How to Entice an Earl
By Manda Collins
Publisher: St. Martin’s
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Lady Madeline Essex is feeling a
bit lonely since her cousins, Cecily (How to Dance with a Duke) and Juliet (How
to Romance a Rake) have begun living their happily ever afters, but even so,
she herself is not quite ready for matrimony. There are things she hopes to
accomplish first, foremost among them, completing her first novel. In pursuit
of that goal, she uses a bit of sibling blackmail to persuade her brother to
escort her to Mrs. Bailey’s, a gambling hell frequented by gentlemen looking
for high stakes games and ladies not overly concerned with their reputations.
Maddy is not at all happy to discover that the Earl of Gresham is in attendance
as well, but she has reason to be grateful to him when she stumbles upon a
dying man and the brother who abandoned her at such a moment becomes a prime suspect.
Christian Monteith, still unaccustomed to his new status as
the Earl of Gresham, is at Mrs. Bailey’s on a mission for the Home Office
because of suspicions that the murdered man and others, including Madeline Essex’s
brother, may be involved in a radical organization. He’s furious to see Lady
Madeline there, but his concern over her being touched with scandal soon takes
second place to his concern over her safety. He’s about to learn that Maddy is
not willing to retire to the sidelines while men solve the crime. She may cry
in Gresham’s arms in a closed carriage, but she’s soon stubbornly,
infuriatingly planning her own investigation.
As Maddy and Gresham work together to find a killer, with
Maddy determined to prove her brother’s innocence and Gresham determined to
protect Maddy, the simmering attraction between them intensifies at a rate that
catches them both by surprise. But they also become friends who talk to one
another, who laugh together. Gresham, who is burdened by guilt over his twin
sister’s suicide while he was out of the country fighting the French,
understands Maddy’s need to help her younger brother. He even sympathizes with
her frustration over the strictures society imposes on women. Neither one is willing
to call it love, but it’s clear that these two are falling hard for one
another. However, there’s still a killer on the loose, one who is all too willing to
interfere with their HEA.
How to Entice an Earl
is the final novel in Manda Collins’s Ugly Ducklings trilogy. Like its
predecessors, it weaves mystery and romance together in a fine balance. The
action centers on the mystery, which also serves as a catalyst for the
relationship between Maddy and Gresham. But the focus is squarely on the
romance, and the reader is privileged to see the romantic relationship develop
in a manner that involves humor, a deepening emotional intimacy, and plenty of
sizzle.
Maddy’s outspokenness, her courage, her loyalty, and above
all, her determination not to be defined by her parents’ disappointment in her
or society’s expectations of her make her an engaging heroine. She is also
surprisingly sensible despite her determination to fight her own battles. I
especially appreciated her recognition, even before she understands that she
loves Gresham, that they must marry. She may resent the limitations her world imposes on women of her class, but she recognizes there are boundaries she cannot transgress without giving up more than she's willing to forfeit and without hurting those she loves. She also knows Gresham and values the man that he is. She believes they can build a life together even though she thinks she will
miss the love match her cousins enjoy.
She had come to
appreciate his sense of the absurd as much as his strength and loyalty. Who
would wish to be tied to a man who never laughed, she wondered, leaping ahead
to what she knew this interview was truly about. Not their well-being or their
absurdity, but their marriage.
I was ready to cheer aloud when on their wedding day Maddy
learns something that could have become a Misunderstanding of Great
Proportions. But Maddy proves how well she knows her man by rejecting the
obvious and intuiting the truth. How rare is that in romance?
And Gresham! I’ll always think of him as Monteith because he
was not yet the Earl of Gresham when I first encountered him in manuscript form
and fell in love with his humor, his disdain for fashion, his kindness, and his
sense of honor. I waited impatiently for his story, and he proved to be the
hero I expected.
If you haven’t met the Ugly Ducklings, what are you waiting
for? How to Entice an Earl can
certainly be read as a standalone, and you can begin with it--although I’ll be surprised if you don’t find
the cousins and their heroes so appealing that you’ll want to read their
stories too. I highly recommend all three books.
The Big Misunderstanding is a classic romance trope that
operates across all subgenres. Some readers love it. Others hate it. I admit I
fall in the latter camp and, thus, was thrilled that Maddy avoids the Big Mis.
I’ve seen misunderstandings work, but far more often, they leave me wondering
how people who don’t talk to one another expect to create a life together. What
is your opinion of the Big Mis?
