My favorite trope! Childhood besties! Michael and Penelope were the best of friends on adjoining estates. Life was good. Along with their buddy, Tommy, their young lives were filled with fun and adventure. That is, until life happened.

This story delves into the aftermath of loss, separation, grief, greed and vengeance. I especially enjoyed the running commentary provided by letters from home to and from the young Michael and Penelope while he was away at Eton. They emphasized the bond shared by the two friends.

This was somewhat of a dark story as the hero behaved a lot like a villain throughout most of the story. I really couldn't blame his anger and search for vengeance, but crikey, these are your friends and you want vengeance by any means necessary even at the expense of the ones who love you? Sheesh, Bourne!

Sarah MacLean takes us on a journey into the minds of her characters and you find that they are so well written that you will forgive them their foibles in their journey to HEA.

The ultimate villain in this story didn't receive the true comeuppance that he deserved. He was a vile man who deserved to be ruined, but instead seemed to break even. Maybe I'm just more vengeful than the characters.

Because I'm on a reread binge, I did note a couple of inconsistencies - Donovan West versus Duncan West in a later novel. There were several references to the number of "men" in the room and skewed gender references in several instances.

This book is a keeper for me and I enjoyed the reread thoroughly. It has been a few years so it was good to revisit these characters in anticipation of next month's new release.
My favorite trope! Childhood besties! Michael and Penelope were the best of friends on adjoining estates. Life was good. Along with their buddy, Tommy, their young lives were filled with fun and adventure. That is, until life happened. This story delves into the aftermath of loss, separation, grief, greed and vengeance. I especially enjoyed the running commentary provided by letters from home to and from the young Michael and Penelope while he was away at Eton. They emphasized the bond shared by the two friends. This was somewhat of a dark story as the hero behaved a lot like a villain throughout most of the story. I really couldn't blame his anger and search for vengeance, but crikey, these are your friends and you want vengeance by any means necessary even at the expense of the ones who love you? Sheesh, Bourne! Sarah MacLean takes us on a journey into the minds of her characters and you find that they are so well written that you will forgive them their foibles in their journey to HEA. The ultimate villain in this story didn't receive the true comeuppance that he deserved. He was a vile man who deserved to be ruined, but instead seemed to break even. Maybe I'm just more vengeful than the characters. Because I'm on a reread binge, I did note a couple of inconsistencies - Donovan West versus Duncan West in a later novel. There were several references to the number of "men" in the room and skewed gender references in several instances. This book is a keeper for me and I enjoyed the reread thoroughly. It has been a few years so it was good to revisit these characters in anticipation of next month's new release.