England, 1820

Rosalind Newbury is counting down the days until her wedding to the Duke of Marlow, a man she has only met twice. The marriage is more an agreement between two families and less a romantic connection between two hearts, but Rosalind becoming a duchess will elevate her family’s status to dizzying heights. And the duke is a kind man who will care for Rosalind, even if he doesn’t love her.

She only has three weeks before her life changes forever, and she knows exactly how she wants to spend her days. As a child, Ros was inspired by her adventurous Aunt Alice and created a list of ten things to do before her wedding day. So far, Ros has done none of them.

She is determined to tackle each item, though she’ll have to accomplish them all in secret. After all, a soon-to-be-duchess is not usually allowed to bury treasure in the pasture, eat sweets all day, or learn how to swim. She enlists the help of her best friend, Liza, who brings along her cousin, Charlie, a prodigal son-turned-boxer who has come to the countryside to mend his reputation and learn how to be his father’s heir.

Together, the three of them work to complete the list, and as each item is crossed off, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Ros and Charlie. The more time they spend together, the more Ros falls in love with this imperfect man and his good heart.

With the wedding looming, Ros must decide to either admit her romantic feelings for Charlie and risk her family’s future, or keep her promise to marry the duke and start a new life as a noblewoman.

I absolutely loved this sweet, charming, wholesome (and clean!) Regency Romance book. The plot is creative and interesting. I loved how Ros wanted to achieve certain things before she got married. However, I wish her wishlist were posted at the beginning or end of the book so the reader could flip to it at any time to remember everything she was trying to accomplish. But this was a lot of fun! I never got bored, the pacing was great, and there were even some action scenes and suspense, which were pleasant surprises. 

All of the characters are very likable. Even though she tries to be prim and proper, Ros is a free spirit at heart. She is also strong-willed, clever, resourceful, and a romantic. I love how determined she is to complete her list and how much it means to her. She’s a risk-taker and works on overcoming her fears, which is admirable. 

The trio of Ros with her best friend, Liza, and then Liza’s cousin, Charlie, is quite the friend pack. They are fun, adventurous, and pretty funny. I wanted to join their little clique and go on the adventures with them as they helped Ros check off each item on her list. The prose wasn’t too lush or lyrical, but it was still descriptive and very immersive. I felt like I was in the English countryside with the trio, visiting all these huge manor houses and estates. I loved the settings and felt transported to this Regency era. 

I also loved how accomplishing this list helped to change Ros and Charlie in the end. We learned more about them as characters, their motives behind things, their pasts, and their desires, and it made them more human and relatable. We also see character growth and development, which I always enjoy in stories. The end was predictable, but there were a few scenes thrown in that I didn’t expect. I would love to see this turned into a movie or TV series. I think it could be a lot of fun to watch such a charming, cute story play out in a live-action adaptation. 

This is a clean Regency romance book – no language or spicy scenes, which I really appreciated. I love it when authors like this one can prove that you don’t need those things to tell a very good, compelling love story. I will definitely read more by this author, and I absolutely recommend reading this book! This would be a great spring or summer read if you’re a seasonal reader.