I loved the books in this series so far, especially #2 and couldn't wait to start the next one. I'm so disapointed right now and skipping through the last quarter of the book to get to the end. If this book is your first romance by miss James. Please don't judge all of them by this one.Spoilers ahead.It started out funny enough with an interesting enough premise with two leads who could't be with eachother. It would be fun to see how miss James could solve that problem with a happy ending for all. Because lets be honest, that's what we all want.Why didn't it work for me?First the obstacles preventing them to be together weren't balanced enough. Olivia had her loyalty to her fiancee and to her twin sister. He had his mother and the memory of his dead wives character. So 2 living characters against 1. Only the obstacles are thrown in the wind by both of them on every occasion. So pretty early on in the story they turned out not to be obstacles at all and everything is too easy for them which takes away all the fun.Then, when they had made promises to eachother which for me signifies the ending of this type of romance, we're only halfway through, so an entirely new set of obstacles is introduced (france) which to me sounded so absolutely nonsensical that I couldn't concentratie anymore. So now I'm skipping pages. It would have been so much more fun if:- olivia's fiancee had been a dashing duke and a hero and not a mentaly handicapped one that would have returned from the war alive- olivia's sister had truly wanted to marry Quinn- Quinn had been more intent on marrying a proper perfect girl untill almost the very end It is safe to say that I would rewrite this book if I had the talent to write like I know miss James has. In the foreword she mentioned something about platting this story in one evening with some wine. Well, I can only assume the wine was very good. Soon I'll start on the next one in this series. I know there will be another good story by miss James. It just wasn't this one. Miss Olivia Lytton has been betrothed to Rupert, Marquess of Montsurrey, since childhood. Hoping to find an equally good match for her sister, Georgiana, Olivia and her sister travel to visit the Duke of Sconce whose mother is trying to find him a suitable bride. The Dowager Duchess thinks Georgiana is perfect for Quin. Quin has other ideas after meeting Olivia. There is an instant attraction between them that neither were expecting. But the fact that Olivia already has a fiance and her sister is falling for Quin, may stand in the way of their happily ever after.This is a very loose re-imagining of "The Princess and the Pea" full of interesting characters. Olivia is described as curvy, loud and opinionated. She doesn't want to marry Rupert, but knows it is her duty. Quin is the brooding Duke who never recovered from the death of his son. Olivia changes his outlook on life.I loved the romance in this book. Olivia and Quin's relationship was very romantic. The last part of the book where Quin and Olivia travel to France misses the mark. It would have been better with a different ending. My rating: 4 Stars.
