It has been a while since I have read a regency romance, and I am once again reminded why this genre isn't for me. While the romance and plot were decent, I just could not get behind the leads. Gearoid(Garrett) is the second son of an Irish lord whose family has been struggling financially, which leads him and his brothers to make a bet on who can marry a wealthy heiress to restore their family's wealth. Tamsin is the eldest of a family who's on the brink of homelessness. She has endured a lot of tragedy and is supporting her family on her own.

I did like the whole forbidden romance aspect due to the class differences. The author did a good job exhibiting the mistreatment and exploitation of the working class through Tamsin and how she is treated by society.

My greatest gripe with this story is how Tamsin and Garret were acting as characters. They would just behave so irrationally that it just took me out of the story completely, like how she kissed him in one of their first interactions or how he asked her to be his mistress.

I do think this book has an audience, it just didn't fully work for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC