“Dangerous creatures, wallflowers. Approach them with the utmost caution. They sit quietly in corners, appearing abandoned and forlorn, when in truth they’re sirens who lure men to their downfall. You won’t even notice the moment she steals the heart right out of your body—and then it’s hers for good. A wallflower never gives your heart back.”

While most young women of high society come to London to engage in the whirl of the Season and hopefully find a husband, Lady Pandora Ravenel is not exactly your average lady. Independent and strong-willed (not to mention a bit socially awkward), Pandora just wants to be able to go back to work on building a business for the board games which she’s developed with the help of a family friend. But when Pandora is caught in a compromising position with Gabriel, St. Vincent at a ball, many of those around her are demanding marriage. It will be up to Gabriel to decide if he wants to convince the lady that she belongs with him or let her escape back to her entrepreneurial endeavors.

As with many who picked this one up, I was a huge fan of [b:Devil in Winter|114166|Devil in Winter (Wallflowers, #3)|Lisa Kleypas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309220205s/114166.jpg|1823830] which told the story of Sebastian and Evie so I was excited to see their son’s story. I had heard from others on Goodreads that were mixed on this one so I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. It was nice to see a heroine who really struggled with awkardness and anxiety as someone who has dealt with similar issues and it’s not something you see much of in historical romances. She did come across as a bit too naive but for me, the interactions between her and Gabriel and the way that he tried to gently push the limits of her comfort but still support her resonated with me. If I have a gripe, it’s that the political intrigue part of it seemed...contrived and forced in at the end. It was difficult to understand how things were connected. I mean, that probably makes sense if Pandora was only involved by accident but it was still a bit jarring.

Overall, this wasn’t my absolute favorite of Kleypas’ romances but I really adored and connected with Pandora and liked seeing Gabriel convince her to give him a chance.

3.5⭐
I was honestly a little nervous going into this book because Pandora was my least favorite character from the first 2 books. But despite her quirkiness I ended up enjoying this!
Pandora was definitely the most unique character I think I've read from in HR. She's very off the wall and almost alarming naive. It took a few chapters for me to warm up to her, but in the end I did end up liking her and the romance between her and Gabriel. I thought the couple had really good chemistry and banter (2 things I absolutely need in my HR). But I will say I don't entirely understand why Gabriel liked Pandora so much. I did find it a little cringey that he was so into her naivety and childlike wonderment.
Overall I liked the plot, there were lots of twists and turns I wasn't expecting this to take, and was hooked the whole way through. But this definitely isn't my favorite of the series. However I'm VERY excited for Dr Gibbson's book next!!