Also in this series: Third Son's a Charm, An Affair with a Spare
Series: The Survivors #2
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on March 6, 2018
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era
Pages: 369
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
ISBN: 149263901X
It is a truth universally acknowledgedthat a lady can do anything a man can do:backwards and in high-heeled dancing slippers.
Lady Juliana, daughter of the Earl of St. Maur, needs all the help she can get. She's running a ramshackle orphanage, London's worst slumlord has illicit designs on her, and her father has suddenly become determined to marry her off.
Enter Major Neil Wraxall, bastard son of the Marquess of Kensington, sent to assist Lady Juliana in any way he can. Lucky for her, he's handy with repairs, knows how to keep her and the orphans safe, and is a natural leader of men.
Unfortunately for both of them, the scandal that ensues from their mutual attraction is going to lead them a merry dance...
No Earls Allowed is the second book in the Survivors series by Shana Galen. I have been a fan of this author for years, but I will be honest in that I did struggle with the heroine quite a bit. The story starts off with our heroine who helps run an boys home in a very unsafe part of town, and she is part of the Ton. Her father enlists the help of a son of a family friend, to try to get Juliana to see reason. He doesn’t like that she lives and breathes the boys home and doesn’t fully understand her passion for the boys that she cares for. Neil is a military man, and even though at first he is just doing a favor, he begins to understand and respect Juliana’s invovlement in the boys home and begins entrenched in the goings on with the home.
Now there were some great things for this story, I liked the set up of the boys home and the pacing of the story is pretty well done and I had no problem staying engaged with the story and I loved how true and loyal our hero is and even though he is a commitment phobe he still stays by Juliana’s side through thick and thin. But Juliana, quite frankly, was naive and makes foolish decisions. So she did drive me crazy so many times throughout the story….I definitely rolled my eyes more often than not because of her rash actions. But the rest of the story was superb. I loved the romance, the sensuality was right on point, and the charming relationship with the boys was so enchanting.
Uh oh. Heroines that make stupid decisions are my pet peeve. I love Shana Galen and her main characters are always smart and strong.
Great review, honey!