Wow! What a great read! Nash is the Duke who was raised by a violent and abusive father. His mother left when he was ten to save herself. Now he is the Duke and so afraid he will become his father. He has shut down his emotions. But his grandmother shows up to remind him of his need for an heir.
Ana Maria is the daughter of an earl although she was treated like a maid by her stepmother. But now that person is dead and Ana Maria is coming out of her shell and becoming her true self. She has always loved Nash as he is one of her brother’s best friends. Nash has always been attracted to Ana Maria. They both fight their attraction to each other.
Their tale will twist you around until they find their HEA!

This was a very different kind of historical than I was used to. It brings two characters together, Ana and Nash and Nash is her brothers good friend. So when Nash sees Ana has business in dangerous parts of town, he wants to teach her to defend herself. This gives the two some time alone together to get to know the other and they both fall for each other.

The issue here is domestic abuse, which was very different for a historical novel. Nash was abused terribly by his father and he does not want to marry anyone he cares about who can cause him to care and rouse his temper. That is why he can never be good enough for Ana.

As I said different, and I liked the writing and characters a lot as well. If you want a historical with a serious issue and fear then this was a lovely story.