This was the 2nd book in the series that I read, but I don't think I needed to in order to understand the characters and plot. So, if you are picking this up without having read the others in the series, don't worry. I liked Beth from the beginning and only came to like her more as the story progressed. Although you know that Kit was perhaps a bit heavy-handed with his sister you can't help but like him as well. Especially when you see that he is willing to listen to Beth and consider his sister's side of things. Beth's plan to help Mary seems like it can only end badly but her heart is definitely in the right place. My favorite part was probably Beth giving the vicar the punch to the face he so greatly deserved. The only thing I didn't understand/like was how they expected to make people believe that Beth was the mother of Mary's daughter when they would never be around her. First they go off to London and leave the baby behind with Mary and then they are making plans to go to India with no mention of bringing her with them. Same with taking on Mattie. She's just lost her mother then Beth is going to abandon her too. It's like the author forgot that people might expect Beth and Kit to be parents to the child they went out of their way to get people to believe is theirs.

She Had Chosen The Wrong Man!

A wonderful tender love story filled with so much feeling. Kit and Beth had crossed paths earlier that year but she had chosen someone else as her suitor. Regretting her decision after a family scandal she went to stay with her sister-in-laws Aunt Sophie only to encounter him again knocking on the door sick and demanding to see his sister.

As Beth gets to know him and nurses him back to health the feeling she has for him slowly grows. Beth gets to know the real person behind the Duke. As secrets are revealed, they both must find a way to hide a scandal in the making whilst dealing with lies and deception at every turn but the one thing Kit is sure of is that he loves Beth from the bottom of his heart and no matter what he will protect her!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After her brother's scandal, and her fiancee deciding that the scandal - and pressure from his father - is too much and he breaks off the engagement, Lady Elizabeth Ashton is ready for a change. Travelling with only her maid to the home of a distant relative, Beth discovers that Timmons Manor is more than a home, but a refuge for women in their time of need. Titles and status mean nothing, and the ladies embrace Beth as one of their own. When the Duke of Kirkstone comes bearing down on the Manor, intent on finding his missing sister, the women want him gone. Lady Mary has a good reason for fleeing home, and though Kit loves her, she is not ready to return. However, Kit is ill, and his time on the road the last few months has left him weak. Collapsing in the entrance hall, Beth promises to care for him and nurse him back to health, and then he'll be on his way. But Beth forgets that he was once someone she thought to marry, though the feelings were too much. And when those feelings return, and grow, will she be able to deny what she wants?

I really think this was my favourite book of the series. Both Beth and Kit have a history, and though Beth initially picked another man over Kit, we learn it was because she was worried her growing feelings for him would get in the way of the type of marriage she thought she wanted. The scenes while at Timmons Manor, when Kit was healing, and both he and Beth were getting to know each other better, much more than during the Season with all of its rules, was fantastic. I appreciated all of the people who lived or worked at Timmons Hall, and the whole reason it was needed. Sophie and Daphne were the perfect women to be 'in charge', and Mary was so strong after what she had gone through. One thing that I wish was in the book, particularly the epilogue, was that we saw more of Mattie and her little brother. Even so, the romance was the best of the series, and Kit and Beth's love was clear from the start. There's was not an easy journey, but well worth it in the end!

After her brothers scandal her betrothal abandoned her because his Duke father asked him too . So she decide to go live with her sister in law aunt Lady Sophia . Sophie's home is a place for young ladies who have been ruined and need help . Her second day there a man comes inside the home and demands to see his sister and them he collapse . That man is the Duke of Kirkstone one her suitors but didn't accept to marry him . Now that he is very ill she is the one who takes care of him . He was looking for his younger sister Mary for four months after she left their home . While she is nurshing him she is seeing for who he really is and she realises she had choose wrong . Will Beth plan make Kit agree with it and save his family ?
I received this book from netgalley and the publicer as an ARC . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

Beth has to flee London due to her brother’s scandal. When she goes north to visit the estate of her sister-in-law’s eccentric aunt she knows all is not as it seems. When an ill Kit comes looking for his sister Mary, Beth nurses him back to health. Their attraction can not be denied. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

4 stars

An interesting read. . Beth's brother has made a mistake which has reflected on her and her financee blanks her. Rather than stick with the simpering of the Ton she persuades her parents, Duke & Duchess to send her away to a relative of her sister-in-law, Lady Sophia. Beth travels with her maid, Kendal and then finds that the estate she's staying at is a bit strange. All women apart from ancient butler. She questions Sophie but she isnt very forthcoming. Mattie, a young girl also staying in the hall gives more clues to Beth as to the real purpose of the estate. Beth had chosen her fiancee from three men. The one she really liked had left the season early and though disappointed she didn't really want to live in the lake district. It's ironic that she has flown to just this part of the worl.d. Meanwhile Kit, a duke, that she did like is desperate to find his sister. Clues lead him to the same estate that Beth is staying at.
He's dangerously ill having ridden through rain and sleet. He collapses in the foyer of the house and when Beth recognises him, Sophie realises that she needs to do some mission protection. Kit is taken upstairs and then Beth nurses him with the idea that as soon as possible he's sent home. Beth realises that Mary is staying at the hall and the reason for it. The second part of the book is where Beth tries to solve the reputation damage to both her, Kit's family, Mary and provide a home for Mattie. I thought the ending seemed a bit strange: having made the sacrifice to build a family she and Kit leave most of the people behind and head for India?
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.