While there were many aspects of this book I enjoyed, for whatever reason it did not completely click with me. However, I can definitely see it working for others, and overall would still recommend this series!

Regarding the positives, I liked the marriage of convenience between our scholar heroine and gambler hero. They shared sweet and steamy moments, and I especially loved how turned on Finn was by Tabitha's intelligence and how supportive he was of her goals. His backstory was heartbreaking and woven into the plot well, and it was lovely seeing Tabitha help him conquer his insecurities.

Tabitha's backstory or "character wound", on the other hand, was too weak to justify her actions. It certainly wasn't enough to make her so scared of falling in love and confessing her feelings to Finn for the majority of the book. Also, while the smut was steamy, in my opinion the characters' bedroom personalities didn't quite mesh with their regular personalities, and as a result I found Finn's dirty talk more cringy than sexy.

Overall a bit of a miss for me, but not without it's redeeming moments. I can't wait for Dom and Willa's second chance at love in book #3!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager via Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A 4.5 star marriage of convenience!

We have a bluestocking wallflower, Tabitha Seaton who needs a husband in order to apply to join the intellectual society she has always longed to be a part of in order to allow a foothold into a space which does not listen to the voices of the marginalized members of society.

And then we have Finn Ransome, whose family's ultimatum to marry within a year or leave him penniless is less a bother for him as an expert gambler. But the fact that his brother and best friend's marital statuses are tied in to the ultimatum as well, has him first trying to match his friend, before ending up being the one matched.

There was so much delicious aspects of this novel, Finn playing matchmaker between his friend and Tabitha, a woman he not only admired for her intellect but was attracted to beyond reason. I loved how the notion of matching Tabitha and Dom brought Finn and Tabitha into a forced proximity which then led to a marriage of convenience between them rather than Tabitha and Dom. It was a very refreshing take on the marriage of convenience trope. Their individual vulnerabilities were refreshingly written, and how their marriage of convenience was built on these vulnerabilities, but with an underlying mutual respect of the other.

From this moment on (okay from the very beginning) Finn Ransome was everything to me as an MMC. There was so much I connected to him with regarding his reading difficulties. As someone who struggled in this area as well, I know how lucky I was to have such supportive parents. His actions towards doing everything he could to support Tabitha from where they went on their honeymoon night to the house he chose to lease to supporting her in all her endeavors has definitely secured his position on my book boyfriends list. He was just such a wonderful, loving, supportive individual that we need of more outside the pages of novels.

After falling head over heels for Finn and the story line, I was rather shocked and saddened by the third act breakup after how strong Tabitha and Finn were throughout the book up until this time. I will be honest in how much it bothered me that even though they both said cruel things to one another in the moment, Finn had no idea of how his words would affect Tabitha because she had up until this point not mentioned the past hurt she had received at the hands of someone she believed she had loved. Where the entire time Finn was worried that Tabitha would look at him (and treat him) the same way the other people he had wished to love did. And at this point in the novel she was well aware of his fear. So I felt more hurt on Finn's behalf than Tabitha's because I believe as the character he had been throughout the novel, if he had known about this specific part of her past, he would have NEVER said what he did. It was a definite miscommunication which really felt slightly unnecessary and disingenuous.

This had been a five star read for me up until the third act breakup. And I feel like there could have been another outside force which could have continued to create any needed tension.

AND I cannot forget to mention the steamy scenes and the integral 'dirty talk'! I've heard Eva Leigh is the queen of dirty talk in romance and after reading How the Wallflower Was Won I am so excited that I have four more Eva Leigh novels on my bookshelf ready to be read.

I loved, loved, loved Finn! He is book boyfriend material for sure. Did he make a mistake which caused that 3rd act breakup? Yes. Do I think Tabitha overreacted? Yes, definitely! Girlfriend could have taken a few deep breaths, gone to her sweet, sweet library and gone to bed angry.
But I digress! I loved this couple. I loved Finn’s glorious gifts, I loved Tabitha’s brilliance and I loved how they supported each other. I also love a marriage of convenience!
And of course, I’d like to officially crown Eva Leigh as the queen of dirty talk in historical romances 🥵 thank you my queen!

