TREMAINE'S TRUE LOVE is book 1 in Grace Burrowes' latest series, True Gentleman. Longtime readers will be delighted to see recurring characters from previous series, such as Nicholas and Leah from NICHOLAS: LONELY LORDS book 2, and David, Viscount Fairly, from DAVID: LONELY LORDS book 9. This book can easily be enjoyed as a standalone, however. TREMAINE'S TRUE LOVE showcases Burrowes's lovely talents in showing us remarkably good people in difficult straits who finally find their way out of the morass of their lives with the help of their one true love.

Bernita, Lady Nita, Haddonfield is sister to Nicholas, Earl of Bellafonte. She is the de facto physician to her brother's tenants and the surrounding countryside, given the horribly incompetent physician they have practicing in their countryside. Nita learned her skills from working at her mother's side for many years growing up, and reading the medical literature she can get her hands on. Nita's family is not supportive of her work, and she feels besieged by the strident disapproval of her brothers. Then too, the tasks of caring for the poor and injured in her community leave Nita feeling very downtrodden. Burrowes adroitly saves Nita from appearing to be an utter saint by making her incredibly stubborn and giving her a little bit of a wicked past, and so I feel impressed by Nita rather than finding her to be a dull stick.

Wealthy wool magnate Tremaine St. Michael is half French, half Scottish, and a French Comte to boot. He constantly roams the continent for business, in search of greater profits. He comes to Nicholas' country seat to negotiate the purchase of Nicholas' flock of rare merino sheep. Intending only business, he is reluctantly caught up in the romantic machinations of his host's family, which I find very entertaining. I love how pragmatic and stolid he seems, but slowly the underlying sensitivity of his vulnerable orphan's heart peaks out. Burrowes does a masterful job of making me love Tremaine.

As do all Burrowes's heroes and heroines, Nita and Tremaine have a huge number of hurdles to clear before they can find their way to their Happy Ever After. Theirs is a more gentle angst than some of her previous books, but quite powerful nonetheless. While not her strongest book, I would recommend TREMAINE'S TRUE LOVE to lovers of historical fiction and those who enjoy well-constructed barriers to romance that are realistically conquered. I will of course grab the next in the True Gentlemen series as soon as it is released.