This was really fun! Henry's had feelings for Margo since meeting her seven years ago. When Margo shows up at his door to ask for his help, the man is absolutely HELPLESS to refuse her which we love. And we end up with a brothers-best-friend roadtrip romance! They're super cute -- though I do wish there was like, one more chapter (maybe an epilogue?) after they finally get together.

Honestly the fact that I gave this 4 stars is a testament to Hoyt’s writing because I do not normally vibe with a book where the MMC is simply a villain, and you cannot deny that that’s exactly what Mickey O’Connor is for the majority of the story. I don’t even like how he treated Silence (FMC) and Mary (baby) for a few chapters there! But I love Silence and watching him soften to her was very very good. Also, Hoyt managed to make an even MORE awful villain than Mickey which definitely helped his case in SO many ways. Also, he is unfortunately charming as hell.

This book was such a delight! I don’t have a lot to say about it other than the fact that it was just fun. This is a second chance romance and I would’ve loved to have some flashbacks or something, but they’ve known each other since they were children. He hasn’t told anyone in this village that he’s a duke and he’s finally at the point where he has to come clean because he can’t win her over without her knowing his true identity! Meanwhile Chloe and her dad are working on developing and selling a sauce so that he could get revenge on the men who stole his recipe. This whole story just felt so cozy and I loved it. (And as always, Mary Jane Wells makes it even better.)

For the first like 40% of this book, I hated it. Caire (MMC) is not likable in the least (he’s just a complete and total jerk for a good chunk of the book unfortunately), and Temperance (FMC) just kind of annoyed me? They were making it really hard to root for them, though they got far more tolerable by the second half of the book. THAT SAID, the cast of side characters and storylines are absolutely what saved this book for me -- which is why I’m going to keep reading the series because of course I want to see how everyone else’s stories wrap up!

Ugh, Sarah MacLean and Mary Jane Wells continue to be my favorite author/audiobook narrator duo. I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed this book if I were reading the physical copy, but why would I do that when I can listen to Mary Jane Wells narrate it? Adelaide and Henry were perfect. Loved both perspectives, loved their overall story, loved that he’d been pining over her for years before they actually had time together. As always, love everything about Hell’s Belles and cannot imagine not having a blast with these books.

This book was so much longer than it had to be. I had a good time, but I found my eyes glazing over so often because the narration would just go on and on and on about things that ultimately didn’t feel very important. I would think this is because Angeline is known for rambling, but this also happened from the point of view of any other character in the story. And when Angeline DID ramble, I enjoyed those moments very much vs what I’m talking about. While I loved the romance and definitely had some kicking-my-feet-giggling moments, this book could’ve easily been a novella (or ya know, just a shorter novel).

I don’t know who the author was, but I’ve absolutely read this storyline before. Woman is living her life and the man shows up and has the deed to her house and says it’s his now. And when I’ve read it in the past, BOY it left a bad taste in my mouth because the man was just so villainous? But the way that Ferdinand approaches the entire situation with Viola immediately had me won over. I was laughing and absolutely cried at one point in the book. We also got a little bit more of their life after marriage than we did in the last book, which I always appreciate.

First (but def not last) Mary Balogh book! Jocelyn (duke with daddy issues) cannot stop getting into duels until Jane (runaway with a secret identity) shows up and stops one...leading to him getting shot in the leg. She becomes his nurse as he recovers, and they both start to catch feelings, so she ends up becoming his mistress. Jocelyn was an absolute mess who had to try to maintain his masculinity at every turn and Jane was the first woman who was willing to square up to him? Which isn’t my FAVORITE trope but I still def enjoyed it! The side characters are absolutely delightful and I love love loved the ending.

I WANTED TO LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. And in a lot of ways, I did! I spent a good chunk of this book thinking it was going to be a 5-star read. Dade does a lot of things right: as silly as she may seem, I found Athena to be one of her most relatable characters to date (granted this might be because I'm a teacher who is currently planning to quit the profession and would love to have a rich man so I didn't have to worry about making rent, BUT). I got so excited when she depicted Athena picking at her fingernails -- that's not a thing that we see in romance often and I really felt seen. I think her overall depiction of Athena's major depressive episode felt very real, and she had great chemistry with Matthew. Despite the overuse of the term "Professor Google", I really think Athena was a near perfectly written FMC.

Which makes it sound like my issue with the book is the depiction of Matthew, but it's not...until the end. Once the two finally get together, everything starts to move way too fast.

I think she did a better job of writing a virgin than a lot of authors do, but I do wonder if that had something to do with the fact that almost immediately after having sex, Matthew was basically making wedding plans. They hook up, she leaves to celebrate Christmas with her parents, and the third act breakup happens right after she returns (it's as if they didn't have a chance to actually be together yet since all of their romantic moments since then have occurred in the bedroom but I digress). AND THEN. In his groveling, he fully tells her he plans to marry her?! And she's excited about this?! And while we don't get a proposal, we do find out in the epilogue that they got married quickly <b>and that his brother was not only supportive, but acted as their only witness?!</b>

I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying it. I get the idea that Matthew, a normally very careful man who has everything planned out, has his life turned around by Athena and he starts to make out of character decisions and that's lovely and I love that for him. But idk, maybe see if you can actually stay together for more than 30 minutes before all of that. Lmao.

All that said, I really enjoyed most of the story! I just couldn't accept the rushed ending and it really pulled me out of the rest of the story.

I love Luna! I love Jean-Pierre! I love the roller coaster I was on cuz I really went from “wow this guy is annoying” to ““wow I feel bad for this guy” to “wow I love him actually” and got to experience that cycle AT LEAST twice while reading this book lmao. I love a good cooking romance and wow did this book give us a really punchable villain (Henri can GO STRAIGHT TO HELL) and a satisfying ending. Both characters are trans, and It was interesting seeing what they could relate on and how it contrasted with their personal backgrounds and how that impacted their lives and how they feel about their gender and such. Loved this, no notes, more please.