by Elizabeth Michels
Series: Spare Heirs #1
Pub. Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
My Rating:
Sultry Scale:
The Spare Heirs Society Cordially Invites You to Meet Ethan Moore: The Scoundrel
Lady Roselyn Grey’s debut has finally arrived, and of course, she has every flounce and flutter planned to perfection…that is, if the brother of the man she intends to marry doesn’t ruin everything first.
Ethan Moore is a prizefighting second son, and that’s all he ever should have been. But in an instant, his brother’s noble title is his, the eyes of the ton are upon him, and the lady he’s loved for years would rather meet him in the boxing ring than the ballroom.
He’s faced worse. With the help of the Spare Heirs Society, Ethan’s certain he can get to the bottom of his brother’s unexpected demise and win the impossible lady who has haunted his dreams for as long as he can remember…
This is a Victorian Era romance that revolves around the Whitby jet mining/trade. For those unfamiliar with jet, it became popular when Queen Victoria wore the jet jewelry to mourn the passing of Albert. This story has made me want my very own jet jewelry from Whitby! The jet in the Whitby mines is said to date back to the Jurassic period and is over 182 Million years old. I think it would be a great conversation piece so it's going on my Christmas list! (P.S. Thanks to Wikipedia on the jet education)
I'm going to start with our hero, Ethan Moore, because I liked his character the best. Ethan is the spare heir and a bit of a scoundrel. Having been somewhat disowned, he has been traveling France and Spain, and earning his keep as a pugilist. For some reason I saw him as a young historical version Brad Pitt - his role in Snatch kept coming to mind even though the only thing they have in common is the boxing. Anyway, so I liked Ethan, even though he was impulsive and didn't think before taking action. He tried, and you can't fault him for that. I loved his sardonic humor and liked how he brought out the fun side of the heroine, Roselyn Grey.
Roselyn has turned into a planner and list-maker to an extreme degree. She is under the impression that an orderly and respectable life will prevent her from being thought mad like her father and brother. However whenever she is around our hero, her plans go out the window and she finds herself flinging mud (literally) and planning espionage activities. I have to say that I did not like Roselyn for the majority of the book. I found her obtuse and annoying. She jumped to a lot of conclusions based on surface facts and assumptions without even trying to look deeper. So her character brought the story down for me a bit, though it was still an enjoyable diversion.
There are a number of good secondary characters that were introduced and I imagine will be the fodder for future books in the series. I quite liked Victoria and Lord Hardaway, and hope their book is next. I imagine Evangeline and Lord Crosby will get a story as well. However I was most intrigued by Lily and Lord Thornwood, the Mad Duke. Their story, Must Love Dukes, is in the Tricks of the Ton series. I wish I had read it first, but I didn't know it was out there. I hope to go back and read it soon.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars / 2 flames.
I'm going to start with our hero, Ethan Moore, because I liked his character the best. Ethan is the spare heir and a bit of a scoundrel. Having been somewhat disowned, he has been traveling France and Spain, and earning his keep as a pugilist. For some reason I saw him as a young historical version Brad Pitt - his role in Snatch kept coming to mind even though the only thing they have in common is the boxing. Anyway, so I liked Ethan, even though he was impulsive and didn't think before taking action. He tried, and you can't fault him for that. I loved his sardonic humor and liked how he brought out the fun side of the heroine, Roselyn Grey.
Roselyn has turned into a planner and list-maker to an extreme degree. She is under the impression that an orderly and respectable life will prevent her from being thought mad like her father and brother. However whenever she is around our hero, her plans go out the window and she finds herself flinging mud (literally) and planning espionage activities. I have to say that I did not like Roselyn for the majority of the book. I found her obtuse and annoying. She jumped to a lot of conclusions based on surface facts and assumptions without even trying to look deeper. So her character brought the story down for me a bit, though it was still an enjoyable diversion.
There are a number of good secondary characters that were introduced and I imagine will be the fodder for future books in the series. I quite liked Victoria and Lord Hardaway, and hope their book is next. I imagine Evangeline and Lord Crosby will get a story as well. However I was most intrigued by Lily and Lord Thornwood, the Mad Duke. Their story, Must Love Dukes, is in the Tricks of the Ton series. I wish I had read it first, but I didn't know it was out there. I hope to go back and read it soon.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars / 2 flames.
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