Perfect In Every Way (Manors and Mysteries #2) by Kristen Ashley

As ludicrous as it seemed, from the moment I walked into this house, it claimed me. And from the moment I laid eyes on this man, he did.

This had a real old school KA feel to it, and I had a great time. I, like Vivienne, fell head over heels with The Downs and the Talyn family. Well, I fell in love with Temperance, Prudence, and Chastity. It took a minute or two to fall for Battle. Like many of the KA’s alpha-douches that came before him, it took a minute to warm up to him.

Like the last few Kristen Ashley books, there was not a huge amount of conflict happening in this, there was a ‘villain’ who was over the top, and just so happened to be the ‘crazy unhinged ex-girlfriend’ which is getting a bit old, but whatever, it’s a trope that’s been done to death, but I’ll likely never not lap it up.

Perfect in Every Way main focus was of course the romance, but there was also a lot of page time given to the development of Vivienne’s relationship with Battle’s sisters, and in doing so she sets in motion the beginning of the three sisters starting to live their lives again. Prudence and Chastity’s stories were tough, Chastity’s in particular, but I do think that KA dealt with it very well. Chastity doesn’t magically heal from her trauma but she does make great strides in starting to heal.

As much as I did enjoy this, there were a few things that bothered me, the ‘crazy ex’ trope being one, but the biggest issue I had was the three Harry Potter references. It’s 2026, we all know what a trash human being JK Rowling is, can we please stop referencing Harry fucking Potter!?

Synopsis:

Historical fiction writer, Vivienne Dupree, is hoping to unravel the mystery of her WWII soldier, great-grandfather’s doomed love affair with the lovely Lady Harmony. A woman he met convalescing at the sweeping English country estate, The Downs.

Vivienne jumps at the invitation to spend time at this magnificent property, doing so with unfettered access to family papers.

What she doesn’t expect is to come face-to-face—and immediately go head-to-head—with Battle Talyn, the ludicrously handsome, imposing, ridiculously arrogant Duke of Burleigh.

From the start, Vivi and Battle match wits, but it doesn’t take long for Vivi to realize something is amiss at The Downs. She dives into her research to figure it out, at the same time Battle launches a campaign that Vivi doesn’t quite understand.

The game is on, and a mystery is afoot.

What kept the doomed lovers apart all those years ago? What’s happening in the ballroom? Is there a curse on The Downs?

And what does all of this have to do with Battle and Vivi?