Also, can I have Dom and Willa’s story now because that epilogue was 🔥

Here is my favorite quote:
“The beauty of an unwritten book is that we can imagine whatever we want for its subject matter. And then it’s even better when we do read it, and find it surpasses anything we could have conjured up.”- Tabitha

Finn Ransome is so skilled at gambling that he’s able to earn a comfortable living at it, but he knows himself to be unlovable and nothing but a disappointment to the people around him. As the son of an earl, he’s always been held to an impossible standard by his exacting father and now is no different as he’s been given a timetable in which he must marry. The only woman he’s really noticed is a brilliant bluestocking who he’s sure would never give him the time of day.

Tabitha Seaton had one season that was an utter failure and since then she has focused her attention on her academic studies in the hopes of joining the Sterling Society. The influential club helps guide London’s lawmakers and Tabitha has hopes of broadening their opinions. But she’s been told in no uncertain terms that an unmarried lady will never be admitted to their ranks. Tabitha needs a husband in a short amount of time and the painfully handsome gambler may be her best option.

Finn and Tabitha are total opposites, but their marriage of convenience is helpful to them both and poses no risk to their hearts. They’ve even agreed to keep feelings out of it. But after they’re married, the attraction between them grows into a fierce passion that comes as a surprise to them both. They’re both afraid to risk their hearts, but it soon becomes clear that a little risk is necessary if they want to solidify their future happiness.

I have some mixed feelings about this book. The Good Girl’s Guide to Rakes went instantly onto my favorites list, so this one did have a high standard to live up to, but I really thought sweet, underestimated, overlooked Finn would be able to do it. Sadly, I don’t think that happened and it was mostly down to the heroine of this story, Tabitha. Finn is dyslexic and has always been ridiculed by his family and tutors for his difficulty with reading and Tabitha has been fairly misunderstood and mostly ignored because her family doesn’t really understand her bookish tendencies. I can totally relate to that, and I was so looking forward to seeing her and Finn be that person who understood each other, and while we sort of got that, it wasn’t quite in the way I was hoping. Tabitha spent most of the book being afraid and pushing Finn away to protect her own heart, all the while just reinforcing all the negative beliefs he had about himself by doing so. When they were together during other times, she did give him some positive affirmation, but then she went and basically undid it by leaving him to sleep alone after sex, so I felt like that more or less negated all the good she did during the day and left him just as insecure as ever.

My first impression of Tabitha was that she was very rigid in her intellectuality, to the point that she almost seemed flat as a character, as if her intelligence were her only defining characteristic and she were just a walking brain without feelings. In this respect, she felt a bit overdrawn, though I think she was meant to be charmingly awkward and socially unaware. Since I’m very much like this myself, I definitely expected this to resonate with me, but I just don’t think it hit me the way it was intended to. Tabitha’s residual trauma from her first love, while no doubt hurtful, did seem exaggerated in her reaction to it. Especially given the habitual emotional, verbal, and even physical abuse Finn endured for pretty much his whole life, her reason for keeping her heart so protected seemed pretty feeble compared to Finn’s own well-founded and much reinforced fears and low self-esteem.

Tabitha can’t bear to admit when she doesn’t know something and that makes her and Finn seem like quite the mismatch, which is the intent, I’m sure, but he’s so humble and has such damaged self-esteem that she just seems incredibly arrogant when juxtaposed with him. I was hopeful for this heroine because she’s so educated and intelligent, yet she was just as much a naïve, fairly narrowminded miss as any other virgin heroine. Finn seems to think she’s super supportive of him, but really, she just wasn’t openly telling him she didn’t think he could achieve his goals, which is what most everyone else in his life had done, so he couldn’t recognize the difference and that made my heart hurt for him and increased my frustration with her, though she wasn’t openly doing anything wrong.

I wanted to see two misunderstood souls finding acceptance in and with one another but I’m not sure that ever truly solidified until the very end, mostly because of her being so afraid to talk to him. She’s bold as brass in everything else so after a while of them being together, it just didn’t make much sense to me given her previous characterization for her to still be so afraid to talk to him. Even after she sees the damage that her pushing him away is causing, her solution is just to push him away some more. With their hot and cold communication, their relationship trajectory was definitely very choppy, and I found Tabitha to be consistently overly dramatic, despite also being cold and methodical such that she was a bit hard to pin down as a character.

