Reviews

What a wonderful book! I really enjoyed meeting Jasper and being reintroduced to Julia. Mimi Matthews is a superb writer. I love the way she writes dialog and develops characters. There’s none of the annoying, “I love him but I’m sure he doesn’t love me, so I’ll pretend I don’t love him.” Instead there is honesty between the characters (or is there? You’ll have to read it to find out!)

readmama's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

4.5

sherwoodreads's review against another edition

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This Regency romance had a couple of my favorite tropes: marriage first, leading to courtship and not just hotcha on the Beautyrest (which is fine, especially with a comedic voice) but mutual respect and friendship. Add to that found family, and I was in for a non-stop read.

Matthews does a splendid job with the details of the period, adding just enough reality to ground the story (though I could do without the blood-letting descriptions, because I'm a wimp). I liked the characters, the hero had convincing reasons to be a bit of a Bluebeard, and it was altogether a satisfying read, leaving me wanting to see more by this author.

samhl's review against another edition

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2.0

Somewhat boring and super predictable. I was expecting more gothic romance. This was heavy on expected turns (I knew less than halfway through how the mystery of Jasper’s past would resolve) and cheesy romance.

cobweb13kat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

idk_indigo's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Julia and James's story was so sweet and I enjoyed reading it. It was a fun and easy read, with a little depth from the war and Jasper's backstory plus Julia's parents. I wish her anxiety had been talked about more as it did feel quite glossed over but I did love the way she was blossoming in Yorkshire. The minor focus on the children was lovely, though I felt like they were definitely in the background throughout. The ending was wrapped up a bit too quickly for my taste, but I loved that she was able to stand up for herself <3

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