I have big mixed feelings on this one. Regency romance isn’t really my thing generally, but I found a “most popular series” list and I’d tried nearly all of them, so my completionist self is now exploring the last few I missed.

I really liked the comedic sense of the gossip papers and the light-hearted writing style. But honestly there’s two big plot points (see spoilers below) that were (and I don’t use this word lightly) problematic and definitely not romantic.

Highlight to See Spoiler


I mean the brothers forcing Simon to marry Daphne at gunpoint, and Daphne herself manipulating him just felt so… ugh. And then… Daphne makes it her mission to *change* Simon even after he’s very explicit with her about what he does and does not want. When he doesn’t bend, she forces herself on him while he’s drunk and asleep. O_O


If not for those things, I think I could’ve enjoyed this or might read the sequels one day, but those two big elements just left my skin crawling. So… yeah. Not for me. But if you’re a regency romance fan or a fan of the Netflix seris, it could be for you!

⭐⭐⭐

I mean, at this point, the slump is really my fault for choosing books based on a “most popular” list. But I want to be informed!

Thanks for reading!