Book Review-Curled Up With An Earl by Amy Rose Bennett

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

“Ever since we first met, I’ve imagined what it would be like to be in your arms, to feel your lips upon mine. I’m twenty-eight years old. A shy and oft-times awkward spinster with singular scientific interests, and I’ve…I’ve never been kissed. Not once. In fact, I never thought I would ever want to be kissed. But then I met you and…and I do want this. Very much.”

Miss Lucy Bertram is content to spend her days writing scientific articles or curling up with a Gothic romance novel. Indeed, she’d rather stick a hatpin in her eye than attend a ball. But when her father, the eccentric botanist Sir Oswald, insists she accept the suit of a wealthy but stiffer-than-a-poker industrialist to save the family from penury, Lucy decides to act. She’s certain her disowned brother, Monty, will take her side. But first she must find him in St. Giles’s cutthroat rookeries.

A covert agent for the Crown, William Lockhart, the Earl of Kyle, is on the hunt for a ruthless killer determined to destroy the Linnean Society. Sir Oswald, a botanical poisons expert, is the prime suspect. Posing as a groom in the baronet’s household, it shouldn’t take Will long to unearth the evidence Scotland Yard needs. If only the beguiling Miss Bertram wasn’t so damn distracting…

As an unexpected but undeniable passion flares between Lucy and Will, confidences are exchanged and dark secrets come to light. But will a murderer, determined to stay hidden, destroy their chances of finding a happy-ever-after?

My Review

First Impressions

I was able to receive the ARC for this one from Sourcebooks Casablanca, and I got this in Audiobook. I will be honest in that I switched this one back in forth between the audiobook and ebook. And both formats worked so well. I do recommend, if you are doing this in audio, the accent is thick, so you might need to slow down the speed of the narration. Curled Up With An Earl surprised me in how much I loved it. I haven’t been able to five star many historical romances of late, but this one BLEW me away. Its a story that will literally charm your socks off in every way. From the plot, to the meet cute, to the character development, to the essence of the romance, you will become so endeared to this one.

Summary

Curled Up With An Earl begins with the heroine and hero meeting in which our hero saves the heroine from a truly embarassing situation. But she later finds out that he has been hired to work for her father. There is an instant chemistry between this English lass and the Scottish spy who is working undercover, to hunt down a murderer and Lucy Betram’s father is his top suspect. But as he works his way through his suspicions, there is a fiery passion that builds between himself and Lucy. He also comes to the terms of having to be fully honest with Lucy and proving to her that he is worth trusting in. But as they work together in helping each other in their goals, they find a love worth fighting for…

What I Loved

Curled Up With An Earl was such a magnificent story and I fell so hard for it! There was something so touching about this author’s writing. She is a very new to me author, I have been seeing so many in the community rave about her books and I am not sure why it took me so long to read her, but this one worked so well for me. From the very charming meet cute between Lucy and William, I was completely head over in heels in love with this couple. Their chemistry is so palpable and inherently written into the story in such a flawless manner. There is also plenty of steam in this story, but not overkill. I really felt like Amy Rose Bennett really balances it out so well. The characters that we become introduced to were so fascinating. We first have our delectable hero, William Lockart, who is the Earl of Kyle. He was born and raised as a Scot, determined to fight against his family when a tragedy affected him. Now he works as a spy for the crown, and is really good at his job. But he also has such a sincerity about his character, and a strong determination to do what is right. Then we have our heroine, Lucy Bertram. Who is kind, passionate and intelligent. She works for her father as his assistant, and knows the ins and outs of poisons and plants. But she also has such a shy tender hearted nature. She is honest about her intentions with William, and even though she has no willingness to be married, the love that she feels for William, begins to make her realize what marriage can be with him and seeing this alteration in her character was so beautiful in what marriage can be for William and Lucy.

This couple were so in tune with each other. I loved the way in which that they build each other up in all the best of ways. I loved how William just accepted Lucy immediately, and encouraged her abilities. It was so well balanced in how this was implemented. And on Lucy’s end, the way in which she accepts William, and his covert lifestyle and his secrets, was so endearing. She wasn’t a heroine that spurned him for his secrets, but understood his position and accepted it and didn’t become a harpy on him for it. She just readily trusts him knowing his affection for her is genuine.

The plot of the story was so well done in this one here. There is something about how it was built that she was so well crafted and developed so well. I truly enjoyed every aspect of this story and was such a perfectly swoony read that had me in my feels!

Overall View

Curled Up With An Earl is a superb romance that will capture you attention from the very beginning. Its a story that will stun you in silence, gravitate you instantly, and have you falling madly in love!

Title: Curled Up With An Earl

Author: Amy Rose Bennett

Genre: Historical Romance

Format: eBook/eAudiobook

Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Length: 368 Pages

Book Links

Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club

About The Author

Amy Rose Bennett has always wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember. An avid reader with a particular love for historical romance, it seemed only natural to write stories in her favourite genre. She has a passion for creating emotion-packed—and sometimes a little racy—stories set in the Georgian and Regency periods. Of course, her strong-willed heroines and rakish heroes always find their happily ever after.