This story was full of romance, a picturesque setting, delightful characters, and endless banter and arguments, all of which were beautifully put together to share the story of Claire and Thomas.

Claire was such a delightful character, so strong and stubborn but I loved that she wasn’t just another girl looking for a husband as society dictates. She was content as she was... until an infuriating, complex and obstinate rakish man tumbles into her life. Thomas’s past was very intriguing, and I was constantly aching to find out more, and I loved that the story showed you that until you know and understand someone’s history you will never understand why people react the way that they do.

I adored both of the main characters and loved that they were both so stubborn. They took so long to understand what the other person was feeling or actually trying to say but this led to endlessly entertaining banter and awkward or intimate situations! They were the perfect match and whilst it took them a very long time to come to that conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about their journey.

We also had a whole host of interesting side characters that I couldn’t help but love. The author wove in all these characters wonderfully and I felt as though we got to know a good deal of them.

The setting was wonderful, and as it was fully set in the countryside it was a nice change of pace from time in London with the ton. The writing was excellent and set the historic setting perfectly.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was gripped the whole way through. There were swoon-worth moments, heart-warming moments, and moments I just wanted to through my kindle! The characters were infuriating but compelling and I couldn’t put the book down - I had to force myself to so I could sleep but I picked it up again as soon as I could the next day!

My only comment would be that I thought the ending was a bit abrupt and I would have liked to see a little more of their married life together however it did end well, and the epilogue was a great snippet – and definitely piqued my interest for the next story – and I am sure we’ll get to see more of them as side characters in the other Gardner women’s stories.

Overall, the writing was delightful, easy to read, and set the historic atmosphere well. There was a great mix of romance with other subplots that all came together wonderfully. I loved watching this story unfold and I will definitely be reading more from this author! I can’t wait to read the next story.