Not a Gentleman

I enjoyed Nicholas's and Juliana's story. Elements I liked were the chemistry between the two main characters and their steamy romance. These two had an instant connection that was palpable. Also, I liked how the author jumped right into the story and introduced our main characters right away. The h's attempts to escape the H were pretty funny to read. Our h is quite creative and bright! I also enjoyed our H's siblings and the hijinks they got up to. Juliana's way of handling their tricks was funny and fun to read. There are more than one villain in the story and it was interesting trying to figure out who was behind the misfortunes that befell Nicholas. I will say one element I did not enjoy was the h's way of dealing with a villain towards the end. She was a fighter throughout the story and I felt she gave up in one certain part. However, I still enjoyed the story and look forward to Emily's story next!

Maybe 3.5 stars.

This was an interesting and unusual story, Juliana Stevenson and her sister Emily are on the run from their evil uncle, convinced he murdered their father and is now trying to sell them into marriage to steal their dowries. Their plan for escape is foiled when Juliana is captured by Nicholas Blackstone. Before he could get Emily, Juliana spooked the horses, giving Emily enough time to get away. She then detains Nicholas by running into the ocean.

Nicholas needs money, he has been in the army for years, but since the death of his father, he has returned home to find his father lost the family fortune and left him with two young siblings and a crumbling manor to take care of. Desperate for funds to repair his home and care for his siblings, so he can return to the army, Nicholas accepts a job to track down the missing Stevenson girls. He doesn't believe Juliana's story about her uncle and just wants finish this job, get paid and return to the army.

Both Juliana and Nicholas have scars, both inside and out, and they butt heads constantly, but beneath it all, there is a strong attraction that neither wants to acknowledge. Once Nicholas realizes that he will not be able to track Emily, he decides to take Juliana back to his home and then find Emily. But Juliana has no intention of making it easy for him.

Once they return to the manor, Nicholas informs Juliana that she will be his twin siblings new governess. The twins are as thrilled about this pronouncement as Juliana is, which is to say, not at all and this makes for quite a few amusing scenes. Juliana is still planning on escaping, but her attraction to Nicholas is growing and she needs to make him understand how evil her uncle really is. Not only that, but it seems like someone is out to kill Nicholas and his family.

The story is fast paced with a lot of twists and turns as well as multiple villains, the author does a good job of setting up her story and keeping it flowing, but at times the writing seems a bit jumbled, especially during fight scenes. The sexual tension between Nicholas and Juliana is high and the author doesn't tease the reader by dragging their attraction out, she writes some steamy love scenes for these two, but she does not make their HEA easy or painless.

I thought this was a good story, but the writing was not quite as smooth as I would have liked and there was more than a little bit of modern verbiage used, which jarred me out of the period. I would be willing to read more from this author and look forward to watching her as she grows and matures into a seasoned writer.

This book was a really good read. My main complaint was Julianna's over use of the word "apparently". I started to cringe every time she used it. This story was fast paced and delightful. Julianna was a headstrong feminine lead that took great pains in thwarting Nick. She was a great caretaker for her sister and she was very clever as well. The pranks that she played on the twins in the book were funny and seeing their love and respect grow for her was endearing. I would recommend this book.

Even though this a romance novel, and I tend to avoid them, I enjoyed the writing style and string, well developed characters in this book. Yes, parts of the plot felt over the top and rushed, but more often I thought it was a fun, compelling, easy to read story.

Well written book with great storyline and plot. A sweet book that has great romance. The story is true to it's time period and the language is also. I like when an author has made research about the time period they want to write the story in.

I love the couples journey towards their HEA. There is drama, family issues, passion, emotions and some twists. Instant attraction. I like the supporting characters. I like stories where the POV changes.

Nice chemistry and passion. I like the main characters and how they develop. The story flows nicely and it is very captivating from first to last chapter.
A new author for me but she surprised me with her writing. Absolutely not the last book I will read from her.

The author has delivered a story that is worth the read!

I voluntarily reviewed this Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

My first by this author. I enjoyed this story very much and would look out for more books by this author. I can recommend this book to any one loving a nice book to read