Shamed by his father’s actions, Marcus is stripped of his titles and property. He goes back to school and becomes a renowned ophthalmologist. Louise is plagued by cataracts since childhood. Marcus offers to help her to see clearly again and, in doing so, they find strong feelings for each other. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Marcus was stripped of his title and place in society because of his father, but he hasn't lain idle - he dedicated himself to becoming one of England's best eye doctors. Lady Louise is desperate for a more permanent solution to her recurring blindness. A chance encounter with Marcus gives her hope that this is possible - but her family doesn't approve of him fixing her eyesight, let alone courting her...

Sophie Barnes is fast becoming my favourite historical romance author. I'd been growing a little weary of the same old stories from others, but Barnes has a wonderful way of putting a new spin on things. The ophthalmology aspect of the story was fascinating! And I do like seeing scandal being presented as a real obstacle, not something that gets magically brushed away. Louise and Marcus were both so loveable that I'm already missing them.

Marcus and Louise are a really great couple.
Marcus is disinherted Viscount who lost his position in society because of the transgressions of his father. He had become a renowned eye surgeon in the meantime.
Louise is the daughter of an aristocrat who intends to enlist the surgeon to help her with a eye problem.
This is a sweet and poignant story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This in no way affects my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

The first book I read in this series was The Forgotten Duke where we were introduced to Marcus so I've been waiting since then to find out what happened with him following the events of that book. This book did not disappoint! I really like Marcus when I first met him and was glad to see he was able to overcome the adversity placed upon him and find his way in life. I also immediately liked Louise - she's probably my favorite heroine from this series. The first meeting between Louise and Marcus was very short, but so adorable. I liked that their relationship grew so naturally. And I especially liked that it was once again the woman who fought for the relationship and wouldn't give up. Even when it seemed everything was falling apart she immediately went into action. I found Louise's father so frustrating - he kept alternating between wanting to make sure Louise would be happy to doing things that would most definitely not give her a happy life. You could tell he was softening toward Marcus and Louise's relationship, but didn't want to admit it because it would mean he had been wrong at the beginning. It was nice to see all of the characters from the series make appearances.

I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sexy, romantic, proto-feminist fun. Very enjoyable pleasure reading

I really enjoyed this book and these characters. Louise was a wonderful character to read about and her character development was very well done. I loved how much she was standing up for herself by the end of the book! I really liked the doctor/patient dynamic and Marcus and Louise definitely had lots of chemistry. I do wish it had taken them longer to fall in love! It wasn't quite insta-love but I think more build-up would've paid off. It also would've been nice to see a little more of Hannah and Louise's friendship because it was really sweet.

I haven't read any of the previous books in the series so I was definitely a little confused about some of the side characters but it didn't hinder my understanding of the story. Overall this was definitely a fun and fairly quick read. The characters were lovable and the romance was swoon worthy. Definitely recommend for any lovers of historical romance.