Sexy and Character Driven Historical Romance

I really loved this one. The connection between Thane and Astrid was so well set-up. They truly developed as a couple and they had chemistry in spades! I really loved the way their relationship developed and how much they respected each other. I also really enjoyed most of the side characters! At least the ones we were supposed to like, especially Aunt Mabel. Aunt Mabel is the real MVP. She is hilarious and such a great influence on both Thane and Astrid. My favorite scenes involved her (I mean, come on, the needlework scene was *chef's kiss*). I also liked that the servants weren't just treated as servants (as I usually see in Regency Romances), but were confidants and friends. I must say, I didn't like Astrid's sister Isobel as much as I think I was supposed to, which is unfortunate as she is the main character in her own upcoming story. Beaumont was the perfect villain for this story, he wasn't an over the top buffoon of a villain (which happens far too often), but rather more insidious which worked really well. While there was some light angst, this really was a very enjoyable and mostly light and very sexy read, which was exactly what I was looking for at the moment.