Maggie Honeywell found the love of her life as a kid. Nicholas Seaton was a servant but her very best friend. Unfortunately Maggie was meant to marry Fredrick. Fredrick was mean and rude and had it out for Nicholas. One night he set Nicholas up and Nicholas had to run. He promised he'd come back for Maggie. Years later Maggie meets John Beresford who looks a lot like Nicholas but is he? I haven't read a historical romance in ages. Honestly the title drew me first and then the blurb seemed interesting so why not give it a try. Wonderful book with exciting characters with a tough leading lady who through everything stayed sassy even though she might have been dimmed for a while. Maggie and Nicholas seems so cute together and teenagers you find yourself rooting the John is Nicholas. Great wrap up from a new to me author.

Find out more about this book and author here www.mimimatthews.com

I’m a big fan of Mimi Matthews’s historical romances.

I love how her novels and novellas seem to effortlessly combine those two elements. I’m not a big reader of outright romance novels, so the fact that her characters have always won me over completely (s individuals and with the chemistry within the relationships) says a lot. The historical side is always meticulously researched but the little details and tidbits are woven in so that it never feels like a lecture or info-dump.

GENTLEMAN JIM is fun and fast-paced. Because of the hidden-identities and secret pasts storyline Matthews manages to combine both the depth of character chemistry and fun you get from established relationships with the will-they wont-they tension of a courtship. This is a second-chance romance story with a wonderful, rogueish twist.

I really enjoyed the mystery of Nicolas’ mother and father and how dynamic Maggie is as a heroine, jumping right in to uncover St Clare’s secret and to stake her claim on the future of her family estate. She’s spunky and bold, with enough flaws to make her incredibly likable. Likewise, St Clare is charming: suave and awkward in turns.

You’ll be rooting for them both.

I really enjoyed GENTLEMAN JIM, especially the dramatic duels, fistfights, and Count of Monte Cristo vibes.

It’s fast-paced with vibrant characters and would make a perfect introduction to Matthews’ writing. Fans of her writing won’t be disappointed either, but that’s really no surprise at this point, is it? When are we ever?

On the shelf. Ten years and multiple offers of marriage. Yet Margaret Honeywell remained single, and is for all intents and purposes, a spinster. She promised her heart to Nicholas Seaton when they were teens, but he has been gone for years. There is no one else that Maggie could possibly love, not even her guardian and ardent pursuer, Frederick Burton-Smythe.

A woman knows her heart. when John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare arrives on the scene after years spent away, Maggie's heart beats a familiar drum. THIS is why she waited. This is why she is alone. Her Nicholas is back. But, is he? Why is St. Clare claiming to be someone else, a man with prospects, and not the troubled Nicholas who has been long thought dead.

In a battle between love and vengeance, St. Clare has something to prove, even if looking into the beautiful eyes of Maggie brings tears to his own eyes. He has a mission, and that mission might keep them apart forever, making those ten years away ever more painful to consider.

What a great story by Mimi Matthews! I loved Maggie. Strong and determined from beginning to end, not willing to take no for an answer, no matter how steep the difficulties. I also enjoyed St. Clare, and his history ad reasonings, all the while hoping this couple could overcome the major obstacles facing them to find their forever happiness. This delightful story was an easy read, one that made my heart leap for joy and comes highly recommended.

Many thanks to Perfectly Proper Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I started reading this as a serialized novel on Mimi Matthews website. Every month a new part would be released and I had such a hard time waiting because I always wanted MORE. Finally, I got it. Right here in a whole entire book to devour at once.

It's no secret that I adore all that Mimi Matthews writes. She really hits my sweet spot as a reader. Her characters come to life for me bringing with them emotion and struggle that I connect with. I always feel so lucky to be reading her books.

As I said before, I've been anticipating this book for awhile since I started with it in a serialized format. My heart has loved both Nicholas and Maggie from the beginning. I loved the tension in this book between all the characters. It grew as the story progressed and it led to some explosive and satisfying scenes. Think duels, bar room brawls, secret rendezvous, and yes, some revenge. The story and the characters were well developed. I loved it all. It was so, so good.

