Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: A touch
Perspective: Third person from both heroines
Cliffhanger: No
Epilogue: No
Format: a very old advanced reader copy in e-book form that I’ve let languish on my kindle for years

Should I read in order?
I don’t see this listed as a series on goodreads, but I believe its the first of a series. (Her Countess to Cherish features a side character from this novel).

Basic plot:
Jacquie and Nora strike a bargain – Nora will get Jacquie invitations if she can help set up her up with a husband.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency time period (1813)
- London setting
- Lots of balls and social gatherings
- F/F pairing
- low to mid steam – 2 full scenes but they were a touch on the short side. Walsh’s scenes are explicit enough that you know what is happening but were a touch on the flowery side for prose and ended a bit abruptly for me
- touch of instalust
- forbidden love
- you’re okay with scenes of other woman/other man jealousy

Ages:
- Jacquie is 26, Nora is 25

First line:
Miss Jacqueline Lockhart stood at the edge of the ballroom with her dearest friend and only true confidante, Miss Beatrice Everson.

My thoughts:
Overall I think this was a sweet story, but it had focus on a couple things I’m not a big fan of in romance so it ended up not being a favorite for me.

Jacque is delightful – she has this bright and energetic personality and she came off as one of those people you just cannot help but enjoy when you are around them. She lights up a room. This is her sixth London season as her parents are really hoping to use her good looks to gain them a title and bring them up in society.

Lady Nora has good society connections but her shyness impedes her social interactions. Jacquie helps bring her out of her shell and she really blossoms with a friendship together.

This is a really cute story – it does have a bit of instalust between the mains, but they hold off a bit by striking a bargain. Jacquie will help secure Nora a husband and Nora will invite Jacquie to all the best society parties. This results in what becomes a friendship until passion is acted upon. I really loved both heroines!

There were quite a few scenes of other woman/other man jealousy and drama that I don’t really get into. Some scenes of cattiness and just general judgments of society made it more of a heavy read for me. So while I maybe wouldn’t reread this one, I would definitely try more by Walsh :) I did like the ending but would have really loved an epilogue.


Content warnings:

- painful breakup remembered by Jacquie
- homophobia and the mention of safe houses for LGBT members and the death of men for loving men
- family disowns heroine after finding out she has lesbian rumors

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

 
55% - kiss
58% - kisses, Nora fingerings Jacquie, then oral for Nora
64% - kiss
67% - kisses, Jacquie fingers Nora during the Vauxhall fireworks