A man with a past could change her future.

Having failed to win the hand of the woman he loves, William Cole returns to his childhood home the same vain, shallow gentleman who relies too much on his charm and good looks. He wants to join the military, but his father decides William should take over the reins from the retiring vicar and—while he’s at it—marry the vicar’s daughter.

Unlike William, Verity Lockhart has changed in the five years since he saw her last. While he might remember her as a quiet, mousy sort of girl, she has developed opinions and habits deemed unsuitable for a young lady, the worst of which is a fascination with science and—gasp!—insects. No man, says her mother, would want a wife who is always running off with a butterfly net.

William and Verity can agree on one thing only: they have no desire to marry each other. They will have to encounter an utterly shameless rogue, an unusually honorable gentleman, and a very real war to form a love so deep, it could be the best choice either has ever made.

Tropes you’ll love:

✔ Reformed rake

✔ Bluestocking heroine

✔ Small village romance

✔ Family expectations vs. personal dreams

✔ Sweet slow-burn romance

✔ Redemption arc & emotional growth

What begins as a mismatch may just become the love story neither of them dared to imagine.

A sweet Regency romance filled with wit, warmth, and the quiet courage to choose love on your own terms.

Note: This series is part of Dragonblade's Sweet Dreams line, so this is a sweet, wholesome Historical Romance where passion beyond the bedroom door is left to the reader’s imagination.