A second third chance romance in the regency world.
Plot: Leo and Juno met when they were awkward teens, he the heir to a dukedom, and she the abandoned child of a pair of artists, when she was taken in by her much better to do cousins. They fell head over heels with each other, but the class difference were impossible to overcome, so Juno ran off to be an artist on the continent. Leo followed her, but that went very poorly, and Leo came home with the wrong wife. Eight years and one very messy divorce later, Leo is cured of his obsession with Juno. Sure, they’re friends again, of a sort, since he’s known as a Duke very fond of the arts, but he needs to marry again and do it properly this time, to someone who would make for a fit duchess and who would come with a generous dowry to fund his arts foundation. Of course, one can’t be out courting gently bred ladies and hanging out with unmarried artists who lived abroad, so even the friendship must end. But one more visit wouldn’t hurt, right? Shenanigans ensue.
This book is, at its heart, about the power of the stories we tell ourselves about what is and isn’t possible. They have so bought into the societal narrative of what they can be, what they can do, have so convinced themselves of the impossibility of their dreams that they choose to see every situation in a way that affirms it to the detriment of them both and the people caught in the crossfire.
This can be frustrating to read, so your tolerance will vary. What I will say is that these miscommunications and misunderstandings are not lazy writing, as they often are, but make perfect sense in context. Indeed, it is precisely the fact that these obvious misunderstandings and wrong headed assumptions do make sense that is the point. We lie to no one as much as we lie to ourselves, and Vincy is here to tell us we’re leaving joy on the table when we do. Don’t become the character you want to shake sense into. Be brave. Figure out what you want, and then fucking go for it.