I’ve never been a fan of the third act breakup plot device, and this was no exception. Finn makes one mistake and she seems to blow things way out of proportion, saying something way more hurtful to him and making a misunderstanding and a poor choice of words into a whole thing. Yet, somehow, Finn mostly overlooks the fact that she’s hurt him and focuses only on what he said wrong to her, with no expectation that she should take responsibility for her own hurtful utterance, which I think was even more significant given their character backstories. While Tabitha does eventually take ownership of her role in their issues and take steps to make things right, Finn’s grand gesture towards her was very much more satisfying. It just felt like she wasn’t making nearly the same effort that Finn was and it was a bit disheartening that they fell apart so utterly with one mistaken bit of speech. Finn was very sweet and sensitive, full of love and just wanting someone to be a safe place for him to demonstrate that love and I just was left feeling like he deserved more much of the time. I just wanted to see more of Finn and Tabitha fighting this rival group together and less angst within their relationship, though I did appreciate the growth they both demonstrated when they did at last manage to come together as equals in a healthy relationship where they’ll hopefully eventually become each other’s refuge in the way I’d hoped they would.

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

This is the second installment in the Last Chance Scoundrels series. I really loved the first one, so I was looking forward to reading this one, and now I'm super looking forward to the third book with Dom and Willa!!

Finn has to get married for financial reasons, and Tabitha needs a husband to try to get into a scholarly club that is only for men but if Tabitha finds a husband, she could possibly be considered. Finn tries to set Tabitha up with Dom and that's a hot mess. It's clear that Finn and Tabitha are just into each other. They get married pretty quickly and their marriage really heats up!

Finn has a dirty mouth, and I respect that and love that for him and Tabitha. Honestly, Tabitha was pretentious and cruel to him, and Finn deserved better. He tried really hard for her, and she dealt him a really low blow. Despite her mean behavior, I really liked the book! She needs to apologize though...

Thank you to Avon Romance for the eARC via NetGalley

This worked for me and didn't work for me in a lot of ways. So I don't fully know how to rate it since I both adored lots of this but also was annoyed by lots of this.

They communicated perfectly with each other, but then they also didn't. They had really great...activities and I love the curious fearlessness of the heroine. The hero is really degrading on himself for a lot of the book and it just becomes tedious for her also to constantly tell him he's not dumb. It just started to feel very long at some point. I love both characters but at times I was also bored by their choices and down right annoyed at their third act breakup situation and I found myself skipping a good part of the rest to get to the end.

This quote though after their first kiss:

"Why don't you have legions of suiters at your feet?"

LOVED IT.

it's always "hey girl, wassup" and never WDYHLOSAYF.

I really wanted to absolutely love this one because I have adored previous books by Eva Leigh, but this one was just okay for me which was a bit of a let down. But if you like intelligent and fearless heroines and a husband that stands up for his wife you will love this.

ARC copy kindly provided from NetGalley but all my thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book. I know some were bored with Finn attempting to forge a relationship between Dom and Tabitha. At first I didn't get why he was trying to do that, but it did start to make more sense to me and I began to understand Finn more and more and really did like his character very much. I did like Tabitha too until they had their fight and I am in agreement with everyone else that she was at fault in the fight with Finn and it really turned me off of her character. The resolution felt disproportionate to what Finn had said. She blew it WAY out of proportion and then purposely, hatefully, used what she knew about Finn against him. Without this fight, it was 5 stars. With the fight, 4 stars. :-(

This is a solid historical, if a bit far fetched in its modern leanings, that has some beautiful shining moments, and some awkward moments that took me out of the story. It’s a fun example of a marriage of convenience, that starts out with a little forced proximity, and addresses the stifling nature of historical intellectual societies as well as the challenge of having a learning disability, especially at a time when that wasn’t recognized.

I liked the opposites attract nature of our blue stocking heroine and the gambler hero with a learning disability. They had a lot of sweet sexy times, and really came to see each other clearly for the most part. Their relationship fell apart a little bit for me by the end though, and I agree with other reviewers that Finn shouldn’t have been the one groveling after their fight. Not that he really groveled, it was really a grand gesture, but it was all a bit unsatisfying. I wasn’t as emotionally invested either, and never really felt either of their pain at what the other said. I think the 3rd person didn’t do us any favors at that point.

