This was a sweet old fashioned romance. I love reading a good clean romance and this fit the bill. It was frustrating at times because I just wanted them to be together, but they had to grow and find their own ways to each other.

For This Moment is the third book in The Gentrys of Paradise series by Holly Bush. I haven't read the other books before this one but don't feel like it was a necessity.

This book is set in Virginia in 1871. Olivia Gentry is now of age and is an educated, independent woman. She knows just as much about politics and the way of the world as any man and certainly as much as her brothers. In a time where women are meant to be gentle belles, Olivia stands out. She has had one bad experience with a man in her past, besides which she has also been hopelessly in love with her brother's best friend. It's an unrequited love because a few years back he rejected her advances. She knows it's time she seriously considered marriage, but can't put her heart and soul into it.

Jim Somerset is the man that Virginia loves. Yes, he rejected her but didn't explain to her why. She was just left heartbroken. In truth, he is as in love with her as she is with him. He is a farrier, socially far beneath Olivia. He knows she can and must do better than him when it comes to love and marriage. It's because of that he knows he can never let her know his true feelings. For the most part, he tries to avoid her, but as the families are firm friends and they do attend the occasional social gathering at the same time, he has to suffer being close to her but unable to be with her. Now she is of age and he has to watch her being wooed by other men he is in absolute agony over his feelings for her. He is doing the right thing by her, or is he?

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the era and the setting of the story, and I couldn't read the book quickly enough to see if Jim and Olivia had their happy ending. It was so sad reading about how they both felt about each other, and yet they seemed to be drifting further and further apart instead of getting closer. Olivia was a breath of fresh air. I admired her independence, and I particularly loved one scenario where she herself got to play hero. The very same scenario which was when Jim's feelings came to light finally!

This was a very sweet story, so if you are looking for steamy passionate scenes this book won't be for you. But if you are looking for a beautiful, old-fashioned romance, this will be a perfect read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers' copy of this book.

I really should make a more concerted effort to read more historical romances. In the unendingly deep pool of alpha male heroes, there’s something just so inherently romantic about men who appreciate a woman’s beauty, but are more concerned about her values and with safeguarding her virtue. Actually, everyone is concerned with safeguarding the women's virtue.

Olivia turned, her cheeks warm, to her brother Matt. She stepped back quickly. “Of course not. Have you met Mr. Armsworth?"
“I haven’t,” Matt said with a smile extending his hand. “What brings you to Winchester, and within six inches of my sister, Mr. Armsworth?

It’s not that the women in these books are treated as weak and second-rate citizens. They are respected and cared for, and the men (well, the heroes anyway) treat them as such.

Jim and Olivia’s relationship is a slow-burn of epic proportions. Olivia, having been rebuffed by Jim at the tender age of 15, has spent several years since returning from college trying to find a suitable suitor, and getting over her lingering feelings for Jim. After a series of serious mishaps in regards to that endeavor, she’s beginning to lose hope that she’ll ever fall in love and have a family. Torn between wanting more than what 1870s society approves of for women and wanting to be a wife and mother, she’s having a hard time figuring out who she is and what she wants.

Jim has been in love with Olivia for far longer than he’s willing to admit to himself. Everyone around him knows it. And just when he’s finally willing to consider doing something about it, a dinner with Olivia’s family and some friends from Washington DC causes him to believe she would be better off with someone else.

It was at that moment, as Jim looked at her, at her sparkling eyes and shining lips and rosy cheeks, that he realized he was reaching too far above himself. He was not material for a capital visit - he was a farrier. He’d always be a farrier. He had no intention of moving away from his family or hometown. His dreams were smaller than hers. A home, a peaceful future, a wife, children, and a continuation of everything that was comfortable about his life. She was meant for something bigger, something grander - that was clear.

It isn’t frequent that my heart breaks for the hero of the story, but it did for this one. Jim is a good man, and has taken on the responsibility for his widowed mother and younger siblings. Ladies, you want a man who is deeply in love with a woman and doesn’t try to manwhore his way out of those feelings? THIS IS YOUR HERO! He has other women offering themselves to him, and he just can’t imagine being with them. He’d rather live his life alone than try to fake it with someone else. Even his best friend - who is Olivia’s brother and knows how he feels about her - tells him he needs to go a couple towns over and get some experience with women. But he won’t do it. That is true love, ladies and gentlemen.

Look, I don’t really want to go back to the way things were in the late 1800s, but I can’t help but wonder if maybe all our sexual freedom isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. That waiting to be physically intimate with the one person you have been longing to be with is the ultimate act of sacrifice and love. Jim and Olivia were a little frustrating, because seriously they could have avoided so much heartache had they just TALKED with one another. But social propriety of that day didn’t always allow for such frank discussion, and also...the book wouldn’t have been very long. 😉

I have loved every book in this series, and this one is my favorite. I loved Jim and Olivia, I loved Jim’s sister Emmaline (PS Holly Bush, please write a story for Emmaline!). I loved the tension and heartbreak I could feel from both Jim and Olivia, and I was so happy when they both finally got their heads out of their bums and declared their love. This has been a really great series, and I can’t wait for Adam’s story!

* thank you to NetGalley and Holly Bush books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review