“Perfection is impossible. Most mathematical truths can’t be proved. The vast majority of mathematical relations can’t be known. But you…standing here in your bare feet in that dress…you’re perfect.”

Okay so before we dive into how amazing and incredible this book was, we need to address the elephant in the room…that is the book cover. Cassandra is supposed to be plus size/heavier than what was considered “appropriate” back then per the commentary in this novel. The picture on the cover of this book is gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but that woman is very thin. She’s stunning and has the perfect hair and complexion for Cassandra, but she needs to be curvier or else it feels like a disservice to our heroine. This was the only part of this novel that I was disappointed in. Moving on.

Tom and Cassandra’s meet-cute might be my favorite thus far in all of Lisa Kleypas’ books. Cassandra is speaking with her cousin West, privately, at her sister’s wedding. She is crying about how much she will miss Pandora now that she’s married and is leaving her, but she’s also extremely uncomfortable because her corset is too tight. She’s telling West that she will never find a man to marry because, even though she had plenty of proposals last season, none of those men seemed like someone she could grow to love. In a moment of weakness she begs West to “be her oyster” if she hasn’t married by the time she’s twenty-five. She asks him to marry her because she doesn’t want to be alone. This is when Tom, who has been listening in on their conversation the entire time, pops up and declares that he will be her oyster and she is perfect no matter what size she is. When I tell you that I swooned and was jumping up and down as I read this!! You should see all of the notes I took in the first 10 pages of this book LOL. It was so perfect. 

Tom is immediately in love with Cassandra the first moment he sees her. She’s everything he’s ever dreamed for in a woman, so he is determined to make her his. Unfortunately, Cassandra wants to marry for love and that is something Tom claims he can never give her. Tom has a very difficult time with emotions. He claims to only have 5 emotions; he’s extremely logical and sees everything black and white. As our novel progresses and he starts to feel more for Cassandra, he becomes increasingly uncomfortable because he cannot name the emotions. He struggles to feel at peace with himself because he has a constantly clawing in his chest when he’s around Cassandra. Their romance is a very slow burn, but it was everything I could have ever wanted. Cassandra is patient and understanding. She’s empathetic but also very curious and has a great desire to learn new things. She wants to help people and make an impact in the world. These two are the ultimate power couple, in my opinion. I am obsessed with them!! 5 stars!

“There are no limits to what I would do for you.”