Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes
Perspective: Third person from the hero and heroine
When mains are first on page together: Almost immediately (chapter 1)
Cliffhanger: No, this ends in a happily ever after
Epilogue: No
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy from the author

Should I read in order?
You don’t have to but they are all AMAZING and happening concurrently – so you’ll get enjoyment out of seeing the events through each couple’s eyes a bit differently

Basic plot:
For her own security, Winnie made up a marriage – and ten years later finds out the man actually exists.

Give this a try if you want:
- Late Regency (1821)
- fake marriage
- huge hero/tiny heroine – though Winnie is average height, Spencer tops her by 8 inches
- character and relationship focused (no mystery or villains)
- protective hero
- working women – heroine has lived on a sheep farm for 10 years and makes her own thread
- medium to higher steam – 3 full scenes in a novella length

Ages:
- Hero is 28, heroine is 31

First line:
At twenty years of age, Winifred Wallace had to her name one dress, seventy-two pounds sterling, and three necklaces dripping with diamonds.

My thoughts:
I adooooooooooooooooooore Vasti’s writing so much. So, so much. She is such a delight and has the perfect mix of what I love in romance – she’s character focused, she’s steamy (and her scenes are emotional and developed!), her characters are so lively. There’s angst! I fall into her books so easily. I want to read more as soon as I put it down. I hide from my kids to keep reading...

I was worried as we got into this one I wouldn’t love it because our heroine has created some lies to get by in life. I struggle so hard with that because of some personal things I’ve gone through – I tend to be really sensitive to lying and it’s almost unforgivable to me. But...Vasti took Winnie and she made her relatable. Lovable. Understandable in her actions. She created a vulnerable, forgivable character that I loved.

And Spencer?? Oh. Spencer I LOVED. He was utter perfection with his sweet, understanding personality. So supportive. So kind. So tied up with longing over Winnie he finds himself jerking off near the bathroom door from the scent of lemons...All the things that came out of his mouth made me swoon.

Sigh. I love it.

Quotes/spoiler-y thoughts:

Her lips parted. Spencer added that to his tally of Things Winnie Must Stop Doing with Her Mouth.
-----
“Let’s go.” His deep voice was a raps.
“I-what?”
“I want to take you home. I want anything-everything-anything I can get. Jesus, Winnie, I just want my mouth on you again.”
“But...the dinner…” They had stopped before the door.
“Fuck the dinner.”
----
He stopped thinking anything except ‘fuck’ and ‘Win’ and ‘yes’.
----
“God. Winnie,”he said hoarsely, “you make me want to do such wicked things.”
 

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

- neglectful mother

Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

 
29% - kiss
51% - hero masturbation (interrupted)
59% - kiss with threat of discovery
62% - 🔥kisses, fingering for her, oral for her
75% - 🔥kisses in the theater that lead to kisses and humping without penetration, blow job (complete) in the carriage ride home
89% - 🔥the start of wall sex, then he takes her to the bedroom, oral for her, missionary (V loss for her)