CAROL’S REVIEW: AN EARL LIKE YOU BY CAROLINE LINDEN

(Wagers of Sin #2)

Genre: Historical Romance (Regency)

Cover Blurb (Amazon):

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.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

This is the second book in Caroline Linden’s Wagers of Sin series and she succeeds in giving the popular ‘marriage of convenience’ trope a refreshingly different twist in this intelligently written and wonderfully romantic story.

On becoming Earl of Hastings, Hugh Devereaux was shocked to discover that his beloved father had frittered away the family’s entire fortune, leaving Hugh with a bankrupt estate, huge debts and no money for his sisters’ dowries or his mother’s widow’s jointure. How could he tell them that the man they all adored had left them virtually penniless? He simply couldn’t cause even more distress to his already grieving family and resolved to deal with matters himself. Only one option was open to him – marry an heiress, but not just yet. During the past few years, his luck at the card tables has enabled Hugh to pay off the most pressing debts and keep the family afloat but now, with his sister, Edith’s, imminent engagement, he needs to provide her with a dowry. So when Edward Cross approaches him with a solution to all his financial problems, Hugh cannot refuse. In return, he must court and marry Cross’s daughter, but she must never know of their agreement.

Edward Cross is one of the wealthiest men in England, having made his fortune speculating in shares. Ever since his wife died in childbirth, Elizabeth (Eliza), his only daughter, has become the centre of his universe and he is determined that she will acquire all the accomplishments befitting a lady. His ultimate goal is for her to marry an aristocrat and he is prepared to do anything to achieve it. Rather plain and shy, Eliza would rather remain single than marry a man who values her dowry more than herself, and is quite content looking after her father, playing with her dog, Willy, and tending her garden. However, when she meets and gets to know her father’s new business partner, the handsome and charming Hugh Deveraux, Earl of Hastings, she is soon hopelessly in love. To her delight, he seems to genuinely like her, and when he asks to court her and then proposes, she willingly accepts, totally unaware of the agreement made between Hugh and her father.

I couldn’t help but sympathise with Hugh who is caught between a rock and a hard place. He is an honourable man who cares deeply for his family and is determined to protect them from the harsh truth about his father. The only way he can achieve this is by deceiving a young woman who he knows will get hurt if she discovers the truth.

Eliza is such a lovely heroine – so warm-hearted, honest, generous and selfless, with a surprisingly droll sense of humour, and nothing like her manipulative father. I liked how she found such joy in simple pleasures and the scenes with Willy were charming and funny too. However, there is nothing weak about her because she has a core of steel when needed.

She would hold up her head and be strong, and not let any slight cow her. She was a countess now, Hugh’s countess—incredible thought—and she must rise to the demands of her position.

Watching Eliza win over Hugh’s mother and sisters with her warmth, kindness and understanding was so heartwarming.

I loved how the relationship evolved between Hugh and Eliza, particularly on Hugh’s part. He may have been blackmailed into marrying Eliza but he has every intention of being a kind and faithful husband, which only strengthened my opinion that he is honourable man. I love how each day he comes to appreciate Eliza more and more, discovering things about her that he had never anticipated.

He liked simply talking to her, which he had not expected. Eliza was a wonderful listener, caring and thoughtful, with clever ideas and a knack for making him laugh even when he didn’t mean to.

They are so perfect together both emotionally and sexually, and it’s obvious that Hugh is falling head over heels in love with his wife, but the fear of Eliza discovering the truth is constantly weighing on his mind. He knows that he should tell her but not only does he not want to lose her, he also knows how hurt she would be to learn of her father’s machinations.

He didn’t want to hurt his wife, and he damned sure didn’t want to risk losing her. Not when he thought he might be falling in love with her. So he added one more facet to the bargain he’d made with the devil: keep the truth from Eliza at all costs, for her sake and for his own.

I knew it was only a question of time before Eliza discovered Hugh’s duplicity and the scene where she confronts him is so heartbreaking that it was hard to believe that they could ever be reconciled. But when the reconciliation does come, it really touches the heart.

He tipped up her chin until her gaze met his. “I want you for you, my love. If you no longer want me -“
“I do,” she said, blinking back tears.

Eliza’s dearest friends, Sophie and Georgiana, are on hand to offer her moral support and advice when she most needs it.

I couldn’t really hate Edward Cross because he loved his daughter and, however misguided his actions were, he only wanted to do what he thought would make her happy. He hoped Hugh would see what a treasure she was and he did. I was pleased to see hints of a reconciliation between father and daughter in the Epilogue.

I loved this book and Caroline Linden proves yet again why she is one of the foremost Historical Romance authors. Highly recommended.

Originally posted on Goodreads