Content: some profanity (God, Lord used as exclamations), mild peril, mild violence. Kissing.

- I received a complimentary copy of this book. I will be buying my own copy as soon as it is available. All opinions expressed are my own.

Totally loved this story it had you questioning who Gentleman Jim really was and if St. Clare was legitimate or not to the very end. The story with Maggie & St. Claire is so dynamic with all the other characters. Maggie's a women who was raised to be as good as any other man and it causes her to get into some mischeif.
Reccommended read to anyone who likes a writer who walks the line with out giving too much detail.

I received a free Copy from Netgalley and this review is my own opinion.

This review will appear at All About Romance later this month.

Gentleman Jim
Mimi Matthews
November 10, 2020, HR (1800-1850)
Perfectly Proper Press, 376 pages, Amazon ASIN B0842YLCNF
Sensuality: Kisses
Grade: B+

Earlier this year I reviewed Fair as a Star by Mimi Matthews, and said it might be my favorite book of 2020. But guess what? Gentleman Jim might be even better. I loved everything about this story - the set-up, the second chance romance, the principal characters, the pacing and tension, the swoony romance (le sigh) - and I was prepared to give it another DIK. Until I read the epilogue. Oh dear. Ms. Matthew makes casual reference to the happy ever after of a villainous secondary character, and it nearly ruins the pleasure of this wonderful book. I found this wholly unnecessary plot point deeply disturbing, and because of it, I’m unwilling to give Gentleman Jim the A it otherwise deserves.

In a prologue we meet a bloodied and beaten Nicholas Seaton, a groom, locked in a loose box in the stables at Beasley Park. Accused of stealing three pieces of heirloom jewelry, Nicholas is convinced no one will believe he’s innocent.

It made no difference that Nicholas hadn’t stolen anything. What good were his protestations of innocence? He was nothing but a lowly groom in Squire Honeywell’s stables. A servant. Even worse than a servant, in fact, for he was the bastard son of Squire Honeywell’s scullery maid, Jenny Seaton.

Jolly Jenny, as she was known, who - before arriving at the kitchen door of Beasley Park eighteen years ago, big with child and begging for scraps of food - had plied her trade at a hedge tavern in Market Barrow. A hedge tavern that had once been a favored haunt of the notorious highwayman Gentleman Jim.

“The mother a whore and the father a villain,” the vicar’s wife, Mrs. Applewhite, was fond of telling anyone who would listen.

Before his accuser, Frederick Burton-Smythe, horsewhipped him into the loose box, Nicholas had spent the afternoon happily whiling away the day with his best friend in the whole world, Margaret Honeywell. He laughed when Maggie told Fred to piss off after he happened upon them laughing and dancing in each other’s arms, but knew Freddy would later find a way to make him pay for the insult. Instead of worrying, he spent the afternoon lying in the sun, laughing and talking to Maggie. Nicholas knew Squire Honeywell and his neighbor, Sir Rodrick (Fred’s father), had hopes Maggie and Fred would one day marry and join their two great estates (as did Fred!), but Maggie was his. A blood oath taken years ago had bound them together forever . . . But he needed no ritual to bind himself to Maggie Honeywell. She was everything to him.

Hearing a noise outside the locked box, Nicholas fears Fred has returned with the local magistrate. But it’s Margaret. After unlocking the door and explaining how she found him, she tries to convince him to stay. Her efforts are in vain; when the prologue ends, Nicholas has fled Beasley Park and the love of his life, vowing to find his father and someday return to her.

