virgoreader

This was definitely my favorite in the Union of the Rakes series, and my favorite from Eva Leigh overall. I feel like several other of her books get lost during a third act conflict, but this one kept my attention all the way through.

The premise is a new-to-me favorite: an older, widowed woman looking for fun and a hero looking for something more. It's such a flip on the usual romance trope of a "good" girl looking for marriage and a "bad" boy looking to evade commitment. 

The heroine in this book is Lady Beatrice Farris, who we met in book two of the series. After being widowed a few years ago and being officially out of half-mourning, she is looking forward to enjoying life again, getting as much joy as she can, and re-learning who she is. She’s an absolute delight! Her reasons for not wanting to marry again are sound. She has much more autonomy and freedom as a widow than she would as a wife, when she would again "belong" to a man.

Major Duncan McCameron is one of my favorite types of heroes: a Scottish war vet who’s stern and brooding. He’s a stickler for time schedules and following the rules, and the happy, carefree widow irks him because she gets a rise out of him. 

They have a road trip romance after their mutual friend requests Duncan escort her to the country to an orgy she wants to partake in. Of course, prim and proper Duncan isn't aware of their destination at first. 

The book was just so fun. I loved the characters together and separately, and as someone who usually doesn’t love road trip romances, I really found myself enjoying the hijinx and issues they ran into. They were steamy and sweet together, and I felt there was definitely emotional payoff on both sides as they revealed their past and why they feel they cannot be together - Duncan, following the example of McCamerson men before him, wants to marry and settle down but doesn’t feel he’s anyone’s first choice. Beatrice, after being duty-bound as a wife for so many years, refuses to marry. 

The third act conflict and resolution fit perfectly within the story, and I really liked the subplot with Duncan’s friends - the other two members of the Union of the Rakes, Curtis and Rowe.