Series: The Phoenix Club, #4
Traits & Tropes: titled hero; class difference; hidden identity; forced proximity; kidnapping; hero needs money; working heroine; fake engagement; redeemed hero
Publication Date: 01.25.22
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London/Somerset, England, 1815
Heat Level: 4
Rating: 5 stars!
Thanks to his father’s lack of self-control, Bennet St. James, Viscount Glastonbury is struggling to take care of his family and those who depend on his estate. He loves his family dearly, but they are an immense drain on Bennet and have necessitated his marriage to an heiress. He’s grown increasingly desperate, and his best idea is to kidnap an heiress, only to find that he’s detained her beautiful, annoyingly intriguing, unfortunately penniless, paid companion.
Prudence Lancaster has used her role as paid companion to high society ladies to aid her efforts to find her birth mother and learn the truth about her origins. When her life is disrupted by an unscrupulous viscount, she’s amazed to find herself tempted by his unlikely charm and easy acceptance. Soon he has her longing to look toward the future, rather than obsessing over her past.
But Bennet is keeping darker secrets close to his chest, shattering Prudence’s hopes for their future since he won’t betray his family, even if it means losing the love of his life.
Bennet is something of a villain in the previous book of this series and his redemption arc in this story is on point. He and Prudence both had so much emotional depth and complex character development throughout the story that I loved. I adored these two together and their maturity and willingness to openly communicate, after a somewhat rocky road as they learned to trust one another, was delightful to read. Prudence had spent her life tamping down her emotions and pretending not to have any while Bennet seemed to feel entirely too much and struggled to regulate his surfeit of emotion. Those factors wouldn’t seem to make a good combination and yet these two worked so very well as a couple. I loved that Bennet and Prudence faced challenges and adversity together, allowing them to strengthen their relationship rather than draw them apart. The familial devotion shown to Prudence and by Bennet was an excellent addition to this story as well and I loved that both main characters showed depth by reevaluating and altering their hopes and dreams for their lives. I’m very happy the angst was kept to a minimum here, there was a good deal of steam and chemistry between the characters, and the plot is just what I want from a romance. I loved this book, and I can’t wait to read Ada’s story next.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/1141170847
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4275720267
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