This is just so much more human than usual, and makes a lovely change. You can almost imagine them having a post-coital cup of tea. The heroine doesn't lose her marbles (she actually remembers an appointment at the beginning of foreplay), and the hero relishes a nice post-coital chat, after a very enjoyable romp. What I absolutely LOVED, and which represented a wonderful, refreshing change, was that the first sexual encounter between the hero and heroine wasn't some earth-shattering, ground-shaking life-altering experience.

The hero is a bit of a joker, and the dialogue reflects that. Also, the dialogue and interactions between the hero and heroine remain true. There is a history of tradeswomen in the City of London, primarily taking over their husband's businesses when widowed, but the law allowed them pretty much the same rights as men for centuries before this period, and I like that the heroine represents something other than the aristocracy. As a novelty, she's not on the breadline, and not the most successful either, but she could easily survive on her own. She's intelligent, and has found herself in the merchant class, and is trying to make a life for herself.

It makes a pleasant change to have a real woman-loving hero. He loves being with them, looking at them, making love to them and talking to them. The main 3 heroes of the series do figure, but this is primarily about this hero, and the others are only sketched as much as they need to be. First, I read this out of order, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment at all. There are some things about this book I really appreciated and were quite different than your average HR. It concentrated a fair amount on plot development, so if you're looking for pure steam or pure romance, you won't find it here, but don't let that stop you from reading it.

The Wild Marquis by Miranda Neville