Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖 (It took me a touch to get into this but once I got to about chapter 9 or so I didn’t want to put it down)
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋 (soooo angsty in some parts! My heart was clenching!)
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: Yes!
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: almost immediately (chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, about 6 months later
Format: voluntarily read a physical copy of the book gifted to me by the author
Why I chose this book: I was sent a paperback from the author and the blurb on the back sounded super cute and fun!
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
I believe this is a stand alone/first in series.

Basic plot:
Anna finds out she will lose everything up on her grandfather’s death – unless she gets married. And her guardian, Lord Ramsay is taking his responsibility to her very seriously.

Give this a try if you want:
- historical romance (Georgian?)
- Earl hero
- best friend’s brother
- guardian/ward
- hero has a sweet tooth
- waltz lessons
- light vibes of ugly duckling (some elements of heroine makeover – mostly clothes that flatter her shape more)
- enemy to lover elements
- he gifts flowers to her horse
- lower steam – slow burn with 2 full scenes somewhat close together within the page count

Ages:
- I didn’t catch their ages! I think maybe 20s?

First line:
Lady Anna Reston stood at the bottom of a wide stone staircase, wearing a borrowed dress and a grim expression.

My thoughts:
Oh my goodness – I have found a new fave author. This book was so freaking fun to me – I adored it.

This is my first by her (and her debut into the HR world) and I am already so eager for the next book. Some writers really just shine and Griffith’s writing style was absolutely my jam. She is one that the humor was so good, and genuine, the characters were delightful and memorable – the side characters really bringing life to this book too - and I loved the mains. I found myself swooning over so many lines and wanting to take down so many quotes. I found myself smiling to myself and wanting to kick me feet in glee during this story.

Ramsay has some issues with love and in some ways comes off as the classic emotionally constipated hero – which I am totally guilty of consistently loving. Love is hard for him to admit and we find out the issues in his past that have sculpted him into that man. But it makes his falling that much more delightful to me to watch him floundering with Anna, whom he just cannot seem to do anything right with except kiss her. Jealousy and uncertainty eat him up and I was utterly in love with him.

The all is lost moments within this book just gutted me. I LOVED the tumultuousness of their relationship. The push and pull, the uncertainty mixed with the passion and the hurt. Ugh I was amazing. This whole ride of a book I just loved.

Anna was delightful and I adored getting to know her – I have read a fair amount of horse loving mains in historical romance but not like this – I felt Anna’s love and care for her ‘hobby’ (her life!) and Griffith’s really brought it to light in a way that was engaging and breathtaking. The excitement and wonder really came through to me.

The tension was layered so well between these mains. And I just melted – absolutely melted – when Ramsay starts the gift giving to woo Anna in the most unique way. So, so sweet.

Funny, bright, delightful – I didn’t want to put this book down once I got into it.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: This is my first
Average rating: 5 stars
Favorite book: This one!

