Melting the Ice

My Rating: ★★★★

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Release Date: June 20, 2016

Genre: Clean Romance

Along with her triplet sisters, Lady Beaujolais Winslow is a celebrated beauty, but after five seasons she has yet to find a match she finds tolerable. Since her father refuses to arrange a marriage, it is rumored in London society that she is holding out for a duke.

Benedict Stanton, Duke of Yardley, vowed never to marry again when his first marriage ended in a scandalous divorce. Having retreated to the country for nearly a decade, he is thought to be a cold-hearted recluse. Now faced with leaving his dukedom to the Crown for lack of an heir, he sets out to find a bride in a manner more suited to generations past—through his solicitor.

When Lady Beaujolais receives one of the Duke’s impersonal proposals, she rejects it out of hand and in considerable anger. Little does she know she is soon to be forced into his company every day…

My Review ♥️

Proposals can be such a romantic gestures, but when the sentiment isn't shared by both people it can make for one awkward situation. What would you do if someone sent a messenger to propose to you and the proposal comes from someone that you've never met? I'm sure you'd do something similar to what Beaujolias or "Jolie" did and turn down the proposal in an incredibly insulting way, also through the messenger.

What Jolie doesn't realize is that Benedict, the Duke of Yardley and the man that offered the proposal, is headed to her cousin's estate, where she just happens to be staying before she heads to London for the season. After hearing about the proposal, her cousins believe Benedict and Jolie would be perfect for each other and scheme to get these two together without them realizing their actual identities.

Of course there are complications that surround them both, which adds to the drama, and though the attraction between Benedict and Jolie builds throughout the book, there are larger issues that pull everyone to an unimaginable, dark place.

The love/hate relationship between Benedict and Jolie has a Pride and Prejudice vibe, and is even mentioned in the book, which was a really cute touch. The plot kept me interested from start to finish, and if you've read the first book in the series, Through the Fire, you'll love seeing how both stories overlap, though this can be read as a standalone book as well. Melting the Ice has a wonderful flow, is well written, and is a truly charming and enjoyable read.

Other Book in A Series of Elements

Be sure to check out my review for Through the Fire!

♥︎

Get to Know Author Elizabeth Johns

Like many writers, Elizabeth Johns was first an avid reader, though she was a reluctant convert. It was Jane Austen's clever wit and unique turn of phrase that hooked Johns when she was "forced" to read Pride and Prejudice for a school assignment. She began writing when she ran out of her favorite author’s books and decided to try her hand at crafting a Regency romance novel. Her journey into publishing began with the release of Surrender the Past, book one of the Loring-Abbott Series. Johns makes no pretensions to Austen’s wit but hopes readers will perhaps laugh and find some enjoyment in her writing.

Johns attributes much of her inspiration to her mother, a retired English teacher. During their last summer together, Johns would sit on the porch swing and read her stories to her mother, who encouraged her to continue writing. Busy with multiple careers, including a professional job in the medical field, author and mother of small children, Johns squeezes in time for reading whenever possible.

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