This is a fairly routine historical romance with characterizations and a story line that I've seen done before, down to the brooding and emotionally distant hero and the poorer, beautiful heroine. I can’t say I've seen the sponsoring into society for a wealthy husband thing, but I have no problem seeing that as a typical romance novel device. I would imagine I haven’t run into it before, because I haven’t read a vast amount of the genre yet. Even the additional supernatural element of seeing auras and the science fiction electromagnetic stuff seemed a bit out of place and almost forced onto the story to make it more than your typical romance novel. Just didn't seem to jive all that well together.

However, that’s not to say that I didn't connect with the novel or enjoy it. The emotional content was just perfect for a romance novel; I cried where I was supposed to and soared on the wings of love where appropriate. The beginning portion with Emma and her family’s situation was especially heart wrenching. There were times where the author backslid into the usual mis-communication and assuming clichés, but everything in this novel still touched my heart in every way.

I also enjoyed the characters, hero and heroine especially. I loved that Emma was a bit of a spitfire with a brain to match. Any girl that gets thrilled over a display of rocks or making a living as a writer is my kinda romance heroine! A brain to match her beauty, yes please. I liked that she took no gruff from Mr. Dark-and-Broody; yet, she also had a very large vulnerable side because of her life situation. I felt like slapping Michael over the head more than once because of his focus on a business-like marriage and past scars. But I could see where he might have gotten his motivations so I forgave him. I kinda liked that Dark-and-Broody exterior.

All in all, this was your typical romance novel. High on the emotional content and with main leads I could get behind, I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the genre. Just be prepared for some heavy uses of the typical clichés of that same genre and for a plot line that is very predictable. But we’re not reading romance novels for the plot, are we?! Nope, romance and emotions it is! So definitely recommended for that.

Note: Book received for free from author in exchange for honest review via Good Reads First Reads program. ( )

Another solid historical, which I liked slightly better than the first in the series. There's a line of how far you can go to show a character's distress in a romance novel...get too brutally honest, and the spell is broken. The author walks right up to that line--in this case, poverty and illness--but manages not to cross it, I think because the characters are worried but don't lollygag around feeling sorry for themselves. Stakes nicely raised, madame. ( )