When Gentleman Jim picks up ten years later, Margaret has only recently come out of mourning after the death of her father and then her aunt, and she’s still recovering from a near-death bout of influenza she caught while nursing a dying Jenny Seaton. She’s en route to visit a close friend in London, and lamenting the quick passage of time. Her father died hoping she would one day marry Fred, and left Fred executor of the estate in his will. Fred holds her money and property in trust until she marries, but Margaret knows he’ll never approve of a marriage to anyone but him. With only six months of the allotted time left for her to marry before the estate reverts to him, Margaret is reconciled to a future at Beasley Park as his wife.

When Margaret finally arrives, she’s exhausted but happy to see her good friend Jane Trumball. When Jane suggests they go shopping for new dresses, Margaret reluctantly confesses why she’s wearing such a dowdy dress (she hates asking Fred for money). But then Jane remarks that Fred is due for a comeuppance of his own, revealing that he’s challenged another man to a duel the following morning. The news scares her. If Fred were to die, she isn’t sure who will control her trust or Beasley Park. She sends a note requesting Fred pay her a visit, but he refuses to discuss the duel or what will happen should he die. The visit does nothing to assuage her fears and so, with help from Jane, she makes plans to pay a late night visit to the man he’s challenged, John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare.

Oh friends! You know who he is don’t you? Well, Margaret does too - but when he turns around to greet his visitor, Mrs. Ivey (a fake name used in case servants gossipped about her late night visit), Margaret promptly faints in surprise. When she awakens in his arms, she’s confused. Is it Nicholas? Lord St. Clare, visibly startled when she finally confesses her true name, quickly masks his reaction. He appears amused by her request not to kill Fred, but agrees not to kill him in return for three forfeits to be collected at a time of his own choosing. Still reeling from her certainty that Lord St. Clare is in fact Nicholas Seaton, the love of her life, Margaret agrees to the deal.

Much to my surprise, despite knowing John is Nicholas, I enjoyed watching this deceit play out in Gentleman Jim. In Ms. Matthew's clever hands, John’s deception made sense, and I empathized with his struggle to keep himself at a remove from Maggie, while remaining true to his grandfather and his commitment to Allendale. And anyway, from the moment they’re reunited in his home, it’s clear their love for each other has only grown more intense with the passage of time, and that it’s only a matter of time before they’re confessing it. I was willing to wait. Ms. Matthews slowly and irrevocably winds up the tension between them, and the wait is delicious torture. Yes, he’s Nicholas to Maggie; but by the time we meet up with Nicholas again, he’s shed his past and its shackles; he’s no longer Nicholas, a lowly stable boy. He’s John Beresford, only heir to the Earl of Allendale, and he’s spent a decade abroad under his grandfather’s stewardship, refining this new role in life. Margaret’s visit comes at a precipitous time for him - a distant relation has cast doubts on his legitimacy and threatens to strip him of his title; he has much to lose admitting to his past. But his love for Maggie is all-consuming; her love derails all his good intentions and plans, and fills him with a happiness he can’t resist. We know she feels the same, and it’s a treat watching and waiting for them to finally confess it to each other.

While I loved Maggie and Nicholas/John from the moment we met them in the prologue, who, you might be asking, is Gentleman Jim, and why does he matter to this story? That, my friends, is for you to discover! Although Gentleman Jim is primarily a second chance love story, it also features an engrossing parallel plot related to St. Clare’s origins - and that story is equally engrossing. The secondary characters - Fred, and the treacherous Beresford relations - make for wonderful villains, and their shenanigans kept me turning pages, waiting for their well deserved comeuppance. Yes, the love story is swoony and wonderful, full of lovely sexual tension, but the secondary plot is excellent, too.

The release of a new book by Mimi Matthews is always cause for celebration. It's like hitting the lottery...on Christmas! Each one is an absolute joy to read. Haven't read any of her work? Why not? Seriously, what is wrong with you?! Of course I jest (kind of). If you love romance in general and historical romance in particular, you will get lost in the beautiful stories created by this talented writer. If she is new to you, this is the perfect book with which to start, as it is a stand-alone story.

