Rating: 3 out of 5.

This regency era romance involves Giles, Duke of Basingstoke, and Lady Francesca, daughter of the parents that Giles’ father ruined 10 years earlier. The ton believe she’s in London for the season, but really she’s there to beg her horrible uncle for money for her and her mother. They’ve been living in the country in a cold, drafty cottage and are barely surviving.

In the two years since his father’s death, Giles has done everything he can to repair his family’s ruined reputation by the unscrupulous actions of his evil father. He even got betrothed to Francesca’s cousin, Susannah in an attempt to mend the rift between their families. He was succeeding in repairing his family’s reputation, until Susannah elopes with another man and the London scandal sheets claim he’s ruined Francesca. Her uncle blames Francesca, she flees London for the country, and Giles follows her intent on getting her to marry him. Neither intended on falling in love.

This was a good romance, although for me it read slowly. There were good elements to the plot, but it all seemed a bit disjointed. Francesca talked a lot about her relationship with Susannah when they were younger, and yet that storyline wasn’t developed and then abruptly ended. The interactions between Francesca and Giles got repetitive, and her sudden change of heart to marry him gave me whiplash. I liked it when they finally married and got together, but then the infamous miscommunication trope (which I despise) happened in the third act, so they had to make their way back to each other.

The book is well-written and the overall storyline was interesting. I liked the main characters, and the supporting characters added some levity to the book. I just think it needed better editing and certain plot points needed to be tightened up.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from TLC Book Tours and Kensington Books. All opinions are my own.