So many people I have similar taste to really enjoyed this one that I'm surprised I didn't like it more, especially with my favorite kind of hero - a grump who refuses to publicly acknowledge that he's in love! I think it's largely a "me not you" problem: the pacing was off for me, a slow burn that burns too slowly, and I don't think we had time for a truly satisfying resolution to the bleak moment (I'm a firm believer that they should all occur in the 83-87% range so we get a good grovel AND a good look at how the behavior changed/they're avoiding the situation that caused it/whatever in the future). But I did also find the characters to be fairly flat, and I was much more interested in some of the secondary figures than our hero and heroine. 

Still, I love a historical that's not in England or Paris, and I would definitely give Biller another try - her book THE WIDOW OF ROSE HOUSE has been on my tbr for ages and I'm looking forward to getting to it!

Thank you Berkley and Edelweiss for the ARC!