Reluctantly In Love [Kindle Edition]

This is a cute idea for a period romance. The plot elements for tension are there.

The hero and heroine meet cute; the villain, the best friend, and a more creative element, the hooker-equivalent with the heart-of-gold keep the story moving.

There are few things missing for me; and I would have rated 3.5 stars if halvsies were possible.

The main characters don't come really alive for me. William is a rake; the ingenue bride is sweet. She is so forgettable that I had to look up her name, Beatrice, to write this.

I'm don't even know what the hero looks like, beyond his thick blond hair and green eyes. Is he a fop or well-dressed but careless? Where is his valet and her maid? If she was too poor to have one before she married her Lord, would he not have hired one for her?

Why does he spend his evenings, apparently, solely at Mrs. Doubard's parties picking up women. She is anachronistically referred to as Ms. but I cannot make myself do that, even for a review.

Is William no more than a lounge lizard? Wouldn't a rake also be out gambling, hanging at men's clubs, taking in some fisticuffs, out hunting and so forth?

The explanation for his determination not to sully Beatrice with sex is delayed so long that his actions were as confusing and inconsistent to me as to Beatrice. "Get on with it, man," I wanted to shout -- much like Mrs. D.

The sinister Mr. Spens is, IMHO, under-utilized.

In sum, this is a good idea for a story. With some nuanced shading of the characters, a few lines of witty dialogue that make me grin, and perhaps a bit of beefing up and working on plot details and timing, this could be a dynamite book. As it stands, it is worth a read if you like period romance.

The concept of this story was very appealing, considering how little control women had during this era. The characters were described but they never were fully realized in my opinion. He's a rake with a secret past and she's just a sweet girl. It seemed that they both progressed virtually overnight without any build-up.
I thought there could have been more depth with the Spens character. The vague references of his evil & sinister ways just made me angry rather than curious. He would have been a more effective villain with greater depth.
Overall though, the story was a good one, especially for a freebie. 3.5 stars would be more accurate, but alas Amazon does not have that option.

I'm not usually interested in historical romances, but this book was great. I love the struggle, the plot, it was a great read! I love books with a strong female character. I highly suggest this book!