I read this one after really liking the third book in this series (remember, I not a historical romance reader at all--but I am trying to be more open minded about genres I shy away from), and quite liked it, despite the 3-star rating. There were some elements I loved (the smart, sciencey Pippa being a big one, the banter and chemistry between the leads being another huge thing), but this had more of a gendered power imbalance that I don't care for that's somewhat inherent in historicals, so that dragged the story down for me somewhat (unlike in the third book in this series, where there's more subversion of the domain paradigm). I also was a bit frustrated by the two leads both being smart, analytical types whose conflict was really centered around their not asking the right questions and their not being forthright with each other, which was an awkward contrast to their behavior in every other aspect of their lives. But, Sarah MacLean is a good writer, and she's built such an interesting world with this series, that I still recommend this one, despite my personal taste and nitpicks.