Book Title: The Earl's Defiant Wallflower (Dukes of War 2)
Author: Erica Ridley |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Youtube
Author: Erica Ridley |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Youtube
Publisher: Intrepid Reads
Genre: Historical Romance
Series/Standalone: Book 2
Format: Mass market paperback
Genre: Historical Romance
Series/Standalone: Book 2
Format: Mass market paperback
Cost: $7.99
Pages: 250
How I got it: NetGalley
Oliver York returns from war to find his father dead, his finances in arrears, and himself the new Earl of Carlisle. If he doesn't marry an heiress—and fast!—he and his tenants are going to be pitching tents down by the Thames. He definitely shouldn't be trading kisses with a penniless debutante... no matter how captivating she is! Miss Grace Halton is in England just long enough to satisfy the terms of her dowry. But a marriage of convenience isn’t as easy as she’d hoped. Back in America, her ailing mother needs medicine only Grace’s dowry can afford. Which means the dashing earl she can't get out of her mind is the one man she can't let into her heart.
I read this one right after reading book 1. And I really enjoyed myself, I ended up reading this in one sitting and not even noticing the time going. Oliver ( I kept wanting to call him Ollie like Oliver McQueen from Arrow), makes a habit of rescuing people, and sometimes this works and sometimes he makes the situation worse. In this case when Oliver first rescues Grace it helps her achieve what she wants which is for eligible bachelors to seek her out.
She's got to save her mother who is so ill she was on her deathbed when Grace left for England. Grace is stuck with her unloving and unforgiving Grandparents, who don't believe that their daughter is really ill and are punishing Grace for her mother's actions 22 years prior. As the story progresses we see that Grace has a scheme all set up to allow her to get back home to her mother. I totally understood her desire to save her mother, but I was surprised she was so clueless as to how society operated and she thought she was really going to be able to make her plan work. Like chile What?? Naww, you can't tell me she really thought the inheritance would work that way.
As the story progresses Oliver and Grace who are well suited but all wrong for each other continue to orbit each other throughout the Season. Oliver who once thought he was an eligible bachelor is dealt a terrible blow in learning that his father never planned for him to live after the war and therefore didn't plan money to help the Earldom survive. Now poor Oliver is left to fend for his people and himself and unlike most of the ton, he doesn't let his pride stand in his way. His resolution was beautiful and even brought tears to my eyes a couple of times as I read.
As ball and soiree pull these two together and their social circumstances force them apart we get a great story about the time period and about two wonderful people stuck in their station. I loved how the story unfolded and the characters from the other stories that we got to meet and the funny situations these two found themselves in. I never thought of library having so much action.
While I liked Grace, I did however think she was being a bit selfish and adamant, especially considering what her Grandfather told her. She has one plan and she isn't willing to see another way around that plan working. I did love their romance, and felt so much emotion for Oliver as he was standing at the ceremony, as much as I liked Grace, she at times made me want to shake her.
I really enjoyed the ending, and the way in which the main plot was resolved. In the end we get a good resolution and even a wonderful surprise and of course a few new characters as well who seem to be very intriguing, I can't wait until their book comes around.
★★★☆☆
Happy Reading
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