Quotes any typos are my own! I am bad with typos, I apologize

Julian turned his attention to another grievance, the sweetest and yet the most vexing.
Petit fours.
Two whole tables full, taunting him.
Little pink petit fours wrapped up like presents and filled with strawberry cream. Tempting white domes, each finished with a twist of sugared lemon. And of course the chocolate ones, each topped by a single pouting raspberry, calling to him like a dark addiction.
His sister was a fiend.
---
Charlotte doesn’t need me and -
Anna smacked hard into what seemed to be a solid wall of white linen. Impossibly well-muscled white linen that sent the oddest thrill shivering over her skin and carried the irresistible scent of -
Strong hands clamped down on her upper arms. “Lady Anna?”
Anna’s gaze swept up, way up. Over a warm, wide chest, up a strong column of neck and over the sharp curve of a jaw, up again past the dip of a rather stern mouth until she finally encountered a pair of bronze eyes, remarkably keen and clear.
Lord Ramsay.
Oh god.
---
Finally, a genuine response. An opening he could use.
“And yet you barely say a word to me, Lady Anna. You’ll make me jealous.” He let the word linger in the darkness of the carriage.
---
“Lady Anna?” His voice was impossibly deep. She had the strangest urge to lean her cheek against his chest and listen to it rumble.
“Yes?” she squeaked.
“If I call on you tomorrow, will you go walking with me?”
Anna had to remind herself to blink. “Because you insist that you’re my guardian?”
He smiled. “That, and other reasons.”
The harnesses jingled outside, the carriage rocked and swayed. Night air slipped in through a chink in the window and brushed against her collarbone, waking up her skin. “I suppose I have no objection to a walk.”
He leaned closer still, and all her senses stirred and shivered.
“Such progress,” he said softly. “It might go to my head.”
His words teased, but his eyes didn’t. Even as Anna watched they grew darker, more intent.
Her heart began to thrum, as if her blood was running too fast. She was in a carriage, making her way home at a sedate pace, so why did it feel like she was racing?
Julian held her gaze and lowered his head toward her. Slowly, so slowly.
“Lord Ramsay?” she breathed.
He was so close that she could almost feel his lips curve when he smiled.
“Yes, Lady Anna?”
“What are you doing?”
Those impossible eyes of his glittered. “I’d better show you, don’t you think?”
---
Julian couldn’t resist. He gave in to the temptation to take up her hand, raise it slowly to his mouth, and press a kiss to the inside of her wrist. Her pulse fluttered against his lips.
A lick of anger still flared within him and he wasn’t sure what to do with it, except press Anna against a tree. Taste her fierceness with his mouth.
Lashes veiled her eyes, but nothing could conceal the heat in her cheeks. “Are you done trying to agitate me?”
“Quite the opposite,” he said softly. “I’m just getting started.”
---
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! Did you bring your handkerchief?”
Anna nodded weakly.
Charlotte sighed dramatically and thrust her hand into the gap where the upholstery met the carriage wall to pull out a small flask, which she shoved at Anna.
Anna unscrewed the top and sniffed the contents. “What’s this?”
“Scotch.” Charlotte widened her eyes when the Dowager sputtered. “What, Gran? I know you and your garden club drink it when you think on one’s looking. Tonight’s such a special night I thought you might like to share?”
The Dowager went pink. “Really, Charlotte!”
Anna took a large swig of the stuff and thrust the flask back to Charlotte, but the Dowager swept it out of her hands.
“I’ll take that!” The Dowager took a quick swig of her own and thrust the flask into her reticule just as a footman opened the carriage door.
---
Anna frowned and looked down at her card. “If you say so. Which one are you?”
“James Marby, my lady.” He shot a puzzled look at Charlotte.
“Oh yes! The one who helped us place our bets.” Anna passed Charlotte her empty champagne coupe, put her hand in the young man’s, and gave a shrug. “God help your feet!”
“What was that, my lady?”
Charlotte choked back a laugh. “She said, ‘What a treat!’”
“I believe she said, ‘I prefer to dance with my fiance,’” came a deep voice from behind them.
---
“Tell me, my lord, do people really pack in like this for entertainment?”
He barked a laugh, a strange, harsh sound. “More polite conversation? If I were your fiance, we wouldn’t talk about the crowd. I’d tell you I lost my sanity the moment I met you. I’l say you stole it, just as you stole my reason and my-”
 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- death of a grandparent
- alcoholism remembered from parent

Author content warnings? Didn’t see any

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

Safe sex: 

  Hero uses french letters and talks about letting them choose when to have kids 

How’s the consent? 

  It’s good! 

Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No pregnancy or children in the story (It’s assumed they will try for kids in the future when they are ready 

Chapter 10 – kiss
Chapter 15 – kiss
Chapter 17 – kiss
Chapter 18 – kiss
Chapter 31 – kisses
Chapter 32 – kisses
Chapter 39 – 🔥 kisses, oral for her, missionary (v loss for her)
Down over her toes and then off, tossed over his shoulder and onto the floor. He lifted one of her feet to plant a kiss on the dip of her ankle, and rolled down to settle between her legs.
Anna’s eyes went wide and she gasped. He gave a growl of satisfaction.
“You’re so heavy.” She rocked against him.
That wiped the smirk right off his face.
“You’re so perfect,” he said, and it was her turn to smirk.
Chapter 41 – 🔥 oral for her, start of a bj for him that fades
”Are you all right?”
His eyes were closed, his jaw clenched. He seemed to be somewhere far away. Somewhere sharp and stony.
Anna pushed herself up on her elbow, snatching up her chemise when his eyes snapped open and she saw where he was looking. She could hear his teeth grind.
“Julian! What’s wrong?”
“Special. Fucking. License.”
Total chapters – 45 plus an epilogue