James creates blistering chemistry between her protagonists, but her light tone betrays the deeper, complex issues of trauma and shame that her characters are forced to face. Even after their tryst turns into love, the demons of the past make a happy future seem impossible. Little alleviates his depression until Betsy proposes a bet over a game of billiards: if she wins, Jeremy will escort her on a daring, disguised journey around London if he wins, he gets one night in bed with her. Jeremy, devastated by his wartime service, endured a stint in Bedlam that only made things worse. An engagement to the future Duke of Eversley should be the culmination of her efforts-until her brother’s best friend, Lord Jeremy Roden, interrupts her conquest. To compensate, Betsy transforms herself into a model of propriety. Lady Boadicea “Betsy” Wilde’s reputation is tainted through no fault of her own: she’s believed to have inherited her mother’s debauched and licentious nature. James’s fourth visit to the Wildes of Lindow Castle (after Born to be Wilde) struggles to incorporate mental illness, social stigma, and trauma into a fluffy Regency romance.
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