Overall: 4.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (I still want just a bit more from her scenes.)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑 (They are pretty short)
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: Third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? plot
How did the speed of the story feel? fast
When mains are first on page together: Pretty much the first page, because Colin is eavesdropping on Della (lol) but actually interacting together is about 21% or so of this short story.
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happy ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author in e-book format

Should I read in order?
You could! Pier’s books take place in the same universe but this one felt very stand alone, even within the series. (the series is about a set of brothers and are quick reads, so it’s not a large commitment to read the series in order)

Basic plot:
Della has loved Colin forever, but is ready to move on if he doesn’t love her back. Colin overhears Della saying how much she loves him – as a friend – and is devastated he can’t be more to her.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency (1816)
- hero is an animal lover and hosts a garden party for animal adoption
- unrequited love (from both, really)
- childhood friends to lovers
- a pigeon and a hedgehog bring our couple together
- medium to higher steam – 3 scenes in a shorter page count
- shorter story length (novelette?)

Ages:
- Didn’t see them stated

First line:
Heart of gold I tell you,” the dowager duchess of Whitewood chuckled.

My thoughts:
There was something just so romantic and sweet about this story that I adored. How much the hero wants love, and how much he cares the heroine made me melt. The animal interactions were especially adorable and unique.

Again, this is a short story, so I’m very forgiving on character depth and the plot flow. I liked the speed this one moved along, but do think it felt like a really abrupt ending. Super cute couple though and I loved how they came together after both nursing such a secret longing for each other.

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

Hastily, she pulled out one of his shirts and lifted it to her face. The smell was divine.
She would not pine for him and his pine scent.
---
“You’re no fun.” She swatted his chest. His sculpted chest. The swat lasted perhaps longer than a normal swat might. Did he just flex?
---
“Don’t you think it’s about time you told him?”
“I think he should say something first. He’s the man.”
“Oh my dear. Since you’re showing your youth, I shall show you my age. Men don’t know what women  think. They hardly know what they think.
 

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

- implied passing of the hero’s father

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

Safe sex: 

No 

Hows the consent? 

I didn’t see any consent concerns! I think it’s explicit and asked in most scenes 

21% - heroine self pleasure

A yearning tore through her body and settled between her thighs. Hot. Pooling desire. She wanted to touch herself. Imagine it was him.

31% - kisses, fingering for her, hero comes in his pants

He bit down on her neck. Not wanting to leave a visible mark, he licked down to her nipple and tugged it into his mouth through his shirt. He would never wash this shirt again.

57% - oral for her, missionary

He pushed the dress off her shoulder and pressed kisses to the exposed skin. Creamy, soft skin that he could kiss for days. Hands were swarming the dress, undoing buttons. Clamoring to get her out of the restrictive clothing.