Cute story but the plot has lots of holes. If you can ignore them, you'll find it entertaining. The father's behavior is never fully explained. The back story of the Duke's heir is incomplete and therefore not quite understandable. The family story of the Duke is sketchy and needs to be filled in. Too many pages dedicated to the musings of the main female character and not enough to creating a more believable plot.

Lenore has been betrothed 3 times- yet never married. She escapes to the Isle of Synne with her best friend, margery to wait out the scandal. The isle of synne has its own rich history of star crossed lovers .
Enter Peter, the estranged grand nephew of the Duke. He has come back from Boston to wreak his revenge in the Duke. But along the way, he and Lenore fall in love and everything changes for both of them. A sweet tale with twists and curves.

I saw that this book was available on read now during the lockdown, and I’m always on the lookout for more historical romances, so thought this would be one for me. I really enjoyed the setting of the Isle of Synne, and the historical aspect of the origins of the island were wonderfully woven into the story of Lenora and Peter.

Peter Ashford is the heir to the Dukedom of Dane, and actively despises the current duke, so is happy to allow the dukedom to fall into ruin on the duke’s death. However, he’s fulfilling a promise to his late mother to spend time with his great aunt, Lady Tesh, and while there, he meets his cousin, Mrs Kitteridge, and her friend, Miss Lenora Hartley. Lenora is fleeing after her third failed engagement, and trying to bide time until her father foists another fiancé on her. Her and Peter clash from the get go, but soon realise that with one another, they bring out the best in each other, and it’s only when a new suitor appears for Lenora that both are willing to own up to their feelings properly. All in all, this was a really great historical romance, and I look forward to more from this author.

Lenora has been engaged three times, and all of them have failed. Her fathers constant scheming and harsh ways have her running back to Synne, the island she grew up visiting every summer as a child with her dearest friend.
Peter is slated to inherit the dukedom of Synne, and vows to repay a debt he owes as well as enacting revenge on the person responsible for his mothers death.

I enjoyed the plot of this book very much.
Lenora’s reasoning for going back to Synne made perfect sense to me, as did Peters'. Lady Tesh's plotting was entertaining if totally obvious. I adored Quinceys character and would love to see him fall in love as well. The backstories for each character were crafted carefully and were revealed to us at the correct times. Dialogue between Lenora and Peter felt real and genuine, especially during conflicts.

The character development was a bit lacking for me though. Lenora accepting her fathers glaring awfulness a little sooner would have lended more believability to her character. How did she delude herself for so long thinking he cared for her when he so obviously did not? Maybe a few remembrances of fond times, or moments of softness from him when she was a child would have made it more believable that she could be so blind to his feelings. She is called simple many times and although I wanted to disbelieve that, she kind of proves it to be correct quite a number of times.

Peters main personality trait was that he was brooding, and the reason for that was something that happened from his childhood. I could understand holding onto a vendetta, but I can’t see him just being miserable for the next 15+ years and finding no joy in anything ever. I would’ve liked to see him enjoying life in small ways, maybe laughing at some of Quincey’s antics, or talking about something he enjoys (sailing perhaps, based on his previous profession). He goes horseback riding often, maybe if that had been woven into the story as something he enjoyed doing as opposed to just something he did when he needed to get away from everyone and dwell in his own angst. I just wanted to love him because he was a sweetheart underneath the tough exterior, but there was no substance to really latch on to.

Overall it was a fun read, but if there was another book written about these characters, I wouldn’t be so invested in them to pick it up.

I was given this book by NetGalley with the understanding that I would provide an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Lenora is trying to find herself after three failed engagements. Her father is determined to find her a match. She meets Peter at the Isles but he has a vendetta to settle and he is not looking for love.
The book was well written and it flows well. I enjoyed not only the main charters but all of them.

After three failed engagements Lenora is desperate not to marry. She meets Peter who does not want to marry and is trying to bring down the dukedom he stands to inherit. Lenora manages to soften Peter as they both try to deny their feelings. This was a good story. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

i immensely enjoyed this book. The author wove a story I was swept into with ease and happily floated down the river of. The characters were well crafted and I was impressed by the prose. The only things I can comment on were I wish the imagery had been a bit more detailed and I also wish the expiation at the end of the book tying the ducal family’s pain together would have been more intense.. . I greatly enjoyed this book and look foreword to reading more from the author.

I immensely enjoyed this book. Christina Britton wove a story I was swept into with ease and happily floated down the river of. The characters were well crafted and I was impressed by the prose. The only things I can comment on were I wish the imagery had been a bit more detailed and I also wish the expiation at the end of the book tying the ducal family’s pain together would have been more intense.. Lenora’s father really could have gotten he just desserts as well. It was disappointing not to see his reaction to Lenora marrying a duke, Besides that, the only comment I can make is that I wish we had gotten to see a bit of Peter as the duke as well as the wedding of he and Lenora. I greatly enjoyed this book and look foreword to reading more from the author.