Cold-Hearted Rake

I really love Kleypas's way with minor characters - West, Helen, and the twins were as vivid for me as the main characters. I think this is the first historical I've read that has a pregnancy scare, and a realistic one, not just an aside about the possibility. It's a minor note but I liked it. Kleypas's historicals also seem a bit more concerned with accuracy to the time period, which is nice. Really enjoyed this one, starting the second book in the series as we speak.

A commitment phobic aristocrat unexpectedly inherits a big pile of responsibility. A headstrong and damaged widow tries to maintain control of a household she no longer has any right to. They have a power struggle over the estate and later have a sexy times power struggle.

The efforts to modernize the estate and turn a profit, during the time period when large estates are in decline, are pretty interesting. Unfortunately rather than resolve the problems through cleverness and good business sense, there's a deus ex machina to magic all the problems away.

There's pretty good chemistry between the leads but half the sex scenes are the ever popular and unfortunate “rape but she liked it so it's okay” variety. A secondary couple is introduced halfway through with absolutely no chemistry.

I haven't read any Kleypas since the beginning of 2023 (her Hathaways series), so excited to bookend (hah...I'll see myself out) with another series! This has all the Kleypas characteristics I read for: smart women, well-developed relationships in addition to the romantic duo (in this case, two brothers maturing with good humor together), class politics, etc. I liked that the "crisis" in this one came mid-plot, not 75% of the way through, and looking forward to plowing through the rest of these.