Forbidden

Absolutely loved the world building here! Edie is awesome, the town that Beverly Jenkins described felt very vivid. Her writing here was so strong and I loved all the descriptions.

The only reason it lost a star is because I thought the romance and the end was a little rushed and I wouldn't have minded if this was longer. This is definitely a forbidden romance and I hope we continue to see these characters throughout the series!

Good: Could really tell how much research went into this, and I feel like it was pretty educational! Enjoyed the cast of characters, especially Sylvie and the boarders. The MC was great and I loved her journey and settling into the town. I haven't read any historicals set in this period before, and this was a good introduction.

Bad: Natalie is basically a cardboard villain, and the writing was pretty stilted at some points, without much banter/wordplay/flirtation. A lot of exposition via dialogue. It seemed like a lot of the plot was crammed into the last 40-50 pages, and it felt a little rushed. I also wanted there to be more sex, or at least longer/more detailed sex scenes? What was there was good, but barely over a page each, I think.

Overall: Eh. Didn't love it, certainly didn't hate it, definitely want to read more diverse romances.

(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #15 Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900)