Series: Scandal Sheet Survivors, #1
Traits & Tropes: brother's best friend; pining; suspense/blackmail; forced proximity
Publication Date: 09.16.22
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London/Surrey, England, 1830
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 5 stars!
Miss Helen Langley has been in love with her brother’s best friend for at least the last seven years but has remained silent on the matter in deference to her brother’s feelings. She may flirt with him a bit, but there’s only so much she can do with a man who sees her as a sibling.
Nicholas St. Clair made a pact with his best friend that they would never marry. After seeing how his father suffered his unrequited love for his own wife, Nicholas isn’t keen to enter into the same state. Remaining unmarried is also simple when the only woman he’s interested in sees him as a brother, forcing him to keep his true feelings hidden.
But Nicholas and Helen soon find themselves thrown together in a new way when they’re embroiled in blackmail and murder and must work together to find the true culprit, leaving them to decide just how willing they are to continue hiding their true selves.
This book is the epitome of pining and sexual tension. The connection between Helen and Nicholas was clear and I loved it when they finally gave in to that tangible need they had for one another. I especially enjoyed the fact that there was a mystery here that the couple worked together to solve and that strengthened their relationship and was the catalyst for them coming together. I always love it when the MCs must work together to face some sort of hardship or solve some sort of problem and we get to see that bring them together, bonus points if that situation also leads to forced proximity and carriage shenanigans as it happily does in this book. Perhaps my favorite aspect was that angst was kept to a minimum despite the fraught situation the hero found himself in, thus providing the heroine an opportunity to shine with her use of cool logic and her refusal to be silenced as she fought for her relationship. Nicholas and Helen had waited so long to be together that once they finally confessed their feelings to each other, there was no way they were going to let anything come between them again, no matter what, and I felt this as a reader and very much believed in them too. It was impossible not to root for them. This was another hit for me from one of my favorite authors. Adele has set up a lovely new series for us and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/591580729
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4975381728
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