Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine (And I think some side characters? Like Reaver?)
When mains are first on page together: I think almost immediately (going to double check later!)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes – last chapter is a bit in the future (few months maybe?)
Format: borrowed audio from library (Hoopla)

Should I read in order?
Ideally, yes. Especially Colin’s story, which comes into play here – that is book 3. But to enjoy book 3 you should read books 1 and 2 because they set up Colin’s character. And REALLY you should read the prequel novel because I love it. So yeah.

Basic plot:
Henry secretly longs for Maureen, but must keep her at a distance to keep her safe. At least until he can solve the danger posed to anyone he gets close to...

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1819)
- heroine wants a family – a husband and children
- heroine loves to cook
- hero with a dark, mysterious past
- unrequited love – soooo strong!
- friends to lovers
- VERY protective hero (and possessive and a touch jealous)
- angsty!
- hero wears flamboyant colored waistcoats
- medium to higher steam – 4 full scenes

First line:
Most men saw poorly in the dark.

My thoughts:
Ohhh my goodness, I just LOVED this book!!!! I think it surpassed Ever Yours, Annabelle for me (book 0.5) and I swooned for that one.

This novel has so much unrequited love, the longing, the angsty pining – so perfect. I loved the tension building, the moment when the hero’s self control breaks and he finally shows her how he feels…

I adored how much Henry loved Maureen. Her safety is his priority even at the cost of his own desires. The fact that we start this story with one of the most adorable friendships ever made me love it even more. I adored how he couldn’t stay away from her. And I also loved that he refused to let anyone else near her.

Maureen is so sweet and I actually loved that she just really wanted a family. I know most of our heroines end up with families and children but rarely do I see it as one of the driving focuses of a heroine. I loved that she enjoyed cooking too!

I loved the dark side of Henry too. The kind of hero that will rip people apart to protect his woman. I loved it. I loved it!

Endearments

Hero calls the heroine pet 

Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts:Any mistakes/typos are my own

“I thought you were sotted,” she murmured, “but it is worse. You are mad, through and through.”
He laughed, his chest expanding until he thought his ribs might crack. Good, she was beautiful, even when she was a mess.
“Mad for you, perhaps.”
---
Satisfaction surged as she responded with a little flicker of her tongue. He smiled against her and returned the favor. “I will spend every day on my knees begging your forgiveness pet.”
---
Obviously, she needed to be higher. He gladly obliged, grasping her thighs and lifting, setting her backside on the table as she yelped against his mouth.
---
He shoved her skirts higher, forced her thighs wider to accept his hips, and ground himself against the heart of her.

 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- death and murder on page
- attack with weapons on page of hero
- murder of parent in front of a child (remembered)
- poisoning
- hostage situation/gun violence and death by gun

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

 
Safe sex: 

No 

 
19% - kiss
40% - 🔥 kisses, breast play, fingering/oral for her
53% - 🔥 kisses, bath fingering for her, missionary (V loss for her)
68% - 🔥 breast play, oral for her, doggy
86% - kiss
96% - 🔥 her on top