by Mary Balogh
Part of Westcott, book 7
First published 2020
Lady Jessica Archer has sworn off romantic dreams after watching her dear cousin Abigail suffer social ruin when the ton discovered her father's bigamy. Now twenty-five and resigned to a practical marriage, Jessica evaluates her many respectable suitors with cool detachment. Her position as sister to the Duke of Netherby makes her highly desirable, even if her heart remains guarded. Then Gabriel Thorne arrives from the New World, claiming a cryptic inheritance and declaring his intent to marry her before they barely know each other. Jessica finds him entirely inappropriate for a duke's sister. But as she uncovers Gabriel's true identity and witnesses his fierce protection of those who depend on him, she discovers something she thought lost forever. Her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble as she faces a choice between security and the dangerous possibility of genuine love.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: New World, Netherby
Period: 19th-century
521 pages · Hardcover · Thorndike Pr