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Wednesday, May 23, 2018

ARC Review: You Never Forget Your First Earl by Ella Quinn

Series:Worthingtons #5
Pub. Date:May 29, 2018
Publisher:Kensington
Length:304 pgs
Source:NetGalley

I have been enjoying the tight-knit family in the Worthingtons series, even though it seems I have missed a book along the way. It's not necessary to read these in order, particularly if you are starting with You Never Forget Your First Earl. In this book, we have exhausted our Worthingtons, and it seems and we are going with a friend of the family instead of one of the Worthington brood.

Our hero in this installment is Geoffrey, Earl of Harrington, who had planned to marry Lady Charlotte Worthington in a previous book. Geoffrey was not looking for a love match, but instead was looking for a lady to tick all the "perfect wife" boxes to compliment his diplomatic career. When he loses out on Charlotte, Geoffrey must find a replacement wife as soon as possible, or risk losing his position with Sir Charles Stuart. I'm not really sure why it was necessary for Geoffrey to have a wife to be qualified for this position... his superior didn't even bring his wife along to Brussels where they were expected to live. Anywho, when Geoffrey decides that Charlotte's friend Elizabeth Turley is his best option, he sets out to woo and win her to the role of helpmate. As businesslike and unfeeling as Geoffrey sounds from this description, he really wasn't. I liked him as a hero. He was somewhat oblivious about love and feelings, but his actions spoke louder than his words. It was probably easier for us to see as the reader because we were privy to his inner thoughts. 

Elizabeth Turley doesn't seem to mind overmuch that she was playing second fiddle to her friend Charlotte, but she decides that, overall, she wants a love match. So while Geoffrey is trying to bring her up to scratch as the perfect diplomat's wife, Elizabeth is looking for signs that he is in love. I did like Elizabeth and I thought she was perfectly paired with our hero. They complimented each other quite well. However, I felt like she took bad advice at times, and she could have communicated better with our hero.

The relationship between these two was copasetic - they got along great at every turn for most of the book. Though while I was reading, I had this sense of impending doom that dragged on and on forever. And when doom came knocking, I wasn't satisfied with how things played out. I prefer to have better communication between our hero and heroine. Luckily, this portion was short compared to the rest of the story where they rubbed along really well. They had some good chemistry as well, and their intimate interactions came across as sweetly steamy.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. From the blurb though, I expected more danger and suspense. The story was fairly mild for the first 85% or so. Then we got to what I felt like was a contrived plot device that threw me out of the story.
 

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher, Kensington.


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