The Marquess She Loved

The Atwood Sisters #2

by Jessie Clever, Bridget Thomas (Narrator)

Book #2 from the series: The Atwood Sisters
🎧Listening Length = 9 hours and 30 minutes

When her best friend unexpectedly inherits a title, it doesn’t change how wallflower Lady Adaline feels about him — she’s been in love with Ashfield, the newly minted Marquess of Aylesford, for years. And that makes their marriage of convenience decidedly less convenient…

Lady Adaline Atwood is the most beautiful wallflower in London. Cursed with beauty but no dowry, she has remained on the fringes of every ball for the four seasons she’s been out. It needn’t matter though as she has loved her best friend, Ashfield Riggs, since she can remember. The problem is Ash only has eyes for another.

The son of a judge, Ash is relegated to the lowest rung of genteel society until he unexpectedly inherits the title of Marquess of Aylesford. Determined to find a wife now that he’s a titled gentleman, he sets his cap for the only woman he’s ever sought: Lady Valerie Lattimer. Falsely believing he is now worthy of her hand, he proposes marriage only to be shot down in the most humiliating way. Wounded, he turns to his best friend, Adaline, only to discover she has been the sensible choice for a wife all along.

But when the demands of the impoverished estate require him to accept help from his wife, the forced closeness turns their arranged marriage into something more and ignites a desire he never expected.

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Romance, Friends To Lovers, Marriage Of Convenience, Audiobook, Victorian

Audible Audio

Published August 4, 2023

About the author

Jessie decided to be a writer because there were too many lives she wanted to live to just pick one.

Taking her history degree dangerously, Jessie tells the stories of courageous heroines, the men who dared to love them, and the world that tried to defeat them.

Jessie lives in New Hampshire where if she’s not at her desk writing, she’s probably letting the dog out. Again.

Join Jessie's Readers Club for sneak peeks and the latest news: https://jessieclever.com/newsletter/

Reviews

[Topastro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have gotten really into Jessie Cleaver and I was excited to read book two of this series. I think she really nails the vulnerability of a historical heroine and while I appreciate that, I wish her Heroines grew a back bone at some point. Book 1 was fun to read but this couple had my eyes rolling so far in to my skull that I was worried they would be stuck there.

Ash was a miserable hero and did not deserve Adaline. He was immature and unlikeable. I felt for Adaline in the beginning but I wanted her to go find a man who would appreciate her. I wish Adaline made him work for it, the groveling was not there. What bothered me the most was the heroine’s lack of vocabulary, the sex scenes were just her repetitively saying “Ash” - No emotion or action just his name. It was annoying at first but then it took me completely out of the story and it was hard to finish. I am looking forward to Alice’s story and I just hope she displays more confidence and self worth.

[Lady Nilambari Reads HR · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-You-Are-Breaking-My-Heart-Stars

My Thoughts
- I have always liked Ms Clever's writing. Her plots are great, paced well, and generally decent reads.
- I've realised after reading this book that she writes character-driven romances. They have a psychological intensity to them.
- God, this story was so deeply emotional that I could physically feel the pain.
- Adeline's sensitivity had a tremendous amount of potency. I could feel her distress, guilt, unrequited love, her need for punishment, dear God!
- I wanted to hate Ash. Really I did. But I understood him. Honestly, I do hate him for the way he inadvertently treated Adeline. I think she deserved slightly better.
- Ash did come through in the end, grovelling, grand gesture, and all.
- The only other complaint I have is the lack of steam. If you are building that much sensual intensity, and trust me, it was intense, deliver with the relief, please.

*It was better than the first one!

[Patricia Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

This was such a great read. The characters and storyline kept me from putting it down. Can't wait for Alice's story. A definite must read series. Get your copies today.📚😍📚😍📚😍📚

[Jennifer Pomales · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this storyline so boring. It was super redundant and could have been shortened considerably.

[Narules · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

It’s a solid story if you go in assuming they acquaintances. As best friends, these two barely talked in the first half.

[Gwen|| Bookish Blondie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed Ash, the hero, to be less of a miserable and bitter dick and for Adeline to stand up for herself more, because she deserved sooo much more than Ash being a douche bag with his head up his ass for most of the novel.

