This is my second Ellen O'Connell book, and I'll definitely be coming back for more. This was wonderful witty, endearingly sweet, and contained enough of settled down life where these two were just falling in love.

The characters are wonderfully thought out, with nuances and developments that have you rooting for them. I loved the strength of both of these two, and my only frustration was Cord fell into the frustrating "unstoppable, unkillable" casting that often happens to MMCs.

Although I do sometimes find the sentence structure a little awkward in Ellen O'Connell's books, I didn't notice it as much here as I did in "Without Words".

i feel like this book was so hyped up on r/RomanceBooks that my expectations going in were super high, which ultimately left me disappointed.

so much of the book was told through the perspectives of other characters that it was difficult for me to really emotionally connect with the MCs, especially since they seemed to have basically one “personality” trait each. for the FMC that was being rebellious/fiery and for the MMC that was being quiet/dangerous/the town outcast. 

it probably doesn’t help that almost all of the main action happens (or feels like it happened) off-screen, only for the characters to indirectly tell the reader what happened after the fact. a lot of the big conflicts were built up and then the perspective abruptly shifted to another character which really ruined the anticipation for me.

This book was a fantastic read. I couldn’t read it fast enough. While it was sadder and more violent than most romance novels I read, it will be one I think about, and reread, for a long time to come. 

I have ever read a book more badly in need of an editor, but I had a good time. 

2nd (3rd?) Read, 2024

AASDFJKLBQEGPXIZY!!!! Knocked off half a star from my original review bc I can't believe Judith just waltzes around carefree without even a word of apology after everything, but otherwise this ABSOLUTELY held up to my memories!! Cord & Anne were incredible characters — a perfect mixture of funny, lively, fierce, and tender. Cord remains one of my tops book baes of all time, that man is just. EVERYTHING. For the most part, the discussions of prejudice, misogyny, and racism were done well. Imperfect (see: Judith), but well. And yes, the ending went on longer than necessary maybe, but, much like with LOTR: The Kings Return (extended edition), how mad about it was I, really? 

All in all, I do still rec this book for historical romance fans — though still with the caveat that while I thought the themes were handled well, I'm not the main expert in this case.