it was fine!  Love the author so I loved it but kinda mid and lots of insecure friend-zoning.

Wait this was so goood! Somehow built in two different year long backstories into a novella was genius!

It's like You've Got Mail but you realize the box store chain bookstore owner guy is a bad guy and her secret bookish penpal is also her enemy coworker at the indie bookstore and opposites attract and hockey and autism rep and diabetes rep and everything I love!  So much romance (historical specifically) and Jane Austen talk!!!!

I loved this one! It embodied the best parts of The Wildes of Lindow Castle series.  Better than the first two.

Reluctant heir to a dukedom and a lady turned governess caring for her orphaned bastard nephew.  Everyone thinks he's their love child from their engagement that ended abruptly but it's not.  Reputations be damned.

I really enjoyed this one and am loving being back in The Wildes of Lindow Castle universe.  I thought the personalities of the two leads are what made me love it so much.  And it's like a heartthrob/celebrity romance but she was never a fangirl. UGH

Also I thought it was interesting having the FMC be "the it girl."  Very Daphne Bridgerton.  It's been a while since I read a historical romance that wasn't centered on a wallflower or "spinster."  But the "cool girl" façade was well done if unrelatable.  It did remind me that what I've loved about the other books in this series is how sapio the connections are (probably not the right word but I'm trying!).  Like the characters fall for each other's personalities and character more than just lust.  Even in the prequel novella-ish thing which was insta-love because it was shorter, we got to see how the characters really appreciated the other's values, lifestyles, and personality quirks, not just status and appearance.

I think the next book Too Wilde to Wed will go the deepest on this dichotomy.  (It's already been set up so beautifully in this first novel.)

BONUS POINTS: for having not one but TWO perilous life-threatening scenes in the final acts.  A plot device very common with historical romances that I've missed.

cute little origin story for the matriarch and patriarch of a beloved series.  I love found family and dowagers/widowers finding love together.  And their adoration of their children is just chef's kiss!

I loved the Roma element (surprisingly the first time I've come across it in historical romance) and how obsessed he was with her.  Their mismatched fortunes was fun too.  But overall I found the story rather boring.  Then the gothic twist at the end was unnecessary and confusing.

Isaiah freaking Rhodes. My man. He really is out here battling Evan Zanders for the top spot in my heart.  I adore this man.  I found him so relatable and endearing and earnest and sexy.

Love this man and his hard-earned breathing.

I'm not ready for this series to be over.  We need a Monty/Reese book.  And also Trevor and Connor.

really cute plus size romance novella.  It was definitely insta-love but like it worked.  Like even though it went fast it felt like there was a natural progression and a solid pace.

fun, extra steamy, I love Evie Mitchell's inclusive love stories (I've called her the erotica Chloe Liese before and it holds up here)

I loved a fat, 29 year old virgin embracing sexuality on her terms. ANd I loved the big hulking handy viking man simping for her body

The beginning was so dull and gave me whiplash from all the POV jumps, but Mary Kubica did a great job of keeping each storyline progressing steadily so it never felt stagnant once we understood who was who.  The tension built beautifully (I literally kept gasping at one reveal in the office, alarming my coworker).  I found the ending mostly satisfying (probably one of the most satisfying endings I've read in a thriller in a while) but it still wasn't earth shattering or mind-bending.

I loved this book! The cheesy, OTT ending profession of love is what keeps it from being a five stars.