Overall

I was so excited to get to this book–it’s always been one of my favorite romance novels because it takes place over a longer period of time. A lot of novels, particularly in the last decade or so, tend to take place over a couple of weeks but rarely span longer than a month, maybe two. This novel is probably at least six months, if not more, and it really allows the romance and characters to develop.

The plot is a bit of a misdirect–Sophia’s desire for revenge is really more of an inciting incident and it doesn’t take her long to start rethinking her opinion of Ross and the actual plot kind of meanders a bit. That’s not a bad thing because if Sophia stuck to her original plan I feel like that would have caused the story to drag.

The characters are great — Ross was a good supporting character in Someone to Watch Over Me, and he remains solid here. He’s a principled man of honor and it’s fascinating to watch him apply his own vision of justice. Sophia is a great lead — I like that she does revise her opinion and plows her own path, even if she’s occasionally quick to jump to conclusions.

The romance is good and develops well. I like that Ross never seems to shy away from his feelings for Sophia but I could have done without her former lover or Ross’s brother. I know they were there to provide a contrast to Ross, but it did get annoying having Sophia blackmailed and propositioned at ever turn.

Spoilers Ahead

I actually don’t have a lot extra to say. Probably my favorite aspect of this novel is that Sophia does rethink her revenge for Ross — by page 95 in my ebook, she’s already discarded it, and she’s confessed her plan by the middle of the book. The attention then gets turned to Ross’s role in Sophia’s brother’s death, and if it’s going to be an obstacle for them. I like that Sophia is the one who thinks it will be an obstacle–she knows now enough about Ross to know he was as fair as he could have been.

The turn that Nick Gentry is Sophia’s brother might have annoyed me more if I hadn’t already read the third book about Nick but I might have liked a bit more from him. The one full scene he has, he’s blackmailing his sister and I don’t entirely love it. But Nick’s had a hard life, and I’m willing to give him some space.

This is a really good book and I’m so glad I put this series on my list!