Author: Kimberly Bell
Genre/Age: Historical Romance/Adult
Series: A Tale of Two Sisters (Book Two)
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Format: ebook via NetGalley
Rating: ✺✺✺✺
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: Jasper De Vere doesn't do sad. Ever since the death of his parents, he’s devoted himself to life’s many pleasures—while making sure to avoid attachments. It’s difficult to avoid your own grandfather though, especially when you’re the heir to his Dukedom. Unable to sit by and watch one of the few people he cares about wither away, Jasper flees to his friend Nicholas’s country estate.
Julia Bishop leads a life of glorious excitement—in her head. The spinal injury she was born with makes her a permanent pariah in society, so despite being the daughter of an earl, she's spent her life in the country with just her family to keep her company. When her brother-in-law’s flirtatious—and devilishly handsome—friend mistakes her for an untroubled debutante, Julia isn’t about to let an opportunity for some real, live adventure slip away.
Delicious distraction and flirtation turn into an all-out affair, and slips dangerously close to something more when family intrudes. Can Jasper and Julia return to their separate lives in isolation, or will they take a risk and choose each other?
Love against all odds...even the queen?
Julia has given up on ever finding an advantageous match with a wealthy gentleman. She knows no respectable family will welcome her with open arms because of her injury. So she has come to terms with the fact that she's destined for spinsterhood. That is, until she comes across her brother-in-law's handsome friend who happens to believe she's someone else and that her limp is due to a sprained ankle. She wonders if she can convince him to engage in a wild fling, knowing there can never be anything more between them.
Jasper fled to the country to escape his new responsibilities after the death of his grandfather. He just isn't ready to take on the role and step into someone else's shoes. Deciding to stay at his friend's estate while the man is away, Jasper doesn't expect to find a beautiful lady also in the home. One who tempts him in ways he's never been tempted.
A romantic affair begins. But when the truth of Julia's identity comes out, the pair find it hard to put a stop to their fling. Jasper can't find any reason why he cannot make his new love his future bride. Unfortunately, society can. The couple must stand together against all odds, and maybe even a royal, if they truly wish to find happiness together.
I absolutely loved the first book of this series. It was near perfect and one of my favorite reads of this year. I enjoyed getting to know Julia and Jasper in that story and was thrilled to see they were being paired up in this book. While I didn't love this one quite as much as the first one, I think it held it's own charm just in different ways.
One thing I loved about the first book was the characters. They were colorful and lively. The pages were full of cute dialogue and plenty of humor. That pretty much continued into this book even though I think there was noticeably less humor this time around. Probably because Julia's condition made the story a bit more somber. There was playful banter between the sisters, but I wish I could have seen more of it, to lighten up the story.
There were some twists in this book that I never saw coming and it certainly wasn't predictable in any way. I was holding my breath for pretty much the entire last quarter of the book, wondering how in the world our couple were going to figure out this mess. It seemed hopeless a few times that the pair could find a way to be together. I can't lie, I frowned a lot while reading it, worried for the couple. It was an intense storyline.
In closing...
Looking forward to the next book! Four suns!
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