3.75⭐️ This was a lovely, slow-burn marriage of convenience, one of those love stories where feelings grow quietly, day by day, through small gestures and mutual kindness. I genuinely enjoyed how naturally and realistically their relationship developed.
That being said…it was a little too tame and a little too clean for my taste, even though that’s why I picked it in the first place, because it was marketed as clean
romance. 👉👈😅😂
My issue was that the MCs only really start interacting romantically as husband and wife (instead of polite strangers who happen to be married for practical reasons and who are only cordial to each other) around the 70% mark. Their first kiss? A few pages before the epilogue. At roughly 95%. Which means I spent most of the book squinting at the page like, “Is this the moment? No? Still no?” 😂
Don’t get me wrong, kindness and respect are lovely foundations for a relationship and I love seeing these things in my romance books, but they can’t carry it entirely on their own. I needed something more, a stolen glance, a lingering touch, a hint of yearning…anything..before the 50/60% mark. You know?
And yes, I’m aware I picked up a clean romance, which is exactly what I got 😂 but I still want romance. Passion! Longing! A little angst! Just without the explicit smut. Why does it feel like nowadays it’s either zero passionate chemistry or full-on spice overload, with nothing in between? Deeply frustrating.
Overall though, this was a very sweet historical romance marriage of convenience with kind, likeable main characters and excellent side characters. If you enjoy ultra-gentle slow burns and emotional subtlety, this might be perfect for you, just don’t expect fireworks before the final chapter.☺️