“Someone tried to kill you?”
“Not everyone finds me charming.”

Injured by a wayward bullet, Lord Alexander Stanton finds himself barely conscious and being looked after by Christina James on the island of Illiakos. The fact that Christina is wearing veils (or a tent as Alex would describe them) doesn’t stop Alex flirting with his nurse and impulsively asking her to leave with him when he has recovered. Naturally, Christina doesn’t leave, but, as we are to discover, Alex and Christina’s lives have been changed as a result of their interaction.
Several years later, diplomat Alex is hosting negotiations for a treaty at Stanton Hall, and King Darius of Illiakos attends, bringing with him his daughter, Princess Ariadne, and her companion, Christina. The fact that Alex never saw Christina’s face when she was looking after him makes for an interesting reunion as Alex can’t be sure his new houseguest is who he thinks she is, whilst Christina obviously knows Alex, but doesn’t make the fact clear. And so, we follow Alex and Christina through the challenge of trying to overcome the obstacles that are in the way of a happy ending, not least the fact that King Darius seems quite keen on his daughter becoming Lady Stanton.
What I love about Lara Temple’s writing is that her leading men have troubled pasts, issues with commitment and complicated families, all of which have impacted on them and resulted in them being far from conventional members of the aristocracy. Indeed, Alex is damaged by his past, and there are enough hints about the a feud between the Stanton’s and the Sinclair’s that we only hope there is scope to visit this side of the family in a future book. For all his outgoing, Diplomat persona, Alex is actually a sensitive soul who simply needs to realise that, while his past (and his family) may define his on some level, he can forge his own path and be happy, if only he can let himself.
Luckily for Alex, the author has created him an equally sensitive and scarred by the past heroine who is a potentially perfect match for him, if only Christina can realise that giving up the life she has on Illiakos doesn’t mean losing herself in the process.
Sensitive and untrusting they may be, but Alex and Christina come to life vividly with their sparkly wit (“It would have been very inconvenient if you had died” says Christina at one point, only for Alex to reply that “it would have been rather unfortunate if my demise had caused an international incident.”), and, as the barriers come down there is hope for the future, event though Christina considers herself unsuitable for Alex due to her background.
The supporting characters are equally strong; Princess Ariadne probably deserves her own story at some point, but the star of the show is undoubtedly Lady Albinia who is full of words of wisdom, talks a lot of sense, and shines every time she makes an appearance. Her tendency to allocate people as a herb or a flower, is an entertaining sideline, and her exchange with Alex regarding how to categorise Christina (“she’s not fennel” says Alex in despair at the conversation) is witty and heartwarming at the same time.
Indeed, the reader to a degree has to thank Lady Albinia and Princess Ariadne for helping bring Alex and Christina to their senses as the book heads towards its conclusion. Without spoiling the story, the end is very fitting of Alex and Christina, and a strong conclusion to their story. Indeed, the underlying theme through all three books in this series has been about finding your place in the world, and learning to let people in as, when you find these things, true happiness is within reach should you chose to take a leap into the unknown and find out.
As this is the third book in the ‘Wild Lords and Innocent Ladies’ series, there are brief appearances by Hunter and Ravenscar who we met in the previous books, and Alex’s story answers all the questions I had about him following his visit to Lord Ravenscar in the previous book, but the story works well as a stand-alone novel, and you would not be missing any vital information to the plot if you haven’t read the previous books.
An excellent conclusion to a wonderful series, I enjoyed this book as much as the previous instalments of the series, and look forward to Lara Temple’s next book.
Thank you to Lara Temple for a copy of this book.

The first time I read about Alexander Stanton in book one I had no idea what to think about him. Hell... I started this book with only curiosity in my mind, so I didn't had expectations, I just wanted to have fun. And boy did I have fun...

The book starts with how Alex and Chrissie met, in Illiakos, while Alexander is wounded and Christina is ordered by the King to help the man recover from his injuries by being his nurse. Then we move forward 6 years, in England, and that's when and here the book that's place.

The books was not only well-written and funny, it was also mysterious, romantic, a bit sad.... but all of those things was what I felt while reading. I loved how Alex and Chrissie made me laugh and sigh, how I got sad because of the past and even because of some particular aspects of someone's view of themselves (not going to spoil anything).

It was also touching. Christina is a caring and loyal person, a smart woman that could make me thing about my own life with every page I read in her POV. And Alex made me all warm with how kind he could be and he also made me laugh.

Then there is Alex's aunt that was very quite an interesting person. I love plants (herbs and flowers), but unfortunately I didn't get my mom's ability of gardening. So reading about that in the book just made me smile with happiness. Which was unexpected and awesome!

There are a lot of things I loved about this book beside the gardening and the relationship between all the characters. I loved how the King consider Christina someone very important and part of his and his daughter family. I loved the carpentry, because it reminds me of my grandpa Jaime. I loved everything!!!

So yes, I totally recommend this series.

I still have the second book to read and review, but you guys can jump right on this adventure of three amazing books about people just finding themselves and finding their path, and felling in love during their journey.
[I received and ARC of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review.]