4 Stars from me.

Lord Roland Wilde, also known as North, is jilted on the evening meant to celebrate his engagement. He joins the military and after months of searching, finally locates the errant Miss Diana Belgrave, with a baby that is not his. In the following years North participates in a war with the colonies that he doesn’t believe in, and Diana is employed as a governess in his family’s home, with her nephew, Godfrey, in tow.

North’s years in the military has changed him, and Diana is not the same shy girl she once was either. Reunited, they become friends and get to know each other outside of the social constructs that has dominated their lives from before. And in the course of all this, they fall in love. Diana refuses to even entertain the idea of being the duchess and thus they are at a stale-mate.

I found the characters very mature, especially North. Diana desperately wants to be useful and not rely on others, and she comes across as a bit flighty and was irritating some of the time. North is a steady rock throughout the story, a good foil to Diana’s impulsiveness. The cast of supporting characters are all fun and entertaining.

I enjoy Eloisa James’s writing very much and she always delivers the perfect HEA. It isn’t extremely exciting, but it is a good love story, and it left me with a wonderful feeling of bliss at the end.

Was I hooked by this book? For sure!

Genre: Historical Romance