I think I may have enjoyed this one more than the first book. Pippa and Cross are both incredibly intelligent characters and Pippa is a woman with strange interests, especially for a woman in her time period. She is nerdy, straightforward, and loyal to her word to a fault. It was great to see her find someone that instead of being confused by her was intrigued and even attracted to her exploratory personality, her thirst for learning, and how odd she was. Cross is a caring man that cares more than he lets on. It was also great to get a female protagonist that wears glasses. I honestly can’t recall the last time I read a historical fiction novel where that was a thing. I do wish that the story gave them more than a 2-week timeframe to get to know each other and fall in love. I feel like it made the suspension of disbelief a bit more difficult for me personally as far as a love story goes. Then again, this was a different century where people were betrothed on less, and I think that helped me get over it a bit. Cross is very secretive about his past throughout the book and we do eventually get to delve into his past, and man, is it an interesting past. I think that despite the fast pacing of the story, there is not just lust between the two characters, but also a consistent interest in the other’s intellectual prowess (especially at the end when Pippa shows us what a genius she is). Hell, by the end I was thinking that if Cross didn’t marry Pippa, I would. In the end, I still think this is a good romance, especially if you like more brainy characters.