Wonderful, understated and quietly romantic.
The other books in this series, 12 Dukes of Christmas - of which this is the 9th book out of 12, doesn't hold a candle to this one if you ask me. Sure, they are nice, romantic and fun to read. But this just has something so different, so low key and so insanely romantic that it blows the rest of them out of the water. The relationship between Calvin and Belle was so great in its simplicity that I am hard pressed to find another Historical Romance couple that I like better.
"I owe all of my musculature to the drudgery of endlessly
catching those who swoon into my arms." - Calvin
👍 What I Liked 👍
Calvin and Belle: Trapped during a blizzard, Calvin and Belle are thrown together by circumstance and mutual need. Their relationship starts off as a work partnership and that was the part that I totally loved because it mirrors my own idea of romance so closely. Working together in comfortable, companionable silence they become so aware of each other but also so secure in each others company. Reading those passages were so nice and different from so many other Historical Romance romances.
Understated: Related to Calvin and Belle's relationship, the understated, quiet quality of their romance and, in effect, the entire book, was so wonderful. Usually Historical Romance is so over the top, so full of big words and grand gestures. Here were have two people who grow to love each other without all that extra-ness. I really, really loved that.
Ease: There was such an ease to this book. It was short and easy to get through, there was not much need to think overly hard about anything, but sometimes that is exactly what you need and that feeling went so well with the rest of the story.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review