Thanks Entangled Publishing, LLC and netgalley for this ARC.

This is a continuation from the previous romance in this series but it can be a standalone. Loved the way Keynesian brought the countryside into the story. All the right elements we want in a romance.

I’ve read several books by this author, and I have found them to be a mixed bag. A few I liked, a few I didn’t. I tried to like this, but honestly found it stupid and incredulous. I read 45% and just couldn’t continue. It had an unlikeable H, and an annoyingly stupid h. They deserve each other, and I deserve to move on to a book worth reading. I received a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

A very odd and quirky story. The characters are outlandish in their actions in an effort to deflect from their true intentions. It is a wild ride of missed signals, missed directions and an eventual HEA.

A Potion for Passion is very well written, yet, I have mixed feelings about the story line. I loved Flora. She is brave, kind, caring, honest and polite beyond reason. (It was good to see her finally say what needed to be said to her unkind acquaintance). She grabbed at life to have a little adventure. Flora admired Lawrence and his gorgeously, bronze body when she could get a peak, but did not act on it. Her remembrances of how her fiance died was a bit heartbreaking. The mix up of tonic/hair color was interesting – too funny!

Lawrence’s dedication to his apothecary trade is honest and true. He cares about healing and is sincere in his desire to heal and care for people, as evidenced in his rescue of the major on the beach. It was not a complete rescue, but still saved the major’s life. Lawrence did give up other women once he and Flora met again when he traveled through her village. He did not at first recognize his lack of interest in other women for what it meant. Kind of endearing.

The whole wrecker intrigue added to the ‘what is going to happen’ story line. Lawrence trying to out wit his colleague was a challenge of staying one step ahead as he tried to protect the major and Flora. Laughable at times.

As a rule, I like heroes to have some morals. Relationships with willing widows or local maids is one thing. Messing around with married women does not sit well with me. Although Lawrence is not trying to take advantage of Flora, he does not mind taking care of wives while their husbands are away. He is like a sailor with a woman in every port; as a traveling apothecary, he has a woman in every village. Sometimes more than one. His reaction once he and Flora succumbed was a bit ironic considering his own moral code. In addition, back to the story line, he knows the items he purchases are off of shipwrecks. He buys from wreckers, but he did not seem to realize or understand what the wreckers did to get the items. That seemed a bit naive.

As I stated earlier, I am not completely comfortable with a hero with no morals. He did allow his real self to grow into the man he needed to be, it just did not work well. Again, this is a well written romance, just not what I look for in HEAs.

A Potion For Passion by Elizabeth Keysian is historical romance with a dash of suspense. Ms. Keysian has provided readers with a book that is not only well-written but also has a stellar cast of characters. Flora is finally rid of her sister and is living on her own. Lawrence is a traveling doctor, selling his tonics and journaling his potions. He also sells secret items. Lawrence and Flora's tale is full of drama, humor, action, suspense and spice. I enjoyed reading A Potion For Passion and look forward to my next book by Elizabeth Keysian. A Potion For Passion is part of the Wanton In Wessex Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

a potion for passion finds miss flora hartington indulging in her fascination with itinerant medicine man, lawrence campion. posing as dr. l.e. champaign he has a whole host of tisanes and medicinal tonics that he sells at fairs and markets in small town england. part criminal, part quack, part healer, lawrence is many things, and flora doesn't always see them.

she tends to see the best of him. he's been her hero for so long, that even when he behaves shadily she finds excuses for him. but she's sheltered and he's been her hero for so long. when he accidentally gives her a bottle of hair dye instead of hair tonic and her hair turns red, she's furious and sets out to find him to ensure that he can help her change it back. somehow he convinces her to join in his show.

and soon she is his partner in all things, madame julietta. being julietta gives flora a taste of freedom and of independence she never truly enjoyed before. and the halfway in love turns into all the way in love. and lawrence, who has seduced and charmed his way through life, he finds himself too caught up with flora to think about anyone else. he's always believed a wife would be a poor choice for him, but perhaps his found the only woman to be his perfect choice.

things come to a head in a kind of madcap fashion, but somehow flora and lawrence find each other and don't end up in jail or totally ruined. it's almost a miracle, and the ending proves to be quite happy. and this regency romance was most enjoyable.

