Charming

Secrets of a Wallflower - Amanda McCabe

Set during the Paris Exposition in 1889 where the Eifel Tower was intended as a temporary structure and now is the iconic image of Paris itself.  Into this mix comes Diana Martin, searching for a future and Sir William Blakely who is searching for something.  He's just back from Foreign Office shenigans in India and he's still working for them, but now he's just trying to keep the Prince of Wales happy and safe.  Only Diana keeps distracting him.

 

His parents had a disaster of a marriage and he's not sure he wants to deal with similar heartache and enxiety and to add to his woes his brother and his ex seem to be embroilled in a jewelry theft.

 

The two work well together and I liked how the romance developed.  You could see the change in women's place in the world and how he respected her, I hope she continues to write if she wants to.