[Lady E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heroine: Adaline Atwood, 24. Daughter of the Earl of Biggleswade (deceased).

Hero: Ashfield Riggs, 27. Nickname: Ash. Marquess of Aylesford.

Date: unknown

How they meet: Adaline has known Ash since they were children and has long had a crush on him.

What happens: Ash has only seen Adaline as a friend and instead has been interested in a shallow young woman that Adaline has made clear she does not like. When Ash unexpectedly inherits his title, he believes it will be enough to win over the woman he’s had his eye on, but when he proposes she coldly turns him down. Ash is secretly humiliated. He feels insecure about his place in society and needs a wife, so his thoughts turn to his friend for a marriage of convenience.

Adaline learns from her uncle (and guardian) that Ash is interested in marrying her. While she is disappointed that Ash didn’t ask her directly, she agrees since her family doesn’t have much money. Ash wishes to wed quickly and quietly. He still has no idea of her feelings and even though he feels a bit guilty about the way things transpired, he takes some comfort in believing they are both just looking for a marriage of convenience rather than love.

The marriage is not consummated and Ash mainly avoids Adaline. She finally forces an uncomfortable conversation. While things continue to be awkward between them, she insists on accompanying him when a major accident happens at one of Ash’s properties. They travel to the location by train and Adaline is terrified--it is her first experience on a train. Ash ends up distracting her with a kiss that turns quite passionate and leaves them both confused. Ash is now seeing Adaline as a woman rather than the girl he grew up with.

Upon arriving at the estate they find the servants have fled and the place is nearly uninhabitable, due to extreme neglect by his uncle. Worse, the man who brought them has already fled (being afraid of ghosts). After an unsettling night in the house, they begin to assess the damage and investigate what has been going on at the property. Adaline insists on doing her part and their relationship isn’t quite so tense anymore. Ash stays busy so he won’t have to spend much time with his wife. Their friendship is the one good relationship he has in his life, and he is certain that if he acts on his attraction it will ruin things. Meanwhile, Adaline is intent on keeping her feelings towards her husband a secret. However, when Ash is in an accident, she can’t hold back her feelings.

They return to London and back in society, Adaline can plainly see Ash’s old insecurities about his place in society are still there, as well as residual feelings towards the woman who rejected him. To protect herself, she withdraws from Ash. Clueless of how to make amends, Ash consults a friend who suggests an unconventional way to win over his wife. In the process, some of Adaline’s insecurities come to light.

Verdict: This book features an emotionally unavailable hero and a heroine who is secretly harboring a crush on her husband. I was annoyed with the hero and felt like he wasn’t very respectful of his wife, which was all the worse given that he thought of her as his "best friend." I was also unclear as to why he was so adamant about keeping their relationship platonic, even after he acknowledged to himself he found her attractive. The heroine was patient and tried to make the best of things, but eventually she gave up on him. I didn’t really understand why the grand gesture he made was the way to win her back over, especially since it seemed to have the opposite effect in a couple of different ways. Near the end of the book, the heroine’s insecurities were finally fully revealed. They both experienced a bit of personal growth, although not as much as they might have given their backgrounds. Both the hero and heroine had troubled childhoods, but I didn’t do a trigger warning since discussion of it was very vague. There wasn’t much sweetness in this romance, which is a major reason this one fell a little flat for me. The hero and heroine from book 1 make brief appearances and hints of the book 3 romance were dropped. However, it still reads fine as a standalone.

Steam level: some steam and explicit

Rating: 3 stars

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another great book by Jessie Clever. This, the second is the Atwood Sisters series, follows the relationship of Adaline and the man she has loved forever, Ashfield (Ash). I loved that it was told in two voices; alternating between that of Adaline and that of Ash. Through some agony and many trials, what develops is a heartfelt romance that had me crying and laughing. I particularly like a story that grabs my emotions and this book accomplished that very successfully. I would highly recommend that to get the most enjoyment from the story that you read at the least the first book, if not the prologue, in the series before picking up this wonderful book.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Another great story in this series. I definitely love that this author is choosing to have heroes and heroines who are both flawed so far from their past and they help heal each other. I definitely look forward to the next book in this series

[May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jessie Clever does it again. And by 'it' I mean playing my emotions like a metaphorical fiddle. Within the first two chapters I hated Ash, felt heartwrenchingly bad for him and wanted to hold him close until the world nice to him, and then I thought he was the world's greatest twit with a moldy cabbage for brains. Ash and Adaline made me FEEL for each of them in turn.

