3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 because I did like the story itself.
There is a lot of potential for this story, but it needs work. I didn’t notice any typos, however the syntax needs work. A round of professional developmental editing would be helpful (I.e. to eliminate duplicity—like having a scene play out, then having a character retell the scene when they could have summed it up in one sentence like “So I gave him a summary of the mystery man’s visit” or putting a sandwich down a couple of sentences apart when it wasn’t picked up again between —and inconsistencies—she was so proper but turned out not to be a virgin??? And did Travis seek her out or she seek him out?, unnecessary information—like the paragraph about Jack the Ripper— and making more sense of things—like the MMC waking up from being unconscious for 5 days, and still ill, yet the doctor/half brother drops a bunch of shocking info on the MMC immediately. Also, how exactly did he fall the FMC when he was unconscious (the feels seemed to come out of nowhere).
The whole first scene with her brother was strange and I felt whiplashed from it. I can’t explain it any other way and felt utterly confused about how that conversation went by the end of it.
Some areas fell flat, like lots of build up and then a meh peak/climax.
Physically speaking, it’s a slow burn, but the 2 MCs fall for each other quickly but don’t act on it. They admit their feelings quickly, but this doesn’t match their personalities either (as a reader, my impression was that I couldn’t trust their true intentions/actions/words — were they being honest with the reader?) When the physical relationship does finally start, the spice is like a 1.5 🌶️.
Historical romance is hard to do, which is where a good editor with knowledge in this area, is vital. Little instances here and there didn’t reign true for the times. It makes the reader question if other things are true, like the story of why many pubs have the word “cock” in them; it was interesting but I don’t know if I can trust it.
I really loved how many of the leading and supporting characters were so charitable. Made them more lovable. The MMC was so likable and not a jerk, which can be a rare find nowadays.
The book description (back of the book) gives off the impression that the husband dies soon into the book, but I think it was at least halfway through, which I didn’t like. Either I would have wanted it to happen quicker or the description not spoil that bit for me.
I did like and enjoy this book, but I also feel it could be improved with some professional editing.