I know I'm in for a nice time whenever I pick up a Joanna Shupe - I wouldn't say she's one of my favorite historical authors, but she reliably delivers a good book. "A nice time" is definitely how I'd describe this one, too. It's a fun story (who doesn't love a masquerade meet-again?) and I was interested in Katherine's side career as a museum curator. But a lot of the characters, including Katherine and particularly Preston, just felt really flat. I also am 100% here for politically aware historical romances, but the dialogue in this book seemed very modern, which took me out of the story at points. Definitely in support of all the messages, but can we just do it with conversations that sound 19th century-ish, even if it's all the Tiffany effect?

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!