**a potion for passion will publish on september 24, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (amara) in exchange for my honest review.

When Miss Flora Hartington is given the chance of an adventure, a brief escape from the shackles of propriety, and she jumps at the opportunity. Kidnapped by travelling folk as a child, Lawrence Campion yearns to be a real doctor, which means earning passage to America. The last thing he needs is to be saddled with the beautiful and feisty Flora. However, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, and then be off to fulfill his dreams.
I’ve read & enjoyed all of the author's books & thoroughly enjoyed this too. No glittering ballrooms & simpering debutantes but an on the shelf spinster & a travelling apothecary. The story drew me in from the start & kept my interest all the way through. I really liked Flora & felt sorry for her that her elder sister still had her watched even though Lucinda had moved away. I had my doubts about Lawrence as he was far too charming & bit of a conman. However their attraction & verbal spats won me over. Another well written, well researched book, with believable characters that was a delightful read.

My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I have read most all of Ms. Keysian’s stories and they are quirky and fun and just bring you into their worlds. That being said, I was unsure about this book – I could not have been more wrong. This is my favorite book so far and I had a blast reading it. The hero, Lawrence, with his dealings not the most legal in nature is what made it all the more interesting to read. How could he redeem himself? Flora just wants excitement which she definitely got. If only more women, even in today’s environment, would just let themselves live and not be constrained by society’s norm.

Flora is a young woman lives alone after her niece marries a Lord and takes her mother, Flora's sister to live with her. Flora is very interested in the medicines that Dr. L. E. Campaign, an itinerant physician who peddles his medications from a wagon. Flora is followed around by the Mrs Reverend Daniell who is supposed to be a chaperone but turns out to be a self righteous snoop. Flora has seen Lawrence before and has been using his medications for quite sometime. She has been communicating and ordering meds from him for a year. With his dark good looks, she thinks he is the most handsome man that she has ever seen. Lawrence notices her right away and gives her a hair tonic that accidentally turns her hair a different color. When she goes back to demand he fix what he did to her hair, he invites her to join his show as his assistant. She becomes Madame Julietta for a short time. They fall in love but he has interests that could get him hung. They both have secrets. Hers is that she was betrothed and he drowned when he ship went down.. He has many secrets, but one is that he was stolen as a child and doesn't know who his real family is. He also, has many dangerous things that he is involved in that would result in death of jail. I adored this story of a traveling medicine man and a spinster. So much more than a romance. There's adventure, danger, mystery, Redcoats and salvaging from ships. The ending is so good and no, I haven't given any away. It's just that good. I received this book from Net Galley and Entangled Publishing for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.

This novel did not appeal to me. The characters did not "click" with me nor did the writing flow. I struggled to read to the end.

I received a free ARC version of the book from Netgally in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm in the medical profession and as much as I want to like Lawrence, he is a quack and a fraud that knows a little bit about herbal remedies. I know at the time traveling 'doctors' we're common and so we're their so called cures. At least he is trying to use his herbal expertise in his concoctions instead of accidentally poisoning his patrons. His cures are probably as good as some of the actual doctor's at the time. It still makes me dislike him.

For a quack, he is charming. All the women like him and he takes advantage of the fact in more then one town. Even Flora, our main character likes him but she has a weird sense of naivety and intuition that makes her unique. I regret to say I don't trust her opinion or that of any of the women characters in this book. Flora does loose alot of her naivety throughout the book but I still have trouble liking her character either.

Despite my dislike of the characters, the book was very well written and shows a great fictional rendition of a traveling apothecary at the time (albiet with a lot of poetic license thrown in). The romance between the characters was also well done and felt appropriately spicy.

I really enjoyed Flora and Lawrence's story. This one stands out because the setting is not the glittering ballrooms of the ton. Lawrence is a traveling apothecary and while Flora is the aunt to a countess, she doesn't go out in society other than to local entertainments.

Flora is ready for an adventure, so when Lawrence offers her one, she jumps on the chance. They end up traveling together for a few weeks, but Flora knows it will all come to an end shortly. Will they let their passions lead them to something bigger, or will they let this opportunity pass them by?

This was a great addition to the Wanton is Wessex series!