For someone who does not typically pick up historical romance, I really enjoyed my time reading this book. I loved Minerva's character - I found her to be a woman with a troubled past who had been scarred by past events, but was able to overcome them (through self-discovery and with the help of cherished friends, Beth and Jeremy) and learn to take care of herself. When she meets Chase and begins to feel some kind of attraction towards him, she doesn't trust her instinct, as it had gotten her badly hurt in the past. But when she finally opens up to Chase, he isn't perfect but is understanding of her boundaries and helps Minerva learn to trust him (and ultimately herself). Their banter was snarky and I liked it a lot. I also found the mystery plot around Minerva's late husband, Algernon, to be an interesting addition to the story, and the outcome was a believable one (that had me saying "I knew it!" when I reached the point where things are revealed). I will say that what drew me in initially, and what made me want to pick this book up in the first place, was the investigation into the Duke's death, and that was one point in the story I felt to be lacking, especially after the romance plotline had already been established. I found the conclusion of the investigation to be a bit unsatisfying (at least for me), but I do acknowledge that this is the beginning of a series, and we may revisit this aspect in future novels. Although I will say that I liked the fact that both main characters were conducting their own investigations, and with each person they talked to they gathered different information, so in order to paint the whole picture they just had to talk to each other about it - talk about a recipe for success. Overall, I found the romance between Minerva and Chase to be at the forfront of this book, and was not disappointed. I even enjoyed the sex scenes, while I'm typically not really a fan, and thought they were well written. I guess this means I'll have to read more historical romance in the future to compare.
In conclusion, I found this to be an incredibly enjoyable historical romance between a strong female lead and the grandson of a lord. It was lighthearted and fun, and exactly what I needed to read during this period of uncertainty in the world. Madeline Hunter really did give me a nice introduction to a genre I would normally gloss over in recommendations, and hopefully I'll be able to pick up some similar new reads soon. If you're someone like me who needed a really simple introduction into the world of historical romance, I highly recommend picking this one up.
In conclusion, I found this to be an incredibly enjoyable historical romance between a strong female lead and the grandson of a lord. It was lighthearted and fun, and exactly what I needed to read during this period of uncertainty in the world. Madeline Hunter really did give me a nice introduction to a genre I would normally gloss over in recommendations, and hopefully I'll be able to pick up some similar new reads soon. If you're someone like me who needed a really simple introduction into the world of historical romance, I highly recommend picking this one up.