An Earl Like You by Caroline Linden
Series : The Wagers of Sin #2
When you gamble at love...
When Hugh Deveraux discovers his newly inherited earldom is bankrupt, he sets about rebuilding the family fortune—in the gaming hells of London. But the most daring wager he takes isn't at cards. A wealthy tradesman makes a tantalizing offer: marry the man's spinster daughter, and Hugh's debts will be paid and his fortune made. The only catch is that she must never know about their agreement.
You risk losing your heart...
Heiress Eliza Cross has given up hope of marriage until she meets the impossibly handsome Earl of Hastings, her father's new business partner. The earl is everything a gentleman should be, and is boldly attentive to her. It doesn't take long for Eliza to lose her heart and marry him.
But when Eliza discovers that there is more to the man she loves—and to her marriage—her trust is shattered. And it will take all of Hugh's power to prove that now his words of love are real.
I don't usually like marriage by deception in my historical romance reads but this was a good exception without much angst(just how I like it😆). I think it was mainly because both of the MCs are genuinely nice characters with a sweet relationship!
Hugh Deveraux, the Earl of Hastings has just discovered that his newly inherited earldom comes with a lot of debts because of his father's poor decisions. He has a mother and two sisters to take care of and not much in his pockets. He plans on gambling in a safe way to make ends meet, but unexpectedly ends up meeting Mr Cross who has a surprising proposition for him - woo his daughter and marry her(without ever mentioning this deal) and in return his debts will be paid off. Basically blackmail😶😂
Eliza Cross is a heiress and has grown up under her father's care after losing her mother when she was young. She doesn't really have much hope for marriage after encountering many fortune hunters during her Season and is happy to spend the days in the comfort of her home with her dog or meeting her friends. But when Hugh starts to court her, she starts to yearn for something more. But what will she do when she finds out about his deception?
Eliza was my favorite in this one! She's so lovable, open and honest - it was hard for Hugh(and me) not to fall for her! She won over everyone(including his family) slowly by just being herself. Hugh was a breath of fresh air in a sea of alphaholes in HR books. He was so sweet and considerate while making Eliza comfortable enough to lose her nervousness with his easygoing charm. I loved that he never blamed Eliza for her dad's actions and was never rude to her - honestly her dad was so smart in picking the right guy🤣 The only thing that kept me from loving him completely was perhaps his inaction - he was like an ostrich with its head in the sand at times when it came to certain things. And that had me feeling like Eliza was sometimes too good for him(just as he says it). I loved how the drama wasn't dragged out though as it was very brief towards the end and the resolution was very satisfactory too! I'll definitely be checking out the other books in this series now!❣️✨
You can also find this review on my bookstagram here
You can also find my reviews for the author's other books here
Caroline Linden was born a reader, not a writer. She earned a degree in mathematics from Harvard University and worked as a programmer in the financial services industry before realizing writing fiction is much more exciting than writing code. Her books have won the NEC-RWA Readers' Choice Award, the JNRW Golden Leaf, the Daphne du Maurier Award, and RWA's RITA Award, and have been translated into seventeen languages around the world. She lives in New England.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
Comments
Post a Comment