Margaret Honeywell is the daughter of a wealthy squire, said squire wanting his daughter to marry neighbor Frederick Burton-Smythe when she is grown. Maggie, however, wants nothing to do with him. Her heart and soul belong to Nicholas Seaton, a bastard who works for her father. Fred frames Nicholas for stealing Maggie's jewelry in order to get rid of him. Nicholas escapes with Maggie's help, and he's determined to find his reputed father, an infamous highwayman known as Gentleman Jim. Ten years later Maggie presumes that her love has died. Enter handsome and dangerous John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare. He is recently returned from Italy and is helping his grandfather restore family honor; a little revenge wouldn't go amiss, either. When Maggie meets St. Clare, she believes him to be someone else. St. Clare wants his revenge, but he cannot help but be drawn to fiery Maggie. Will they find the love they each crave, or will danger tear them apart?

SO. DARN. ROMANTIC. I'd swoon if I was the swooning type. This was such a beautiful story! Both the heroine and hero were strong characters, and neither overshadowed the other. Maggie was incredible - she was in mourning for two years and suffered from frail health after a dreadful bout of influenza, yet she never lost her boldness and strength. No withering wallflower was our Maggie! St. Clare was so focused on revenge and helping his grandfather keep his estate from falling into the hands of an odious cousin, yet Maggie's beauty and strength called to him. He was a hard man, but allowed Maggie to soften his heart. Besides passionate kisses, intimacy was behind closed doors. However, the passion was real; it was tangible and permeated the story. The romance was perfect, but we also had the excitement of a mystery, fisticuffs and even a duel. Dive into this divine book, and I guarantee you will be a fan of Ms. Matthews for life.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Mimi Matthews ventures into the Regency era rather than her usual Victorian with this romance, but as usual, the book is filled with period details and characters that are easy to root for. The overall plot is modeled after one of my favorite books as a teenager, The Count of Monte Cristo, a book that is rarely the inspiration for a romance but which is used to good effect here. I loved Maggie, a heroine who is physically weak due to a bad case of influenza, but whose mind and spirit are strong. She's determined to seize as much happiness as she can in spite of the way her deceased father tried to use her love for her estate to tie her into the marriage he desired for her with the obnoxious, bully who is heir of the neighboring estate. She also doesn't hesitate to come right out and confront Viscount St, Clare with her suspicions of his "real" identity, that of her long-lost love, Nicholas. I'm not going into spoiler territory, I'll just say that her hero is definitely worthy of her love. The author even had a brief highwayman scene just to get a few extra Regency trope points. After all, Nicholas'' father was rumored to be a famous highwayman, so the scene made perfect sense. It was also refreshing to read a standalone romance for once. Instead of dealing with sequel bait in the form of Maggie's best friend, she was given a resolution to her own romance in the epilogue. I would recommend this romance to anyone who enjoys historicals.

Is there anything more satisfying than reading a gripping novel from start to finish is one sitting?! I absolutely loved being able to binge read Gentleman Jim and felt totally immersed in the story. I loved the depth of friendship in Nicholas and Maggie's youth, and they practically jumped off the page. They both changed drastically over time, but their core personalities are the same, allowing them to reignite that connection. The author skillfully reveals the most vulnerable parts of Nicholas that only Maggie can soothe, bringing layers to both characters that make them soulmates. Complex family relationships work to keep them apart, making it seem as though they cannot have a future together without sacrificing everything. I enjoyed the elements of intrigue, revenge, and the plot twists that kept me glued to the page, as well as the passionate romance. One of my favorites of 2020 for sure. Highly recommend!

Disclosure statement: A complimentary copy of this book was provided from a tour group, publisher, publicist, or author, including NetGalley, OR was borrowed from the library, including OverDrive, OR borrowed from Kindle Unlimited, OR purchased. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are unbiased and my own.

Oh this was a good book. There were a few times I had to read ahead because I just had to know what was going to happen. I loved Maggie's character. She was so strong and determined. I also loved her friend Jane and her aunt. She was funny. Jane was a good friend and support to Maggie. There were a few villains in this story that were very well written. I didn't like any of them from the beginning. This was a great mystery and romance and I really enjoyed it.

