TL;DR: This plot was absolutely bonkers but it is absolutely the best thing about historical romances. What a romp! I loved Jules and James so much and the way their relationship evolves throughout the story. The way this man fell on his knees for this woman had me swoony! And his nose and sense of smell… 👀 Other than the fun and sexy elements of this book, this also had some emotionally heavy and trauma-filled moments but Reid handled them so well! Overall, a delight and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

Okay but this plot was absolutely bonkers and I mean that in the best way possible. For being less than 300 pages, this packed a whole lot into it and while at times I found it moved slightly too slow for my liking, I was also dying to know what was going to happen and how the hell these two would end up together. I should’ve never questioned the Duke’s wilfulness and his willingness to tell the haut ton where exactly they can shove it cos he gave zero forks. 🤭 I loved it! Talk about swoontastic because holy granola, this man. 🥵 His confession, that letter, all of it was just *chef’s kiss* peak agony, angst, and devotion. And truly, bless this man’s nose and sense of smell because wowzer. IYKYK and if you don’t, you’re definitely going to want to read this to know! 😉

But as much as I loved their chemistry, sexual journey and relationship, this also covered some pretty emotionally heavy stuff.

His Grace has been lost in the Northern Wilds of Canada for the last 10 years. Lost in the wilderness, he suppressed all feelings to survive. It made me so angry how impatient and cruel his family was, especially his mother. Like, the lady was suffering, sure, but her unwillingness to even consider what it might be like for him, having had zero interaction with a human being for a decade—no speaking, touching, seeing another soul—and surviving the harsh wilderness of the arctic tundra alongside all manner of predators, to suddenly being surrounded by hoity-toity people expecting him to be as he was before. Like, I lowkey wish he would’ve told his family and the rest of the ton to politely fork off and they would’ve definitely deserved it! 😊

Jules was also a fascinating character. I can’t even imagine being put in her shoes—pretending to be a man her whole life and as much as I understood why her mother did it, I also felt terrible for Jules and the predicament it put her in. Despite this giant life-changing lie, she has a great relationship with her family and loves and respects them so much but she does feel an indignant rage when it comes to her father so readily accepting her as his son and she longs to know whether he’d still love and respect her as his daughter.

With James trying to readjust to being part of the ton, Jules trying to understand how she fits as a woman pretending to be a man and what to do with these feelings he inspires in her, plus their forbidden relationship blooming in unexpected ways, there’s a lot of emotion they have to work through but I think Reid handles everything quite well. I thought the ending with their families felt too rushed in comparison to the tension-filled build-up and the resolution of things could’ve had at least one more chapter devoted to it but okay, it was already bonkers to begin with, it is what it is (and that’s not in a bad way at all)! 😂

Overall, I can see why it’s hyped by historical romance lovers and I’m so glad I read this! I’m keen to read more by this author in the future 🙂

Have you read The Wolf and the Wildflower or is it on your TBR?

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