I will be singing Mimi Matthews praises until I am blue in the face. This series is such a joy to read: complex, interesting characters; compelling plots driven by interpersonal dynamics; delicious villains; high tension, high angst, and swoony as heck while the doors stay firmly closed. To this particular book we add in well done disability rep (the MMC is a wheelchair user following a fever in his early 20s). In lesser hands, these might add up to melodrama, but Matthews strikes the balance perfectly and as the result the whole novel (and series!) just sings. Truly a favorite historical romance read of the year.