Overall, the beginning was a lot stronger than the end for me, but it was still an interesting story, and I will finish up the series with Dom’s book.

How The Wallflower Was Won is the second book in Eva Leigh’s Last Chance Scoundrel’s series and while I loved book one, Finn and Tabitha’s book fell flat for me.

In the previous book Finn, Kieran and Dom are threatened with being cut off financially if they don’t marry in a year. Kieran has that settled with Celeste now Finn is determined to set Dom up with a bluestocking wallflower that he met, Tabitha Seaton. Tabitha is looking for a husband so she can be taken seriously as part of educated club that advises public policy. While unsuccessfully trying to get Dom and Tabitha together, Finn realizes that he and Tabitha should marry to solve all their problems.

What I Didn’t Love:
The first third of the book Finn is trying to set up Dom and I was just kinda bored with that. The third act blow out was annoying and could have been avoided if Tabitha would have just been honest with Finn. He came groveling back but really she needed to apologize more. I think the pacing of this one is what really threw me. I felt like it dragged and then sped through their resolution.

What I Liked:
As with all Eva Leigh’s books the steam was amazing! After a somewhat slow burn we got dining table sex, carriage sec and a very hot bathtub scene. I just would have liked them a bit earlier in the book. I was totally into Finn completely obsessed with Tabitha, he is super feminist, before smashing the patriarchy was cool. Finn was the best book boyfriend, gifting her a library! I think Finn’s learning disability was addressed with respect and I appreciated how Tabitha just accepted it as part of him. I enjoyed the diversity of the secondary characters and how villainous the Sterling Society was, I could totally picture them twirling their mustaches.

Every scene with Dom only made me excited for his book!!!

Thank you to the publisher (Avon) and NetGalley for an E-ARC. I voluntarily reviewed this book and all thoughts are my own. How The Wallflower was Won has a pub date of September 27, 2022.

Beautiful love story of two very similar souls. The heroine is a brilliant scholar who is a wallflower. Misunderstood by all including her family and treated as though she is less as a person because of it. The hero has a learning disability and has spent his life being ostracized by him family and treated as though he was stupid and insignificant. They both are stumbling in the dark until they find each other. Beautifully written story about acceptance and finding love when you didn’t think you deserved it. Highly recommend!

After reading and enjoying the previous book, there was no way I was going to miss this one.

I really liked Tabitha and Finn. She's a voracious reader and he's a gambler and together they're both underestimated. I really liked how everything was set up for a marriage of convenience until that pesky chemistry gets involved.

Plot wise it was good. I do wish they would have opened their mouths to talk a bit because I wanted to shake some sense into them. Okay, so maybe Tabitha did overreact, which is fine, but she definitely needed more groveling and apologizing to Finn. (It all goes back to them needing to talk)

Overall, it was a fun read with little to no angst until the 80-85% mark. And I'm beside myself with excitement for the next book. I can't wait to read Dom and Willa's story.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

This is the second in a series with a fascinating premise: Kieran, Dom, and Finn each have just a year to get married to respectable women, or they will all lost financial support from their families. This book features Finn.

Finn has a learning disability (likely dyslexia though not called that due to the historical period). He is quite intrigued by the scholar/wallflower, Tabitha. But he believes she would never be interested in a man like himself, so he tries to set her up with Dom. But she has her own reasons for pursuing a marriage quickly, and we get a marriage of convenience.

I really enjoyed that the book highlighted the importance of a broad education that expands beyond white Western male authors. This is just one of the many ways in which this historical fiction felt quite timely. I loved the characters and the social issues that were addressed. I found the third act a little overwrought, but overall, I greatly enjoyed the romance between Tabitha and Finn and their shared endeavors.

This was narrated beautifully by Zara Hampton-Brown. I listened to the whole book in an afternoon and found it wonderfully engaging.

Though I felt pleased to understand the backstory, this book can be read as a stand alone. I expect the same won't be true of the third story about Dom, so I recommend beginning the whole series now while we wait for its publication.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to Harper Audio for the audiobook. These opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounded up

I am so impressed with this book. I ADORED every single page. Finn is the ultimate soft boy and the tender way these two loved each other was everything I could have possibly wanted. Loved it so much!

