The Ace of Hearts (2020)

About the Book

Book: The Ace of Hearts

Series: Larkhall Letters #1

Author: Ashtyn Newbold

Release Date: April 14, 2020

Genre: Historical Romance

A secret venture, a regrettable love letter, and a heart he can’t afford to lose.

Faced with her stepbrother’s betrayal and an unwanted marriage, Alice Rosemeyer accepts an invitation to the estate of Larkhall. Determined to earn her future security without a husband, she begins operating as the anonymous Ace of Hearts, writing love letters on behalf of the men eager to secure a match at the close of the London season. If she can manage to keep her identity secret, her reputation intact, and avoid the arrogant house guest, Mr. Thomas Herring, she might just call herself successful.

When Thomas Herring’s sister marries an indebted man because of a love letter, he has no choice but to marry into money himself. Invited to stay at Larkhall, he sets his sights on the wealthy sister of his host. When she appears indifferent, he stumbles upon an advertisement: a gentleman offering assistance in matters of the heart. An ace, so he is called. But when he turns out to be she, and also a guest at the same house, his task is further complicated—especially as Alice proves herself to be as captivating as she is clever.

With reputations, secrets, and more than one heart at risk, Alice and Thomas become trapped in a game with no rules, a game neither intended to play. Had they been wrong to play love for a fool?

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My Thoughts

I admit that I purchased The Ace of Hearts by Ashtyn Newbold because of its cover. It’s really pretty and it called to me. Then I read the back cover and knew I had to read this book ASAP. Unfortunately, life hit me hard and I completely forgot about this book until about a week ago when I was cleaning out my Kindle. I am sorry it took me so long to get to because The Ace of Hearts is a great story — a total Historical Romance #mustread! The Ace of Hearts is a great Historical Romance where the pages simply fly by! I hated when I had to put this book down. The enemies-to-lovers trope is not typically my favorite, but I really love how it’s utilized in this story. My issue with the trope stems from the harshness of the characters when they are enemies. It’s usually so in-your-face harsh that I struggle to believe when the hero and heroine finally fall for one another. But in The Ace of Hearts, the hero and heroine do something amazing — they actually communicate. And, not just at the 3/4 mark. They have genuine conversation and get to the bottom of their initial issues pretty early on in the story. Yes, there is still conflict and struggles they have to deal with as the story progresses, but the initial “enemy” feelings dissipate efficiently. It’s nice to read a story where the characters act like adults and clear the air early rather than drag out the hate through most of the plot. In fact, if more authors utilized the enemies-to-lovers trope as Ashtyn Newbold does in this book I would be inclined to read more of those types of books. There’s nothing more annoying than to read almost an entire book where the characters don’t communicate well and act immaturely towards one another only to find out their reason for hating one another is just a simple misunderstanding that could have been cleared up early on in the narrative. Another aspect that I loved about this story is how well Alice and Thomas problem solve together as friends. I know that sounds like a goofy thing to like, but for me it really works well in this story and adds to their friendship and romantic chemistry. Both Alice and Thomas have serious financial issues. They never whine or gripe about it. They vent to one another their concerns, but they never whine. I LOVE it! Instead, they act as friends and listen to each other. They come up with potential solutions. They talk things out. When things seem like they won’t work out, they encourage each other to not give up. Alice and Thomas’s relationship is a good illustration of what a great relationship looks like.

There is actually quite a bit more I could say about this lovely story, but instead I’m just going to highly recommend you pick up a copy of this novel ASAP if you haven’t already done so. If you enjoy a solidly good Historical Romance then The Ace of Hearts is definitely the book for you!

I purchased a copy of this novel in eBook form from Amazon.com on April 15, 2020, in order to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.