Interesting debut by this author, capable of creating an exciting plot to the end ,with two protagonists with crackling chemistry and interesting backstories and parallels between the Breminster and Forsters' love stories in the past and in the present time.I look forward to reading the stories of the secondary characters introduced in this book.

I've seen this book on instagram over the last few months and couldn't wait to read it. I finished it last night and am still riding this book high.

WHAT. A. DEBUT!

Catherine and John had just the right amount of angst and tension in their love story. I appreciated that the hatred between their families didn't persist as the sole reason they couldn't be together until the end of the book. Both characters acknowledged their love for one another. Lloyd's secondary characters did a good amount of heavy lifting in terms of bringing conflict into the story. I also appreciated that Lloyd emphasized the complexity of her characters both primary and secondary. No one was all good or all bad.

I loved, loved, loved Catherine and John together. When a hero is just gone for the heroine and everyone can see it but him, I love it. I also adored John's obsession with Catherine's ink-stained fingers.

Cannot wait for the rest of this series. Lloyd did a great job of teeing up the Rank Rakes as the heroes of the remaining books. I'm very much hoping that Henrietta marries one of them.

I can't say enough good things about this book. Read it. You will love it.

My first netgalley review. I liked the story. Good premise, exchanges of barbs at the beginning that soon turned into honest dialogues between the two and clarified the reasons for anguish quite quickly.
I just found a lot of internal dialogue from both characters and a bit of hypocrisy on John's part in saying that he always thought of her, and blah, blah, blah, but he was a womanizer who even came out on the sheets of scandals. That old cliche, but we forgive as the reading progresses! The epilogue was pretty sweet.
Good debut by the author.
Ps: I hated the aunt! she knew very well that telling that secret would make Catherine run away like a scared rabbit.

I am just going to say do yourself as a reader a favor, block out a couple of hours and truly settle down with this great book.

Summary:
Catherine Forster was ruined by John Breminster, Duke of Edington a decade ago, and thanks to the enimity between their families, he refused to offer for her. Now, a decade later, Catherine is a penniless spinster, and John is on her doorstep, asking for her for her help with a sensitive matter that concerns the scandal that occurred between their families years ago...

My review:
This is Lydia Lloyd's debut novel, and I thought she did a great job of writing main characters who were individually sympathetic and dynamic together, as well as an overarching mystery plot that kept me on my toes the entire time.

A lot of the plot is centered around the enmity between the Breminsters and the Forsters. About a decade before the prologue starts, John's father Reginald and Catherine's Aunt Mary (who raised her) were caught in flagrante and the fallout meant financial and reputational ruin for Catherine and her family, as well as John's family being torn apart. Now, John's father is dead and he's left behind an annuity that Mary must accept, or it will spell social ruin for John's sister. The problem is, Mary's disappeared and John is convinced Catherine can help him find her.

Catherine is a heroine who's reduced to some pretty dire circumstances (girlie literally has the residents of her household faking the plague to avoid debt collectors), so she's scrappy and realistic enough to go along with John's scheme without much fuss. John is presented as something of a feckless rake (with rake friends who I hope get their own stories), but we see the hidden, more caring side to him soon enough.

What's interesting is, between the ruination from a decade prior, as well as John initially casting aspersions on Catherine's morality ("a spinster can't kiss as well as YOU did"), you would think they have an uphill battle to even tolerate one another, but they didn't. I thought it was refreshing that despite everything, they don't bother to deny their mutual attraction right from the get-go. They grow to care for one another along the way (this is definitely a case of sex helping their relationship grow, and sex is their form of communication), and it's fairly smooth sailing all things considered. Really, the greater conflict(s) are how they individually grapple with the complicated relationships between them and their respective parental figures.

This relative lack of tension until the end also makes the climax more poignant, when Catherine is faced with the choice to break off their engagement and leave, or be forced to keep secrets from John, which she can't bring herself to do because of how much she loves and cares for him.

The mysterious relationship between Reginald and Mary serves as a compelling backdrop. For one, there are a lot of parallels between them and John/Catherine (like I think John tries to fuck Catherine on the same desk he caught them on when he was younger lol). It was a tragic, if not a realistic take on how young lovers could be doomed by class, reputation, or money back in the day. They ultimately served as a warning for the main couple on how not to proceed with their relationship.

The sex:
The overall sex vibes in this book can probably be best described as "down and ready any time, anywhere". Delving into the specific, I'm shameless enough to say I'm all for an instant gratification moment and Lydia delivered with the beginning "ruination" scene... set in the middle of ruins at that. And the ramifications even a decade later are pretty damn hilarious: At some point John admits to Catherine that he couldn't get off unless he was thinking about her to which my reactions in order were a) GASP b) *cackles* c) wait.... this is actually romantic?

There's also a great dry-humping scene pretty early on which honestly might have been hotter than the actual sex? Like, it started with him telling her he wanted to suck ink off her fingers, and ended with him high-tailing out of there with a Boner of Shame and Guilt (we love a selfless man) so I was 100% entertained the whole time.

Overall:
If you enjoy a your historical romances with a side of mystery, then this is the book for you. I loved the easy chemistry between the main couple and how they slowly delved into the truth of the past. This is a fantastic debut for Lydia Lloyd, and I look forward to future books within this series.

Thank you to Tule Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.