I found this to be rather different from Mimi Matthews' previous books. Not better or worse, just a different change of pace. I loved it! It had me up late into the night reading page after page.
The start is jarring and had me worried for Nicholas. Frederick Smythe-Burton plays the slimy villain well, a typical bully who uses his superior position to browbeat Margaret. She has declined after illness and mourning her father; her seemingly unavoidable future further dampening her spirit.
Enter John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare to inadvertently draw Margaret out of her stupor. Is he Nicholas or is it just an uncanny resemblance to the love of her life?
I read a free advance copy I received from NetGalley; the thoughts expressed are my own.

—‘Wait and hope.’ Alexandre Dumas

I found myself enchanted by the delicate yet determined Margaret Honeywell from wealthy landed gentry stock and the wonderful John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare.
As St. Clare reflects, "a shapely scrap of femininity—altogether too weak and frail." He'd had an overpowering urge to protect her.
A tale of lost love, of lost identity and an eventual HEA Victorian romance to be reckoned with.
We begin with an illegitimate stable boy, rumoured son of highway rogue Gentleman Jim, Seaton and a young mistress of the house separated by the dastardly accusations of a jealous youthful neighbor, Frederick Burton-Smythe.
That neighbor grows into the bully he already was, placed by her father's will as Maggie's guardian. Determined to marry her, Smythe makes her life miserable and then St .Clare arrives in London from the continent, a man in whom Maggie sees a whisper of her beloved youthful companion Nicholas. Will Nicholas come to the fore or is this truly St. Clare?
Smythe is a ghastly man, absolutely convinced of his own worth and his right to order both Maggie and her holdings around in any way he sees fit. Associated villains, particularly St. Clare's aunt are suitably underhanded.
A rewarding tale of true love, with a full measure of danger and pitfalls along the way.

A Victory Editing ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Mimi Matthews is one of my go-to-authors when I'm itching for a good romance with an exciting storyline. I think Gentleman Jim is her best yet! Matthews grabs our attention from the first scenes and manages to create a story filled with romance, longing, revenge, swashbuckling fun and a satisfying ending.
Margaret Honeywell is a spunky young teenager when she falls in love with Nicholas Seaton. But Nicholas is a servant in her household and she is a wealthy squire's daughter. Frederick Burton-Smythe is her intended and he sets Nicholas up to get caught for stealing, a crime punishable by hanging. Nicholas manages to escape and Margaret is left heartbroken and waiting for him for years. He is her soulmate and she will not forget him. Ten years later she meets Viscount St. Clare who she believes to be Nicholas, even though he is quite different in character. Could he be the young man she fell in love with so many years ago?

We are kept guessing throughout the novel, while Matthews builds the tension between our two protagonists. This is a clean romance, but Matthews heats up the passion between our two lovers. The emotions are real and heartfelt. I could feel Margaret's years of longing for her lost first love, of wanting to be able to make her own decisions when it comes to her inheritance or who she wants to marry. She experiences losses and comes to a certain acceptance without ever losing hope that one day Nicholas will return to her. I could feel Viscount St. Clare's anger at the injustice he has seen and lived. He is swoonworthy for sure, but he is not someone to cross. Years of training on the Continent has made him tough, but he is falling hard for Margaret, and circumstances get in the way of their desire to be together.

This was such a good read! Both the main characters and the secondary character are fleshed out. I loved the loyalty of Margaret's lady's maid and also her friend Jane. The pacing is perfect, the dialogue witty, the plot well executed and the romance heartfelt and beautiful.

If you like proper historical romances filled with emotions that are a little more bold than the usual clean romances, this one is sure to please.

