vibes: writer in disguise, crushes, and learning how to love (and trust) again

Heat Index: 6/10

The Basics:

Dorian, the Duke of Holland, is looking for a new wife after his previous marriage ended in his wife dying after having a torrid affair. This affair is on the brink of getting exposed when Caro, the bookseller he’s employed to liquidate his wife’s library–the same bookseller he can’t get out of his head–discovers secret letters between the late duchess and her lover. As Caro and Dorian hurtle into a mystery together, there’s an additional snag–she secretly writes scandalous novels under a pen name. If Dorian finds out and disapproves, he could shut down her family’s bookshop. Yet she can’t resist going on an adventure with this man–despite the stakes.

The Review:

This is one of those reviews where there really isn’t a lot that I can critique about this book on a technical level. It’s well-written; the characters are charming; I appreciate the way that Caro and Dorian both have friends and exist beyond their own internal bubbles. I love that Caro isn’t a babe in the woods in her early twenties. She’s seen some life.

And the actual mystery is pretty intriguing, and I think it will definitely please people who like something somewhere between hardcore mysteries and cozy mysteries. There are stakes, there’s emotional complexity–I mean, it’s Dorian’s wife we’re talking about–but it’s not to heavy. For me, a mystery is really neither here nor there; it’s very dependent on how engaged I am with the rest of the plot and character development.

While I wasn’t disengaged with the story–there were things that made me smile and kept me reading–I just wasn’t DYING to read more. It’s the kind of very pleasant historical romance narrative that I think is popular at the moment. Caro and Dorian like each other very early on, and are honestly pretty aware of the attraction for what it is, too. They’re a little too in touch with their own feelings for me; but I’m an angsthound.

I will say–it’s not that the idea of a conflict centering on this “secret writer” thing is bad at all. I like it, though I think we can sort of put two and two together about why tradpub likes it for historicals right now. But I do think that the hero being in the dark for a long time can be a little… hard to handle. I can think of at least one book that made it less of a secret, and that worked far better for me.

The Sex:

I did like how the sex scenes in this book were written–they weren’t super explicit, but they were fun and chemistry-full and interesting. Caro takes a bit of charge with Dorian, and he sure does like it.

If you’re the type of reader who enjoys a bit of light mystery and leads who are genuinely nice people and besotted pretty early on, I think you’ll love this. Me? I need a it more OOMPH. But that’s a matter of taste.

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