This was amazing fun to read and enjoy... until the melodramatic final act. Sigh. 

Disliked:
- MMC referring to her a lot as his sweet “girl” 
- melodramatic final act plot. Knife wound. Conspiracy. Fake fenians. Why couldn’t we have some commercial turmoil with the FMC’s patents and board games. That would feel more in sync with the vibe of these characters and their story. 
- only a brief mention of Carys from book two but no further sign of her. 

Likes
- Gabriel and Pandora. I liked them even more than the pairs from the first two books of this series. 
- dual POV. 
- the seaside and may spring vibes
- banter and lighthearted flirting. 
- several lines made me chuckle out loud. 
- Pandora has vertigo and altered hearing abilities and it’s good this disability is represented and accepted by main characters 
- Phoebe and others call Gabriel out to show he is isn’t good at things but also there is childhood trauma he manages by being faultless at so much.  
- echo of the themes and characters from the wallflower series. (The book of the MMC’s parent was not a win for me but it helped me feel fond for those characters)
- set up of Phoebe and her mourning
- fun with FMC and Devon as older brother vibe
- fun with the siblings of MMC
- FMC stance on marriage and legal rights. 
- sex scenes were fine. But I was mostly into their flirting and courtship in Herons point. 

📖
I don't know how I missed reading this. I thought this was a good book and I had a good time reading it.

This was sweet, with cameos from Evie and Sebastian.

It was lovely reading about the man who everyone wants having to convince someone to be with him in spite of all his flawlessness. Gabriel was sweet, patient, and willing to compromise; something that felt necessary when matching someone with Pandora. I did feel he bended a little too easily to have her, but I found it easy to understand his draw to her, rather than just some bodily instinct he couldn't deny.

On the other hand, Pandora was so different from the other FMCs. With poor urge control, voiced inappropriate thoughts, yet an ability to understand and forgive others beyond the norm, I found her a fun and refreshing read.

the first 75% of this was basically perfect, and i liked the way the rest of it was plotted, but i wanted them to have a conversation at the end where gabriel promised to stop being so overprotective!!!!!!!! that would have made it perfect 

I’m conflicted in this one. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the first half of the book. It was a bit insta-lovey, which isn’t my favorite, but I also love when a man falls for a girl first. On the other hand, Gabriel’s infantilizing of Pandora after they were married was uncomfortable and the conflict at the end was so random. 

After re-reading: OMG. I forgot how incredible this book was. It is full of charm and wit, but also so much heart. Absolutely stunning. I think I loved this more after re-reading than I did the first time. 
Original review: 5⭐️ While this doesn’t top Marrying Winterborne for me, I still really loved it. Pandora is so endearing. I love her never-ending stream of thoughts and her untamed personality. She was so full of life and I loved that Gabriel loved her for who she was. The romance was so sweet. I loved this couple so much!

A nice, easy read, with the return of dearly beloved characters and a plot that, despite feeling forced at the beginning, is just too self indulgent and fun to really matter.
The characters are amazing, and the two main characters really shine in the spotlight offering the promised incredible story!

Easily my favorite of the series so far, and really my only complaint is that I wanted more than what I was given. Pandora is wonderfully eccentric,  even reading to me as Neuro divergent. While I'm not in a place to judge how well that was handled, I thought it really added to her character. Gabriel's fascination with her really worked for me. All that was missing was a bit more time spent on the action of the plot, and perhaps a bit more about Pandora and Gabriel navigating her independence, but it is a historical romance, so room has to be left for sexy times.