Genres: Adult Fiction, Historical, Regency, Romance

Tropes: Virgin Hero, Neurodivergent Hero, 

Surprise Pregnancy

, Reverse Age Gap 

This was probably my least favorite Richards book I’ve read so far. To her credit, she shows a really thoughtful understanding of her characters and takes that into account when the hero has to make amends, and this book is no exception. I think the problem for me lay in the fact that the hero’s actions honestly felt borderline unforgivable.

(Upon realizing Jenny was accused of murdering her husband and is now living under a pseudonym, Sebastian TURNS HER IN without even talking to her first to get her side of the story. The couple is together at this pointl.)

Plus it has the

surprise baby

trope which is often not my favorite trope anyway. So maybe this book just wasn’t for me. I’m going to continue working through Richards’ backlog, so even though this one wasn’t a total winner for me, I definitely can see how it may work for other readers.

Safety Stats:

Ages:

Not sure exactly, but Jenny is older by about 4 years.

Cheating:

None.

Other OM/OW:

None.

Separation:

Hoo boy. Sebastian accidentally realizes Jenny was accused of murdering her former husband by looking through some old newspapers. Instead of approaching her for her side of the story, he turns her into the police. He does immediately regret it and investigates the crime to free her, but since the couple is already together when he turns her in, some readers might struggle with his actions. I know I did.

Triggers:

Mentions of domestic violence. Jenny was abused by her former husband and now provides women a safe place to escape if needed. Also includes mention of unplanned pregnancy and discussion of potential execution of Jenny who is pregnant at the time.

HEA/HFN?:

HEA, married with children in epilogue.