I really enjoyed Linus and Stella together, a deep friendship yet plenty of sparks, too.

While this is the third book in a trilogy this can absolutely be read as a standalone, there are a couple exchanges between Linus and his siblings that may resonate a tiny bit more if you’ve read the other two books but it’s in no way difficult to follow the sibling dynamics if you haven’t had the opportunity to pick up the other two books yet.

Stella, after an incident in New York travels to London accepting a temporary job as estate manager for an eccentric actresses’ heir, who just so happens to be a cat. I loved Etonia Toffee Pudding and I’m not even a cat person really, her pretentious yet also silly name continuously put a smile on my face as did her little personality moments sprinkled here and there.

This story plays out over the course of a year and the author really made the most of that time, building the trust between Linus and Stella, showing them confiding in each other, moving from friends to more, from short-term to complicated. I couldn’t have been happier with the pacing, you might think twelve months is a lot to squeeze in over less than two hundred fifty pages, but it’s impressively accomplished here never rushed, never feeling like it’s skipped over anything vital, just hitting the most important beats, like for instance, the brief yet powerful Christmas section, instead of going overboard with the season (which I am all for when there’s room for it, there wasn’t room here), the focus smartly narrowed to two emotionally driven aspects of the holiday, meeting the parents and a gift exchange that very much affected both the personal and romantic arcs.

There’s a small mystery throughout the novel as certain items have gone missing from the estate, while it’s easy to determine the culprit, the mystery component is worth it for one of my favorite moments where you see Linus’s affection for Stella in full effect, you see him totally there for her even though their relationship isn’t in the best place at that point.

That’s probably what I loved most about this book, that supportive quality, there’s no alpha nonsense going on, no game playing, just this ever present sense of how much they’re growing to care about one another, there was something genuinely heartwarming in their connection, particularly in how it allows Stella the safe space to change her life for the better.

I received this book through a giveaway. ( )