Series: Wallflowers vs. Rogues, #3
Traits & Tropes: reformed rake; employer/employee; class difference; slow burn
Publication Date: 09.27.22
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 4.5/5
Brandon Delamar, the Duke of Westbury, must finally admit that his profligate ways have caught up to him. He’s gambled away all of his funds and with five younger sisters lacking dowries and needing to find husbands, he has no choice but to find a wealthy heiress to marry.
Viola Beaton is certainly not an heiress but her sunny disposition brightens the ducal household as she gives his sisters music lessons and generally makes their lives run more smoothly. She’s come to love the girls but unfortunately for her, Viola has also been unable to squelch her deeper feelings for the duke. He makes her dream impossible futures for them and compose the most outrageous sonatas, but she continues to remind herself that there can never be anything between them.
When West declares his intention to find a bride for himself and husbands for his sisters as well, Viola stands up to him to try to persuade him not to curtail what little freedom they might expect from their first seasons. He comes up with a scandalous bargain for her: he’ll allow his sisters their Season, but Viola must serve as their chaperone and keep them from causing any scandals. That’s all well and good for his sisters, but it’s soon clear that West and Viola themselves are the most likely ones to cause a scandal.
Viola has always been a helpful, supportive friend and confidante to those around her, but it has left her feeling a bit like a supporting character in her own life and I could relate to that sentiment so much. Thanks to that resonance, I adored seeing Viola come into her own, go after what she wanted, and refuse to settle for less than love. She helped West want to be better, to grow and face the pain he’d been carrying around for years, realizing that his father’s anger and bitterness still had a hold on him from the grave and that he didn’t need to live that way anymore. West wanted to be worthy of Viola and that made this a reformed rake story I could get behind, especially because she already loved him regardless and only wanted him to stop wasting his life on someone else’s misery. I’m not usually a big fan of wastrel heroes, but West had a good heart and he truly wanted to do the right thing, but he’d been told he was tainted and worthless for so long that he just needed someone to believe in him and not give up on him. Viola was that person for him and that made the trope work for me.
In turn, West believed in Viola and encouraged her to take credit for her musical compositions and I enjoyed seeing them support one another and grow closer in this aspect as something that bonded them outside of just her relationship with his sisters, though that was also charming. I loved seeing West pursue Viola after her believing for so long that her feelings were unrequited. West also gets credit for the most unique, outrageous, and surprisingly sweet grand romantic gesture. The last third or so of the book was crazy sauce but by then I was sold and was totally here for it. This was a story I greatly enjoyed, probably my favorite of the series so far, and I look forward to this author’s next work.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4878644278
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2348268390
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