QOTD: What is something you always associate with an author?

Eva Leigh - sex, politics, and sexual politics. Love it.

Well… this book was amazing. I absolutely enjoyed book one of Last Chance Scoundrels - but the only things these two have in common is the brothers and a marriage of convenience. I adored Finn and Tabitha. They are just perfection. He is all sorts of emotionally tortured and sweet and kind. And he would absolutely march for your bodily autonomy with you and would never start sentences with “well, actually.” Tabitha is also emotionally constipated and (literally) brilliant and I totally got frustrated with her and had to step back and realize I also handle things this badly when it gets too emotional… ouch.

Finn also has a difficulty with reading and writing. I am a special education teacher by day and honestly spent half this book diagnosing him (I think I settled on specific learning disability/ and or Dyslexia) and I don’t hate it. I also don’t hate that Finn gets to come to peace with it and Tabitha understanding him so much better than he understands himself makes me ever so happy.

I also am going to sob during Dom’s book I can feel it now.

TL/DR Review
Stars: Five Stars
Series: Last Chance Scoundrels Book Two - should be read in order can be read as a standalone
POV: dual third
Steam: multiple scenes, involves a dining room table, a bit of a slow burn, deeply intimate
Tropes: marriage of convenience, opposites attract, us against the world
For Fans Of: Politics and Seggs and Seggsual Politics
Theme Song: Paris by the Chainsmokers
Subgenre: historic romance
CW/ TW: moderate depictions of ableism/ internalized ableism, sexism, elitism

Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Shame is simply a way in which those in power try to hold us back, by tricking us into controlling ourselves.”

How the Wallflower Was Won, the second book in the Last Chance Scoundrels series, focuses on Finn Ransome who, along with his brother Kieran and best friend Dom, must marry in order to secure his inheritance. He attempts to match Dom with Tabitha Seaton, a bookish wallflower, but things don't go as planned. Instead, Finn proposes a marriage of convenience between himself and Tabitha. Tabitha also needs to wed for the chance to be accepted into the male dominated Sterling Society. Her goal is to open the discussion on the upcoming education bill to let more diverse voices be heard, thereby challenging everything the society stands for.

Finn and Tabitha agree to a marriage for expediency rather than love. They seem to be complete opposites so keeping emotions out of the equation shouldn't be a problem. But as they learn more about each other, what happens when they start to develop feelings and desires? Do they fight against the pull between them or do they attempt to change the rules of their arrangement?

I have mixed thoughts about this story even though it sounded like it had so much potential. The pace was slow and drawn out with an overwhelming concentration on the details of the intellectual society and I found myself bored at times and struggling to continue. But underneath it all was a sweet story which truly spoke to the power of love. Finn and Tabitha brought out the best in each other, accepting of flaws and acting as equals in their marriage. They challenged one another while supporting and encouraging ambition, instilling confidence in reaching for success with their respective goals. They truly saw each other, recognizing who they really were and all they could be.

Finn's learning disability was addressed sensitively yet I felt saddened by how he let it take away from his self worth and value. He thought he was inferior to Tabitha as she possessed great intellect and he felt as if he didn't deserve her. I loved how Tabitha cared for Finn regardless of his reading ability and often spoke of how perceptive and intelligent Finn truly was. I also loved how they experienced new things together despite their differences in worldliness. And there was such a beautiful intimacy in the connection between them while their relationship was also deliciously steamy.

Uncertainty and fear of rejection became a stumbling block in an attempt to avoid possible pain and hurt but I thought this issue was too prolonged. The third act breakup seemed overly dramatic as Finn and Tabitha let their insecurities get the best of them and I thought they would have trusted each other more. The lack of communication in expressing their feelings was frustrating and overshadowed the possibility and hope that characterized their relationship. I was quite disappointed with Tabitha's actions and she behaved immaturely in the face of conflict. At that point, I was no longer invested in the outcome and I thought that Finn deserved better. I was glad that their love could indeed conquer all but I would have liked to see more trust and understanding between them.

