The whole plot revolves around a secret Helen has, one she finds out maybe a quarter of the way through the novel.

The secondary characters are fleshed out wonderfully, especially the women working for Winterborne.

Rhys is romantic, the sex scenes are hot, and if you’re into period detail it’s here (“each glove is so delicate, it can be enclosed in the shell of a walnut”).

There was enough information to jog my memory about the couple, who had a lot of goings on in the first book of the series.

The writing is on par with the rest of her work, and I can’t find any fault with the words themselves.

I’ve read and loved Kleypas’ work in the past but this book fell flat for me. The risks are unthinkable… the reward, a lifetime of incomparable bliss.

As Rhys’s enemies conspire against them, Helen must trust him with her darkest secret. Helen’s gentle upbringing belies a stubborn conviction that only she can tame her unruly husband. Yet Rhys’s determined seduction awakens an intense mutual passion. Helen has had little contact with the glittering, cynical world of London society. If he must take her virtue to ensure she marries him, so much the better… And from the moment he meets the shy, aristocratic Lady Helen Ravenel, he is determined to possess her. In business and beyond, Rhys gets exactly what he wants. Paperback, Large Print (May 31st, 2016): $19.Savage ambition has brought common-born Rhys Winterborne vast wealth and success.the reward, a lifetime of incomparable bliss. As Rhys's enemies conspire against them, Helen must trust him with her darkest secret. Helen's gentle upbringing belies a stubborn conviction that only she can tame her unruly husband. Yet Rhys's determined seduction awakens an intense mutual passion. If he must take her virtue to ensure she marries him, so much the better.

Savage ambition has brought common-born Rhys Winterborne vast wealth and success.

Ravenels marrying winterborne