" What happens when a grumpy earl meets a sunshine lady? Sparks are sure to fly in this lively Regency!

She’s falling for the earl…

When she’s already betrothed!

Mark, the Earl of Inverness, escapes to London to avoid his mother’s matchmaking, and the wounds of war that continue to haunt him. So, when a macaw flies into his garden, he’s intrigued by his new neighbor following behind…and the dazzling woman proves just the distraction he needs!

Lady Helen Stringham reluctantly agreed to a Season in exchange for becoming conveniently engaged to her childhood friend when she returns home. But after she encounters broodingly handsome Mark, who shares her passion for animals, she’s discovering what real attraction is… Just who should she be marrying?

From Harlequin Historical: Your romantic escape to the past."

Quoted material is from the book's Amazon sales page.

The bulk of my review will be in the "further comments" section, below.

People who like sweet romances that are quirky, historical romances, and/ or snakes.

The heroine and her family and the two romantic heroes.

Take a nap. But that has less to do with the book and more to do with me being tired.

Like I was on an adventure with a quirky friend.

"
About the Author
Samantha Hastings met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, having tea parties, and chasing her kids. She has degrees from Brigham Young University, University of North Texas, and University of Reading (UK). She’s the author of several YA Regency titles and also writes cozy murder mysteries under Samantha Larsen. Learn more at SamanthaHastings.com"

From the book's Amazon sales page.

It was an easy and fun read.

I almost didn't read this one because of the snakes. I'm not a snake hater or anything, but I don't seek them out. I see rather a lot in nature and we generally just leave each other alone. I back away slowly from the big ones and just stay still for the little ones. I certainly don't pick them up and wear them around my neck like the heroine does.

She didn't just love snakes though. She loved all animals and plants too. She was a fun heroine, full of energy and life and love.

If you can get over the snakes, the rest of the story is a pretty easy and delightful read, even if not believable. I just suspended my disbelief and enjoyed the story.

I liked that she had a good reason for having a pet snake and loved (Spoiler alert - skip to the next section if you don't want spoilers) that she not only published her own book on snakes but ended up buying the whole publishing company with a goal of making books more available to women in general and publishing more books by and for women.

Some if it was utterly unbelievable but it was still fun to read and I loved the proposal near the end.

I also liked that the author contrasted different views on the Earl hero's disability and appreciated how the heroine loved him for who he was and it wasn't even a n issue for her, other than to want to comfort him and help him heal.

So now I've read three Harlequin Historical romances. I think they were all published in August 2024. I know for sure that I borrowed all three from my local library. Apparently, even though my library only had the three for the month of August, Harlequin publishes five of these a month.

Another spoiler alert - I felt really bad for the jilted hero. He was a great guy. Maybe he'll get featured in a future book with a lady whose temperament is more suited to being a vicar's wife.

Because it's interesting to me, I'll share the current status of this book on Amazon's best sellers list. This is as of September 8, 2024.

"Best Sellers Rank: #255,919 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)

#169 in Disability Fiction
#320 in Marriage & Divorce Fiction
#1,572 in Historical Regency Fiction"

This book currently has an average of 4.7 stars for reviews on Amazon and 4.5 stars for reviews on Goodreads.

Overall, I thought this was a nice, uplifting read. The people who were cruel were obviously cruel and in the wrong and the people who were kind shined brightly. Of course, with any traditional romance, there's a happily ever after kind of ending. I like that kind of thing. If you do too, I think you'll enjoy this book.

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Created Sep 08, 2024 at 9:11pm • Submit your own review...