Faith (FMC) is the Countess of Rochford she is married but her husband is absent from the estate and it appears that he has been for quite some time. Due to the husband's gambling and other nefarious activities Ravenglass Hall (the estate she lives in) is falling apart and lacking funds it's hard to make the necessary repairs, this is made worse since the steward who has been placed in charge comes around when he feels like it and is stealing any additional funds the property might have.
Jonah (a reverend) is on a mission to bring his father's killer to justice he gets a position as a tutor to the Earl of Rochford's young ward (his nephew Adam) he accepts he believes this position will help lead him to the person(s) responsible for his father's death.
New to town and not quite sure where to go he ends up almost getting run down in the street by a small man on a horse (who he quickly realizes is actually a woman dressed in men's clothing), Jonah once he finally reaches Ravenglass knows immediately that Faith is the "man" who he had encountered the night before and he is drawn to her strength and determination she has been pretending to be an apprentice steward and helping the townspeople.
Faith finds herself drawn to Jonah as well but she can't become involved with him she needs to keep her family safe and she is holding on to secrets of her own what will happen if he uncovers them? She must see Adam safely enrolled in school before the funds are completely gone. Will she ever be able to get rid of that awful steward? Jonah is a stranger sent in by the church (who could potentially take her home and lands she lives on) can she even trust him?
The book focuses mainly on the mystery surrounding Faith, the disappearance of her husband and the secrets she is hiding. As far as "romance" goes there really didn't seem like much of one going on, I think maybe a lot of stuff takes place off the pages and there are confusing time jumps I had to re-read some sections to see if I missed something because they had very few encounters and next thing you know they are falling for each other and have some intimate interactions from what was there it was more of an insta lust/love situation. It was also noted multiple times that they love the smell of oranges & lemons.
I'd say that the book started to flow better after the half way mark but there were a few confusing things that maybe were not fully explained and I would have liked to see more of the lead couples relationship built on the page, I also get that the ladies husband was a bad guy and there were "some things" going on with it but she was still married to him while she was starting to build this relationship with the reverend.
When the countess finds herself in a terrible situation will Jonah be able to help her in time? Will they ever be able to be together or is their romance going to forever be hidden? Will Jonah be able to bring the people responsible for his father's death to justice?
Lots of drama, secrets and ulterior motives leaving you to wonder if our couple will reach their goals or if the villains will win in the end. Not overly spicy for those who like a lower spice read.
*ARC read 2025 *Book Sirens *historical romance *mystery romance
*FMC is married *slow burn *strong FMC *some spice *forbidden romance
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