This was very nicely done.

If you're looking for a pretty straightforward story about two people falling in love, then this is definitely for you. Alexandrina and Taft marry after she's caught in a pseudo compromising situation. Although they have both been in each others circles for years, they had never gotten on since Taft thinks Alix is incredibly dour and she thinks he's vapid and ridiculous.

As they enter into their marriage the two get to know each other much better away from their society masks.

It was just a very nice, well executed plot. Both characters were relatable and you want them to succeed, and the few supporting characters are also not neglected in their development. I say straightforward story because there's no danger here.

I can definitely see myself re-reading this, especially on days were I'm craving a simple shippy romance.

Such lovely read. I really enjoyed this book. It was so cute. I found Taft maybe a little too perfect and Alix a little too grumpy for not enough reasons. But I loved Taft and the little boy together it was so sweet.

Wowowowow! Where to even start?! I have loved Rebecca Connolly’s books for years, and I was so excited to receive an early copy of this book! This was the perfect enemies to friends to lovers slowburn, and just like all of her other books, it was fantastic! The relationship and character growth of both Taft and Alix was fantastic. Run, do not walk to read this book!! Rebecca you’ve outdone yourself again. ♥️

Torey/10 would recommend!

Knight or Fool?

Because we get to see in his head, the reader is never in doubt of the goodness of Taft. However, watching his wife discover it is a gift.

I liked it, mostly, at first. Then it got rather boring. DNF at 90%. Too tender for my tastes. I like a moving plot.

Taft is a manic pixie dream guy. He is a perfect fantasy husband, created to teach Alexandrina that she can live her life again. Alexandrina was widowed by an abusive husband (severe emotional abuse) and remained with her severely toxic mother-in-law for a while

Spoiler

for the sake of her son. Then she was then outcast from the home forced to abandon her son

. Taft offers her a marriage of convenience. She struggles to accept his kindness and affection, but he eventually wins her respect with his own respect and grace

Spoiler

, particularly as he is such a great stepdad to her son

.

This book is really geared towards moms who are looking for a sweet, lovely, and gentle escape. More prose than dialog. More personal growth than adventure. I’m surprised at just how chaste this is With that said, I loved the line, “One could be both sincere in emotion and dignified in bearing.” It came from the boldest scene in the book, which may tell you what you’re getting.

Super sweet and swoony Regency love story. If you like a good marriage of convenience story, this one's for you.
Except it's not exactly a marriage of convenience, it's a marriage to stave off a potential scandal. I usually feel a bit cynical about the flimsiness of the "scandals" that force people into getting married in these plots, and I wasn't sold on the circumstances of this one. But the characters and the remainder of the story were really enjoyable.

Plot summary: Alexandrina is a widow and still recovering emotionally from the disaster that was her first marriage. When she is at the center of an odd-looking episode outside a party one night, she resigns herself to marrying Taft, an acquaintance that she has never had much respect for, as she sees him as all surface and no substance. But it's the best chance she has of staying respectable so she can keep fighting to get her 5-year-old son out of the clutches of her former in-laws. Fortunately, Taft is much more dependable, kind, and loyal than she ever realized and he makes an ideal partner for the wounded and reserved Alix.

There were a few choices in the writing that distracted me, like the frequent use of the words "hummed" and "hissed" to describe sounds the characters make. They hummed and hissed an awful lot, and I don't find those words very evocative of how a normal human would communicate. But that's just a little nitpicky thing. The characters were lovely and that's really all that matters.
There are quite a few references to another book, which I started but didn't finish because the main characters in that one sniped at each other too much. Taft and Alexandrina were side characters in that book, and it would probably have given me a little more context for why they are the way they are if I had finished it. But essentially this one can be read as a standalone novel.