Review: A lovely romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 8, 2014
The set upKyle Grayson, fresh from being spurned by his fiancée for his older brother, goes to visit Tom Drake, his friend and competitor. Tom has dragged his feet in repaying his debt to him and Kyle thinks he might be purposely trying to ruin him. He confronts Tom who gets so upset that he has a coronary...literally. With his dying breath, he asks Kyle to take care of his wife and his daughter, Amelia. Amelia is a teacher, resigned to being a spinster because of a moment of passion with someone she thought loved her but moved on.The issuesKyle looks to make certain Tom's family is taken care of financially but finds a mountain of debt. Though he has no interest in marrying Amelia, circumstances arise that force him to do just that. Both are keeping secrets (her loss of virginity, his role in her father's death) that create additional wedges in this marriage of convenience.What I enjoyedKyle's a little bit broken and Amelia's heartbroken and yet these two try really hard to make the best of their circumstances. She really wants to create a home and embraces his family. He knows she's been hurt and agrees to take his time getting to know her before sleeping with her. Even though they're keeping secrets, I admired their attitudes, even for that era. They're romance developed slowly and I felt like I was a part of it. It was lovely but not without issues.There was a bit of intrigue and suspense, too, involving Amelia's father's business issues. I liked how it was seamlessly woven into the romance and the story.NarrationThe narrator is starting to grow on me, even though I still wish the pace could be a little faster. She has a really good pitch for the characters and doesn't overwhelm the story.The bottom lineI'm enjoying this series and I really liked this story. The evolution of Kyle and Amelia's relationship from friends to lovers was very nicely told, especially after having been dumped in the last book. The Grayson Brothers... diamonds in the rough, especially the audiobook experience.(I received an ARC from the author)