3.75 stars
We have Beatrice who's only goal is to retire a spinster in the country and write her etymology dictionary, enter Stamford the carpenter renovating her brother's mansion who constantly interrupts her with noise and his maleness. Stamford is a ships carpenter for the Royal Navy but his father is ill so he's filling in for him. He can't help but notice the Duke's sister's as he keeps catching her spying on him from the tower window.
Beatrice is a very wordy character and I had to look up a few words, but the author does mostly tell you what they mean. She was born with a palsy to the right side of her face due to complications during the birth, causing it to droop. Stamford however doesn't see this as a problem or a distraction from her looks or her personality, unlike her mother(really wanted to poke the mother in the eye at times). After a tensely flirtatious first meeting, they never expect to see each other again.
When Beatrice inherits a bookstore in desperate need of repairs, and Ford shoes up looking for her brother and we get into the flirting and the steam.