Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Book Review: This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman (Historical Romance)

Title: This Earl of Mine
Author: Kate Bateman
Series: Bow Street Bachelors #1
Genre: Historial Romance
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Pub Date: October 29, 2019
Pages: 325
My Copy: Courtesy of St. Martins Press and NetGalley

Book Summary:

Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors―men who work undercover for London’s first official police force―and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed?

WILL A FALSE MARRIAGE

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong?

LEAD TO TRUE AND LASTING LOVE?

Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him―and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?


Book Review:

A very fun and romantic book that takes some interesting twists and turns. I really enjoyed the romance between Benedict and Georgina in a way that was unexpected. Plus the other characters are just as well written as our two main characters. These two individuals find that they need one another for more than ever thought possible.

When the book starts we find that Georgina with her servant Peter accompanying her that she decides she needs to marry someone so she can avoid her cousin trying to marry her, so he can get her hands on her fortune. She has decided that if she is already married he will not be able to touch her or her fortune. Georgia figures out if she marries a convict who is condemned to die, he will not come back from the dead or have a claim to her fortune. So here is where Georgia first meets Ben Wylde (Benedict Wylde) who thinks he is going to die on the journey to some other place. They do get married, but Georgia decides to make him sign an agreement which says he doesn’t have a claim to her fortune and things go smoothly. 

Of course when her cousin finds out that Georgia has gotten married, he gets angry and tells her she will be very sorry and demands to find out who this man really is.  I really found it amazing that Georgia keeps her cool in a lot of ways.

Then we fast forward in time and find out that Ben Wylde now going by Benedict Wylde is very much alive and is running a gentlemen’s club or a place that is infamous for gambling and drinking. So of course, we and Georgina didn’t know at the time is that he is the younger brother of an Earl, his older brother has the title of the Earl and he is trying to help his brother get the estate back up to par, as their late father ruined the estate. So he is doing this. Also he does some work for Bow Street, who is investigating things for them in an undercover capacity. T

Things happen and needless to say, Georgie is shocked to see her supposedly dead husband very much alive. Her reaction is one of surprise and then some things happen that make them have to be together and her cousin is being annoying. He just makes things a lot worse and claims he is in trouble and needs her help. Also Georgie has a younger sister Juliette who her mother wants to marry a man with a title, but Juliette has a suitor named Simeon and Simeon is a man that doesn’t have a title and their relationship makes you smile in a different way because Simeon is a bit of a clumsy oaf and makes a lot of mistakes.
I think the romance is really good and things happen that make them grow even stronger as Georgiana and Benedict make a deal and then they genuinely fall in love with one another. One of the things that I like is that they accept and do start to respect the others view and business acumen in Georgina’s case. Her mother has no idea about things going on in Georgiana life because her mother wants to make sure Juliette is okay and doing the right things. Things happen that make it evident that Josiah, Georgina’s cousin is getting into some deep shit and then shit happens and he does something very unforgivable and then Benedict and Georgina decide to punish him in a very creative way and in a way that he will not bother them again. They send him to America and hope he will learn about honest work they hope.

Also Benedict’s undercover work unveils some surprising results. I really found myself rooting for them. Of course Georgina tells her mother some interesting things. Georgina and Benedict decide to get married again but this time the right way and its a very pretty wedding and ceremony. Also they come up with a new agreement.  Also Benedict and Georgina get titles bestowed upon them by the prince. Which I thought was very sweet and well deserved.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought. It was one of my most surprising books and I enjoyed it a lot.

Rating:

4 Hearts