[book-info]

Lady Georgina Maitland is eight and twenty and the idea of marriage horrifies her. She is outspoken and isn’t ruled by the social expectations of her time. Her aunt left her a great amount of land with the stipulation that no man may step in and take responsibility for it. George takes in interest in her land and wants to accompany her land steward to her country home to see for herself the day to day tasks that must be taken care of. She finds what she very least expected to find at her country home: love.

Harry Pye has certainly not had an easy life. As a child, he was the gamekeeper’s son with a wealthy household. He loved helping his Da and wondering around the grounds as a young boy. All of that changed one night and both Harry and his father ended up in the poorhouse. Through hard work and good social networking Harry has worked his way up the servant ladder to Lady Georgina Maitland’s land steward. Someone has been attacking the livestock on the estate neighboring Lady Georgina’s and framing Harry. He doesn’t know why but he cannot afford to loose his position in the Maitland home. Harry launches his own investigation to figure it out. Will his new employer trust in him or follow through with society dictates and fire him without any evidence?

“After the carriage wreck and a bit before the horses ran away, Lady Georgina Maitland noticed that her land steward was a man.”

With an opening sentence like that, how can this book be anything but exceptional? Watching George pursue Harry was so amusing. She knew what she wanted and society rules be damned. Harry is actually the one who tried to keep a sense of decorum in the relationship and watching him try to fight off George’s advances brought a smile to my face several times. This romance was truly a heart tugging one and the mystery of the livestock attacks added so much to the book and it certainly was the last person I expected. Hoyt knows how to pen a beautiful romance. The secondary characters were all wonderful and it made me wish for books of their own. I cannot recommend enough Elizabeth Hoyt to any true fan of historical romance. Trust me, she is one you do not want to miss.