Solid romance, great characters, the plot is a bit implausible but works OK.

Male lead: Cain, the Marquess of Chase, uninterested in women, but this one catches his eye. He starts out wanting only a casual dalliance but then wants more.

Female lead: Juliana Merton, widowed in the opening pages, by the mysterious death of her husband, intent on keeping the bookseller's shop open.

The plot: First we find out about Cain's past, then Juliana's, repeat. The two fall slowly in love. The finale is the classic 'foil the bad guys and find true love.'

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I liked it pretty well except I thought some of the books, and intrigue into the books, was a little dry. Also, although I started liking the couple I felt they were more a warm friendly couple not a hot and passionate one. This made the sex on the boring side too. I'm glad she enjoyed it but wasn't much interested. I think it would have been better with a less is more attitude. Also the 3rd thing that she did was use a few too many words I had to stop to either look up or think about because I hadn't read it recently. I read romance to relax and escape, not to get a vocabulary reminder/lesson. It slows down my reading and pulls me out of the story.

So the last thing I was a little irritated on was a Really he leaves her alone after keeping 2 men on guard for a week? And what for... to buy a bottle of wine? Especially now that he knows who is after her and that it is a real threat? But that was just a small scene and many romances fall to these set ups to make the ending "exciting".

So after these issues, I actually liked the story and liked the characters. There relationship was built on a humor filled friendship that grew because of their blossoming attraction. Neither saw each other and swooned, it took time. I read it somewhat quickly so it kept my attention. Still since I was reading it as a buddy read, I had another reason pushing me to read. ( )

Very nice story. Very likeable characters. Not a particularly inspired or complicated plot, but interesting. Cain, the marquis, is a rake for a reason, but is pleasant and funny. I enjoyed the book. ( )