I found this story to leave me with mixed thoughts. I liked watching Charlie develop from a man that just went along with what was expected of him, with no real aim or ambition for his future. To a man that broke free of family expectations and power.

There were so many issues covered in this novella, arranged marriage, class differences to name but two.

The characters and plot were fine, though I did not feel like I was taken back in time, yes, the was the threat of the law against their sexuality, and the upper-class rigid systems and expectations. But the story world was not as vividly shown to us as I would have liked.

Having said that I would still recommend the book for a strong romance that will having you turning the pages.

But I feel that the number of issues and events were too many for a short novella and would be enhanced with a little more page space. The author certainly has a good story telling skills, just needs a little more space to deal with the issues in a more detailed way as well as more descriptive story world to pull the reader into the time period of the story.