Evie is the stereotypical spinster heroine who you often find lurking in historical romances. Who, for some unexplained reason, has the idea that she's the ugliest creature ever to grace the planet and of course this is completely wrong, she just dresses in butt ugly clothes. Despite the emo moments Evie has about being ugly and therefore unlovable I couldn't help but really like her. She's quick witted and very intelligent and for some reason I enjoyed how determined she was to prove herself as a useful person. Because of her need to constantly prove herself, Evie has taken on her aunt's wedding business since her aunt has decided to elope. But, in order to complete her latest clients wishes for a wedding at a certain abbey Evie has to cash in her favor from Justin Powell.
Justin is a fantastic character, he had a very Scarlet Pimpernel feel to him that I just adored. Justin is a spy for the government and so hides his competency behind a kind of obtuse/eccentric demeanor. Justin agrees to let Evie have her clients wedding at his abbey because he sees it as the best cover to complete his latest mission. Honestly, when I started this story I thought the mission/mystery of who the enemy spy is would be the part of the book that I disliked the most. I don't usually like when light romances try adding in some kind of mystery because it usually only falls flat or seems unfinished and that makes the mystery reader in me cringe. But Brockway managed to avoid this and even manages to avoid falling into the trap of letting the enemy of the story be some kind of cartoon evil villain. But this book isn't really about Justin's being a spy, that's more of just a subplot to Evie and Justin's developing friendship and eventual romance.
( )

Funny, sweet, and romantic. ( )

Pretty good, no specific complaints, just didn't love it. ( )

Pretty good, no specific complaints, just didn't love it. ( )

Pretty good, no specific complaints, just didn't love it. ( )