I had high hopes for the book. I really enjoyed Helena's intelligence and that Lucas appreciated her clever independence. She's a woman who clearly knows herself and doesn't flee from it. Something younger sister Amelia seems to somewhat admire--very begrudgingly so, however. The mystery/suspense was solid, especially when finding out more on the villains. I was pretty impressed with the overall story and the fact Helena didn't back down from Lucas nor did she let him simmer in the brooding personality many men in Regency books suffer from.

Then I hit the last 20 pages or so and I grew tired of the sudden overwrought reactions. Had those been reworked into more of the clearly defined characteristics, I would have given the book 5 stars instead of 4.