Why was this book addictive but also not that great? Tansy comes across as vapid, which I guess is the point. I mean, we are told she has more to her and are given tiny windows into some of her personality... but really there is just no character development and/or it comes waaaay to late. I like the Duke of Falconbridge's role and the story should be good... Ian is an ass but I totes would.

Yet another winner from Julie Anne Long. Damn her.

A shirtless man with a very fine torso on a balcony. (That's it, that's my hook, and it's a good one.)

TROPES: American Heiress and English Gentlemen, Forced Proximity

At first Tansy appears to be a product of her environment, the daughter of a wealthy man who's gotten everything she's even wanted in life and collects men the way I collect books. As I got to know her I began to understand her actions and the aching loneliness that consumes her. The glittering exterior she portrays to society hides an innately kind heart.

Ian has made an appearance in some other books in the series, often in a very comedic way. Getting inside his head and learning his struggles with PTSD gave me a whole new perspective on his character. He's still quite funny, but there is a edge that gives him seductive depth.

Julie has take two intentionally flawed people and fit them together splendidly. It's a lovely humanizing story to see the regret of the characters and know they've made a few poor choices, but desperately wanting them to be happy together. The Grand gesture at the end was perfection.

This book was set entirely in Pennyroyal Green and I loved to see all the recurring characters and continued storylines. It adds an extra layer of richness and sentimentality.

If you're a fan of book five in the series, What I Did for Duke, then you definitely need to read this one! It's a continuation of the Duke and Genevieve's story, and gives Ian his redemption arc.

This series is a true gem in the world of historical fiction and I cannot recommend it enough!

The first half of this book did very little for me - I just couldn't get a grip on the characters or their motivations, especially the heroine. And then they started talking and it got so much better.

Julie Anne Long has written some of my favorite books, but this isn't one of them. I think my biggest problem was the heroine. She's mostly a mystery to the reader for over half the book. I found her too shallow for my liking.

Oh well, I suppose no author will thrill me with every single book.

I could not stand Tansy, the heroine. All of the attempts to round out her character and make her seem complex fell flat for me leaving my impression of her as annoying, vain, and naive. The romance didn't work for me because I just couldn't understand what made Ian change his point of view of Tansy. This was by far my least favorite book in this series.

Tansy and Ian aren’t terribly likable people when we meet them, which seems to be some of the critique leveled at this story. To me, however, their character “flaws” are powerful lessons in how people may seem “fine” when they are anything but, “functional” when they’re barely staying alive. Sticking with their unlikableness is a lesson in both empathy and patience, an exercise I felt deeply rewarded for as a reader. Both Tansy and Ian have undergone loss and trauma, and they don’t handle it like angels, but that only renders them more human and their character growth more profound. I read this whole story with a lump in my throat. I frequently teared up. They felt so real, and the manner in which they figured each other out and by the same token gave each other permission to be their imperfect selves was so emotionally satisfying. By the end of this story, I loved Tansy and Ian as much as they loved each other.

On a final note: I want to see more romance novels that normalize people who are struggling—to heal, to be sincere, to trust, to believe—and show that with the right person, with honesty and understanding, trust and laughter, they can find their happy ending, too.