4/5. Releases 5/23/2023.

For when you're vibing with... Milf excellence, nice boys who fucking do, and lighthearted romance.

Widowed duchess Alexandra is tired of pretending to mourn her husband. Hitting the Garden of Hedon for a night of pleasure, she finds it with businessman Theo Osborne. Despite their intense evening together, she expects she'll never see Theo again... but she does. And it turns out he's meant to get engaged to her own daughter.

I usually love angst on angst, and I wouldn't say Megan Frampton's books are that. But somehow, they work for me anyway. Maybe because she writes really likable characters. Maybe because she writes super bomb sex scenes (especially in this one). Either way, I had a good time, and I loved writing about a heroine who's lived a legitimate life and a hero who's not only younger than her, but a good bit younger than her.

Quick Takes:
--I've seen some concerns about the age gap between Alexandra and Theo, and concerns about how the text addresses this (or rather, doesn't--it's not as much of an issue for the couple as is Theo's obligations towards her daughter, or for that matter Alexandra's desire for freedom). She's 40, and he's 28. I just don't think it's a big deal. She's 12 years older, and he's grown the fuck up. Theo is a man who has everything he needs on his own; he doesn't need Alexandra, and honestly, she doesn't really need him either. For the subject matter, the conflict here is relatively low. As a reader, I kind of loved that there wasn't a lot of handwringing over Alexandra's age. It's kind of criminal that so many people who read historical romance are women 40 and over, and they get so little representation in the subgenre.

Also, we read so many books with this age gap or much larger with an older hero and younger heroine (and I have no issue with that). Why is it a problem when she's older?

--There are some quibbles I have with the pacing, which is kind of... not slow, but calm, and then suddenly rushes at the end. It didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book, but I do feel like one particular trigger could've been pulled earlier in the story.

--Alexandra has a lot of concerns about being free in her future life after literal decades of a constraining marriage. This extends to her being uncertain of Theo really ensuring her freedom in the future. I found this to be a realistic concern for a woman in her era, with the experiences she'd had. It's not about her not loving Theo, or even really not trusting him as an individual. It's about him being a man and Alexandra having learned some pretty tough things about how men conduct themselves in marriage, especially within her class. I'm sure romance readers will be super normal about this. Personally, all of her hesitancy made me like Alexandra more and relate to her more for that matter.

--And because Alexandra is an interesting, complex character, I don't think it's surprising that Theo's development is a little quieter. A little her-centric. It's something we don't always see with historical heroes. He's not tortured, though he's not perfect, either. He's the kind of "good guy who puts it down" Megan Frampton is so good at writing.

The Sex Stuff:
This is the hottest Frampton book I've read so far. Like.... dam? Theo and Alexandra's relationship begins with sex. She never really had good sex in her marriage, and fortunately, he in fact a giver (though I wouldn't call him a sub). The sex they have is both super hot and passionate and like... genuinely fond? You can feel the relationship developing through it, and her confidence growing in turn. It's very sweet, while also being scorching. But this dude really would just dive under her dress headfirst at any given opportunity, huh? His enthusiasm and how much he loves giving her pleasure just leaps off the page.

I had a good time with this one. It's not perfect, but it's sexy and entertaining and a different take I'm happy to see in historical romance.

Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.