Book Review #bookreview #cathymaxwell #hislessonsonlove #netgalley #avonbooks #happilyeveravon #readavon
This is such a charming and delightful romance. Cathy Maxwell's writing has a comforting ease to it that is soft and easily accessible. This romance is well paced and a perfect addition to the A Logical Men's Guide to Dangerous Women. Maxwell has been teasing this couple from the start and their romance was really beautiful. This is definitely my favorite in the series and while it can be read as a standalone, having the background of the other two novels in this series helps to give their romance and their friendships more gravity.
Mars, is an earl, and over the last few novels we have seen him as a drunk lush with no goals or path in life, of course there are much deeper elements to his character that are waiting to boil over. At the start of this novel his is presented with a daughter who he was unaware of, but a past mistress. This is the catalyst that begins Mars journey to change. Mars wanting to provide his daughter with love and comfort hires Clarissa, and orphan who has been pitied and adopted by the village they live in from her birth. Clarissa has always felt a little on the outside, not knowing her past she has felt lost in what her future should be. But from the moment that Clarissa meets Mars' daughter Dora, her heart is claimed and she will do anything to protect and love this sweet baby.
I found this novel to really be a beautiful exploration and growth between two people. Mars has been trapped in the past and consumed with vengeance, and it order to get out of his spiral he needs something to fight for. When Mars is confronted with a baby who needs him to provide, he quietly steps up to the task and finds ways to establish a welcome, safe and loving environment for his daughter, something that he did not have in his youth. Clarissa is also at a cross roads in her life, she has recently had a failed engagement and now she is returning but to the village after a failed job as a lady's companion. I love that Mars' daughter becomes the motivation that both Clarissa and Mars need to learn. and establish what comes next in their lives.
Mars and Clarissa move swiftly from a working relationship to a marriage of convenience. And as their relationship changes and grows we really see a new side of Mars and get to understand him and his relationship to Clarissa on a much deeper level. I love that both Mars and Clarissa love Dora with such and unconditional strength. I love that their love for Dora helps them to open themselves up to understanding the other. And I love that they learn to love and respect each other for who they are and do this with their own free will. While Dora might have opened their minds and hearts, they both learn to love and trust the other on their own. Clarissa and Mars have a really sweet romance and I found it to have a really lovely level of sensuality, the steam level is moderate which is exactly what I would expect from this novel and it is beautifully done and shows the reader the trust and respect that these two have established.
I definitely recommend this novel, it is a perfect addition (and I believe) end to this small town romance series. Maxwell creates wonderful characters who we have grown to love throughout the books, the setting is absolutely charming and this much anticipated romance is exactly what I could hope for.
OUT January 25, 2022
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an eARC of this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.