I have enjoyed Eileen Putnam's books in the past, but unfortunately, this just wasn't one of them. I just didn't feel the connection between Gabriel and Louisa. Gabriel was kind of a jerk, IMHO, and I just didn't feel he regretted any of the terrible things he did.

I am voluntarily submitting my honest review after receiving an ARC of this ebook via NetGalley.

King of Hearts is a fun, fast-paced read with romance, tragedy, heartbreak, triumph, hope and a dash of comic relief. The characters are exceptionally complex, and despite the brevity of the novel, Putman paints a vivid picture of how each one's history and present circumstances shape their personality, desires and outlook on the world. This is a beautiful romance about love's transformative power with just the right amount of human quirkiness to make the characters more realistic and interesting and the story more lively and entertaining.

I enjoyed this book about two people, Louisa and Sinclair, brought together by a fateful accident, but pulled together by a need for each other that turned out to be more than simple lust. Louisa is a widow, who marriage although of a short duration, was rather tragic. Sinclair, a loner, but not necessarily by choice, is dropped into her life and now can become useful- whether he wishes to or not. Louisa has a large home into which she has pulled several women who need shelter from tragic circumstances of their own, but she wants to help more women- through rather risky rescues- and the plot involves these colorful characters and the events they encounter. It was an interesting and unusual romance plot, with intrigue and action mixed with a bit of history, and humor. During their escapades, the two main characters become more and more involved with each other. Their relationship was slow but the heat between them built throughout the story and the ending for them, and all the characters was perfect! This King of Hearts really was just that!

This is an intriguing and engrossing story. Gabriel is charming, amusing, daring and lonely. Louisa is stubborn, headstrong, bold and loyal. Gabriel likes his life of adventure, his freedom to do whatever he feels like doing. No strings equals no heartache. Louisa wants no man's hands on her ever. But fate has thrown them together and they both feel the pull of an intense attraction, of the body and heart. There is drama and suspense in both their lives and the storyline is fascinating. And the end was beyond exciting.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.

4.5 stars.

After a drunken bet goes horribly wrong, Gabriel Sinclair finds himself with a noose around his neck and in his last moments contemplates his life and wishes for a second chance. His second chance comes in the form of Louisa Peabody...

Louisa Peabody is a woman who has been grossly wronged by the men in her life and has made it her mission to save other women from the injustices heaped on them by men. Scarred inside by the events leading up to and her incredibly brief marriage, Louisa believes that love is not for her and turns all her passion into helping other women. When her latest rescue mission goes wrong and she ends up with Gabriel instead of the woman she planned to save from the gallows, Louisa reluctantly takes Gabriel back to her home and nurses him back to health.

Once Gabriel recovers and is ready to leave, Louisa makes him an offer, help her break the woman she originally meant to save out of prison and she will pay him a small fortune for his help. Tempted by the money and the lovely repressed woman making the offer, Gabriel agrees to her mad scheme.

Gabriel and Louisa are wonderful leads that have both had more than their fair share of pain and heartache. Gabriel finds himself drawn to Louisa and fights his reaction to her - he will leave and forget he ever met her - he really will! And Louisa needs no man in her life, she will be happy to see the last of Gabriel - she really will! Ah the lies we tell ourselves :)

This is a truly lovely story of second chances and the healing power of love. I thought it was really well written and paced well. The dialogue is both amusing and heartfelt. The secondary characters aka The Flowers are a wonderful addition to the story and add several additional storylines to this book without pulling the focus from Louisa and Gabriel. The love scenes are warm and well placed, there are some tender moments, some tense moments and moments of joy. Happily, the villains get their comeuppance and everyone gets a HEA.

I really enjoyed this book and would be happy to recommend it.

This a truly Opposites Attract book. Gabrielle, brought up with so much pain, he cannot express it all. Louisa, who was raped by her husband on her wedding night, given away bye her father, to a Very wealthy, brutal man. She decides to fight, because those are choices we make, fight, it flight. She, like Bouadecia decides to fight for herself, and every woman who has been abused!
Gabrielle's ancestors were all a little mad, however, they all were inventors at heart. His father, totally destroyed after the death of his outgoing, happy wife, and his eldest son, leaves the family home, moves with young Gabrielle to a deserted island. His father begins work on a submersible, in order to fight Napoleon. This is extremely interesting, the way the Submarine came to be. I love each of the characters, not the bad ones, this Author has created very memorable people in this book!
I highly recommend! Thanks!
carolintallahassee 👒