It's also one of my favorite Barbara Michaels books and Michaels romances and Michaels romantic heroes. I loved how Riley has all these masculine signifiers, but the really important thing about him is that he is a genius... jewelry designer. The stuff about historical jewelry was really interesting too. I loved the message rings and the creepy mourning jewelry. Also, great villain. And the housekeeper was hilarious.

I didn't put much weight on Riley's heritage as it's literally one line - I think if it was significant enough to shape his entire plotline, it would be mentioned more. (I actually completely forgot about it until now.) I think it's more there to emphasize his underprivileged/school of hard knocks background.