Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋 (for kisses)
Sex Scene Length: No sex scenes on page
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): No on page steam
Humor: Yes
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to fast
When mains are first on page together: Takes a little bit, about 12% (chapter 3)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, not too far in the future
Format: voluntarily read an e-book version of the novel from NetGalley (requested after the pub date)

Should I read in order?
I believe this is a stand alone or first in a future series.

Basic plot:
Charlotte has just been informed she is betrothed – whether she wants to be or not. She simply must prove her future spouse is too awful to marry and engages in his brother’s assistance.

Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance (I couldn’t peg the date, but maybe Georgian? Pre-Regency?)
- brother’s best friend
- villain to defeat
- pets/animals in the story – a parrot and a monkey are featured
- doctor, author and spy hero
- no steam on page but there’s multiple kisses

Ages:
- Heroine is 25, didn’t catch hero (but I think he’s a similar age, as his older brother is 29

First line:
“This gown will be perfect for the betrothal ball.”

My thoughts:
I really appreciated the humor in this one. At some points it maybe felt a bit over the top but it was still enjoyable. The animal friends were hilarious.

I definitely wanted more steam. There were quite a few kisses though!

Overall I liked her writing and fast pace of the story. I definitely want steam in my books at this point, so I’m not sure if I would read her again. Maybe I’d pick up a novella. Those that don’t mind lower steam might really enjoy this romp though. It has a lot to enjoy.

Minor complaint

The start of the book has a scene with the heroine basically running away from her family in the middle of a dress fitting – I was a bit unsettled this was never addressed or returned to. Her mother seemed over the top and controlling, so I was very curious what her reaction was to Charlotte’s behavior that day. I was surprised when we are told she is just back to living with her parents because I took it has she was escaping them forever… 

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

- mention of crime and murder
- scenes of medical work, blood, cannulas, etc
- gunshot wound on page

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

 
Safe sex: 

  No sex! 

 
Hows the consent? 

  It’s good 

 
I didn’t end up marking the pages for kisses, but they start maybe halfway or a bit later?