Be warned this review will consist of extreme fingerling and random words in CAPS. Okay, here goes. There's SO much to love about Mimi Matthew's newest release Gentleman Jim. First off, I'm a HUGE- I repeat-HUGE fan of intelligent heroines that ALSO have tender hearts. Maggie Honeywell has spunk, and lots of it. After her father's death she finds herself in a not-so-fab situation, yet she continues to hold her chin high. And St. Claire? All the sighs for St. Clair and his swoony self. He also lands himself in a peculiar situation and together he and Maggie navigate the tumultuous waters of the London society.

The romance between these characters was crackling HOT. Yet their relationship was not surface only. There were deep moments as well as sweet ones. The pacing was perfect. The plot kept me guessing. You guys there's a duel!! And ballroom scenes! And a whole bunch of awesomeness tucked into the pages!

So yeah, you need to read this and join me in my gushing because this story is worth ALL the accolades!

I received a copy from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Maggie Honeywell's first season, some years earlier, garnered her several excellent proposals, but she rejected them all because of her love for Nicholas Seaton, an illegitimate servant on the neighbouring estate. Following a false accusation, he ran away to escape being hung, but promised to return to her - but he'd never done so. Now back in London for a last season before her father's will forces her into marriage with a man she hates (and Nicholas' mortal enemy), she meets Lord St Clare, newly returned heir to a earldom, the son of a man who was disgraced and took to the road under the name of Gentleman Jim. And in him, she recognises her long-lost love, the man who disappeared ten years earlier, Nicholas Seaton - but he denies it. He's been trained by his grandfather for much greater things than her, and she's doomed by her father's will to marry another man or lose her inheritance and the home she loves - but the attraction between them is at once too strong to ignore and liable to ruin them both. Is any happy resolution possible?

This author has never disappointed me yet, so though I wasn't quite sure how a highwayman would fit with the normal run of her books, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to find out. And she definitely came through. With the author's usual good writing that draws one into the characters' lives from the first page, we get a clean story that mixes tender moments, a bit of a mystery to unravel and characters to care about. While parts of the story I was definitely able to predict, I couldn't see how everything could all work out happily - but of course it did, and I very much enjoyed the journey. All in all, definitely not your typical Regency romance, but highly recommended for all that!

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

Second chance romance and historical, sign me up yesterday, oh yeah I did , so excited to receive this arc, and I was not disappointed at all. A wonderful happy and light read, the kind you can fall into and disappear for hours in a world of joy, romance, drama and escapism, wonderful characters you’ll love and hate. Perfect read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Mimi Matthews gives us a beautiful second chance at love and gives the bully his due in a way that will have you cheering for servant Nicholas Seaton/Lord St. Clare and Maggie as they fight for their love. From the moment Maggie/Margaret Honeywell secretly releases Nicholas from his hidden jail cell to the final pages you just know that she ‘gets’ Nicholas. They truly are a ‘part’ of each other.

Nicholas and Maggie are so emotionally connected, that I was not sure how Nicholas kept hidden who he was for so long, but Maggie knew. Yes, she started to doubt herself, but still, she knew.

It is sad when you cheer on a fight, yet when the bully is put in his place as Fred was, you do not feel too guilty. My heart broke a little for the young Jenny Seaton of Nicholas’ past. And, I loved that Maggie kept to the search for Nicholas. The ending was a neat, tidy resolution to a beautiful journey. This was truly a feel-good book for me – loved it.

Gentleman Jim is a little different than other Mimi Matthews books but no less engaging. From the prologue, I was hooked by the love story and couldn't wait to see it played out.
I didn't like some of the lies from the hero but when they came out, I understood why he did it.
There are a lot of secondary characters in this book that had me fussing and hoping they got what was coming, lol.
All in all, an engaging read.

With only one other experience reading Mimi Matthew’s work, I have still come to the conclusion that she has a gift for marrying the classical to vintage historical romance. I hadn’t gotten five chapters in before my head was full of Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo or Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Kidnapped. No retellings here, but an engaging story of struggle, heartache, and the triumph of love.

