3.5 but a 4 feels too generous, although I enjoyed it a lot. This is about the (scandalous) romance - which they try to keep a secret from society -between widowed, wealthy 29-year-old, Lady Constantine, and poor young 20-year-old 'Adonis-astronomer', Swithin St. Cleeve (which is the most ridiculous name for a love interest, I love it, how am I supposed to take this boy seriously?). So anyway, it's very fun. At first I thought Swithin was kind of a brat, but by the time he

Spoiler

finds out someone has preempted his scientific discovery by six weeks and basically just throws himself down on the heather in the rain to die, AND THEN barely even notices when Lady Constantine gives him a passionate deathbed kiss, BUT ONLY DECIDES TO LIVE AGAIN when someone mentions there's a comet passing tomorrow,

I had to love him. He's a nerd but so dumb.

(Lady Constantine, very obviously in love:) "Your footsteps were audible to me from the very bottom, and I knew they were yours. You look almost restored."
(Swithin St. Cleeve, dumbass:) "I am almost restored. A reason for living arose, and I lived."
"What reason?" she inquired, with a rapid blush.
He pointed to the rocket-like object in the western sky.

On the other hand, it's shorter and smaller in scale than some Hardy stuff, and I felt like the characters drawn weren't as compelling as say, in Far From The Madding Crowd, and although I loved the series of inconvenient thorns in the side of their romance, the last page was just a little too far. I am all for miserable endings though, and you're in safe hands with Hardy there.