Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, it’s so cute and sweet and funny
Perspective: third person from both the hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: immediate
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after for the couple
Epilogue: Yes (maybe a few months in the future?)
Format: read an e-book version that was received for free through a bookfunnel link through the author (check her website!)
Why I chose this book: I saw it either in Nicki Pascarella’s newsletter or instagram post and I love me some novellas right now haha. And I am going to be reading Charlotte’s Kisses and Victoria’s Whispers soon so I thought it might be a good one to dive into with the series.
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
I picked this one up alone and it’s fine! I think it’s a prequel to the Rakes, Rogues, and Scoundrels series which I am going to read soon!

Basic plot:
After a disastrous almost meet-cute, Alexander can’t stop thinking about Emily. Luck is on his side when they are both attending a masquerade ball and he can rekindle their spark.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency – 1818
- Marquess hero
- bookish heroine
- hero is pretty ‘all in’ from the get go!
- he keeps her glove…
- masquerade
- shorter story
- medium steam - 2 full scenes in a shorter book

Ages:
- heroine is about 24, didn’t see hero mentioned

First line:
The rude man in the fancy tailcoat and embroidered waistcoat snatched Emily Coldpepper’s book right out from under her, even though the volume had been sitting on Mr. Mendling’s shelf, collecting dust, for almost a year.

My thoughts:
This novella was so cute and fun. I knew after the first chapter I was going to enjoy this one!

This novella is adorable and playful and oh so sweet. I loved the mains. Alexander is protective and gentle. And Emily is a hoot. This made me so eager to read book 1 of the series, Charlotte’s Kisses – she’s a minor side character here. And I thought it was funny how Alexander is so against their match.

Few random reading stats for this author
# of books read: 6
Average rating: 4.83
Favorite book: Oof – maybe this one so far??

Endearments

The hero calls her ‘kitten’. 

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

- there is an evil villain stepmother featuring scenes of abuse, remembered abuse, and implied and on page sexual harassment of the hero by her
- domestic abuse on page – the hero’s stepmother slaps him multiple times
- mention of an ailing parent (hero’s father)

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

Safe sex: 

  No 

How’s the consent? 

  It’s good between the mains 

Pregnancy/children in story? 

  No children or pregnancy on page for the mains, but the alluded to future with children 

67% - 🔥fondling by the mirror, fingering for her, missionary
Hungry, nay starving, he nipped at her shoulder. His lips brushed her ear, her scent intoxicating. “Emily, do you want me to stop?”
“No. Oh, no.”
“Are you - “
Before he could finish his question, she spun to face him, her shaky fingers grabbing at his buttons. Apparently, she was as sure as he was, and he was completely and utterly convinced.

90% - 🔥epilogue sex – oral for her, desk sex with light spanking
“Do you want to do it with me?” she asked.
God, yes. “I want to do a million indecent things with you and only you.” He held his breath, waiting to see if he’d horrified her. But he had to be honest, didn’t he?
She hopped off the desk.
Damn, he’d pushed too hard, and now she was running away.
Grinning mischievously, she slipped around to the front of the desk. She braced her elbows on the surface. Leaning forward, she winked as she wriggled her arse.