3 1/2 sloooooow burn stars
Lawrence Sinclair is the heir apparent to the Earl of Ware; however, the earl despises his nephew and blames him for his son's untimely death; thus, he has done all he can to be rid of his kin. At a young age, he sent him to a hellish boarding school; once he was old enough, Lawrence's uncle benevolently purchased a commission for him in the Queen's military --- specifically, the one with the greatest number of casualties. And now the earl is seeking a young bride to provide him with an heir to cut Lawrence completely. But this is nothing new or shocking to Lawrence; he has never lived up to his uncle's expectations. He earned the highest honors in the military, and then stayed on the continent for a time after he sold his commission where he encountered Lord Edward Lovell with whom he returned to England.
Carolina Lovell is the only sister of the Lovell brood --- she has 5 brothers. Her favorite and the eldest is Edward, and when he returns from his adventures on the continent to assume his duties as the earl and head of their family, he brings an unusual man with him: Mr. Sinclair. Though Caroline finds him odd at first, she soon realizes he has more depth and character that meets the eye. No matter, though, as Caroline is in her 3rd season after (purposefully) failing to make a match in her first two -- she would much prefer to remain unmarried and explore places beyond England like her brothers are permitted to do, and she feels it is entirely unfair that she cannot just because she is a woman.
When Lawrence meets Caroline, he is immediately infatuated and falls deeply in love with her, though he knows he is and will never be good enough for her. Will he act upon his feelings? Will Caroline consider giving up her freedom to marry him?
What I liked:
--- Lawrence and Caroline were very likeable in different ways - I like that they stayed who they were at the core despite pressures otherwise
--- The author was very authentic./stayed true to the time period
What I didn't like as much:
--- I don't mind a good slow burn, but it seemed FOREVER before these two really got together - I am not referring to intimate scenes, but they didn't even kiss until 3/4's of the way through the whole book -- that's a little too slow on my slow burn tolerance scale
--- Not enough steamy goodness - when they DID finally get down to it, it was pretty high level
--- Too much descriptions for my taste - I have read enough HRs to get the idea, so the level of detail was tedious and felt overdone in many parts
--- The ending was a little odd in that one of the "villains" gave up way too easily after being a serious a-hole the whole time before
--- Unnecessary angst (on the part of the H) - a serious pet peeve of mine
If you enjoy a detailed description of England in the regency era, a SLOW burn romance, minor steamy goodness, a good plot, and a few odd resolutions to story lines, this is the book for you.
Plot --- 3.5/5
Main Characters --- 4/5
Supporting Cast --- 3/5
Steam Level* --- 2/5
Violence --- nothing graphic
Language --- not egregious
POV --- 3rd
(*Note that steam level is not a rating so much as a how hot was it: 0/5 - clean; 1/5 - mild; 2/5 - sensual but nothing descriptive; 3/5 - now we're getting somewhere; 4/5 - yes please! ; 5/5 - they did EVERYTHING in this one, y'all)