** Special thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Quotes subject to change at time of publication. Available September 27, 2022. **

From the beginning of this book, I was thinking it was going to be a 4 or 5 star book. That was true for a little more than half the book. But once they admitted their feelings for each other, the book went tremendously downhill.

They admitted their feelings for each other about halfway through the book and everyone was happy and excited and so was I. And then the book kept going. And going. The book could’ve ended way sooner but it just kept getting dragged out for no reason. The last 10 chapters were just useless in my opinion. I read as quickly as I could through them because I didn’t feel like they had a point at all. It was basically just 10 chapters of sex scenes. I’m all for sex scenes but not when they are just in the book so that the book can have more pages in it.

Also, I knew there was some type of fight that was going to happen because there’s always a fight that separates the main characters. Yeah well, that happened at like the 90% mark of the book, and every chapter after that, all I could do was roll my eyes. The fight was about the dumbest thing. Tabitha got mad at Finn for him telling her to calm down. That was the gist of the fight. And then she got all pissed off and Finn stayed at a friend’s house while she got to stay where she was. I just thought it was the dumbest fight in the world and everything after that just irritated me. There was so much that Eva could’ve done with that scene but it really lacked.

So to end, I liked the beginning of this book but the middle to end ruined the rest of it for me. A lot of thought and effort went into writing this book and learning the spoken word from the 1800s. All of that was well written but I just couldn’t deal with the boring and unnecessary bits.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

How the Wallflower Was Won is the second book in Eve Leigh’s Last Chance Scoundrels trilogy. I would recommend starting with book one, because it provides context for the character relationships and the current situation the characters are in (three sworn bachelors need to marry and change their ways after two of them help the third jilt his fiancé, who happens to be the sister to the other two). I also absolutely adored the dynamics of book one, so it doesn’t hurt to start there.

I love how Eva Leigh creates characters who, on the surface, appeal to common archetypes (some of which I don’t often care for) while providing layers to them…not to mention sexual tension between the central couple so thick you could cut it with a knife. And in this case it’s no different. Finn initially sees wallflower Tabitha as more suitable for his friend, Dom, and goes to great lengths to facilitate the match. However, it is very obvious right away that, in spite of her bookishness and his focus on other pursuits, like gambling, opposites do indeed attract.

Finn is a generally good guy, and I felt for him the more I got to know him. In spite of his learning disability (something he was ashamed of and shamed for much of his life), he almost always goes out of his way to champion Tabitha’s scholarly pursuits, and in return, she reinforces his own good qualities of kindness and industriousness.

I really like Tabitha, and like most wallflower heroines, related to her a lot. I admire her ambition to join in with scholarly people, and love how she took it upon herself to attempt to form her own society that wasn’t so rigid and discriminatory upon being rejected.

I had mixed feelings about the third-act breakup, as it felt rather one-sided, and as if the wrong person was made to be in the wrong. By all means, I don’t think it’s fair to judge how people deal with heartbreak, especially given the societal stakes for women at the time on top of the emotional investment. But using it as a reason for Tabitha to become upset at Finn, and trigger his feelings of inadequacy felt like a bit too much, and she should have apologized for doing that, in addition to him apologizing for unintentionally causing her pain. It’s not a crisis I view as relationship-ending, as I ultimately really liked how they got back together, however.

I really liked this one, and given how much it was teased here, I’m now incredibly anxious for Dom and Willa’s book. If you’re a fan of steamy historical romance, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

This is a story of two people who need to marry. Tabitha wants to join the Sterling Society and Finn needs to marry to keep his parents support. They decide to marry.

The heroine is strong and brilliantly smart. The hero has been underestimated his whole life. When Tabitha is turned down for Sterling Society because she is a woman. Finn comes up with an idea for the Platinum Collective. He makes some mistakes and hurts Tabitha. He really loves her and she loves him. I’d love enough?

The story was well written. I can’t wait for Don’s story.

3.5 stars

How the Wallflower was Won is a steamy and entertaining marriage of convenience historical romance. It's book 2 in the series, but can be read as a standalone. It will be more fulfilling though if read in order, since characters from the previous book appear throughout.

