I wish the story had taken more of what the blurb promised, which was to give Robert Darcy's side of things. It would have lightened the tale and made it more entertaining to see him undo Caroline's defenses. Instead, I'm left wondering why he likes her at all, and on top of it, we're barely given any hint about their relationship once it's resolved. ☹️

An entertaining read with plenty of footnotes, reflecting the scholar heroine... But I'll admit I have to go back and read half of them because I was enjoying their growing intimacy.

And that epilogue. Friends, you're gonna enjoy that epilogue.

For those seeking the sweeter, closed door side of loving monsters, with a heavy dose of what it might have been like if Sara had worked in the Labyrinth for a good while before facing Jareth. Slow burn romance, heavy focus on world building, a good way to spend a weekend.

I enjoyed this book, it just totally threw me when the narrative said they were 15 and 16. I kept double-checking after reading that. Xavier and Clara read like 25 and 26 to me, and I think I'm going to keep it that way in my head because there wasn't much about their characters that made me believe they were teenagers. Otherwise, a delightfully cozy fantasy romance.