This is a fun and sexy friends-to-lovers romance with a mysterious twist.

Lt. Eli Williams was well and truly dead. Until he walked into his family’s home very much alive, two years after the tragic shipwreck that had reportedly sent him to a watery grave. He quickly learns that the joyous homecoming he imagined is not to be, when he finds his former fiancée married to someone else, his childhood friend still furious over his former engagement, and that the Royal Navy is highly suspicious of the reasons for his prolonged absence.

I’m giving this one a 3.5-4 star review. It is a charming historical romance set in London in 1839 and has a great premise, and a great cast of characters to bring it off. I loved Chapter 1. It was really a perfect beginning and hooked me from the get-go. I also loved the first half of Chapter 2 when Eli and his family met with Mr. Filby. It was so funny! The author did a wonderful job with character development so that I was quickly invested in both Eli and Jane as individuals. Then, I loved the scene when they were reunited in the library, and the sparks of tension that were created between them in that moment.

I love Jane’s independence and her idea to form a women’s gambling club, knowing that she was flaunting societal expectations and risking her reputation as a “proper” young lady whose purpose “should” be to make a suitable match. I also thought that the rivalry between Jane and her rich cousin Cecily worked well as a counterpoint to the romance arc.

The weakness with this novel is the pacing and plot development. The first 50% of the book was amazing as the plot was laid out well, the characters came to life, and there was some really fun banter and conflict. Then it just kind of petered out. Even though I kept reading and waiting for the next big thing to happen, nothing ever really did. I felt like the narrative struggled as far as developing an overall theme or a new and interesting conflict after Eli and Jane began their affair, and then there was an anti-climactic ending. I’m not even sure exactly where it started to go meh for me, but Jane started to annoy me with her “I can’t do this! But let’s have sex anyway!” melodrama.  I was also disappointed with the reveal about Eli’s whereabouts during the two years he was missing, as it just wasn’t that exciting after all of the build-up. I also didn’t understand the point of Jane’s brother morphing into a really awful person all of a sudden right at the very end.

While I won’t revisit this one, it was an enjoyable read despite a mediocre second half. I will also be adding this author to my one-to-watch list, and look forward to reading her next book.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.