This was Julia's first novel? 
 I feel like I should have known that considering she's one of my favorite/most beloved historical romance authors, but I didn't and just discovering that tid-bit blows my mind. That honestly should not have been as surprising as it was since this was probably one of the first books I'd ever read from hers; and it had always been one of those stories that stuck to my head through the years because of how interested I'd been in it and how much I liked it the first time I read it. But anyway, I'm digressing here. 
 This book. 
 I liked it. 
 Emma quickly became one of my favorite characters in the book because of several traits that she possessed. One being her bravery when she thoughtlessly jumped into the path of an oncoming hack to save the life of a child she didn't even know, her wit even in the intimidating face of what was known as London society especially when they made a big fuss over her being 'from the colonies', and her determination to take over her father's business despite that women being in charge of anything in those days were practically unheard of. There was also the fact that when it came to her family, she went beyond what was expected of her (breaking into a guy's house for the sake of saving her cousin from a huge gambling debt by stealing the voucher? No big deal!). 
 Alex grew on me quickly because despite his frosty facade that had convinced most polite society that he was an ass, there was also a side to him when it came to his family that was rarely seen. I've seen plenty of reviews of people railing on about his demeanor, about the way he thought of women and what an asshole he tended to be. I'm sorry but not every hero in every romance novel is going to be some broad-shoulder fierce warrior with a secret heart of gold who loves puppies and believes women are goddesses given to them to worship. It isn't in the least realistic and the way Julia wrote out Alex was pretty spot on to the way most men in that time period thought of women in general. 
 Anyway, I had to give Alex some credit for rising about his general opinion on the women outside of his family and recognizing that ever since knowing Emma, he'd somehow changed for the better. The book had some pretty hilarious moments - like Sophie's butler high-tailing it from the front door in the beginning - and there were scenes that had me smiling widely or sighing. There were also those moments that made me grunt in frustration, like 'The Misunderstanding'. But this book was so well-written, especially for a debut novel, and everything about it was perfect. Even the villain. Loved every moment of reading this.