This was my first Sherry Thomas! I have heard so many people recommending her and loving her books. Well, I'm sold. Totally sold. I adored this book. I stayed up alllll night reading it. I loved it. I didn't care how tired I was going to be. I had to finish it.

Felix, our hero, has some issues. You see them forming in the prologue and your heart just breaks for him. You worry what he is becoming and his defense mechanisms he begins to employ to protect himself from hurt. Despite his rather sad past, he makes himself into The Ideal Gentleman. As a marquess, his manners, grace, and gentlemanly behaviors are above reproach. No one sees what is beneath this veneer he has created.

Louisa, our heroine, has a very certain goal – marry and marry well to support her family. She has many sisters, one who needs extra care, and she knows she must marry well to have the finances and stability to save everyone. She has created the perfect persona to thrive in London. She is friendly but not too forward. She is engaging without being desperate. She first is in awe of The Ideal Gentleman but quickly is wary and pushes him away when she feels his judgment.

God I just loved this entire book. I smiled so much in the beginning when they were dancing around each other and getting to know each other. Thomas has amazing chemistry and tension between the characters without a single touch. I was so in love with both of them, my heart fully engaged, gripping my book just waiting for something to happen. I LOVED this hero. I loved him falling in love. It was like he couldn't really see it or admit but I could see it, feel it and just revel in every moment. Then, he breaks my damn heart. Stomps on it. It's like he's realizing he's in too deep and tries to back track but it's too late. This book played on every one of my emotions. I FREAKING LOVE A BOOK THAT DOES THAT!!! But, oh, the groveling. He's an arrogant lord so he struggles, but it happens in the sweetest ways.

The sex was not what I was expecting. The scenes are not closed door, but are not very long or detailed or explicit. I know this will suite a lot of people. But oh, how much I wanted every look, every touch, the entire thing laid out for me. I was a little sad after the first scene, because well I'm greedy for eggplants. Yet, the scenes still had the emotional aspect to it. While it's not ideal for me, I still loved it.

I will say I thought Louisa's reaction towards the end of the book was more extreme than I would have done. I would have reacted worse to the source of the initial conflict in the book. It would have taken me a lot longer to forgive that instead.

I found something just a bit unique and different about the writing in this book. Definitely going back for more Sherry Thomas. I also have Delicious from the library so I'm going to start that tonight.

Spoilers ahead! Some random but specific thoughts about the book:
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Spoiler

I loved their dialogue in the beginning half of the book. The flirting with the walking stick was amazing. The innuendos had me laughing.

I adored the mannequins in the folly. Hilarious and then when Felix attempts to be a jerk to push Louisa away my heart was just so broken. I knew she would never cheat on him when she meets him at the folly at night. And I wanted to high five her for her line saying, “And I told him not to come near the folly due to the wasps” (paraphrased from rough memory haha)

I wondering if he would be able to make me forgive him by the end of the book. The tulips at first weren't enough, but oh how my heart totally melted when I saw it placed on a mannequin in the folly. His actions became just so sweet and respectful of her and I loved that.