Historical Romance, but NOT the Usual Era

 Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

This story takes place in the more recent past, which is not the time period I am accustomed to for my historical romances (I'm used to Queen Charlotte and Prinny, not Queen Victoria), so it took a while to get myself oriented. Sebastian was the strong, silent type. Annabelle, though older (25), just wanted to go to school. Because her scholarship was supplied by the Suffragists she had to participate in their activities. And because she is from the country, she had no idea who Sebastian was when she first approached him. He was impressed by her fearlessness, which was really just cluelessness. However, through the friends that she made with the Suffragists, she meets and ends up at a house party being hosted by Sebastian's younger brother. Sebastian mistakes her for the paramour of his brother and kicks her out of the house which causes her to leave, on foot, to walk the eight miles to the nearest town with an inn. In the snow. Sebastian is made aware of his blunder, but not until she had already left so he sends a servant to bring her back. She refuses. He then rides out to get her, they argue. She relents, but she does not know how to ride so she must ride with him. Then she gets sick from the exposure. He freaks out. She has to stay with him, at his house, until Christmas. Then he invites her to his New Years Even party, the one he has been instructed by the Queen to have. They spend quite a bit of time together and his widow lady friend is jealous so she tells the Queen, which makes her upset, but also puts the reelection campaign that he's working on in danger for the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, she gets arrested at a protest and he bails her out, and a few others. She gets kicked out of school, until the scandal dies down. She moves in with her chaperone, but he shows up and proposes. She refuses and gets kicked out of the chaperone's home. She tells her friends and the head Suffragist and they decide she will stay with Lucy. Then, it's time for parliament. Sebastian doesn't know she's there watching when he brings up the Married Women's Property Act and gives a moving speech before leaving the Tories for the Liberals. She hears and runs out. He follows. She finally agrees to marry him. They vacation in Greece, near his brother who is acting as assistant to her professor, which is much better than joining the army like Sebastian wanted. This was an interesting take on historical romance, using this time period. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it wasn't the worst. I like the audiobook narrator and will probably be listening to more in the series.