Interesting premise. Editing to shorten some passages would have improved the book. ( )

3.5 stars rounded up. The heroine's terrible decision making was a drawback for me, but otherwise the main characters were pretty likable. One of the plot points near the end was especially ridiculous, There is no way in Hell that someone who has already experienced horrible burns (and recently) would plot out a scenario where they wait on the second floor of a burning building in the *hope* that someone will run back into the inferno so that another *particular person* will follow them so that they can exact revenge on that second person by having all three of them die. ?!? He had resources and time to plan, it is preposterous that that is what he would come up with. There are like 20 different reasons why the very idea is beyond absurd. but, overall I enjoyed the book. ( )

Lady Juliana is running an orphanage with twelve boys, but things aren't going well. The cook quits, the building is falling down, the pet rats are loose, and Mr. Slag, the local crime lord, is pressuring her for either a payoff, her body, or both. Her father sends Major Neil Wraxall, the illegitimate son of a friend, to bring her home and stop her nonsense. Of course, that's not how things proceed.
I really wanted to like this book more. Neil is a war veteran who suffers from PTSD. Julia has her own issues with men due to her sister's unfortunate marriage, but she tries hard with the orphan boys. The boys themselves are a mix of innocent and hardened characters, but likable enough.
But there are too many contrivances to move the plot along and unlikely happenstances. Julia seems to move seamlessly between the Ton and the orphanage, even living at the orphanage which is in a questionable section of London with no disparagement from her peers. The place is robbed of its food supplies, but Julia manages to keep her lovely gowns and jewels at the orphanage with no issues though the area is rife with 'wipe' shops, places where stolen handkerchiefs are sold. The whole idea of Mr. Slag threatening her virginity and Julia considering it was just unbelievable to me.
I don't mind the concept of wealthy ladies patronizing an orphanage; Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series does this successfully, and I love her books. The war-ravaged hero is a favorite trope of mine, so I should have liked this book more. It was just okay. There were moments that I enjoyed, but most of it dragged. The ending was weak, especially Neil's recovery of Julia's lost 'treasure'.
I like the concept of the Survivors, and I might go back and read the first book to see if it's better than this one. ( )

The title and cover make no sense related to the contents and there are too many endings—one of which is too easy and convenient and out of left field—but Julia and Neil are wonderful characters and their relationship was wonderful to watch unfold. Unfortunately, too many villains and obstacles (which seems to be a condition afflicting a lot of Romance novels) got in the way of an otherwise charming story. ( )

I absolutely adored Julia and Neil's story. Though I haven't yet read Ewan's (the first book in the series, Third Son's a Charm --there's no excuse, because I own a copy already!) it didn't matter a bit because this one worked just fine on its own. Though the brief glimpse we do get of Ewan has me more than curious about what his story could be so...

(Sleep. It's totally overrated.)

Events in Julia's past have propelled her from a life of luxury to take charge of a home for orphaned boys, which is where (former Army) Major Neil Wraxall, the recognized but illegitimate son of a marquess finds her while performing a job for his father. Neil thinks getting Lady Julia will be no problem at all, but obviously has more than a few thinks coming on that front...

I loved that Ms. Galen gave all twelve of the boys at the orphanage such distinct personalities and made them all feel like characters in their own right rather than mere plot moppets. Watching them all interact with "Major" made for some of my favorite parts of the book. And those pet rats--LOL, he never will be free of them, that's for sure!

With Julia and her boys within the sights of the local crime boss, there were many edge-of-your-seat moments in this book, nicely balanced with equally charged (but in a different way, of course!) moments between Julia and Neil. It was a refreshing change to have a hero and heroine who manage to stay (technical) virgins until their (you know it's coming, right? Slight spoiler here if not) wedding night; not to worry, though, they do get up to some other very steamy shenanigans in the meantime.

I finished the book blinking back more than a few happy tears, looking forward to the next one in the series!

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. ( )