[Izzie (on pause) McFussy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a miss. I liked Ash in the first book, but here he was a jerk. Eventually his standing rose to idiot. Adaline wasn’t particularly bright either. Neither had self-preservation instincts. Thank goodness the author played god. She created and protected them, and provided an ending that made them happy… if not me. Perhaps I approached the story from the wrong perspective. It was more of a twisted Rapunzel tale then a historical romance set in the 19th century. I just couldn’t buy into their behavior or the ton’s.

[Bwmurf · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping to like this a lot more than I did. I love the trope but hated that I felt even in the end heroine was second best. She was always making excuses for him, and never confronting him about stuff that hurt her. After being rejected by a woman he has humiliated himself for years for he decides he will marry his best friend. Now she is aware that he was brutally rejected by his true love because she overheard it all, he has no idea she heard and he never tells her. So being the best friend that he is, he approaches her uncle to make arrangements for them to marry. That’s right he didn’t ask her himself. This hurts her a lot, not only is his last resort he doesn’t respect her enough to be honest and actually speak to her himself. He gives her a wedding in his house instead of the big wedding she always wanted. All the while every time he hurts her she makes excuses that he was just looking for approval in all the wrong places and of course she deserves to be hurt because as a child she wasn’t there enough for her sister. He avoids her a lot, and they never talk about anything except improving his life and standing in society. Anyway they go to his estate she helps him there he avoids her some more she tells him he’s worthy they FINALLY consummate their marriage like 2 months in and then after telling him she loves him because she thought he was hurt in explosion they head back to London. Everything seems to be going good for them I mean he didn’t acknowledge her telling him her feelings but she doesn’t care she deserves it. They go to a soirée and guess who wants to give him attention now??? Well none other than his true love. Now this would have been a good chance for him to be a man and redeem himself somewhat but no he goes off with her alone. Heroine of course sees this and goes to rescue him because well he can’t seem to help himself around OW and that’s on her not him. So she catches them standing close looking like they are fixing to kiss and barges in to tell off OW. Then all she says to him is he’s looking for acceptance in others when he should only be looking towards himself. Not a word about how hurt she is. They don’t speak for a week or so he thinks he must love her now so he does the big gesture of humiliating himself in front of everyone to make it all up. Does she tell him at this point how hurt she was? No! Does he tell her how wrong he was in pining over other woman and hurting her over and over ? No! So after announcing at a ball the same place he had proposed to his true love that of course he loves his wife now but everyone knows who his first choice would have been. All is good in their world so they go to they conservatory where he proposed to OW and guess who’s there? Well of course OW so she goes on to inform heroine how he proposed to her first and she is second choice. Does he jump in and deny it? No! Heroine to the rescue she say oh I know and it’s fine so off with you. She was the hero of the story he was just along for the ride. If you read all this you can probably tell I regret all the angst I went through to get a heroine groveling and making excuses for her weak man.

[Winnifred D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. If you prefer your romances on the angsty, slow-burn side, you'll probably enjoy this more than I did. It's not terrible, with decent development of secondary characters (and an interesting relationship forming in the background), but I think my expectations were too high. I like some external conflicts to go along with internal conflicts, and this second book in the series is almost entirely about the main characters' insecurities.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Ash, so likable in the last book, is reduced to a man who almost constantly lives in the past here. Because he had a terrible father, at 28 years old his idea of a love relationship is being obsessed with a nasty viper of a woman who's never given him the time of day. He tries to attract her with his new title--as if it's a great idea to use that as a marriage inducement--and when she turns him down he's devastated. On the rebound, Ash asks the uncle of his best female friend for her hand without even having any kind of discussion with her. He moons over the viper for a while, and then when his marriage starts to get physical, he pulls away, terrified he's going to ruin things with his best friend/wife, Adaline.

