Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: The Lyons Den Connected World
Publication Date: 2/12/24
Period: Regency
Number of Pages: 141

The besieged heiress and the lost gentleman. 😊 Bianca Featherswallow has a huge dowry which makes her a prime target for young lordlings with pockets-to-let. She’s managed to thwart three abductions so far – but sooner or later one will succeed. What is a concerned father to do? Why, take her to The Lyon’s Den for the matchmaking services of Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon. To their surprise, Mrs. Dove-Lyon already has the perfect match in mind for Bianca, but he is the pig-headed and stubborn sort who likes to feel he’s made his own choices rather than being prodded into it. So, with a plan to give them twenty-one days to get to know each other, Bianca will have to use her feminine wiles to convince him that he wants to marry her.

Theophile “Theo” Filliol is mired deep in grief and self-loathing. Because of that, he has been gambling and drinking at the Lyon’s Den and is deeply in debt – a debt he cannot pay. His lack of self-worth and his self-loathing are so ingrained that he hesitates to take up Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s offer to wipe his debt clean if he will protect a young heiress who has been besieged by not-so-honorable suitors. Protect the girl for 21 days and his debt is clear.

I loved these characters and was cheering for them to overcome their deep grief and emotional issues to find love and their own HEA. Can they heal each other? Can Theo learn to forgive himself? It is a lovely story of emotional growth and understanding.

We also meet Bianca’s sister Kitty in this story and she is a lively termagant. If you love her, you can find her story in the anthology A Duke By Any Other Name. While this book was more serious than frivolous, I found a few spots of humor – most notably Bianca’s attempts at seduction and Theo’s reactions to them. I also found the character names a tad humorous and kept chortling at the idea of them using hyphenated names – Featherswallow-Filliol. 😊 I also had to wonder why the father didn’t just drastically reduce the dowry until he saw a suitor he could agree to – but then – we wouldn’t have this lovely story.

I always enjoy this author’s stories and this was certainly no exception.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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