The book was jist another book for me. I liked the plot but romance was minimal in it. Character development felt short too. After reading it, I wanted more. The book ended being 3.5 stars for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There was witty banter, suspense, drama, romance, evil and sinister purposes and finally true love. The characters were well developed and the story flowed easily.

Edith Westacott was the vicar's daughter who had taught at a school in Bath. She had left suddenly when she had become seriously ill, but there was more to that story than anyone else knew. She had returned to her uncle's home, the local vicar. She had come to heal from both the physical and emotional afflictions she had suffered.

Colonel Niall Lowrie had just inherited his cousin's earldom. He was a soldier. That is what he knew and now he needed to learn how to run an estate. He was intrigued when he was introduced to Miss Westacott. She was intelligent and beautiful and yet she couldn't see her own beauty. But, there was something pained that he saw, as well as fear. He wanted to help her and to protect her, but he needed to discover what burdened her so.

When a sinister figure from her recent past threatened to destroy the future Niall longed to have with Edith, Niall had to prepare for battle. He was not going to lose what he had just found. He would become the victor; he had to for both their sakes.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

I didnt think I would like this book after reading the first chapter. Some of the characters were annoying like the ladies from the Manor. None the less I pressed on and enjoyed the rest of the story. I thought that Niall should have wrecked more havoc on Kilshaw than threatening to send a letter to the Prince Regent. I thought Edith was very brave because Kilshaw was a nut. Thank you for allowing me to read this book. I look forward to more from this author.

Elizabeth Bailey never disappoints, she always writes believable and interesting characters with a story that feels realistic for the time period, and her research is good.

This story is focused around the impact the suspected loss of virtue and reputation would have to a lady of that time.

Niall is a career soldier, who due to a number of deaths due to illness, unexpectedly inherits an earldom and has to sell out. He is trying to get to grips with the needs of his estate and the people that depend on him, whilst trying to fund neglected work from his limited soldiers income as he waits for probate to release estate funds. His neighbour and friend Lord Tazewell is coaching him, along with his steward Eddowes in his responsibilities. As part of this relationship he is escorting Jocasta Lady Tazewell, and her friend on a walk,They come upon a woman who has fainted in the woods, and Niall military training comes into play at once. Once he manages to revive her and ascertains she hasn’t broken any bones, he discovers she is Edith Westacott, niece to the vicar in the village. She is very thin and wasted and struggles to stand and walk, so Niall escorts her home. He realises she is unwell, and struggling under a great strain, but he is immediately struck by her wit and sense of humour.

Edith is struggling under a huge fear of the father of two of her pupils in the school she taught in. He was determined to have her, despite being married, and used everything in his power to have her as his mistress, including force. This has caused her to be unable to eat, and she has wasted away. Used to her independence and autonomy she struggles at the vicarage, because her uncle and the housekeeper are inclined to fuss over her, and she struggles to balance her desire for freedom with her fear of the wicked Lord Kilshaw, who is excited by her resistance. She doesn’t know how to tell her uncle any of this, and so it preys on her mind.

Niall soon discovers her fear, and works with her and eventually her uncle to try and protect her. Increasingly attracted to her, he so9n discovers he loves her, but she is worried about what will happen to her, and whether her reputation will be ruined, and therefore make her unsuitable to marry Niall. She also suspects he doesn’t believe her. She also won’t discuss her feelings for him, which are growing stronger every day. Will Lord Kilshaw succeed or will Niall prevail, and they get to their happily ever after?

What I enjoyed was the detail the author was able to include. They relationships between Niall and Eddowes, and Edith’s with Jocasta and Miss Burloyne, were nicely done, and also the servants were rounded characters, who were properly involved in the story. I also really liked both the main characters.

Recommended.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book via Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

Also posted on goodreads

I enjoyed reading this story but felt it was missing something. The characters were very guarded with their words and actions. I need more passion.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author. I received a free ARC for my honest review.

Having not read the previous books in the series, I was a little disoriented. Although the story had a good basis, I found that I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Which may have had something to do with the fact that I had not read the previous books.
All in all, I found the story hard to finish as I just couldn't connect.
I usually enjoy Elizabeth's books and this will not prevent me from purchasing future books.
Thank you Elizabeth Bailey, Sapere Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This is a regency era historical fiction. I did not realize this was the third book in a series when requesting this. I made it through the first few chapters and did not feel connected to the characters. This is likely due to not having read the first books in the series.

I haven't read any of the previous books in this series so I'm not sure if that would have helped understand these characters better, but I found this book dragged in places . It started out well with the mystery of what happened to Edith Westacott in Bath and who she was running from, but it didn't take long to uncover his identity. I liked Colonel Niall Lowrie better. He was doing his best trying to run an earldom he never expected to inherit in the first place. As a soldier, he knew his place in the world, but as an Earl, he was clueless, but willing to learn as much as he could in a short amount of time. He first comes across Edith when walking in the woods. She lay in a faint and his first instinct is to help and protect her. As his feelings grow for her, he tries hard to understand what she's so afraid of as she reluctant to speak of it. There was some good tension filled moments as the villain stalks Edith, but I thought his ending a little unrealistic especially Edith's role in it.

This was another excellent book by Elizabeth Bailey, and in the light of what is discussed in the author's note it was also a thought provoking book in the historical setting. Niall has just given up his military career after inheriting an earldom after his distant cousin's death. Edith is spunky, in a Regency-era way, but some of her character traits become understandable once it became known that she has a stalker. I do take away a star because there are times where the story dragged a bit, but the natural chemistry between the characters, even when it was sometimes naturally awkward, was lovely as were the majority of the characters, including the secondary characters.