Frustratingly, Ash knows Adaline wants him, she's made it abundantly clear, and she also knows he's been hung up on his crush for years, so of course she's going to feel rejected when he pulls away. This puts a damper on things for several chapters, with both characters wallowing in self-recriminations. There is a brief, somewhat violent scene involving a gunpowder explosion that seems like it might stir up the plot, but it's resolved smoothly.

As far as Adaline is concerned, her marriage is punishment for the fact that she wasn't able to keep her sister Amelia from marrying the Ghoul of Greyfair. No matter that her other sister Alice, and Ash, assure her that Amelia is fine, she stubbornly refuses to believe them, which begs the question of why she and Ash didn't simply visit Amelia to begin with? (If you read the first book, you know Amelia got her HEA. So maybe it's better not to read that book before this one.) But then, of course, we wouldn't have the Heroine as Martyr trope in place.

Tbh it's hard for me to feel too sorry for these characters. Yes, Adaline doesn't have untold riches, which is emphasized many times, but she's beautiful and educated, so she should have been able to find at least a few decent suitors, especially since Amelia's marriage has helped her family's finances. She seems to possess a dour mindset from the get-go. And as much of a rocky childhood as Ash has had, I was hoping for more of the humorous, charming character from the last book.

Bottom line: I think I'll probably enjoy Alice's book more (she and Ash's friend should be an interesting combo). When I'm praying that the angst finally winds down at the 95% point of a book, it's never a good sign.

Steam level: a slow-burn 3.

[Deyanira C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot: Adeline is a spinster with little chance of getting married, she is pretty but penniless, she had an emotionally difficult childhood and suffers because she believes that her older sister married a bad man because of her, but worst of all is that Adeline is in love with her best friend, Ash who has just inherited the title of marquis, but he is in love with another woman and only sees Adeline as a friend. However, the woman he loves rejects him and he marries Adeline, they go from friendship to love END.....

I confess that the "best friends-lovers" is not my thing, it's a plot that I find boring and basic, however, I was interested in the protagonist being in love with another woman, because I thought that would spice up the story, but the truth is, no, the protagonists are extremely boring, they are not interesting at all, I didn't even think they had a nice friendship, they were just two attractive people with silly traumas from their privileged but emotionally empty childhoods, which besides being trite is stupid. You're 30, you're noble and rich, get over it ! 🙄

Now maybe the story could have been entertaining if the author had bothered to create a story, but NO... 🥴 Adelaide's sister is mentioned all the time, she is already the protagonist of the previous book, So I wonder If she already has her own book, why should we read everything about her again? 😵‍💫 Plus, that first book closes the story with a happy ending, but here Adelaide spends ALL the blessed time worrying about her sister, which is boring and pointless. And her sister is supposed to have married a rich DUKE... but the family continues to suffer, so what was the point of her "sacrifice"?.......🥱

As I said, between Ash and Adeline, there really isn't any story. They've known each other their whole lives. The book starts with them getting married, they hesitate, they fall in love, the end... there's no surprising twist, no anguish, surprise. NOTHING, really. NOTHING HAPPENS 🥱. I don't think I've ever read such an empty story. I don't know if the author ran out of ideas or if she really didn't care about this character and just wanted to move on to the next book in the series, but it seemed that way.

I read another book by the author a while ago and although her style seemed a bit weak to me, her stories very basic, I liked that previous reading but after this book I'm not sure I'd try it again.

[Pomelo Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Steam level: Open-door scenes

Thoughts:
The Marquess She Loved is a well-written romance book about grief, confusion, and unrequited love. There is much to love about this book, and I believe it is a historical romance that many would enjoy.

Adaline and Ash are childhood friends who historically found escape in each other during their terrible childhoods. What started as a beloved friendship for Adaline became complicated when her tender, romantic feelings for Ash began to grow. Unfortunately, this was one-sided due to Ash having developed feelings for another. All of this comes to a head in the present day when Adaline witnesses Ash’s proposal to the other woman. As the biggest plot twist of their lives, Ash was promptly rejected, and he makes the rash decision to ask for Adaline’s hand.

After so many years of watching Ash supposedly love another, Adaline’s dream turns out to be her greatest heartbreak when she witnessed the turn of events that led to her marriage. Without the security and basic foundation that’s needed for a loving marriage, Adaline and Ash both suffer in their relationship but in different ways. The suffering that can often come from grief and life changes is described well, and Ash’s mistakes felt very human. This author truly demonstrated an authentic understanding of how high stakes can be in a complex situation that involves the complexities of loss, unrequited love, and conflicting youthful hopes and dreams.

