Love Unraveled (Honorable Intentions #3)

Countess Sophia Tessaro was only seventeen when she planned to run away with her true love, Gaston. However, on the night they were to run away together he never showed. Sixteen years later, Sophia has become the talk of the town. She has everything she could ever want, money, friends, and suitors at her beck and call. However, when Gaston makes a surprise visit to check up on Sophia, all her memories of betrayal and loss come spiraling back. As Gaston threatens to ruin the life Sophia has created, she agrees to allow him back into her life. The catch is that he only has one month, and then he needs to leave forever.

Historical romance is a highly saturated genre, which can make them slow to read and hard to become intrigued. However, “Love Unraveled” is a pleasant surprise in that the relationship between the two love interests is practically a game. Rather than the traditional coming of age story, where a young troubled woman is courted by the perfect duke, we see an incredibly fragmented love story where both characters overcome one of the greatest evils: time. Sophia is no longer the innocent young woman falling for Gaston, and it's refreshing to see how much independence she has and how determined she is to make Gaston fight for his place. On the other hand, Gaston built up a fantasy with Sophia over the years only to find out she had been married, widowed, and now courted after promising herself to him so many years ago. Rose Phillips has given readers the perfect historical romance that reads as a deviant game of jealousy between these characters.

Sadie Wilson