Book Review
Aug. 12th, 2025 06:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariCurled Up with an Earl
by Amy Rose Bennett
This historical romance was pretty good and had some fun elements. Spinster Lucy Bertram is not having a good time lately. Her father and brother Monty had a terrible fight and Monty has disappeared as a result, her father seems to want her to marry the wealthy but odious Zacariah Thorne, their estate is teetering on serious financial trouble, and a killer is stalking the members of the scientific society her father belongs to. While returning from the train station one day, Lucy's gig gets stuck and she is assisted on her way by a handsome stranger who turns out to be will Armstrong, the new groom her father hired. Their attraction to each other carries a huge risk of scandal and ruin, but they can't seem to resist it. Will is not what he seems, and Lucy's father is in a more dangerous situation than just financial trouble. Luckily, everyone keeps their heads if not their hearts and things come right in the end.
The mix of romance and intrigue in this novel was quite nice. since it's primarily a romance, the intrigue plot was relatively easy to figure out and resolve, but it added a lot to the story. Lucy sometimes seemed a little too willing to trust Will about everything - she's a very intelligent and reasonably clever woman, so a little more skepticism or insistence on seeing the metaphorical receipts would have been more satisfying. Thankfully, Will really is a good person and quite honest when not constrained by his undercover investigator role. I did like how their relationship developed from something mostly physical to very real love, and the intrigue plot helped to illuminate their most attractive characteristics.
by Amy Rose Bennett
This historical romance was pretty good and had some fun elements. Spinster Lucy Bertram is not having a good time lately. Her father and brother Monty had a terrible fight and Monty has disappeared as a result, her father seems to want her to marry the wealthy but odious Zacariah Thorne, their estate is teetering on serious financial trouble, and a killer is stalking the members of the scientific society her father belongs to. While returning from the train station one day, Lucy's gig gets stuck and she is assisted on her way by a handsome stranger who turns out to be will Armstrong, the new groom her father hired. Their attraction to each other carries a huge risk of scandal and ruin, but they can't seem to resist it. Will is not what he seems, and Lucy's father is in a more dangerous situation than just financial trouble. Luckily, everyone keeps their heads if not their hearts and things come right in the end.
The mix of romance and intrigue in this novel was quite nice. since it's primarily a romance, the intrigue plot was relatively easy to figure out and resolve, but it added a lot to the story. Lucy sometimes seemed a little too willing to trust Will about everything - she's a very intelligent and reasonably clever woman, so a little more skepticism or insistence on seeing the metaphorical receipts would have been more satisfying. Thankfully, Will really is a good person and quite honest when not constrained by his undercover investigator role. I did like how their relationship developed from something mostly physical to very real love, and the intrigue plot helped to illuminate their most attractive characteristics.
