I read a lot of romance, and a lot of historical romance in particular these days, and after a while, a lot of the stories blend together. There are so many lords and rakes and inns-with-only-one-bed, and while I never tire of these formulas, there are a few that stand out because I KNOW I won't ever forget them, that their characters won't ever lose shape in my mind.

Convergence of Desire, by Felicity Niven, is one of those stories. What set this apart for me is our heroine. Harry (Harriet) is a complex, neurodivergent genius hungry with ambition. Our rake (turned reformed rake) and hero, Thomas, agrees to her absurdly confident proposal of marriage so that she may have the time and personal comfort to pursue her mathematical dreams - and so that he can put her dowry toward saving his estate from financial ruin. Their meet-cute is as hilarious as it is affectionate, and their marriage of convenience is built on a foundation of mutual respect and true agency.

And the romance is exceptionally tender. This is the slowest of slow burns in the BEST way. The development of intimacy is so tentative and organic, so messy and painfully REAL that you find yourself racing through a book whose timeline spans a YEAR (this is no insta-love!) just to see them finally ignite. He READS TO HER. And she teaches him the calculus. And he confronts his childhood trauma. And she regains her health and discovers new independence. And he gives her *lessons*. And they pine for each other. And I wept.

My only complaint was that it ended. If you're a lover of historical romance, I highly recommend this one. I do recommend checking content warnings, as there are a few heavier themes and at least one on-page violent encounter.