These Chase books are really making me read very quickly, because I have deemed it necessary to read one “normal” book between every one of her delightful tales. That being said, I am sort of at the end of the ones that I’ve stockpiled as being immediately interesting…must regroup.
After the wonderful recommendation of Mr. Impossible, my Kindle suggested this novel to me as well. I’ll freely admit to being a bit of a Goodreads snob, and for romance novels I tend to agree with the reviews. Stories in the 3.95+ range usually land well, and so of course I was keen on reading this one. The promise of seeing more of Rupert and Daphne, since this book takes place after Mr. Impossible, was just icing on the cake.
Adding in the travails of Peregrine and Olivia, the irredeemably rascally wards/children of our hero and heroine, elevates this book from standard fare to next-level. While usually tales with widows are a bit risqué, we’re so far beyond the pale when it comes to blushing virgins that even having a child can’t tether our protagonists. It’s actually quite heartwarming that Bathsheba is a widow of a happymarriage, instead of the usual loveless affairs that widows in historical romances are given. And not a short one either—she was married for 12 happy years (spoiler: [and almost made it out of another one without a baby HEA, but oh well]). We go through ALL the tropes—Fake Relationship, There’s Only One Bed/Carriage, I Will Pay You To Leave—but the characters make the journey well worth traveling.