Given that the angst was written evocatively and that I felt invested in Adaline’s heartbreak, I wished there was more acknowledgement and open communication on Ash’s end that led to their happily ever after.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and this book has so many memorable scenes that I believe true historical romance fans would appreciate.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.25 Stars
POV(s): Dual—Third Person
Relationship: M/F
Genre(s): Historical Romance (Regency-Victorian?)

The FMC and MMC both felt really self-absorbed for the first half of the book, however this lessened once they arrived at Grant Hall and met the villagers of Dartmoor (both of which were lady abandoned by the prior Marquess, and that they are now determined to see revived). The FMC and MMC’s inner monologues often felt indecisive in terms of their desires and intentions, as well as repetitive, which I did struggle with. I’m actually really interested to read the next book in the series which stars the FMC’s youngest sister Alice.

Title: “The Marquess She Loved (The Atwood Sisters #2)” by Jessie Clever
Interconnected Series: Yes
Standalone: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
HEA: Yes
Triggers: Yes Past Abuse
Tags/Tropes:
➢ Arranged-Marriage/Marriage-of-Convenience
➢ Best-friends-to-Lovers
➢ Childhood-Companions
➢ MMC-Loves-OW
➢ MMC-Oblivious-to-FMC’s-Love
➢ MMC-with-Courtesy-Title (Marquess)
➢ Unrequited-Love

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a bit disappointed...

I had high hopes for this novel. Unfortunately, the couple didn't work for me. This is the second book in the Atwood Sisters Trilogy. I haven't read the first novel, but didn't feel I missed anything from not reading the first.

Here we have Adaline and Ash who are supposedly friends. Ash is seeking to marry and is going to Lady Valerie, who Adaline feels is a horrible woman. Very rude and snotty. Ash, thinking he has this locked down is surprised when Valerie refuses his proposal hoping instead for a Duke. This prompts him to ask for Adaline's hand. Nothing like being second best!

Because of that feeling, I couldn't connect to this couple at all. Ash was quite annoying and just seemed like such a pansy. He's supposed to be friends with Adaline, but yet can't talk to her about getting married? Adaline wasn't the greatest heroine either. She just seemed so timid about things and just go with the flow. But, then that made her appear so weak at times.

The writing was decent, so most of my rating comes from that. I have a couple more books by this author, including the last book in this series. I'm hoping that I connect a bit more to the characters and the story.

[Marcilla Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

So glad the adventure of this book is over. I don't like to give a book a one star but was tempted. Did not like the male lead Ashfield. I don't know why he married Adaline concerning he thought of her to much a friend to consummate the marriage, although they married early in the book he continue to call her by her maiden name for the majority of the book. He was draining to me and I was not married to him. The author constantly remind us that they were best friends, however the only time showed the he knew her as friend would know her was when she was scared of the train ride. With that being said, I only liked Adaline slightly more. She spoke to Ashfield like she was his mother or tutor and of course she was ALWAYS proven right. The only time that she was wrong was when she thought of her sister, Amelia. When Adaline was not telling Ashfield what to do, she was reminding herself that she was only his second choice. I could not wait for this book to end. By chapter three, I was ready to end it and start Book 3 in the series.

[Cherie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friends, Guilt, Romance:
This is the second book of the series, and this story is about the oldest sister Adaline who has loved Ash since childhood. Ash is unaware and considers Adaline his best friend.
The story opens when Adaline eavesdrops on a conversation between Ash and a lady, he is madly in love with This is devastating news for Adaline and now what is she going to do?
We follow her and Ash's romance through many emotional situations and much turmoil before they conquer a lot of their self-imposed quilt feeling from their traumatic childhood.
We did get a visit to the sister Amelia from book 1 that was a treat.
A deeply emotional romance that will tug at your heart.
Adult Advisory:

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scribd
Although I like this author and the book is interesting, this is the type of book I have to be careful when I read as it triggers me I think. It's so much sadness in a marriage and unrequited love.
But my main question through most of the book is why on earth is the mmc doing what he's doing?? Once you get married your friendship is already changed. It's too late to worry about things staying the same because they aren't the same! Ugh!
And then why doesn't the fmc say anything like "are you expecting me to be childless?" "Don't you freaking need an heir?" "You're completely fine with me getting a lover, right? Because I'm not going to be a virgin my whole life, partner!!" " If you truly are my best friend then don't you want me to be happy?"

