beta
Wealthy and aristocratic. Life began from the moment I met him....
An 8.8 rating is low considering people here give good ratings to anything. If you are wondering why this story has a low rating, I guess majority is people who dropped it without even finishing, or maybe people who are used to basic stories filled only with porn. For me, this is a gem.
*Long review ahead*
I usually hate stories with historical settings because usually they have weak overused plots and there's nothing historical about it, rather, it seems like the authors of those stories just wanted an excuse to put the female leads in exaggerated prom dresses that look nothing like historical outfits.
In this story, however, the historical setting is actually relevant and well utilized and the outfits look realistic too. I sensed a little of a Jane Austen influence and the author did say she was inspired Pride and Prejudice on the Q&A. If you like P&P or other Austen works, you might like this.
This story is set in a period of rise of the bourgeoisie class and the first industrial revolution (iirc). Both these aspects and also the business aspects are relevant, they are not overexplained as an attempt at worldbuilding and not lacking either, it's just right.
I also like the fact that this is not a story where things can be solved by being a little smarter than the bad guys, who are often stupid as fuck. Even when the characters feel like they have an advantage or when everything feels like it's solved, there are social and financial barriers that have a real effect on things.
About the romance, it IS good, but it doesn't overshadow the plot or vice-versa, I was curious both about the romance and how the business storyline would unfold which is great.
On one hand we have Lily, she starts off as naive and even a little spoiled but gets a reality check pretty early in the story. I like the way she matured. She starts hating Edward because of the way he rejected her, but when she starts forgiving him the author did well in giving her another reason to hate him even more. One might think this is annoying, but for me it's a lot better than having her hate him for something that has been resolved for the sake of the conflict. Although it's not like it had to be one or the other, there were other options, but this is interesting enough.
On another hand we have Edward. His hate for aristocrats is understandable and, by extension, his hate for Lily also is. Because the hate is so palpable, it's even more impressive the way Edward was shown falling for Lily is also convincing.
There's no smut, only kissing, but in some moments towards the end you can tell they did the deed off-panel. I'm fine with this, though. However, I agree with comments that said that the ending felt a little rushed, we could have seen a little more of their life together but it was cut short.
One thing that has been bothering me is... where did Lily's nanny that was living in the inn together with her go? I was waiting for her to reappear for whatever relevant reason at any moment.