Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsI LOVED this book
Reviewed in the United States šŗšø on April 30, 2019
I would give this book 10 stars if I could - it was that good!
Lady Annabelle Huxley has loved Robert Conrad her entire life and is sure they are destined to marry and live happily ever after. Robert has always been her protector and her champion - saving her and defending her, always patient with her and calling her Bumblebee - she cannot imagine a life that doesn't include him. So when she panics at the thought of him dying in the war, her actions set into motion a tragedy of epic proportions. An accident that costs Robert his dreams and costs Annabelle her heart.
When Robert wakes after the accident and realizes his life has changed, he banishes Annabelle from his life. He remains friends with Annabelle's brother John, but refuses to let him speak her name. For the next seven years, Robert struggles to heal. He is a second son and lives with his grandfather, the Marquis of Mortlock. When his hopes of a military career are dashed, he takes over the estate management at his grandfathers urging, throwing himself into it almost to the exclusion of all else. But everything changes when his grandfather insists that Robert needs to find a wife. He sends him to London and tells him to heed the advice of his friend, The Dowager Marchioness of Wallingham, she will find him a wife. He goes and doesn't meet any woman who interests him, until he hears a voice that sparks something in him, he searches for the source and is desperate to see her face - but when he does, he is shocked to see Annabelle - his Bumblebee - but not the girl he knew 7 years ago, no, this Annabelle is a woman.
Annabelle has tried to live without Robert, she writes him letters that she never sends, has enlisted spies to keep her informed of his progress and tried to find another man that she could love. To distract herself, she draws and has turned it into a bit of a career - using gossip and turning them into amusing caricatures, which she sells to a publisher under a false name. Her life is not empty, but she not longer feels alive. When she sees Robert at the ball, it was like her heart started beating again. But she is still hurt and tells herself to keep her distance. However, Lady Wallingham has other ideas - she proposes that Annabelle help Robert find a wife!
What follows is a touching love story that will make you laugh, cry and sigh in equal measure. Wonderful characters, secrets, murder, steamy love scenes, amusing banter, tragedy and soul-mate love combine together in an amazing and unforgettable story that will stay with you long after the last word is read.
This is the prequel to the series, but doesn't have to be read first - in fact if you have been following the series, you will see many familiar faces!! I loved this book and cannot recommend it highly enough!!
