It Takes Two to Tangle by Theresa Romain

Henry Middlebrook returns from war weary and wounded and he knows he needs to go back into society expect he feels the pity of the ton with his injury.  Deciding that having the right wife will soothe the pathway, he sets his sights on a lovely widow and asks her companion for some help in securing her hand.  Frances Whittier agrees to help Henry even though Henry has captured her attention in way she has never felt before.  Attempting to draw his attention through a letter, he concludes the wrong lady wrote it and Frances is forced to put up a charade to keep her feelings hidden.  As time passes though, it becomes clear to Henry that Frances is the woman he is looking for but when he finds out the truth about the letters, will forgiveness be found especially as Frances is holding out a secret about her first marriage that she feels makes her entirely unsuitable for Henry?

This is the start of Theresa Romain's new Matchmaker trilogy and I enjoyed it just as much as her other works.  Frances was such a refreshing heroine with her quiet strength and decisive talk.  I really wished she had just told Henry the truth about the letters much sooner than she did though and I thought her secrets were also refreshing from what I have read before and thought the resolution to them was handled well (in fact, how Henry deals with it made me tear up a bit!).  Henry is dealing with his own after effects of war and finds his well meaning, forgiving family a bit off putting.  Frances challenges him to move past the past and strive towards new beginnings and shows him that he still has all the respect he had before the war.  Overall I really enjoyed this book however it was a bit slow in places and heavy on details in parts for my taste but the characters with their vibrant. well written natures brought the book to a solid conclusion.  Subtle humor, passionate encounters and heartfelt letters made this a very lovely read!

eARC provided by Sourcebooks via netgalley

The Matchbreaker Trilogy
Two more titles to come