Sometimes I cannot believe I never read anything by this author until a year ago. Her historical romances are so much fun while also being full of heart. This may be a marriage of convenience, but the characters are very attracted to each other…until Iliana smells Duncan, and Duncan learns his new wife has a lot of “rules” about how to run a castle.

While Duncan isn’t thrilled with Iliana’s high-handed ways, she slowly wins over the rest of the area residents, especially the women. It turns out, Duncan’s mom died when he was young and his father fell into a bit of a depression. Duncan took his dad’s hygiene habits as the norm and the other residents of the castle followed suit. That has led to a neglected castle, subjects with worn and dirty clothes, and subpar food. Duncan is quite affronted by his wife’s opinions and they both stubbornly refuse to meet in the middle on any of their disagreements.

When Duncan and Iliana can have quiet moments away from their problems, they are fantastic together. It’s clear the attraction and chemistry are there, they just need to learn what is and is not important when it comes to their fights. These two kept me oscillating between swooning and laughing. So much fun!