Series: Bow Street Bachelors, #2
Tropes & Traits: forbidden romance; enemies to lovers; law enforcement hero/thief heroine; soldiers
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England
Publication Date: 06.30.20
Heat Level: 4/5
Rating: 3/5
As a second son and soldier, Alexander Harland has spent his life proving his mettle after a fairly wild youth. Now made Earl of Melton in recognition of his bravery, Alex also uses his skills in investigations for Bow Street. His one source of distraction is the woman who’s never far from his thoughts, despite the fact that he only shared one kiss with her before he left for war four years ago and never even learned her name. Now he’s investigating a peculiar jewel thief known as the Nightjar and his inquiries have him repeatedly encountering the beautiful Emmy Danvers. Alex is certain she’s his mystery woman from years ago, but unfortunately, he’s equally certain she’s the thief he’s set to bring to justice.
Emmy has held a tendre for Alex for years but knows nothing can ever come of it since they are now enemies. She knows her game is nearly up, but a blackmailer has left her with no option but to steal, no matter how reluctant she is. When her elaborate game of chase with Alex ultimately puts her life at risk from the impatient blackmailer, Alex is left scrambling for a way to protect the troublesome woman he’s come to love and make her his.
I’m not sure if it’s really the book’s fault given the difficulty I’ve had focusing on reading lately, but I had such very high hopes for this book and it just didn’t meet them for me after how much I loved the first book. Emmy, the heroine, was my main problem. She was constantly sniping at Alex and complaining about his arrogance and lack of trust when really she was the one who was exceedingly arrogant and mistrustful. The banter between Alex and Emmy was clever and entertaining, though at times it was a bit much and the need for Emmy to constantly best him got a bit old and it didn’t make Emmy charming for me, though I’m sure it was meant to. These two definitely had chemistry between them, but fairly little in the way of actual romance, though there was plenty of steam and tension. I found Emmy to be rather a conundrum as she is presented as being highly intelligent and yet she continued to make ridiculously stupid decisions with regard to her thievery even after she knew Alex had figured out her identity. I enjoyed this much more once the two started working together, but even then I felt Alex was the one doing the giving in the relationship and Emmy never put any trust in him, not even at the end, which made their relationship a bit of a letdown because it seemed she never had any faith in him to protect her. I think part of the problem here was a need for more fleshing out of the blackmailer’s character to make him a true villain and make his motivations believable. This was still a good read, it just wasn’t what I expected and fell a bit short of what I wanted from it, which is probably unfair of me. Regardless, this still wasn’t a bad book and I’m looking forward to Sebastian’s story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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