Love by Numbers Book 3
I was very wary starting this book because I want to like it, but I worried that I wouldn’t. It’s become clear that I have a hit and miss relationship with this author, and the last book in this series was a bit meh for me. Anyway, I wanted to finish this series, so I will kept an open mind and delved in.
It took me a while to get into it despite the tension between the characters. Miss Juliana Fiori is the half-sister of the Duke of Ralston and is the daughter of an Italian merchant. When her father dies she is sent to live with her brother in London who wants her to have a season and marry a respectable man. However, Juliana attracts, and seeks out trouble, and enjoys breaking the strict rules of society to the point of risking a scandal.
Simon Pearson, Duke of Leighton, is the epitome of a cold, stiff, English duke who lives for respectability. Except, he’s got a family secret that could ruin them all and he needs to make sure he secures a respectable marriage to provide some protection when the scandal breaks. Love and passion are just the foolish dreams of others, but he cannot stop thinking about the scandalous Juliana, and allows himself to be drawn into a game where his stiff and cold demeanour will be tested beyond measure.
As a result, the charactes are firing off each other from the start. She’s constantly teasing him, and he’s fighting his passion. It was this push and pull between them that kept me reading this one. I found it more exciting read than the second book in this series. Simon’s stiff and arrogant demeanour was a bit annoying, but Juliana completely broke him and it was wonderful.
Steam wise this is medium, because there’s not much of it. However, the tension and chemistry between Simon and Julians keeps the feels high throughout. I felt it was a nice end to the series after the disappointing middle book.
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Feels: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heat: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
