Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞 (Harrison is VERY sweet and romantic, at least to me)
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? maybe a touch slow
When mains are first on page together:
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the couple
Epilogue: Yes, doesn’t state how much after but maybe a few months?
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author in e-book form

Should I read in order?
You could, because this hero was in love with the heroine from book in the series. You should because book 1 is fucking delightful. But I cannot say you must...it’s very readable alone.

Basic plot:
Harrison must marry to appease the title of Earl, Phoebe would love to beekeep in the country instead of attend balls and a marriage of convenience is struck.

Give this a try if you want:
- late Regency – 1822
- demisexual hero
- autistic rep – heroine
- potter hero – at least he attempts!
- beekeeping heroine
- the sweetest hero – very gentle, caring, and thoughtful with our heroine
- pets in the story – they adopt a kitten (and she is their princess!)
- hero isn’t afraid of apologizing
- strip snap (a game)
- mid to higher steam – 4 full scenes

Ages:
- hero is around 30, heroine is 21

First line:
“Phoebe, you simply cannot ask a gentleman if they are aware of the mating habits of bees.”

My thoughts:
This novel is SO SWEET. So, sooooo sweet. It’s like having the best cup of tea with biscotti. The warmest hot cocoa with fluffy marshmallows. Melting into a bubble bath of deliciousness. Sweet yet steamy perfection.

Harrison has loved and watched his love get married to someone else. And he decides if he marries, love won’t be in the picture. So this leads to a fun marriage of convenience, where both have minimal expectations of the other, but fall more in love every time they are together anyway.

I adored Phee in this novel. Phee quickly became one of my favorite neurodivergent mains I have read. There was something about her I just connected with, and I just want her to soar. I thought the beekeeping was a fun pursuit she had.

For me, I love my angst in my books. It’s what I live for. And this novel is very, very low angst. So I did find myself wanting so much more of that, especially because I felt it in her first book and I thought her first book was perfection. I did like that one more than this one. This one is more of a solid 4 star for me, but as I reread through my notes there were sooo many cute scenes and just so much sweetness that I decided to bump it up. Yes, I want my heart kicked around all the time, but you know what, I kinda needed something like this too. This is such a cozy, warm read and it’s turning out to be such a great series. I cannot wait for the next!

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

“My sweet-honeyed wife,” he said, his soft voice velvety smooth. “If only you could hear my heart every time it is in your vicinity, hear how desperately I long for you. The beating alone is so furious I’m certain I’ll combust.”
---
“I want you so desperately,” he said with a whisper, his eyes closed as he rubbed his stubbled skin against the palm of her hand. “I can’t even begin to describe the things I want to do with you.”
---
“Is it good, Phoebe?” he asked, dropping a final kiss on her neck. “Do you want more?”
More. There was that word again, trying to prove that she would never have enough of him. Cupping his jaw, Phee looked at him, her body in flames, burning for him. “I want everything.”
---
“And what does my darling wife need this morning? More sleep? Some tea and breakfast in bed?” he asked.
---
“I’m filled with you, not nonsense. Your smile, your scent. The way you scoawl at the book as you read it. It’s left me overflowing with want of you, Phoebe. Greedy to soak up every sun-soaked inch of you, to gather every laugh that escapes your lips so that I might save them for a cloudy day. To return to our bed so that I may continue to hold you in my arms as you sleep, your breathing soft against my neck, your thigh wrapped around my hips.”
---
“Phoebe, I’m not sure I’ll ever have my fill of you.” Cupping her face, he kissed her lips, her cheeks. “Tell me to stop. To go to bed,” he said between kisses.
“No.”
“I’m going to make you scream, Phoebe. I’ll make you scream my name until you’re hoarse. Do you understand?” he asked wit ha growl.
 

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

Safe sex: 

  Yes? They are married and they discuss preventative measures and her pulls out during penetrative sex 

Hows the consent? 

  It’s perfect 

44% - kisses
52% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her, hero asks heroine to touch herself and he teaches her how, sex without penetration (sliding against the outside)

“Grab the bedpost,” Harrison said, his voice low as he his hands skimmed up her calves, pulling the nightdress with them.
//
“Rest your foot on my shoulder.” It was a command; one Phee would happily comply with.

67% - kisses
71% - 🔥 kisses, oral for her, dry humping, then an implication of more that fades

When his lips reached her ear, he kissed the shell, his teeth tormenting and soothing. “You need to grab the headboard.”

84% - 🔥 kisses, missionary

“I want you. Please, I want you.”
“Since you asked so nicely,” he said.

98% - 🔥 pottery sex scene

“The bowl,” she said with a gasp.
“Fuck the bowl.” Taking his free hand, Harrison gripped her thigh, lifting it over his, opening her wider while his other hand rubbed at her cunny, circling the swollen bud as she squirmed against him. Her hands, covered in clay, lifted to his hair and he bit down gently on her shoulder has he fucked her with his hand.