First in a New Series

I totally judge a book by its cover and love the colors and silhouette on this one. I enjoyed Drusilla's forward for the times beliefs in wanting to be an independent women and how she helped other women philanthropically. I would have loved to have seen what this looked liked (vs. just hearing about it). I found the romance between Gabriel and Drusilla to be slow, but this is not unexpected in a marriage of convenience (actually more of a forced marriage). I had a hard time with some of the scenes between Drusilla and Gabe when they were navigating their roles in their marriage. I know these patriarchal beliefs were typical of the time period, but I don't really like seeing it play out. I loved Gabriel's mother and his sister, Eva, is intriguing! I did enjoy the additional storylines and the bit of mystery. These kept me engaged and were part of why I kept turning the pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.