4/5. Releases 9/24/24.

vibes: 10 Things I Hate About You, weird crunchy heroines, Big virgin heroes, sex deals

Heat Index: 7/10

The rather slimy Lord Huntingdon wishes to court Viola–but Viola can’t be courted until her rather odd and aloof sister, Evangeline (sometimes known as Effie) is courted as well. That’s where Gage, the completely broke new Duke of Vale, comes in. Huntingdon offers him a deal: if Gage courts Evangeline, Huntingdon will settle the debts Gage’s late brother left behind. It seems easy enough. What Gage didn’t expect was Evangeline’s prickly nature–or, that when she did warm up to him, she’d offer a deal of her own. Sexual exploration with no strings attached? It sounds great to her. But Gage might not be able to keep himself from falling…

Obviously, this is a 10 Things I Hate About You retelling. I actually don’t like that movie; after a somewhat more recent rewatch, I realized that it super isn’t for me. Fortunately, this book is a lot more fun, with a much more endearing heroine (who is a weirdo, yes, but not an asshole) and a hero who basically falls headlong.

This is very much a romcom–and probably the most antihistorical of this series thus far (more on that later) which isn’t a bad thing. It fully embraces its roots while dialing the heat up a good bit and throwing in some rather zany hijinks that you can really only get in a historical romance.

Is it perfect? Not quite–the pacing is a bit off to me, which leads to a pretty rushed finale. There isn’t ever any major reason why our hero and heroine can’t be together (I mean, at least none that she’s aware of). But the book is a solid romp, and it’s QUITE sexy. In fact, I would say that the sex is the best part of the novel, which is a compliment. This is a refreshingly sex positive book, and while Gage and Evangeline obviously fall in love (and fall hard) there’s never any sense that either of them should feel any type of way about having casual sex for the sake of it. And they’re both virgins!

Quick Takes:

–To go back to that antihistorical thing… While I wouldn’t say any books in this series have been accurate or cared to be, this one felt less so? That’s not a critique. I sincerely don’t care about historical accuracy, as long as the writing and story is good. This did push it a bit, to the point that I felt like it was trying a bit hard. But for the most part, I found it funny, and I look forward to the handwringing over everything.

–There’s a rather fabulous author’s note in which Howard details the history of sexual education and pleasure for women of bygone eras, especially those we typically see depicted as repressed sex haters in certain historical romance novels. I loved every bit of it, and I so appreciate the resources!

–Briar and Lushing have always been the couple I was most excited to see, and the set up we got here has me even more hyped.

–Evangeline is truly an odd girl, and Gage is absolutely about it. Her obsession with animals led to some super funny moments–Gage is covered with kittens and rescues lambs and plays with her dog, and she is so horny she could SCREAM.

–Gage claims to be English versus Scottish (because his dad is English; his mother is very much Scottish, and he loves Scotland) but from the moment we’re told that he’s Big as Fuck, it’s clear that he’s a classic Scottish historical romance hero. Evangeline is all too happy to have him in a kilt.

The Sex:

Like I said earlier–the sex scenes in this book, as well as the way sex is discussed, are really the standouts. Gage and Evangeline have great chemistry. There’s a real playfulness to their dynamic fairly early on, and this doesn’t let up in the bedroom. Both Gage and Evangeline are virgins, and there isn’t much dithering or concern over why he’s chosen to abstain (somewhat–I mean, he clearly did STUFF). It’s just a thing, and it does lead to a first penetrative sex scene that’s rather funny, and also rather tender.

You get some stuff we’re only now started to see more of in historicals–sex toys! There’s some semi-public sex. “I need you now” sex (OOOOOH I LOVED THAT SHIT). An untouched orgasm that made me read the scene twice to ensure I’d read it right. DELIGHTFUL!

If you’re looking for a blithe, irreverent, and super sexy historical romcom, this is what you want. It does get a little caught up in the weeds at points, but it stays funny, and it stays hot. Which I’m certainly not mad at, personally!

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