Member Review

Lord Jonathan Leighton was in France when Napoleon's war began, and all English citizens were forbidden from leaving French soil. More than a decade later, the war is finished, all detainees are finally allowed to go home, and Jon is returning to a Dukedom he never thought he'd inherit. He's also carrying a lot of guilt over the death of his mentor, a promise to see his daughter taken care of, and a deep-seated desire to find out who betrayed him and his companions on their one escape attempt. Victoria has no plans to marry. She dreams of spinterhood and opening a school for female artists. She never thought to dream of a handsome young Duke who would arrive to save her and give her everything she ever wanted, but Jonathan is set on helping her. Can they work out if it's love or a misguided sense of guilt?

It's a good romance, with both sides of almost every scene getting explored from both POVs as the characters slowly come to realize that they should be together despite everything in their society telling them it's not proper. I loved that we get so much depth from Jon to the point where he's not just the romantic lead for Victoria, he fully has his own plotline and is the main focus of the story. Of course, Victoria also gets some very big moments, and props to Jeffreis for getting some excellent feminist points into the story so naturally.

The most interesting part of this book is the historical angle of the English civilians who were forced to remain in France during the Napoleonic wars. I'd never heard of it, and it took me down a deep rabbit hole of research that I appreciate. I love it when books not only deliver on emotions but drop a bit of knowledge along the way. It also made it stand out a bit more from all the other historical romances it otherwise would be identical to.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the excellent romance read!