The Aristocrat by Penelope Ward

The one that got away. Every girl has one, right?
Mine was a charming, British aristocrat who turned my world upside down one summer.
From the moment I first spotted Leo in the distance through my binoculars, I’d been captivated. I certainly never expected to find a man showering outside of the property across the bay in his birthday suit.
Then I noticed his housemate staring back at me with binoculars of his own—watching me watching Leo.
That made for an interesting conversation starter when I inevitably ran into them.
Turned out, the handsome Brits were only renting that house for the summer in my seaside town.
Leo and I formed an instant connection, even though we were technically opposites by all appearances. I taught him how to dig for clams, and he taught me that not all wealthy and powerful guys are pretentious.
Despite knowing he was totally wrong for me, I couldn’t seem to stay away.
It was a wild and crazy few months. And before I knew it, we’d fallen in love.
We both had one wish: more time together.
But Leo had obligations back home. He lived a life I’d never fit into. And I was going to law school. So, we decided to end it and never look back.
A part of me always felt like I’d let my soulmate walk away.
I believed our story was over.
Until five years later when he sent me a letter that shook me to my core.
I’d thought my world was turned upside down that first summer?
Well, I knew nothing yet.

My Review

If you love “The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks,” you will enjoy The Aristocrat by Penelope Ward. This summer romance is swoon-worthy, heartbreaking, and has the perfect dreamy ending. This book was a rollercoaster as Felicity and Leo encounter each other on a summer vacation. The month they have together is steamy as they both experience a first summer love. However, life’s obligations pull them apart, and distance and lack of communication are almost their undoing. I was a blubbering mess reading this. But the author surprised me with an unexpected ending that I truly enjoyed. I enjoyed that the author included the storyline’s billionaire and opposites attract tropes and the small town summer vibes.

Felicity lives on the bay in Rhode Island and is caught spying on her male neighbors. Of course, she is detected, and the story gets some embarrassing moments. A run-in at the grocery store, an exciting introduction, and an invite for tea with her new neighbors Leo and Sig, both British Adonis.

This should be an exciting month of fun, relaxation, and some insane chemistry, just what the doctor ordered for a summer holiday. The disasters keep happing. But they sure are funny. I like the punny conversations and remarks. Oh, I like it when his skeletons come out of the closet, and we get an accurate idea of his important status. Yup, totally swoony and dreamy.

I do like that we get his pov as well. It is nice to see what he is thinking. A whirlwind summer romance ensues, and this couple eventually does and gets steamy. However, I believe the kisses were better described than the actual act of intimacy. The inevitable happens even if they don’t want it to, and that farewell was heartbreaking. Then we time jump five years in the future.

We begin again with Felicity. Her life has changed so much in the last five years. Omg, her next moves are stunning, and I’m so excited to see what happens. I didn’t expect heartbreak yup, I’m blubbering. I have no clue how the author fixes this without someone’s heartbreaking. Still, she manages, and this summer whirlwind romance gets complicated even as the years pass. I did like how the author ended this story.

If you want to read The Aristocrat by Penelope Ward, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Assocaite, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories Billionaire, Summer, and Contemporary Romance.