Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖 
Feels: 🦋🦋 
Emotional Depth: 💔💔 
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋 
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑 
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 
Humor: Yes, a bit 

Should I read in order?  

This one is fine as a stand alone to me – there is a mention of their ancestors, which is clan MacArran from Highland Velvet – though if you go back to read this it’s best to read the Highland quartet in order. You can view chronological order on Deveraux’s website and I think goodreads has the publication order. (I’m reading in chronological order) 

Basic plot:

Claire must wed an acceptable man to get her millions of inheritance dollars. She comes across Harry in England and they soon become engaged. She goes with her family to see her future estate. Here she begins to see the problems of her engagement and meets a man hiding within the house’s halls. 

Give this a try if you want: 

- Victorian time period at a country estate in Scotland (1883) 

- Low steam – one full scene and a few kisses 

- Heroine nurses hero back to health 

- Scottish hero and American heroine 

- Lower action – much of the plot focuses around house hold experiences and dialogue 

My thoughts:

I was actually conflicted about this Deveraux. I haven’t loved her work (sadly! I know she’s a pillar of older HR) but this one just felt different. I find her plots usually extremely busy and action filled – running here and there with little time to stand still and have dialogue and get to the know the characters in between. But in this one there wasn’t much action. And I liked that aspect to it, but at the same time I ended up getting really, really bored. In the first half of the book it was Claire wandering around a country estate being abused by people and I was just waiting for something to happen. Even with this lack of danger/action, I didn’t leave the book feeling like I had a lot of character depth and that was sad. Though I do think there was more here than some of her other stories I’ve tried. 

I did like some things about this one. But there was still a lot I didn’t love, so I settled at 3 stars. 

Here’s a few random parts that I wanted to note from the book 

Ok this was when I thought Harry was the hero – I didn’t think he would recover from this from me hahaha 

<i> 

“I’ve missed you,” he said smiling, “Did you think about me?” 

“All the time,” she answered, looking at the way his broad shoulders practically filled one side of the coach. 

“And what were you doing while you were away from me?” 

“Buying dresses and reading. What did you do?” 

Harry smiled at her over the glass of wine. He wasn’t about to tell her what he’d done, for it involved mistresses and a few actresses, and some horses that he’d lost too much money on. But he was going to marry a very rich heiress and it didn’t matter how much money he lost. 

“I thought about you,” he said and the way he said it made Claire’s heart flutter a bit. 

To control herself, she looked out the window.”My mother won’t like that I’m alone with you.” 

“I think your mother would allow anything if it resulted in her daughter marrying a duke.” 

Claire gave him a look of surprise. “I’m marrying you because I love you, not because I want to marry a duke.” 

“Is that so?” he said, smiling, and when he smiled like that Clare forgot everything in the world except him. “And what about all this history you keep talking about? What about that place? That Cull something or other?” 

“Culloden? But that was - “ 

“Yes, yes, a very great battle.” He leaned forward and took her hand in his, playing with her fingers. “When I think of marriage, I think of other things besides war. You’re not going to lecture me on history after we’re married, are you?” 

“I’m looking forward to getting you into bed,” he said very softly 

</i> 

How is Claire so all knowing about this when she grew up in America as a rich socialite? 

<i> 

She saw hungry people, but fields that oculd have been used to raise crops were barren. Timber that could have been harvested was not. Even blackberries that could have been put to commercial use were allowed to rot on the ground. She’d seen horses that were housed better than people. 

She put her head in her hands. She wasn’t a socialist. She wasn’t a person who believe that all people should have the same. She was her grandfather’s child. She believed in hard work and those who worked the hardest and were the most clever made the most money. 

</i> 

Oh my god. A part I actually paused at in a Deveraux book and thought – I love that. I LOVE THAT. It’s a first, people. 

<i> 

With that Trevelyan swept his forearm across the chessboard, knocking pieces to the floor. “And become her lover? Shall I love her, then stand back and watch while she marries Harry? Shall I remain here and wait until Harry leaves, then go to her?” 

“Being the lover of a mrried woman has never bothered you before. I have heard you brag that you could climb in any window. I have heard you say that married women are you pleasure because they give to you their joy and to their husbands they give their misery.” 

“I want her misery too,” he said softly. 

</i> 

Yes, YES I was like wow this hero is doing it for me for once. But then he ruins it within the next sentence of course. 

<i> 

“What?” 

“I want her bloody misery too,” he shouted. “I want all of the bitch.” 

</i> 

Booooooooooooo 

I hated that he states he’s going to tell her the ‘truth’ about who he is and let her choose. Instead he immediately goes to her room and fucks her and still refuses to tell her who he truly is for a lot longer of the book. 

The epilogue also felt extremely weird and unsatisfying. 

 

Content Warnings: 

Hunting on page, including the kill 

Infidelity – heroine is engaged to another man for 99% of the book and does have intimate relationships with someone else. Also mention of her fiance going to see his mistress who has 2 children, one that looks like her fiance. 

Fat comments – I think there was only mention of fat in this book??? I am so proud of Deveraux, usually it’s almost incessant. Though in this instance it was given as a jealous comment from another woman 

<i> 

“Claire, love - “ Travelyan started, but then sighed. “She said that you’re too heavy for your height and that men don’t like fat women.” 

Claire clenched her teeth. “Tell her men don’t like flat-chested, scrawny women such as she. Tell her that in my country of America, where people are civilized, women are supposed to have some meat on them.” 

A bit of violence – side character punches another for no reason 

Suicide 

</i> 

 

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes: 

Pg 7 – kiss with Harry 

Pg 66 – brief kiss with Harry 

Pg 108 – light nuzzling and kisses with Trevelyan 

Pg 236 – kiss (Trevelyan) 

Pg 244 – first and only full sex scene 

Pg 253 – kiss 

Pg 258 – remembered brief scenes over the course of 4 days