Review on More Than A Stranger

I won this book in a giveaway (I dont remember which one) and I was thrilled because it’s signed by Erin Knightley. This is her debut book, and it’s historical/regency romance. Historical romance was the very first romance genre I read, and it’s always good to come back to it when I’m in a reading slump. This book turned out to be just what I needed to get out of it!

More Than A Stranger by Erin Knightley
Blurb:
An Uncovered Betrayal
When his family abandoned him at Eton, Benedict Hastings found an unexpected ally in his best friends sister. Her letters kept him going—until the day he had to leave everything behind. Years later, Benedict has seen his share of betrayal, but when treachery hits close to home, he turns to his old friend for safe haven….
An Unwanted Attraction
After five torturous years on the marriage circuit, Lady Evelyn Moore is finally free to live her life as she wishes. So when her brother shows up with a dashing stranger, she finds herself torn between her dreams...and newfound desires.
An Unstoppable Intrigue
Despite his determination to keep Evie at a distance, Benedict cannot deny the attraction that began with a secret correspondence. Yet as they begin to discover one another, the dangers of Benedict’s world find them, threatening their lives, their love, and everything they thought they could never have…
This is part of the Sealed With A Kiss series, but can be read as a stand-alone.
Age: 14 years and up
Review: 4.5 stars
We start off with Evie and Benedict (then known as Hastings) writing letters back and forth, back and forth... until something forced Hastings to stop all correspondence with Evie. Then he comes back, for reasons unknown to us, and asks his best friend—who just so happens to be Evie’s brother—if he can stay with him for a little while. Richard (Evie’s brother) says yes.
Then he bumps into Evie. Panicked, Benedict  hides his identity from her, knowing that she would never forgive him for his last letter. And then the story truly begins...
I really enjoyed More Than A Stranger. Benedict’s reasons for cutting all ties from his old life—and his reasons for coming backare hidden even from the reader. This kept me extremely curious as to what happened in Benedict’s life that he had to go to such extreme circumstances. There are hints to his past and his reasons, but they aren’t revealed until the ending is near.
Evie, on the other hand, is an open book. We know all about her throughout the book, except for the Benedict’s mysterious last letter. We don’t know what he wrote, nor do we know why.
Evie and Benedict are very strong characters, and their meetings always had me laughing or sighing—or both. While Evie could be very stubborn and Benedict could be very pig-headed, they worked together, and you could see it every time they met.
I was always rooting for Benedict and Evie, even at the point when everything went wrong. However, I did feel like Evie and Richard overreacted a bit at a certain scene where what Benedict is running away from catches up to him. It was partly Benedict’s fault, but he had very good reasons and some things he couldn’t control. (I, for one, forgave Benedict immediately, but that’s not a surprise. I am, after all, a romantic ;D )
I also really liked the small twist at the end of the book! I was not expecting it and was very happy with the way things worked out.
I recommend this book for people who enjoy action (though not a lot of it), passion, and most of all, love.

Yours, 
 

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