Dominic Beauchamp, Lord Avon, is a powerful duke’s heir and it’s his duty to marry well. His bride must have impeccable breeding, manners and grace. So he makes a list of names. Then he meets Liberty Lovejoy who’s like a breath of fresh air she’s from a merchant background, too bold & forthright. They are constantly thrown together & their attraction grows as does their friendship. Liberty also becomes friends with Dom’s sister Olivia.
An engrossing read of the straight laced upstanding Marquis falling for the almost spinster, I loved their verbal spats & they way he was so drawn to her but insisted he’d marry for duty. I loved both Dom & Berty who were so right for each other & the road to their HEA was highly entertaining, his speech at his parent’s ball was lovely & brought a tear to my eye
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Dominic, Lord Avon, is the heir to a prestigious dukedom and has realised that he needs to marry and provide a suitable heir. The lady he marries must have impeccable breeding, elegance, class and be from the right family, he has even come up with a shortlist of suitable young ladies! However when he meets Miss Liberty Lovejoy he finds himself thinking of her more than perhaps he should...

Liberty is in London to have a season and to support her sisters. Her twin brother, Gideon, has unexpectedly inherited an Earldom following a fire killing his distant relations. Liberty wants to protect her brother and believes that the person who is leading him astray is Lord Alexander, the younger brother of Dominic. She heads to the Dukes house to confront him and ask him to curtail Alex in a hope that it will stop the destructive patterns of behaviours and the past times that Gideon is getting into. The Duke however isn't home and instead she confronts Dominic, at first believing him to be his brother

Dominic tries to protect Liberty, he knows better than she what could damage her reputation and her sisters prospects and they end up in a series of unconventional encounters across London

Can they overcome the social differences to be friends or more? Are they willing to risk themselves for actual happiness? Will their arguments and bickering, their closeness, attract too much attention and pull them apart?

I loved this book, I did a bit of a binge read, starting on the train to work and finishing at bedtime (sort of...) and I laughed more than once!

It is really well written and the characters feel real, this comes through especially in the voices of Dominic and Liberty. They had a good split of narrative and it helped me to feel more engaged with them and to understand their thought processes, why what was happening was happening and what they actually wanted

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a historical romance in which the main characters who have a bit of fight between themselves, a good energy and a fast paced story