This one is a re-post, but I loved this one so much I couldn’t leave it out. This is Spindle Cove 1.5 Once Upon a Winter’s Eve by Tessa Dare
My rating: 4 of 5 flames
Violet Winterbottom had her heart shattered. Above and beyond broken. Like that scene from Sex and the City where Carrie was broken up with via Post It note. Yeah, that bad.
So Violet does something not too many heroines in Historicals do-She grows up. She gets over him. She moves away to Spindle Cove, and realizes that she doesn’t need a man to be happy.
Then a dangerous, bloody, bedraggled stranger falls at her feet (literally) and passes out. But the one phrase he speaks is in a language no one recognizes, but Violet is exceptional at languages and is picked to stay with him as his interpreter.
He strongly resembles The Disappointment (her nickname for Christian), but Violet can’t be certain. And once he admits who he is, Violet tells him to leave (go girl!). But he doesn’t, and she makes him earn her trust once again, which I love that they didn’t just jump into bed-she made him work for her heart.
Christian also realizes that Violet is not the same girl next door he left. She has become a woman who knows her own mind, and doesn’t hesitate to aim her pistol at him. He knows he has to work hard to keep her, and a kiss and asking her to wait for him won’t cut it.
The rest of the novella is filled with everything from espionage to kissing. It was definitely worth the $.99 (or the $.79 for you kindle-ites).
A fast, enjoyable read, that made the hero earn his happy ending.