I want to be Eliza when I grow up! She is fresh, vibrant, carefree and so full of life. It took very little time for me to absolutely adore her. I was afraid she wouldn’t be able to maintain it throughout the story but not only did she do so, her character developed to the place that I felt a complete connection to her. She is real. She is engaging. She is the girl we often see ourselves as.

But Eliza wouldn’t have been quite so amazing had she not had Sebastian’s very formal persona as her backdrop. Without a lot of fun in his life, having been raised to be king, he is constantly watched, constantly wooed for one reason or another, both politically and otherwise. With two objectives at hand, he is pressed to move to achieve them until the little spitfire that is Eliza stumbles her way into his life.

I loved the way Eliza treated Sebastian. While she was thrilled to meet a prince, once it’s said and done, she’s moving on. I would have loved for Sebastian to have reacted more to meeting her the first time, rather than take the steps he did which diminished him in my eyes. However, once we get past all that unsavoriness, his reactions and thoughts regarding her had me smiling, laughing, and then cheering him on.

’And yet she was different from the many attractive women he’d met in his life. At first, he’d not understood why, but then, upon reflection, it had become clear to him – she didn’t look at him with starry hope swimming in her eyes. She knew who he was, and yet, she didn’t look at him with any particular reverence. None.

It was oddly disconcerting.’

This has a good bit of relationship angst. After all, we have a prince who must marry someone of consequence and a heroine who does not meet the criteria. Usually, with this trope, I can pretty quickly figure out a way the couple will make it work and often it’s contrived. Not so here. What an interesting way to make it all work out…and I never saw it coming.

The main plot moving along with this budding romance is a murder mystery. It was enough to keep me engaged but I have to confess I was disappointed that the resolution of it all took place off page. I wanted some action and excitement to wrap it all up.

And holy heck! Once this couple are really a couple, at least emotionally, this is nothing short of beautiful. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a hero that was able to verbally express himself in such a way. Pure perfection in every word.

’”All my life, I’ve believed that joy like this was not possible for me. If nothing else, Eliza, if nothing else, you have showed me what love is. Do you understand what a gift that is? I would never have known love had it not been for you.”

Eliza smiled. She framed his face with her hand and leaned down to kiss him tenderly. “Neither of us will ever be the same, then, will we?”

Oh Eliza. He could not possibly express how profoundly he had been changed.’

So, while this had a few things I wasn’t one hundred percent happy with, it left me with a happy beat in my heart, and a smile on my face. But the biggest clue that I loved it…I wanted more.