Things to look forward to:
- The tropes: marriage of convenience, sexual lessons/instruction, opposites attract, let me set you up with my friend/someone else, and slow burn.
- The spice! The scenes between Finn and Tabitha were so hot! I was definitely fanning myself while reading. Finn's dirty talk was A+ and I loved that no surface/room was off limits! LOL
- Finn. He was so thoughtful and kindhearted. I loved all the little gestures, gifts (the libraries!), and ways that he let Tabitha know he cared. His history and the shame he felt because of it, broke my heart and I wanted to give him a hug so many times throughout the novel. To top it all off, not only is he a complete sweetheart, but he's insatiable in the bedroom! Tabitha is a very, very lucky woman ;)
- Wonderful cast of secondary characters! I loved the diversity and loyalty of the Benezra library crew and even the villains in the Sterling Society played their roles so well.
- Lots of updates and scenes with Kieran, Celeste, and Dom. I loved catching up with the happy couple and seeing Dom so obviously miserable has me so excited for him and Willa's second chance romance!

Things to note:
- The third act break up was a tough one. It felt very forced and really made me dislike Tabitha. She punished Finn for something he really had no idea about and lashed out in a way that she knew would wound him. It annoyed me how stubborn she was and that Finn was the one profusely apologizing and trying to make amends. I liked that she made her big declaration after the symposium, but I needed soooooooooooooooo much more grovel from her. I felt like Finn deserved better.
- Some readers may not enjoy that a good part of the novel involves Finn trying to set Dom up with Tabitha. I didn't have any issues with it, since it's clear that Finn and Tabitha are actually the ones growing closer.
- The pacing. I was really loving the novel up until about the 85% mark. The build up, the steam, the heart to hearts between Finn and Tabitha were all working for me, but like I mentioned above, the third act break up felt very forced and rushed. I would have preferred more page time be devoted to them reconciling and not the symposium (though Finn's grand gesture was wonderful).

CW: learning disability, emotionally and sometimes physically abusive parent and tutor, bullying, sexism

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

This is a sweet, low angst romance in this three book series by Eva Leigh. It is well written, it is well paced, the hero and heroine are interesting and their romance overall is gently heartwarming. Leigh's writing has a charm to it, and her characters are well rounded. I found this to be a delightful middle novel, and while it was not quite as gripping as the first to me, it still held my interest and I was charmed throughout.

Tabitha is a wallflower, focused on her books and expanding her mind. Her dream is to join an elite society but is turned away because she is a woman, but given some hopes that if she is married her dreams might become a reality. Finn is an expert gambler who is afraid of love, but after his father's ultimatum of matrimony is swiftly closing in on him, he knows he must marry. And the alluring bluestocking is the only woman who has held his interest. When they both realize they can help each other they decide to enter into a marriage of convenience, where of course they swear not to fall in love.

Tabitha is smart, kind and determined. She has dreams that she will work hard for. She is also very protective of her heart after her disastrous first season. Because of all this, Tabitha is cautious around Finn as they are slowly developing their relationship with each other. Finn is observant and aware, he keeps his intelligence hidden, but he has a veracious mind that loves to learn (content note of learning disability, which the author notes at the start of the novel). I love that Finn is small ways shows Tabitha that he is interested and values her and her dreams. He provides her with a library, he makes sure she consents in all of their interactions, and when she needs him to be a sponsor he steps up for her. Leigh softly shows Tabitha and Finn meeting on common ground and building the foundation of love gently. While their feelings have a more gentle and slow build, these two still have very steamy and sensual marital interactions. I really loved that these two did not dance around the physical side of their relationship, they both wanted a physical side (even if they did not want to fall in love), and they were both consensual adults in their exploration. (There is a very steamy bath scene, which is always something I delight in when it is in a novel!) I think Leigh uses these moments brilliantly to show that they are slowly growing to trust each other in all aspects as well as they are being drawn together even though they might be fighting their hearts. I really enjoyed that both Tabitha and Finn are able to show each other their interests, I love that they are both open and receptive to the other. I understand the want for the third act break up and while I would not have minded it being eliminated, I think it did give both the chance to reflect on things they say and how they will chose to interact with each other as they move forward.

I think if you love Eva Leigh you will enjoy this novel. I do very much recommend this, especially if you are in the mood for a sweet romance, that is still full of spicy moments, but is more about a gentle growing of understanding and respect between the hero and heroine.