Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔 (If you read the series in order you’ll get more emotional depth)
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 (There might be more, this is a minimum here – I listened on audio and get lazy with notes)
Humor: A bit
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? probably plot
How did the speed of the story feel? medium to me
When mains are first on page together: It took a little bit – background is given on both mains first. They are on page together around 16% in I think
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, a few years later?
Format: listened to audiobook from library (Hoopla)

Should I read in order?
Ideally, yes. These characters are established throughout the series with Hannah (our heroine) being introduced in book 6. There is also mention of most of the characters from throughout the series and you won’t know who they are, as well as some series culmination reveals, children, etc. There is some minor review for things though if you choose to pick this up alone.

Basic plot:
Jonas and Hannah have a history – he saved her life and she treated him like nothing. So when he comes across her again a year later, he just wants to the job he was hired for and get out. Hannah has been hiding her longing though...

Give this a try if you want:
- Late Regency (1826)
- former soldier/bow street runner hero
- Dorsetshire setting
- well endowed hero
- heroine proposes
- bit of unrequited longing
- second chance (their story begins in one of the prior books)
- medium steam – I have it at 3 scenes but it might be more than this. I get lazy with audio notes.

Ages:
- Heroine is 22 at their first meeting. Didn’t catch hero but would guess around 30?

First line: (taken from audio, probably butchered it)
She was floating here in a bedchamber swathed in red.

My thoughts:
I liked this one okay but it isn’t a favorite for me in the series. Their story does start in prior books, and I’m glad I read those fairly recently so their story was fresh in my mind.

This one has some second chance vibes and animosity between the mains. I overall liked both characters but I think there was a bit of slowness here that I got a bit bored with. And I was not a fan of the overall mystery/villain that happened in this one.

I liked the steam and protective heroes that Braden always brings, but I just didn’t end up with any strong feelings about this story. It was a pleasant enough read but not one I would return to.

There is quite a bit of character time in the first half for various other couples from the series (this being the series ‘ender’) so that probably got on my nerves a bit since I am whiny and don’t like being pulled away from the main couple/story.

I think Hannah did get on my nerves a bit with the whole ‘I can help you’ – and where did that get her but in trouble of course. ..

Endearments

I wouldn’t necessarily say an endearment because the heroine doesn’t like it, but the hero calls her ‘princess’ and ‘snow queen’. 

Content warnings: These should be taken as a minimum of what to expect. It’s very possible I have missed some.

- kidnapping and extended abuse of heroine – she was held hostage for a number of years
- scenes of war and death
- parental deaths/murder

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes: It’s possible I missed something here, I get lazy with audio

Safe sex:

  I don’t believe so? But they are married 

Hows the consent? 

I didn’t take specific notes on this but think it was pretty good, at least implied? 

45% - kisses
54% - wedding night sex, her on top

Thick. Lean. Hard. Dark hair. Heated skin.
He reached for her.

67% - oral for her, missionary (followed by doggy style a bit after)

“I’m going to fuck you now,” he said, all his control gone.

96% - fingering for her (I’m sure there was more to this scene???)

“Do not stop. Do not be gentle.”