The issue is, for the first half of the book, I didn't like the mcs, Mabel and Derek. Her sister Leona is engaged to his brother Alfred, and Mabel and Derek do not approve of this match. So they try to break them up with several schemes. However, Leona and Alfred really are VERY nice people, and our mcs just end up looking like the mean girls. Now, I know that Mabel and Derek are both people that are hurting, and hurt people hurt people. I am all for the barbs and fireworks they throw between each other. But they seemed to be trying to take down everyone with them. I was more sympathetic to the side characters and was viewing the people I'm supposed to be rooting for as the villains.

I was looking forward to their redemption arc and how being together was going to make both of them BETTER people and round out some of the edges. I think some of that got lost by the way their marriage came about and also the plot with her ex husband.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Tropes: enemies to lovers; opposites attract
Steam level: 3
Part of a series, but fine as a standalone.

I enjoyed the first half, as the MC's show off some crackling chemistry and the writing is pretty strong. Then the premise the book starts with, of the MMC and MFC conspiring to break off his brother's and her sister's romance, is discarded, and the plot flounders. Because of this, characterization becomes inconsistent and there are scenes that simply don't make sense based on what has happened or what has been said previously. Even worse, a theme of victim shaming keeps repeating itself. SPOILERS AHEAD.................................................................Readers of HR's know that divorce during this time was rare and ruined the woman socially regardless of what horrors she'd had to endure, but I wanted to see MFC"s sister and husband stand by her through thick and thin. I really didn't like how MMC seemed to be opening up and becoming less judgmental in the first half, and then toward the end he was a TSTL alpha type who just went around yelling and finger-pointing. And MFC became less saucy and independent and more insecure and wrapped up in self-blame.

Bottom line: starts of engaging but ends up disappointing.

Derek the Earl is upset that his younger brother Alfred went to America and fell in love with Leona.
Now he brings her back to England with her older sister Mabel, a divorced woman with a mind of her own.
Derek and Mabel clash at every encounter only they have a common goal of trying to stop this unreasonable marriage of their siblings.
The banter is exciting, watching Derek resist his attraction to Mabel.
Enjoyable family and friends involvement.
Recommend series