This book has some of my favorite things… a strong lovable heroine who is not afraid to be a bit unladylike and get dirty sometimes; a hero that is truly that, a hero; love letters and notes (I always love books that have that!); a lot of cute and adorable animals.

Beatrix is a favorite of mine.  She was always different even in a family like the Hathaways.  I love how she started her connection to Christopher through letters while he was during war.  Even if she wasn’t writing them for herself.  And just as she can tame the wildest animals, she’s the perfect woman to handle Christopher.Christopher was amazing as well, he was intense and Beatrix was the only thing that seemed to have pulled him through difficult times and is still helping him now.  His PTSD was not addressed as good as I thought it should but I find in a lot of historicals with this subject, they don’t go too deep either.

The Hathaway family makes a small appearance, which just makes me sad because I can’t believe there won’t be any more books in this series.  I will miss it dearly and I am on the hunt now for my next Lisa Kleypas read… Suggestions?

Lisa Kleypas wonderful contemporary romance stories but when she’s at her best is definitely in historicals.  You feel completely transported to the world she describes, as if you were attending the balls and dinners and taking the walks through the gardens with the characters.