After a problematic second novel, Evie Dunmore is back swinging with a book I cannot stop thinking about.  It’s incredibly raw, and although it’s only the third of four books in the series, it’s absolutely a leveling up and a culmination of what she’s set up in her first two books.

Hattie and Lucian are forced to marry after being caught kissing in a gallery.  I’ve never met two people more insistent on not seeing things from the other’s point of view, or on not at least trying to make their marriage work before determining nothing good will come of it, and that gets frustrating at points.

Hattie doesn’t really understand the extent to which women are denied personhood until she’s married against her will, and it’s so very painful for her to realize how few avenues are available to her without her husband.  It’s the kind of thing often glossed over or wholesale ignored in historical romances, and I think the “bUt WoMeN wErEn’T fEmInIsTs ThEn” contingent of romance readers will NOT like this book.  But I thought it was such a valuable exploration of compromise, of adjusting expectations, of making a marriage work with an added layer of angst.

I will say that the ending was not my favorite.  I think the separation was necessary, but my “wrap it up with a bow on top” heart just wanted them to be together nowwwwwww.  Overall, though, a fantastic, thoughtful, thought-provoking return from Dunmore.  I can’t wait for the fourth.