Prince Nikolai of Holtswig has journeyed to London with one purpose: stay out of trouble until the unrest in his country dies down. But after an assassination attempt at the season’s first ball, he has no choice but to accept a deal from the British government. They will offer him protection … if he gets engaged to a proper Englishwoman. Niki isn’t interested—until they suggest his childhood friend, Lady Roberta Ashton.
Lady Roberta couldn’t help being a bit infatuated with Niki in the summers they spent together all those years ago. Faking an engagement would definitely liven up the season—but there’s a difference between lively and deadly. As the threats increase along with their attraction, Roberta and Niki must learn to trust each other to protect themselves—and their hearts.
Release Date: May 19, 2026
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Grand Central
Imprint: Forever
Price: $11.99
“All the same, he would probably have been better off dealing with his attraction by staying far away from her as possible, but instead, he was drawn to her in a quite ridiculous fashion. As if she were a magnet and he a pin. For three years, he had rarely given her a thought, and suddenly it was as if she had been there all along, occupying a special part of his brain. There was no one else he knew who did it and said things like Roberta. Was that the reason he was longing to be in her company? He suspected that spending more time with her would soon rid him of this uncomfortable attraction. Or perhaps he just hoped it was so.”
I ultimately struggled with this story a bit. One of my biggest issues with this book was the pacing, and it started on page one. The beginning dragged on for what felt like an extended period of time, and I just had an extremely hard time getting invested in either of the main characters or the story.
Roberta is supposed to be one of those feisty and fiery women who doesn’t want to follow the rules and marches to her own drum, but she feels like a caricature of that stereotype. She isn’t fully fleshed out, and you don’t really see a lot else to her personality besides this. She is one-dimensional. This might not be a problem if she had a hero who has a lot of personality to bring some fire out of her. That’s not the case.
Niki’s personality is a real bore. Neither one of these characters brought out the fire or the passion in the other. While they said they loved each other, it didn’t feel like it. I needed more romance and more yearning from them. You can tell me that they love each other all book long, but that doesn’t mean I’ll believe it. It’s the job of the author to make it real for me, and this didn’t do that.
I also found that there were so many character introductions that it became honestly difficult to follow. I do think that you need to read prior books in this series to have the best grasp on the characters and the references they make to previous books. Overall, this just wasn’t for me. I felt a little lost.
I think if you’re already a fan of this series or of authors like Grace Burrows or Eloisa James, then this book may work better for you than it did for me.
~ Michelle
Amazon | iBooks | B&N | Kobo | Google Play