I'm not a big fan of historical romance, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The heroine was strong without being "spunky" (how bored am I with spunky heroines.) She knew her mind and she knew her worth and she proved it to the man who thought he was her superior. Lovely story, well written.

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if this book was food you would be full after the first chapter Miss Milan made all the characters in this book seem like people one would know and like food you want to eat them up i highly recommend it and am personally looking forward to her next book happy reading

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I was not as impressed with this book as other reviewers have been. I never felt carried away to a different time and place; the setting was pretty much wallpaper. The author has a good writing style and her hero and heroine had some energy but it all just seemed much too familiar. Perhaps I've just read too many historicals, but I wound up skimming this one and skipping to the end.

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Great story and interaction between characters. I like the intelligence and wit of the h/h. Their actions and conversations are like chess moves. They are always thinking ahead a move or two in order to trip up or reveal the secrets and intentions of the other. They both have experiences in their pasts that they try to hide but are critical in understanding their present roles and way they are. I loved the supporting characters of this novel and look forward to the next novel in this series (I loved Ned who the next book is about - he is adorable and I can't wait to read his story).

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I really enjoyed Courtney Milan's writing style. It is brisk while carrying enough detail of the place, time, and period to feel grounded and a bit edifying.

The hero, Gareth, is an extreme case of what we see in many real men. Inability to relate to emotion, to discussions of feeling, sensitivity to anything but themselves. He tries to solve everything through his brand of logic. He has is own troubled past and a lonely cold existence.

The heroine, Jenny, is an orphan who was somehow put through a boarding school filled with the gently bred. She knows social rules and refinement but hasn't the breeding or background to participate in society. She eschews being a governess or mistress and decides instead to be a fortune teller.

This is the part of the story that just doesn't quite work for me. While I liked her personality and strong character, I struggled with the notion of her playing the role of a gypsy fortune teller, that somehow a person of this ilk can live in a nicer neighborhood, and run a fortune telling business from her home in said neighborhood. Something about the premise of her earning a good living as a fortune teller just doesn't feel right. Perhaps Milan did research and found that they did live well and make decent money, but it didn't ring true.

That said, their personalities are more important than circumstance or jobs and that worked quite well. Plenty of steamy love scenes too.

Great first book from a new novelist.

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This one had me hooked from page 1! I loved Jenny. Gareth, well, not so much. However, like all good romances he gets his shit together. I did appreciate his growth in realizing his treatment of other people around him was horrible.

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