One Kiss to Desire

Ethan and Xenia smoked the pages from the very beginning.
Both are running from the past: Ethan emotionally & Xenia physically.
They are worlds apart but fit together well.
I liked the ghostly aspect and the mystery solving.
A wild love affair steaming up the pages.

A spinoff from the Blackwoods was always going to be amazing, but after reading it, I'm even more convinced and can't wait to read the full set. Ethan and Xenia's story has so many fantastic tropes, it's hard to know where to start. Hidden identities, class differences, recovering from mutual trauma, and a ghost??? Perfectly done, a fantastic couple, no notes.

Even better, you get more of the Blackwood family dynamics which was masterfully handled. Occasionally in romance series that are sequels to another book, the family will come across as just a little too perfect so that there is no question that the leads got their happily ever after, but if The Lady Who Came In From The Cold showed anything it was that Grace Callaway was intrigued by a flawed family that still loves each other and fights for each other. That remains true in the Blackwood Legacy, though I won't say the specifics because that would get into spoiler territory. Suffice to say, there's a lot going on between this family and I'm so excited that there will be four books to explore it all.

I can't wait to read what the other siblings get up to, especially James who you get a lot of hints about in this book but it's hard to say what his storyline will actually look like.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited when I heard the Blackwoods would be getting their own series. I love Penny and Marcus from The Lady Who Came in From the Cold. Their children really take after their parents in looks and temperament.

Ethan Harrington has really suffered with an injury that no longer allows him to play the piano as aficionado, a damaged history with his ex-fiancée and strained relationship with his family he has every reason to be brooding in the run down village of Chuddums. He is in desperate need of staff to get his also run down home a new makeover. Here comes Xenia Loveday that is also running from her past and over exaggerated a bit on her resume to get a job as she was previous a salacious storyteller at a brothel.

Ethan is a Mr. Grumpy Pants and needs someone to cheer him up. Xenia dives right in to do what she can to keep her job though cooking is not her strong suit. I really love them together because Ethan just needed someone to believe in him, same with Xenia. She has been put down and abused by her mother for years and doesn’t feel worthy of love. They really needed each other and they pick each other up in kindness, care and passion.

Plot was great and didn’t think the ghost bit would creep me out like it did. I love how it played out. I love seeing James, Owen and Gigi who have very different personalities, along with their parent as well. I’m very much looking forward to Gigi’s story. She seems like a really fun and meddlesome character that is so up my alley.


*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Grappling with a life-changing injury, piano virtuoso Lord Ethan Harrington wants solitude. Chudleigh Bottoms, a quirky village in the middle of nowhere, seems like the place to find it. He hires a mousy housekeeper to manage his manor and leave him in peace. Fleeing from her past, Xenia Loveday needs money to secure her freedom. When she loses her job as a naughty storyteller, she finds work in the nearby village, a peculiar place that locals claim is cursed. She has no intention of setting down roots or getting involved with her grumpy and wickedly attractive employer.
The start of a new series & it’s featuring the children of the Blackwoods. It was an absolutely lovely romance with wonderful characters, lots of delicious tropes, sizzling chemistry. A very well written engrossing romance. The Blackwoods aren’t a perfect family & I’m now intrigued to read the other siblings’ stories
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

A salacious story teller, a moody broody musician and a ghost…

~ Xenia & Ethan ~
She’s a go-getter and a survivor, adorably dishonest, resourceful, creative, kind and caring but wary, and on the run from a gruesome and menacing past: her mother. To survive, she turned her talent for spinning tales into a naughty attraction at a brothel, and that’s where she meets him. But then the place burns down and she’s out on the street looking for a job with room and board...
He’s lost. A marquess’ second son, wounded body and soul, jilted by his fiance, his life’s passion ripped away by an accident and angry at the world. He’s stuck in the middle of nowhere in a rundown estate with a volatile temper and a ghost chasing away his staff. He needs something. Something real, someone like that story teller he cant’ forget... and then his older brother introduces his new housekeeper.

She wants him, he wants her, but they can never be... until a ghost, a village fair, bruised knuckles and one final naughty story decide otherwise!

This was my brilliant introduction to Grace Callaway and this tale was everything I wanted it to be! Fast-paced, action-packed, humorous, thrilling, exciting, wickedly scrumptious, clever banter and just great fun with big feelings - pain, fear, lust, love, anger, forgiveness and so much heart - real emotional struggle, real danger, colourful folklore and locals, and an excellent grand finale!
Both MCs instantly got under my skin! They get off on the wrong foot, but once that spark’s ignited, they didn’t dawdle around. This book is the grab-a-fan oh-my on-fire kind of scrumptious, yet she remains a virgin till near the end. It’s so good and so delicious! I loved it!
And I love it even more because there’s also growth and depth; these MCs are complex, multi-layered, tormented and completely fascinating. Add an enthralling ghost plot and you have a page-turner I devoured in one straight sitting; I could not put it down!
An exquisite read I highly recommend!

I really liked this book not liked i mean I LOVED this book, it was everything i wanted in a story when i first applied for it i thought it was just a bout a man who needed a housekeeper to work for him at his estate, but there was so much going on that I just loved it, also the rumors about the estate being haunted by a ghost was just perfect and one of my favorite plot lines in books lol.

I think our main character named Xenia had a difficult past her mother wasn’t that nice to her, she was working as a working girl/prostitute also was afraid to tell people what she did so she made up some other past jobs that she was a book keeper to get the job as a housekeeper. I Think her relationship between her and the owner of the home Ethan was a little cold at first but he started to really have feelings for her even though he was grumpy and brooding half the time but he had his reasons and some things he tried to hide from her. When he gave her the job she lied about her age and some things about her because she thought nobody would like her for who she was, also there is a curse in the house and she kept asking him about the ghost and he kept saying he didn’t believe in ghosts. He gave her the job and told her not to go to the room at the end of the hall she would not like what she sees and she ends up being nosy and still going to check it out and he gets mad and flips out at her but then apologizes after in the middle of the story, they end up both falling in love, He tells her about his past, I think the love scenes are very spicy and the book was just very very good. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this book as a arc I was very happy to read it!

That was a fun read. There is ghost story, an arch criminal and a spicy romance. The romance between Ethan and Xania starts before they even know who the other is. Ethan is struggling to come to terms with an injury that changed his life and Xenia is trying to hide from her past. I liked that the Blackwoods are in the story, you don't need to have read their book but it probably helps to understand their immediate acceptance of Xenia. Can't wait for the rest of the series.