[Deedee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't understand how this book has a 4 star avg rating.

Guys don't waste your time on this. Theres loads of better written books with this same plotline(or similar plotline) and a lot more angst and better-handled dialogue and world-building AND character depth.


This girl was literally bipolar I swear I had to read some paragraphs twice cause she changed lanes so quick. STICK TO ONE PLAN.

Ugh. SHALLOW CHARACTERS
DISLOYAL UNDESERVING HERO.
PATHETIC WORLD BUILDUP
NO SIDE CHARACTER DEPTH (very vague and requirement-only basis scenes bleh-)
At some point I started skimming scenes and just read the dialogue towards the and cause I WAS SOO BOREDDD.

[leila braga · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh... achei que ia ser legal ver os amigos de longa data se casando e tal, porém a autora escolheu um caminho que não me agradou muito. oh well...

eles ficam sem conversar, o que ok, né, me disseram que os homens humanos são assim mesmo rs
só que eles são BFF faz 20 anos, cara. e ele fica dizendo que vai casar com ela pelo dever ao título bla bla bla e eles não transam??? o rolé não é todo pra fazer herdeiros?? não faz sentido, amiga.

aí é bem chato. podia ser algo mais leve, engraçado, mas a menina fica sofrendo, se punindo blerghhh que cansaço, gente. nao faz isso cas mulher, pelo amor da deusa!!

enfim, a fadiga, ela me dominou durante a leitura deste livro.

[Wendy Tavenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

She loved him forever

I absolutely loved the story. Adeline has loved her best friend Ash for years. When she found out he was going to propose to Lady Valerie, she tried to stop him. But he was only humiliated by the Lady. Ash always had been let down and scorned by his father and all his step-fathers. So he could make it through his humiliation he asked through Adelines Uncle for her hand.
Adeline believed she deserved everything bad that is heaped onto her. Bother she and Ash are wounded souls. But with a little help these two will find true love with each other.

[DENISE I. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The newly minted little marquess is a dumbazz. ——->

“So why hadn’t he gone to speak to her himself about his offer of marriage?”
Where did these clueless selfish men come from?

Okay 60 % into the story and these 2 haven’t communicated and it’s getting old and tired.

It finished well but it took a minute to get there. I rounded it up to 4 because the author is a good writer, maintaining consistency throughout the first three books and able to maintain the reader’s interest.

[Akshada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endearing characters....

Loved how two best friends found live in each other.... With their friendship 1st then their journey to find love was endearing.... Adeline was really a strong character... Ash..Though 1st jubilee but then got his act together it was good to see him grow...

[Lostintime · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be actually 3 ⭐️ and a half.

I liked the MC but it dragged in the middle on them being not able to move on from their misconceptions on the other one’s feelings.

It is a friend to lover romance with one of the friend acutely pining for the other.

It is not my favourite trope but this one was able to capture my attention.

[Shelby Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The past can ruin you!

A cleverly written story, but the words your parents say, especially what a father says to his son. Ashford’s father was a judge, and after his death, Ash inherited and is now a Marquess, and Adeline has loved him for years , but they have been best friends since childhood! A very complicated relationship!

[Ramonita Roldan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting!!!

Love Ash's and Adeline's story. He grew up in a world, where he was constantly criticized, to the point he doubted his own Worth. She was filled with guilt over her sisters' fate. They discovered they had one thing in common. The rest as they say, was history. Highly recommend.

[Diedre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know. I didn't like the character of the hero. And I wish it wasn't the heroine who had to reveal to him his character flaws. It made him look so beta and she so condescending toward him. It weakened an already weakened character portrayal. But in today's culture that's what women enjoy. It didn't work for me.

[Sue Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating Read

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down . The H/h had been friends since childhood and both came from families that made them feel unwanted. Really looking forward to Alice’s story.