As an author who experiences chronic anxiety, I identified perhaps too well with the character of Amelia in this Regency romance story. In her place, I’d happily retreat to the countryside and abandon all my triggers, but I also sympathized with her desire to stay part of her loved ones’ lives. It’s a difficult balance even in this modern day.
Her relationship with Sydney is fraught with awkward conflict from the very beginning. In fact, one of the notes I left to myself while reading this book was “Everyone is awkward and queer and I love it.” This book gets so, so many bonus points for positive bisexual and asexual representation, with even more bonus points for depiction of a character with a disability.
As with everything, money and status makes all of the above “issues” easier to navigate in the unforgiving world that is Regency England. But Amelia and Sydney are just outside of that posh realm, which makes them all the more relateable and sympathetic as characters.
I devoured this book in a single evening and I have the feeling this series is one that will be a repeat read sometime in the next year.
Rating: 5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.