Gentleman Jim opens on a terrifying and tragic scene of a stable boy accused of theft from his best friend, the fiery-tempered local squire’s daughter. Nicholas has born trouble from his employer’s son, Frederick Burton-Smythe, who bullies him and from everyone else because he’s the illegitimate son of a tavern wench. But, to be thrashed and then hanged for stealing Maggie Honeywell’s jewels when it was Fred? Perhaps his love with Maggie would have come to nothing since their stations in life were so different, but now escape is his only option leaving Maggie free to marry the baronet’s son as her father always wanted.
Ten years later, Maggie has endured much as a result of her father’s death. His heartbreaking will that will legally force her to marry Fred if she wants to keep the beloved family lands and her inheritance and the further clause that made Fred her guardian and have veto power over any man she may marry to get said inheritance. It is no wonder her health broke and she is a shadow of her once vibrant self. The time allotted is nearly up and her father may win his way after all.
John Beresford, Viscount St. Clare, has spent many years on the Continent and now he has returned to England in the company of his venerable grandfather, the Earl of Allendale, who insists he settle down and take a wife. He is a matrimonial prize, but, from the moment he encounters a frail Maggie Honeywell, there is only one woman for him. The cost will be great if he fails, but he determines to see his way clear of all the obstacles including the still bullying Fred Burton-Smythe.

The characters and situations are introduced and then the story leaps forward a decade for a reset on characters and situations. Or, is there a connection to what came before? This could have been like many other Regency romances before it in that two characters are attracted when they encounter in London and at subsequent London society events. Both have competition for their hands and both have drawbacks in their homes. However, there is a swashbuckling, roguish quality to it from St. Clare’s actions and personality and Maggie’s own emerging indomitable spirit. I enjoyed the suspense of ‘is he or isn’t he’ when it comes to St. Clare’s mysterious past and I liked the journey he and Maggie took to get to the truth once and for all. The villains were such that I wanted them all to come to a nasty end and that includes St. Clare’s noxious relations. Maggie’s bestie Jane was a brick. I do love how the author slipped in some winning minor characters with their own background story going on.
Oh yes, my instinct that this had a classic connection proved true when I spotted some very familiar situations or even lines to Count of Monte Cristo. I missed the Tom Jones references since I am less familiar with it.
The romance was a growing element that had its own villain, revenge, to contend with making Maggie unsure what would ultimately win out. That epilogue was full of delicious sweetness after all that had come before.
From the well painted Regency back drop to the sparkling three-dimensional characters and also the winding, tension-filled plot, Gentleman Jim stand and delivered. Those who have delighted in the author’s earlier books will find this has a distinctly different flavor worth the savoring and those who come for the first time will see her well-stocked backlist as a joy. Sweet historical romance lovers should snag this one at their first opportunity.

(4.5 stars) - A Count of Monte Cristo flavored tale!

Nicholas & Maggie are childhood best friends who love each other dearly. But Maggie is the daughter of the estate owner, while Nicholas is the bastard child of a tavern wench who works as a lowly stable hand. A jealous boy, Fred, from the neighboring estate sets Nicholas up for theft, & Maggie has to help him escape. Nicholas promises to come back to her someday.

Ten years later, Maggie has gone thru several very difficult hardships & finds herself under the oversight of the still repulsive Fred, who her father was pushing her to marry.

She meets the Viscount St Clare who bears a strong resemblance to Nicholas and becomes convinced that it's him - but is it him or is it wishful thinking?

The story is thoroughly engaging, and keeps you eagerly reading to the end. There was perhaps a bit of repetitiveness, but nothing that actually felt off-putting or laggy, and the dialogue is frequently entertaining.

The ending is overly pat & fairytale-ish, but it's allayed by the teasing little bit of open-ended uncertainty the author leaves at the end which I found extremely amusing.

*Romance level: passionate kisses; talk of a woman prostitute, a man tries to forcefully kiss a woman & tears her sleeve, but there is nothing graphic