So, in case you couldn't tell by the 5-star rating...I loved this. I know this isn't a perfect book, but it's absolutely perfect for me. It's exactly what my nerdy Renaissance-Faire-and-Shakespeare-loving heart wanted.

I connected really intensely with Emily. Like her, I tend to be a stress ball and jump to conclusions about how people around me are perceiving me. Instead of 'asking the right question' I can assume the worst, which isn't great for your emotional health. But it's real, and as I was reading her story I could absolutely see myself in her.

I loved Simon, and their flirty banter. I loved that it began as their alter egos, pirate and wench, and how it organically grew between them as themselves. Their romance doesn't happen right away, which I liked. There are some sexy scenes in the second half of the book, but that's not ALL this book is, which is nice. There's an actual story to go along with the romance. Also, I never felt cringy or uncomfortable reading the intimate scenes. They aren't fade-to-black, but they also aren't explicitly graphic, or at least not as graphic as other 'romance' books I've read that are pretty much just porn masking as romance.

I loved Emily's relationship with her sister and niece. If there was one bit that I wish had been expanded on, it would've been April and Caitlyn's relationship and April's growth. I'm just saying, I wouldn't be mad if the author's next book was April's story.

I had a stupid grin stuck on my face for pretty much this entire book, and I can't wait for the author's next!