Series: The Society for Single Ladies, #3
Traits & Tropes: I've loved you for years; titled hero; widowed heroine; danger/suspense
Genre/Setting: Historical; Devonshire, England
Publication Date: 11.17.20
Heat Rating: 3/5
Rating: 3/5
After shabby treatment from her parents and her late husband, Virginia, Lady Dulverton, prefers to hold herself aloof and apart from the world around her. There is one man who sees through her façade, the inconveniently attractive Earl of Wolverly. Now widowed, Virginia is finally relishing what little freedom her husband’s will affords her and trying to keep Wolverly at bay. But when his connection to her is made public and appears to put him in danger, Virginia abandons her hopes of keeping him at a distance and tries to help.
Francis Collingwood, the Earl of Wolverly, has built his fortunes to such an extent that he can no longer be ignored, despite the fact that his mother was born a commoner. He’s loved Virginia from afar for years and he won’t let her slip away now. When he is attacked and warned away from her, he becomes more determined than ever to stay by her side.
Frances and Virginia head for their country homes on the Devonshire coast in an effort to determine who is targeting them and for what possible reason. They stumble upon more than they bargained for including an organized smuggling ring and a love worth losing everything for.
I’m really not sure where to begin with this one. I love a hero who’s loved the heroine for years, especially when he’s also protective and determined, so Francis definitely fit the bill. What brought this down for me was the heroine herself. Yes, she was in a sorry situation thanks to her parents and her late first husband, but many of her decisions and her reasoning just didn’t make sense. Virginia was determined to keep her independence, but when it came down to it, thanks to her husband’s will, she had no real independence and was stubbornly turning a blind eye to that fact. She had no problem selfishly asking Francis to wait and rarely considered his feelings, even in situations where she was caring for him when he was injured. Her insistence on doing what she wanted, purely for the sake of having her own way, put them both in danger multiple times and could’ve been avoided if she’d been willing to be honest and work with/listen to Francis sooner. I wound up feeling like Virginia didn’t deserve Francis’ solicitousness, which was frustrating for me because, after her horrible first husband, she absolutely did deserve better, but the hurt she caused Francis and repeatedly so, made it hard to root for her. Francis put her first above all else while Virginia was always thinking of herself first and became annoyed when anyone cared for her welfare, even her servants. I can understand wanting security after an awful experience at the hands of a controlling husband, but Francis had more than proven himself and she still kept jerking him around and was very hot and cold towards him with very little regard for the fact that she was hurting him.
The writing here was good and I enjoyed the mystery, but the pacing felt slow and I wanted more from it since the plot felt a bit discombobulated, especially towards the end. For all of Virginia’s caution in her relationship with Francis and her supposed intelligence, she showed none of that with regards to the plot against them and that was maddening. Overall, I enjoy the concept of this series and hope for more, but this particular addition was rather flat for me.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/413899025
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3254343120
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