It was a fast read. I liked the main characters- Richard and Anne. I liked their dialogue. A fun and fast!

I enjoyed the heck out of this book! I was totally hooked at 6% in and then devoured the whole book in less than a day.

Anne and Richard are two very interesting characters who aren't who they seem. Anne is the (fictional) Prime Minister's daughter, subject to abuse at her father's and fiance's (not MMC) hands. Richard is a MP who is an incorrigible rake, but takes on a request from Anne to teach her the art of attracting a man to make a different match than the one her father has arranged for her since she was 12. I love the taming of the rake theme as well as the FMC finding her inner strength.

I read this book in less than a day that's how much I enjoyed it. I thought the political intrigue, real historical issues, darkness, spice and romance were excellent. I would certainly read another novel in this series as well as more by this author.

This book is actually a few years old and I had a feeling I had read it already. It is a fun tale, too fast in parts. For instance the connection between the main characters is quite fast and I would have liked more detail and build up. Overall a good book with glimpses into the other books in the series

thanks for the review copy!!

boy this book reads FAST. i thinj i read it in just about 3ish hours. i love how quickly it jumps right into all the axtion, including the spice LOL. i enjoyed the easy way that this reads and the story was compelling enough to continue reading it without taking breaks but i also craved a bit more depth to the story. im a details person and i felt like we were missing a lot of those. overall i did enjoy anne and richards story and was glad when the duke and annes father were dealt with. definitely an enjoyable read.

Thank you Bloomsbury USA & NetGalley for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this! It was a surprisingly very easy read; it didn’t feel nearly as long as it actually was, which I think is a testament to how well the story flowed. Really loved these MCs together :) I really want to read the other books in the series now!

4.5 stars. The daughter of a prominent politician seeks the help of a notorious rake to help her find a husband and get out of a horrific arranged marriage. I was dubious of the set-up at first but Richard and Anne’s story was full of darkness, angst, and swoon worthy romance. I ended up loving this historical romance and the author has set up her other books in the series with a lot of care. This will be a series that you need to read in order to get the full experience. I can’t wait to keep reading about these characters. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Ahhhh this was so good! I’d read the original version several years ago, but this is better than I remembered. It’s fast paced, with high heat and early and often spice. But it’s also got plenty of plot with political machinations and disturbing reveals about Anne’s father and her intended.
I loved Richard. He falls hard and fast; the way he was just gone over Anne left me with a grin on my face. Honestly all their scenes together left me giddy. I loved Anne’s strength and how she blossomed under Richard’s tutelage.
Are parts of the story a bit over the top? Maybe. Did I care? NOT ONE BIT. This is so bingeable and it just made me so happy to read. I highly recommend! (I also can’t wait to get Caroline and Julian’s story!)

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.

I loved the first half of this story. It endeared me to the main characters and had me rooting for them and their happiness. However, the second half of this story seemed to be heavily reliant on shock value and primarily served to set up forthcoming romantic pairings in additional books.

I am also concerned with the handling of sensitive content. It is established early on that our heroine has been subjected to SA and that her father has, at best, turned a blind eye to it and, at worst, facilitated it. While this is handled appropriately and serves the plot, the addition of child molestation and murder was a shocking inclusion that felt ultimately unnecessary and all too casually addressed.

This was definitely a lovely read. More nuanced and much more depth than a lot of other historical romances and interesting characters, as well. 4/5.

This book was rough - so often historical fiction is couched in soft language, but this book really showed the harsh possibility in the lack of independence afforded to women in these times. Anne was heavily abused by both her father and the man she was promised to, leaving her with no options but to attempt taking her escape on her own shoulders. The escape into the arms of another man was inevitable, but Richard was definitely the right one for her to choose. Enjoyable watching the real villains defeated.

Fantastic beginning to a lovely series. A page turner and a new lesson to the very end. This history within was interesting.