"Still waters run deep"

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The Singular Mr. Sinclair (The House of Lovell #1) by Mia Marlowe

I really enjoyed this first in Mia Marlowe's series, The House of Lovell.
I loved Caroline's search for a meaningful life. I was drawn to the austere soldier nature of Lawrence Sinclair back from the American Wars.
Caroline has quite deliberately avoided the marriage-go-round. This her third season and if she can avoid marriage she will be able to take up an inheritance from her grandmother and see the wider world.
My heart quite ached for the little boy Lawrence was, ignored and left to be alone. When Lawrence comes to stay with his friend Edward Lovell, Lord Bredon, whom he met on the coninent, he is uncomfortable about being an Earl's heir, with none of the social graces expected. His uncle Lord Ware hates him, blaming him for a terrible misfortune when Lawrence was a child. He will go to any length to stop Lawrence from inheriting the title.
We see that Lawrence is comfortable with his own sense of worth and integrity. Yet ghosts pursue our Lawrence.
The romance of Caroline and Lawrence is a slow roll but gathers speed satisfactorily. However Caroline might not want marriage Lawrence intrigues her. As she reflects to herself after one encounter,
"learning Lawrence Sinclair from the inside out would be an adventure without equal. [she] was just the woman to conquer this man’s inaccessible soul. Then she’d see about whether she wanted to plant her flag."
Well flag planting or not there were enough twists to keep me guessing.
I'm also flashing on a touch of The Nonesuch with our Mr Sinclair!

 A NetGalley ARC

*****

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