Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: 11/28/22
Period: Regency

Adam, the Duke of Manchester, was robbed and shot by highwaymen. If it hadn’t been for the angel who came driving by on an old farm wagon, he would have died there on that lonely road. He felt guilty for not telling them who he was – that he was a duke, but he didn’t want to make these lovely people feel uncomfortable around him. It turns out the angel who rescued him and was now nursing him, was the daughter of the Rector for that parish, and her mother had stitched him up. They welcomed him into their home and community as he recuperated.

Miss Evelyn (Eve) Allen is the youngest child of Joshua Allen who is the rector of Trinity Church in their small Worcestershire village. At twenty-one, Eve has led a happy, love-filled life working alongside her parents. All of her brothers and sisters have married and moved on, but Eve has just never met anyone who gave her that special feeling. Several men in the village have tried to court her, but she wants what her parents have – and what her brother and sister have found – love.

One of Eve’s tasks was to distribute food and clothing to the needy in the parish and that sometimes made for a very long day. After one such day, she was headed home, tired and hungry, when she was stopped by a man on the road. He’d been shot and was bleeding. She knew if she didn’t help him, he would die. She, with a bit of his help, managed to get him into the wagon so she could take him home and her mother could remove the bullet and stitch him up. From his clothing and speech, she could tell he was a gentleman – most likely an aristocrat – so she addressed him as My Lord. He didn’t correct her, so she assumed he was a lord of some sort.

This book has one of the sweetest, most romantic male leads you’ll ever read. Was he perfect? No, but that is what makes him so human and relatable. He is a very loving, caring man who meets and falls in love with a woman and then moves heaven and earth to make her his. Now, if you are looking for a steamy read, this isn’t it because he is a very honorable man who respects the woman he loves and is mature enough to control his ‘urges’.

I even learned something from reading the book. Yep, I did. Eve’s father was a Rector of a parish and I almost always see Vicar used instead. So, I wondered at the difference and looked it up. Turns out they are NOT interchangeable. Who knew? The difference is in how they are paid and the different Churches they serve. One is the Church of England (Vicar) and the other is the Anglican Church (Rector).

I enjoyed reading this lovely book and I hope you will as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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