Such a great Regency story that reminded me a bit of my favorite (Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson) in that both main characters are head-over-heels in love with each other but don't know that the other feels the same way, because of familial and social constraints and misdirection. Rose is understandably frustrated with William, and I couldn't fault her for goading him at times. The author struck a good balance between showing William and Rose's friendship as it once was so the reader would know what Rose is grieving, and exposing the two sides of William- his gruff and often rude behavior to Rose and his true nature that is kind, thoughtful, and struggling to suppress his romantic feelings for her. The pace was steady which helped prevent the angst from bogging down the narrative, and I enjoyed both London and countryside settings. I appreciated the historical details of the plight of the young London chimney sweeps and Rose's compassion for them instead of disregarding the circumstances she can't ignore. A must-read for fans of sweet Regency romance!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

I feel like I really would have loved this book if it weren’t written in first person. The premise and the writing was good but it just wasn’t the sort of book that could pull off a first person narrative. I’ve never made a secret of my passionate dislike for a first person story but there are occasions when it works very well within certain books. This is not one of those books. The plot was intriguing but no good enough to keep my attention the whole way through a first person narrative. Gave up at around 60%. ARC received from
Netgalley. 1 star.

This book was a sweet romance that i would recommend to the younger readers. It sometimes seemed the sequence of events were not in order or something. I liked the story, but i felt the hero should have been made to atone for his treatment of the heroine and show more remorse for his treatment of her. The heroine seemed immature to the point of silliness. But as i said, good book for younger readers.

This book was given through netgalley by the publisher for my honest voluntary review.