The intro was stellar and made me invested in the FMC, Marianne, and her friendship with Claudia, which made the next events more impactful. The friendship between Sebastian and Marianne's brother was also well developed and you could see how much they meant to each other.
I really appreciate that this book deals with heavy subjects but is low angst so it doesn't leave you devastated. Sebastian says some particularly filthy things that had me blushing, but I'd consider the spice level 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of 5? The characters are also really good about respecting each other's wishes without becoming drama queens.

The main couple grew on me by the end of the book and I’m looking forward to the next in the series, which will be about Finn.

I always enjoy when a character steps out of their comfort zone, finds passion, adventure and eventually love. Marianne has had several moments of loss and pain in her life and I was happy to see her find a new kind of joy, like herself a bit more and spend time with her brother’s best friend, Sebastian. Sebastian is the just rake Marianne needs to complete her late friend’s list of things to do before she dies. Sadly, she wasn’t able to complete the list so Marianne is taking her life into her hands (and Sebastian’s hands too of course). This friends to lovers romance is a nice easy read. Their romance is sweet and full of passion. Sebastian and Marianne both fell for each other at different times but in the end, they really found happiness and something a bit unexpected. Her brother, Finn, really loves her and I’m looking forward to his book.

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

"Well, you know best when it comes to desire. If you say it will fade, then I believe you." (famous last words)

After the unexpected death of her best friend, wallflower Marianne finds the unfulfilled bucket list she had left behind. Vowing to accomplish the list herself, Marianne starts crossing items off -- with her brother's rakish best friend, Sebastian.

I really love the premise of a woman who realizes that she's settled in to a sort of half-life on the fringes of the Ton and deciding to make changes. And who doesn't love a brother's-best-friend and my-brother-can-never-find out! I appreciated that the thing keeping them apart wasn't that Sebastian was a huge jerk and Marianne had to find a way to forgive him for it. He's always very sweet with her, even before it's obvious that their relationship will grow into something more.

That being said, I wish there was more evidence that Sebastian had been interested in her before she made these big changes to her life. His friendship with her brother is obviously very precious to him, but the concern is always that he would lose his friendship and never that he might lose hers. And I wish there was more a connection between Marianne and the friend who had left the list, Claudia. I think there was a missed opportunity to talk about why it was so important to finish this list on behalf of her best friend, outside of just making her own life more "daring".

Overall a 3.5 out of 5 stars! I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'll reach for it again as a re-read.

Wow after reading that I feel all overcome and in need of a cold shower! Let’s start by saying if you want a clean romance, give this book a miss. If you’re happy for open door sex scenes, please continue. Our book centres around 2 characters who both had tragic childhoods, which scarred them in different ways, and who, due to this, deal with things slightly different than expected. Marianne tries to complete a bucket list of sorts after her best friend dies, and in so doing becomes popular, the one thing she never achieved previously. In the meantime, Sebastian has suddenly found his friendship with her is now more strained due to his attraction to her, which he’s trying to fight due to his friendship with her brother, whom he’d promised not to dally with her. Will they or won’t they? Of course we already know but oh how great the journey is. The romance, the heat; Wow! Just read it, as I’m sure you’d love it as much as I did. It’s an unchallenging read for a couple hours that will make you want to get the next in the series

I was really excited to read this one but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. Around 35% of the book, the chemistry of our main characters completely fizzled out. I was enjoying the book up to that point but suddenly everything was starting to get rushed and the slow development of our character's relationship went off the rails into insta love territory.

After that, I couldn't feel any chemistry between our characters. Marianna's growth which was just starting was completely sidelined which led to her having almost no character. I think the pacing may be to blame. Adding a companion to Mariana and focusing more on her growth would have really helped, I believe.

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC!

Really enjoyable romance with low angst. Wallflower Marianne grieves for her best friend so embarks on a bucket list to experience a bit more in life. Marianne enlists brothers best friend Sebastian's help, who starts to see her where before he took her for granted. Its really gentle easy read with some steam.

Fun’s romance. Barely historical, slightly complex, nice chemistry. A definite read in one day kind of book.

Very excited for this gorgeous regency themed novel. I love the wallflower aspect and could relate a lot to it. Very enjoyable five star read!