **3 out of 5 stars**

November 28, 2016