Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥 (no penetration scenes though)
Humor: A bit
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? slow to meidum
When mains are first on page together: Very soon in, about 6% (chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, very shortly in the future
Format: bought e-book
Why I chose this book: I love Vivienne Lorret and I haven’t read any of this series! I saw most of it on Hoopla, so I picked up this
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is the prequel novella to Lorret’s Wallflower Weddings series. (And was also published in the Five Golden Rings anthology if you have that)

Basic plot:
Penelope needs Ethan to realize what is right in front of him – and if he doesn’t she’s going to leave and find her own adventure.

Give this a try if you want:
- Late Georgian – 1822
- childhood friends to lovers
- neighbors!
- holiday romance
- he knows her favorite foods
- shorter novel
- unrequited love
- average novella steam – 1 full scene

Ages:
- heroine is 25, hero is about 28

First line:
Penelope Rutledge waved to her sister as the carriage disappeared from view.

My thoughts:
This novella was cute overall. I tend to be more forgiving of novellas – I know it’s hard to have the romance feel complete and grow tension.

My issues with this one were that it felt just a touch repetitive and I was left wanting just a bit more from their interactions. I want the see the hero change a bit more through the book, and embrace the heroine’s need for adventure. The ending was cute though. But this was one that I just wasn’t 100% solid feeling on their HEA – I worry that he will disappoint her eventually.

But it did have some really cute parts and I loved their kiss scene, when he finally started to crumble for her. I generally love Lorret, but this one that is pretty easily forgettable.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 10
Average rating: 4.4 stars
Favorite book: Probably Ten Kisses to Scandal, though The Wrong Marquess is a close second.

Quotes

Oh. I totally melted.

“How can you be so..so unaffected all the time?” Her voice rose with her accusation. “Haven’t you ever dreamed for something outside the realm of possibility? Or are you content with each day so long as your cravat is perfectly pleated?”
She glared at the offending garment, struck by a ridiculous notion to crumple it. No sooner had the idea formed that she gave in to the impulse and moved forward on her seat, her arm reaching forward.
Ethan stopped her, taking hold of her wrist. His eyes flared. Before she could react, he yanked, propelling her forward to land clumsily on his lap.
“How dare-”
His mouth covered hers, silencing her outrage.
---
She pressed herself against the harness of his thigh to quell the throbbing ache between hers. A sweet sob escaped her at the contact.
He tore his mouth away, his eyes hooded and fiery. When he looked down at her flesh in his hands, an expression of blatant ownership swept over his features. It was as if he said she was his, and there was no denying it.
 

 

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

- parental death
- parental death from illness

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes, safe sex aspects, consent, pregnancy/child in the story:

 
Safe sex: 

  They don’t have penetrative sex 

 
How’s the consent? 

  It’s good 

 
Pregnancy/children in story? 

  A side character (the heroine’s younger sister) is pregnant with her third child. Mention of possibly wanting children in the future.

 
67% - kiss in the carriage, nipple stim o and dry humping o