Did you ever wonder what happened to the servant who was accosted by that horrible Lord in the last book of the Winsford Green series? This book continues the story of Arthur and the man who saves his life. His Lord assaults him one night, and he fights back, managing to escape. He wanders in the snow looking for shelter, and Joseph (a single blacksmith) finds him and nurses him back to health. Arthur has dreams of being a high-ranking servant so he can live comfortably in London, but he slowly starts to see the pros of small-town life as he spends time with Joseph. Then, sparks begin to fly.
I feel like I liked Arthur and Joseph even more than Hugo and Lyndon. Arthur is 14 years older than Joseph, but their romance is never creepy. They have a power dynamic that is different from the one in the previous book, but it is always handled in a respectful manner. I never felt like one character was taking advantage of the other, they both seemed to enjoy their time together equally. They definitely had a lot of chemistry!
Joseph definitely gave me lumberjack vibes, but he was 100% a blacksmith. He did not have that typical “gruff and tough” personality though, and instead really showed true affection to Arthur. He may have been strict in scenes, but he was always the first to show, not just say, his feelings for Arthur. I also liked his relationship with his apprentice, I feel like neurodivergent folks often get written out of historical fiction novels, so it was nice to see him included.
The only thing I had a problem with was how short a time frame this entire story took place in. 70% into the book Arthur mentions that the two have only known each other for 4 days. 4 DAYS! How did all this romance and chemistry and steam happen in four days. I know that it’s not impossible, but it is definitely improbable. It would have felt like such a more realistic romance if they stayed together for at least a week or two. Maybe no sex the first week and then overwhelming sparks flying in the second week. But this didn’t really affect my love for the characters, I still enjoyed the overall romance between the two. These two definitely have the steamiest smut scenes in the series so far.
I would definitely recommend this series to anyone looking for a new historical romance novel to read.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books.
