Book of Love by Erin Satie Published by Little Phrase on April 20, 2021
Series: Sweetness and Light #2
Genres: Historical, Historical Romance, Romance
Source: eARC from Author
She’s trying to make ends meet. He’s out for a bit of fun.
Cordelia is busy, focused, worried about the future of her fledgling bookbinding business. When a handsome man stops her on the street to pester her with questions, she gives him the consideration he deserves: none.
That handsome man happens to be the Duke of Stroud, and he finds Cordelia’s hostility hilarious. He gives chase, if only for the pleasure of provoking her again.
He thinks life is a game. She doesn’t play around.Within days of meeting Cordelia, Stroud sets a marching band on a matchmaking mama, defaces a local monument, and ropes Cordelia into a round of his favorite game.
In that same time, Cordelia stitches together the complete works of Mary Wollstonecraft, enthusiastically devotes herself to a petition demanding expanded legal rights for married women, and beats Stroud at his own game.
She defies all expectations. So does he.
Most people dismiss Stroud as a fool—himself included. When Cordelia sees past his lighthearted facade, he’s terrified and also... in love?
Stroud barges into Cordelia’s life, offering her all the material and sensual temptations she’s learned to do without. She usually has willpower to spare, but turning him down takes all of it, and then some. He’s oddly irresistible.
Or maybe they’re perfect for one another.
Book of Love is the second book in the Sweetness and Light series by author Erin Satie. I haven’t read the first book yet, but they seem to be about different characters which leads me think that they are both standalone stories maybe set in the same world. Book of Love is a delightful historical romance. It is my time reading a book by this author and I really liked her storytelling abilities, so I look forward to trying more from her.
In the Book Of Love we meet our main characters Cordelia and the Duke of Stroud. Cordelia is a strong independent feminist woman. She runs her own bookbinding business and is also actively involved in political activism. I appreciated Cordelia’s strength of character and I loved that very personality trait is what infatuated the Duke so much. The Duke of Stroud is a huge prankster and that personality trait is one of the things that has made it so hard for him to maintain relationships in the past, but when he becomes smitten with Cordelia he is relentless. I loved seeing his pranks almost as much as I loved seeing all of his antics as he tried to pursue Cordelia.
Book of Love is an adorable historical romance that also takes the time to touch on some more serious concepts. The romance is very lighthearted but that does not mean that the politics are all fluff as well. Cordelia is very involved in the divorce bill, and learning about the rights of post regency era women was fascinating. I really appreciated and enjoyed that aspect of the story, but I would be lying if I said that the romance wasn’t my favorite. It was! I really enjoyed how the Duke and Cordelia complemented each other and I love a good wooing story. I really liked Erin Satie’s writing style. I will say that sometimes I felt like I was on detail overload. The amount of details did bog down the pacing and flow of the story at times, in my opinion. (though I would not be surprised if I was the minority opinion on that font.)
Bottom line: If you are a fan of historical romances with a good dose of feminism and politics woven in, then you will really enjoy Book of Love!
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