Listen, I’ve just about sworn off m/f romance after so many recent flops, but this one snuck in under the wire, as I was already committed to the ARC. It’s good! Not amazing, but good, in the fulfilled-the-brief, let’s-not-overthink-it kind of way I’ve been looking for since August. A few pacing niggles here or there, especially in the latter half, and I called both plot twists. The fact this did not deter me is basically a ringing endorsement at this point. I might even read more from Vasti when I’m in the mood again.
- The climax with pistols—done to much better effect here! Pretty much exactly what I was talking about in my recent rant. Lydia worries about her aim and any ricochets, and saves the day by smarter means.
- After reading Jane Austen, The Secret Radical and I’m Sorry for My Loss, the epistolary epilogue full of multiple childbirths had me stressed. Vasti definitely puts the fantasy gloss on that one.
- The gold standard of and-then-there-were-children epilogues belongs to A Lady for A Duke, don’t @ me.