Overall: ⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋 (The scenes were...fine – I know how Laurens can be (WORDY AF) but these were just kind of bleh to me – they lacked an emotional aspect I have felt in some of her other books)
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥+
Humor: A touch
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow AF
When mains are first on page together: very soon in, about 1% in (chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: No but the last part kind of wraps everything up
Format: listened to an audiobook from the library (Hoopla)
Why I chose this book: I started the Bastion Club series awhile ago and eventually want to finish
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
I wouldn’t say it’s totally necessary but there’s some minor character overlap and mention of previous events.

Basic plot:
Penelope and Charles come together to solve a mystery after a 13 year separation.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency – 1816
- Earl hero
- hero wants a wife
- former soldier hero (a spy during the war against France)
- second chance
- higher steam – she’s a bit euphemistic but you know what’s going on - 8-9 full scenes

Ages:
- heroine is 29, hero is about 33

First line: (Taken from audio, may be off)
Crack. A log shattered in the grate.

My thoughts:
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I thought this book would never end. Literally every percentage felt like days.

I had a disconnect with the narrator on this one. She didn’t have a bad voice at all but there was just something...it didn’t feel like romance. I don’t know, I felt like I was listening to Judge Judy in a way 😆 It was very like….abrupt? I don’t know. I might have to read the next book and see if it helps.

This had a bunch of things I don’t love in romance. Spies. Mystery. Second chance. And with Laurens way of saying the same sentence 3-5 times I thought I was going to die.

I can really love Laurens writing when it’s got my favorite things. Then it’s like triple the amount of sentences of my favorite things. 😆 But that wasn’t this one sadly. I’m hoping I like the later Bastion Club books a bit more! In this one, they already had a relationship 13 years prior. So when they meet again there just wasn’t a good tension build up for me because they kind of fell into each other again. There wasn’t that uncertainty that gives me butterflies. And then with the mystery plot taking over and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages and pages of sex I didn’t care about I was just ready for it to be dooooooone.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 16
Average rating: 3.5 stars
Favorite book: probably The Lady Chosen

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

- mention of family deaths (brothers/parents)
- their first time together she was 16 and he was 20 and then he left her to go to the war…
- murder, violence and death on page

Author content warnings? None listed

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

 
Safe sex: 

  No 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s good

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  I don’t recall children or pregnancy in this story for the mains but there is a mention of a side character having children and a mention of stillbirth 

 
18% - kisses
23% - kisses and breast play
28% - kisses
32% - kisses
40% - kisses, touches (I think she has one???)
46% - kisses, fingering for her
52% - her on top
59% - missionary? Maybe?
67% - sex – a bit light compared to prior scenes
72% - sex
76% - sex
84% - sex
99% - sex