This was my first time reading this author and this story was a really bonkers plot in a very fun way. I think sometimes the plot had too much going on, (there was a point where they explain what happened in book 1 and for someone like me who hadn't read it, it made me dizzy!) but for the most part it was a fun story about a young woman who had an indiscretion with a guy and it taking this for her brother's best friend to start looking at her in a new light -as a potential romantic interest.

Very good. I usually don’t like the brothers best friend with heroine theme- but I enjoyed this one. It was fast paced and steamy! A good read!

When The Viscount Wanted Me was so much fun to read!

This was my first Lydia Lloyd but it definitely will not be my last, especially given how much I loved all of the secondary characters that filled out the world. I want every single one to get their own book and I will read them all in a second. But keeping with the main event of Trem and Henrietta, I absolutely loved this couple. There is no dawdling for time with their story, they get together very quickly (a praise, not a criticism) and it genuinely left me in suspense of what the rest of the book was going to entail.

I shouldn't have worried at all because what happens afterward is action packed, emotional, and a story that really delves into family and friendship and how those bonds are tried and tested. I don't want to give too much of the plot specifics away but what I dearly loved about this book was how much Lloyd filled out the world with characters that undoubtedly existed in the time period but who are rarely highlighted. Sebastian and Cordelia left me hoping for a book that followed them, Mrs. Seymour was so fascinating, and I would die for a Mary Forster and Mr. Ryeston prequel.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good story. The plot was interesting and a page turner. I really enjoyed reading this book and it was the right amount of spice.

When I started reading this book, the first thing that came to my mind was, 'Damn Henrietta!'. This book is quite spicy, so if you are not into that, then don't read the novel. The story as a whole was enjoyable; Trem and Henrietta were well-suited for each other and the plot development was superb.

It never stops being an absolute thrill reading an author for the very first time and falling in love with their every word page after page. The beauty of Lydia Lloyd’s writing and the detail with which she renders her characters took my breath away.

I'd been looking forward to Trem and Henrietta's romance ever since they were teased in When the Duke Loved Me, and it doesn't take very long for them to get together in this book, that too, thanks to another man, inadvertently.

I appreciated this book's treatment of sex and female sexuality; Henrietta is curious about sex and decides to experiment with a friend (who is not the hero), and her experience is a good one. You don't see this in a lot of historical romances, namely, the heroine having premarital sexual experience before the hero, or if she does, the experience is a positive (and consensual) one. When Trem demands to know why she did this, Henrietta quickly makes him realize "because I wanted to" is an absolutely valid answer, like it always has been for men. And Henrietta explicitly acknowledges the pregnancy risk and states she would be fine with having Trem's child out of wedlock, which, again, isn't something I see very often in a historical romance. Also, I did find it funny that while Trem felt suuuuper guilty about debauching his best friend's sister to the point where he sent ye olde batsignal to his other friends to counsel him, that didn't stop him from doing it over and over again (not that Henrietta was complaining)

Here is where I became a bit confused about the direction of the plot and conflict: Henrietta and Trem quickly become engaged without revealing they've had sex to Henrietta's brother John (the previous hero and Trem's best friend). John is happy at first but becomes suspicious about why they've suddenly decided to get married. After that, he devolves into this almost comic state of immaturity and freezes out Trem. On top of that, Hartley is demanding Henrietta marry him and goes as far as to make a public fuss, but he's never quite treated as a villain and is instead treated as a mere nuisance. Eventually, Henrietta runs away to see her birth mother, with Trem chasing after her, however, even that conflict is quickly resolved between them as well as Henrietta and her birth mother. Hartley ends up making a random, final appearance where he does actually try something dastardly, but there's still no explanation or motivation for his actions.

There were also a couple plot points I think could have been explored further: Henrietta is given an opportunity to run a ladies' magazine, and she wants to expand its offerings to include political articles on subjects such as abolition. In addition, Trem comes to the realization that he's, well, an indolent lord, and he could be doing more with his life, but there isn't much development or discussion on that front apart from his one grand gesture near the end of the book.

The sex:

Plentiful would be the best way to put it. Trem seduces Henrietta by asking her to show him exactly what she did with Hartley which I thought was just great, and after that, nothing can stop these two: Not being in a public ball or the middle of the woods, not cockblocking siblings, not even gunshot wounds (as Trem tells Henrietta, "I could fuck you with a bullet in both [arms]").

Funnily enough, this will be the second book this year I'll be recommending by saying if you felt cheated by that scene in A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas where St. Vincent insinuates he's going to use a pearl necklace on Evie but we never read the follow-through, this is your book.

Overall:

I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for a historical romance with instalove, plenty of sex, and a relatively low-stakes plot.

Rating: 3.75/5
Heat Level: 3.5/5