I somehow had incredibly high and very low expectations for this book.

Overall I would say it was a medium paced book but at times it did feel fast. 

We pick up immediately after the final chapter of IHOA, where Evie visits St Vincent with her proposal.

This was a good book. A very good book, actually. Was it the best HR novel I’ve read? Not by a long shot. But was it better than I was expecting? Also yes.

I really didn’t know how St Vincent could be redeemed after his actions is IHOA. And in a way, he wasn’t?

We didn’t see a groveling apology (although we were told it happened) or show of remorse for his action to the level which I would have expected or even hoped for but it was still there

Yet, I wanted to root for him. You could see the internal battle, between being that man he’s always been and the

obvious care he has for Evie

. He is a character where his actions speak a lot louder than words. Right from the outset he treats Evie differently, he’s

gentle and caring. Not always, but more than he is with anyone else

It’s when I went back and did a re-read of key scenes that I realized I actually liked St. Vincent. His redemption for me was

using what he thought could be his final breaths to apologize to Westcliff and beg him to protect Evie

He repeatedly

puts himself in harms way to protect his wife. He keeps denying that he loves her but the more he does that the more obvious it becomes to the reader and those around him that he’s lying

I think all he really needed in life was a bit of purpose and he found it in the club and with Evie.

I always liked Evie, but she really grew on me in this book. She was desperate and needed to get out of her situation. Desperate people do desperate things. She knew Sebastian was her only option and that’s why I couldn’t blame her for what she did. She accepted the potential consequences of losing her friends, the only people to ever care about her, because she needed to escape. The cause of her desperation and Sebastian’s desperation were very different and that changes how I reacted to their actions. She was strong and learned how to stand up for herself. 

I read this immediately after Again The Magic and enjoyed both books around the same amount as I read them. However, what sets this book apart from other Kleypas HR works, and why I assume it’s so popular, is that there are so many scenes I wanted to go back and read again -

the backrub, Sebastian saving her from her uncles, Sebastian getting shot to protect Evie, the love confession

Another highlight of the book for me was Cam. I’ll definitely be reading his book after Daisy’s.