It’s a little bit hard for me to rate this book, because I’m really struggling with my feelings about the hero of it. Roger, Marquess of Chatton, is a decent enough sort of fellow for the most part, and it also seems plain that in today’s world, he’d be diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Subtlety is completely alien to him, he doesn’t see nuances or reasons behind the actions of other people, and words really aren’t his friends - he has a habit of blurting out things others wo

This is an incredibly strong romance between two flawed, real and utterly delightful characters. Better yet, it’s got that one thing which can be ridiculously elusive in historical romances; it’s got diversity. Ursula, the heroine, is Jewish, full-figured, and definitely on the autism spectrum. In 1848 Philadelphia society, however, she comes across as unbearably brash and friendless except for Hugo, an awkward, bookish type she hopes to marry purely to avoid ending up alone.

For the fourth Duke of Christmas, Erica Ridley gave to me… an autistic heroine. Yep. An honest-to-goodness historical romance heroine who is very clearly on the spectrum, Virginia has trouble reading the emotions of other people unless they’re smiling or frowning. She hates crowds, loud noises, bright lights, anything sudden, and people who don’t say what they mean. She loves animals (especially Duke, her irascible and hilarious cat) and in her own way, she’s quite brilliant.

I read this book a couple of weeks ago and I've been struggling ever since to find the words to express just how UTTERLY FANTASTIC it is. I'll start off by saying that I know absolutely nothing about rodeo. Fortunately, Kari Lynn Dell knows LOTS about rodeo (her bio says she is 'a third generation ranch-raised cowgirl, horse trainer, and rodeo competitor-as well as the 2013 Canadian Senior Pro Rodeo Association Breakaway Roping Champion') and she breaks everything down gently