Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: Immediately
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: no
Format: listened to the audiobook from the library (Hoopla) as an add on of Hell in a Hand Basket (it’s also on for audible plus membership listens)

Should I read in order?
I think so yes – if you think you will read this series in entirety it’s better in order for sure. If you are just looking for a novella and won’t return to the series, you could grab this one alone without confusion. (To explain: This story’s heroine, Loretta, was Sophia’s mother in law in her story (which is Hell in a Hand Basket (book 2) and there is references to what happens in that story. Overall there’s not a ton of character cross over though, it’s more the order of events and how they are referenced in future stories but generally this one will be best in order in the series.

Basic plot:
When Thomas is considering buying property to be closer to his grandchildren, Loretta offers to travel with him to check the property

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency
- holiday themes
- older mains – heroine is 43 and hero is a similar age (grandparents)
- widowed duchess heroine (18 months since passing)
- widower hero
- bit of class difference – Duchess heroine and ‘man made for labor’
- average novella steam – 1 scene

Ages:
- Heroine is 43, hero is a ‘similar age’

First line:
Loretta reached down to examine the near perfect leaf that had fallen from the tree.

My thoughts:
I loved this novella so, so much. It was so sweet. If you’ve read the series in order, then you got to know Loretta in book 2 as a side character with a decent amount of page time. And you go through her series of losses that affect her greatly. You are just wanting her to have a HEA so badly!

I loved her pairing with Thomas. He’s a bit rough around the edges and pushes her a bit out of her comfort zone but also lifts her up and gives her confidence that she needs after her rather lackluster marriage (there was love but they weren’t IN love).

Super sweet read! I have one more novella for this series to finish. And I plan on reading more by Anders for sure.

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

- remembrance of an unsettled marriage
- death of spouse and children remembered

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

 
Safe sex: 

No 

 
Hows the consent? 

It’s good – the heroine is a bit reluctant but she struggles with confidence after being married to a gay man and never feeling loved – the hero doesn’t push, he asks 

 
My locations are not accurate because I listened to the audio as an add on to a prior book in the series so I will just note the acts
- kisses
- 🔥 kisses, fingering for her, missionary