Series: The Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair, #2
Traits & Tropes: friends to lovers; class difference; hero with a job; beta hero
Publication Date: 02.22.22
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England, 1818
Heat Level: 1.5
Rating: 4/5
Lady Serena Wynter just wants to live life her own way, and if that means courting scandal at times, so be it. She uses her position and time to work on charitable causes with the ladies of her Wednesday Afternoon Social Club and is content with her life. But there is one man who Serena considers to be her dearest friend of all, and her feelings for him are rapidly becoming something more than friendship, and she suspects his feelings are similar, even if he is too honorable to act on them.
Charles Townshend, a boxer turned MP and a perfect gentleman, tries his best to temper some of Serena’s more reckless tendencies out of his fear of her putting herself in danger. His feelings for Serena go well beyond friendship but a scandalous family secret means he’ll never try to take things further with her and risk sullying her reputation. Fortunately, Serena has no intention of allowing Charles’ tendency to stick to propriety to stand between them.
This book has got to be the slowest burn I’ve read in some time, but honestly, I liked Charles and Serena so much that I didn’t really mind. They were both charming and easy to root for and I loved that Serena talked some sense into Charles when he tried to denigrate himself for others’ mistakes. She wouldn’t settle for anything less than everything from him and I found it really refreshing that it was the heroine pursuing the hero in this story. That said, I loved the dual narration of this one and I might not have enjoyed the story quite so much if I had simply read it and not also listened. Having the two narrators definitely helped bring both the story and the characters to life for me, pulling me into the story and making their longing/pining for each other more real and believable. Charles was frustrating in his insistence on the impossibility of these two being together, but his sweetness and the solidity of the friendship between these two, not to mention Serena’s refusal to give up on him, made the long wait worthwhile. I liked this book rather more than the first and I look forward to seeing which character will get their HEA next.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book and its audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3522992720
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4296848533
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