This book is all about my favorite trope: childhood friends getting together. Is there anything better than many years of pining all built up into one epic novel?
MacGregor did a fantastic job with this one. Constance and Jonathan are childhood best friends who shared their first kiss. But when the war came, Jonathan goes to fight and returns…damaged. Meanwhile, Constance’s reputation is ruined because she married a man who was secretly married to SOMEONE ELSE. But she doesn’t even find this out until she’s pregnant! Gotta love the historical drama – seriously.
Basically, Constance needs a husband: stat. Enter the marriage of convenience, a good old classic. But there’s obviously a ton of miscommunication between the two. This actually made total sense to me, since they both have so many issues and experienced quite a bit of trauma. This kind of stuff can’t just be resolved quickly!
As teens, these two are just so hopeful. MacGregor really brings the angst here, especially once you see them turn into kind of bitter adults who haven’t been dealt the best hand.
The smutty scenes were kind of amazing. Since Constance isn’t a virgin (I love the experienced woman trope in a historical romance) she knows what she wants and doesn’t hesitate to ask for it…or demand it.
The miscommunications make sense to me. They both keep secrets from each other but have good intentions – neither is malicious or trying to hurt the other. There’s definitely some angst when these secrets come to light, but they’re able to overcome their communication issues and finally enter into a true marriage.
Overall, it was a wonderful read! It’s deep but not too dark and the smut is *chefs kiss.*
*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
