4.5 stars

Going into this story I had no idea it would hold one of my least favorite tropes. I will talk about it since it comes to light very early in the story so isn’t really a spoiler. I want to be sure that others (because I know there are a lot of us) that hate this trope know that somehow it ended up not bothering me at all. That’s some writing magic, to be sure. We’re talking secret baby. I think it has to do with the period as well as the author’s skill at storytelling.

Not only did I not mind my least favorite trope, but I also ended up loving this story. When I dove back into historical romance after many years away, a lot of the stuff I was reading was more than 10 years old, mostly more like 20 years old. Boy have our expectations changed in that small amount of time, leaving me to take into account the publication date while reading. As I’m starting to read more recently written historical romances, I’m loving the inclusion of not only strong women (I have found most women in these books were extremely strong) but also men who agree with the point of view that women are equals. Not to mention the more realistic inclusion of other minorities. It’s not perfect, but things are moving in the right direction. This book is one that, to me, seems like a love letter to women about what they should expect when it comes to intimate acts. Not only that, but it’s quite timely with mentions of book banning and the reasons behind those ideas.

Don’t worry, this story has a lot of fun and joy. The social justice issues I mentioned are organically woven throughout and serve to move the narrative forward. Regina and Knightly have so much heat between them and try so hard to do what they think is right, which is to keep things platonic. Especially since Regina has a very sweet suitor who can bring her the respectability she needs and Knightly cannot see a way to be with Regina without ruining her reputation further than he already had years ago when he left her at the alter.

Many things have kept these two apart, none of them surprising. Watching them finally open up about their secrets (another trope I usually hate is the “big secret”) and struggle to do right by one another was engaging nonetheless. Then Knighly opening up to his friends and figuring out a go-around to find happiness for them all was a joy to read.

I’m fully enjoying this new series by Lorraine Heath and watching the chessmen fall one by one.

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**