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The Barrister and the Wallflower

by Angela E. Johnson

Genre: Historical Romance, Regency

Publisher

Self Published

Series:

Fernley Family

Book #

5

Point of View

Dual Third Person (both MCs)
slow burnshe falls firstregencyhistorical settingbrother’s best friendFriends to Lovers

Found a trope you love? → Tap it to explore more ❤️

Content Guide

This guide helps readers understand the content of this book.
Click the ⓘ icons to see how each level is defined.

Intimacy Level

Level 1: Basic Kissing

Innuendo Level

None

Swearing Amount

Zero

Violence Level

Zero

Age Recommendation

Adult

LGBTQ Content

None

Trigger Warnings

Synopsis

She was never just a memory—and never meant to be ignored.

Fletcher Fernley prefers order, comfort, and the quiet satisfaction of a well-argued point of law. As a barrister, he thrives on logic and precision, whether debating in the courtroom or sparring politely on the edges of the ballroom. Love, however, has always seemed far too untidy for his carefully arranged life.

Audrey Benton fell in love with Fletcher the day he hung a swing from a tree at Primrose Hall and pushed her toward the sky. Twelve years later, she is no longer the girl with knotted bonnet ribbons—and she is done waiting for him to take notice. Determined to claim Fletcher’s attention at last, Audrey sets out to show him she is very much a woman worthy of his regard.

The autumn of 1814 proves anything but comfortable for Fletcher. The season brings change, temptation, and one thoroughly distracting young lady whose presence lingers like cinnamon in the air long after she has gone. As familiar affection stirs into something deeper, Fletcher realizes that Audrey was never meant to stand quietly at the edges of his life. And if he hopes to win her heart, it may require a gallant gesture bold enough to disrupt everything he thought he wanted.

The Barrister and the Wallflower is a stand-alone clean Regency-era romance in the Fernley Family series. This friends to lovers romance will keep you engaged to the very last page.

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Other Books in this series

The Prodigy and the Diamond

The Prodigy and the Diamond

The Captain and the Spy

The Captain and the Spy

The Vicar and the Thief

The Vicar and the Thief

The Archaeologist and the Spinster

The Archaeologist and the Spinster

Mr. Fernley and the Lady

Mr. Fernley and the Lady

The Earl and the Moonlit Kiss

The Earl and the Moonlit Kiss

Earl Grafton and the Traitor

Earl Grafton and the Traitor

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Physical Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands or affectionate touching
  • Compliments or confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces or cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters are only referred to from the past, not described or shown on page
 

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in the underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied but not described
  • Feeling warm or flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls or groans
  • Thinking or speaking about desire in a non-descriptive way
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level, though this may be unpopular if they are not married
 

Level 3

 

  • Hands moving, still not in the underwear zone
  • French kissing with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions that still follow these guidelines
  • Feeling hot or sweaty
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, or panting
  • More frantic moments and some loss of control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If characters lie down together, there should be little description of contact or movement
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with a fade to black scene
  • Focus stays on the emotion
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged or committed couples

Innuendo Levels

Level 0 — None

  • No sexual innuendo
  • No suggestive humor
  • No crude or sexual jokes

Level 1 — Minimal

  • Minimal innuendo or double meanings
  • Light teasing
  • Mild crude or dad humor
  • Not frequent or strong

Level 2 — Moderate

  • Moderate suggestive humor
  • Double meanings
  • Sexual tension
  • May include crude or sexual jokes

Level 3 — Heavy

  • Heavy innuendo
  • Strong suggestive dialogue
  • Frequent crude or sexual humor

Swearing Levels

Zero

  • No swearing

Mild

  • Up to 10 uses of “hel*” or “dam*”

Moderate

  • 10+ uses of “hel*” or “dam*”
  • And/or use of bodily swear words like “shi*,” “as*,” etc.

Severe

  • 30+ swear words
  • And/or any use of the F-word one or more times

Violence Levels

Zero

  • No on-page violence

Mild

  • Violence is present without detail or only referenced vaguely
  • May briefly mention blood or injuries
  • Comparable to a G-rated movie

Moderate

  • Violence is more frequent and/or more detailed
  • Can be more intense
  • Injuries may be lightly described
  • Comparable to a PG-rated movie

Severe

  • Violence is more detailed and frequent
  • Blood may be mentioned and injuries may be described in detail
  • Comparable to a PG-13-rated movie

Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands/Affectionate touching
  • Compliments/confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces/cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
  • Feel warm/flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
  • Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

  • Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
  • French kiss with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
  • Feel hot, sweating
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
  • More frantic and lose some control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.