Despite having jumped into the middle of a series, I thought it was great as a standalone. This romance deviated from the standard as Emma and Beranger were already a happy couple, and I especially appreciated that Emma wasn't intimidated by her hateful, step-MIL. Best of all, the newlyweds weren't waylaid or undermined by outsiders. Budding friendships with a couple of the servants gave the story more depth. Only in a few instances did the plot run a little thin, but I liked the characters too much for those to interfere with my enjoyment of the tale. 4 stars.
