The Formidable Earl

This book is wonderfully written. There's murder, mystery and intrigue. The only 2 reasons why I'm giving it 4 stars is because 1. I like the book by this author I read before this one more. Second, I wasn't pulled into this story like I have been by other stories. However, this may have been more to do with me than the story itself. Again, it's well-written. I like the characters. I would be interested in reading this book again in a year or so; and see if my review would be different. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Wasn’t Wild About the Heroine WARNING: Contains spoilers I have been reading books by this author for some time now, and either I find them very well done or I have issues with them. Unfortunately, this is one that I have problems with. I thought the heroine acted strangely from the start. On a certain level, I could understand her reticence about trusting the earl, but she often acted—and not just at the beginning—in a way that seemed at cross purposes with her own self-preservation! Even when she is attacked at the beginning of the book—and the earl rescues her—she fights letting the earl protect her even though she doesn't really have any better options. And she fights it *really* hard. Also, I didn't understand why the author felt the need for her to hold back that she was not a courtesan for so long. For far too long, also, she seemed to just do silly or potentially harmful things even though she should know better (and the earl asked her not to). Yes, I understand her need to find out who caused her father's downfall and made him a traitorous scapegoat, but is it worth her life? As you can tell, I just got frustrated with her. I felt a little frustrated with the hero at times as well, as he was certainly a bit too arrogant and unpleasant at times. I did love, however, the kitchen scene; that made him a little more human. The book has some suspense going on, as they try to figure out what happened to her father and those who are to blame for his death. While I do not feel like I can wholeheartedly recommend this book, it does have some good points. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

I’ve enjoyed so many books by Sophie Barnes in the past. This one had a great story premise and I wish I had liked the hero more. I realize for the sake of the story the characters are who they are or who they are portrayed to be. And not caring for Simon is probably on me and not the author. Sophie is a very talented author and I’ve always enjoyed her stories immensely. Simon for me was almost unredeemable. While he felt that he had a opportunity to do a good deed and make amends for the mistakes of his past by helping Ida clear her father’s name he treated her as if she was unworthy of him but he did come through for her. Her father who was hanged as a traitor because of lies saved his life during the war. It was Ida’s mission to finally get justice for her father and vindicate his name. Ida was wonderful, strong and stood by her convictions which I liked. The mystery and suspense was very good and the storyline was engaging and held my attention. There was a good ending although I expected much more in the way of groveling out of Simon because his behavior had been so lackluster. But he did come around, realizing Ida was more than enough for him. The chemistry was well written and together they find their hard won happily ever after and vindicate her father. Thank you Sophie for such an exciting and engaging story.