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Engaging the Earl by Diana Quincy – a Review

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Engaging the Earl by Diana Quincy – a Review

 

Engaging the Earl
Accidental Peers – Book #4
by Diana Quincy
Release Date: June 9, 2014

Engaging the EarlAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
Vivacious Lady Katherine Granville is the toast of the ton, but society’s most eligible miss secretly yearns for her childhood love, an untitled loner who vanished long ago after her father forbade their marriage.

After years abroad, the dark and brooding Edward Stanhope returns to England a changed man. No longer a second son with no prospects, his battlefield strategies have won him an earldom. His return should be a victorious one, but the new Earl of Randolph is battling secret demons that no one can discover. Least of all, Kat.

When the man she can’t forget reappears at her betrothal ball, Kat’s perfectly arranged future is thrown into tumult. Edward remains cold and distant, hoping she’ll marry a man worthy of her. But nothing is settled when Kat sets out to win back her first love. Can the new Earl of Randolph resist the woman he’s loved for so many years?

 

Review:

Engaging the Earl is the 4th book in Diana Quincy’s Accidental Peers series and is Edward and Katerine’s story. I’ve only had the pleasure of reading the previous story in this series titled Compromising Willa and was quite happy to read the latest installment as I enjoyed the previous book immensely. Needless to say, I was not disappointed with Engaging the Earl, and of course not being one to read a series out of order, I went online and read story synopsis’ of the first two books in the series so I could be brought up to speed. 😉

Once again Ms. Quincy weaves her magic and transports the reader back in time to a place where women are the Belles of the Ball and every single available male is clamouring to seek their attentions and claim their hand in a marriage proposal. Her character and world building is superb in this one and allows the reader to get swept away on a fun, fast, yet emotional journey between two love struck characters. Both Edward and Kat are two very strong, determined, and capable characters and manage to carry the story and keep the reader involved from the first chapter. Their love for each other is so well written and felt from the first chapter that I found myself unable to root for anyone else in their lives as the story progressed.

Even though it’s years later when Edward returns from war with the title of Earl of Randolph for his bravery and strategies, he is still very much in love with his childhood sweetheart. However, after witnessing the horrors of war, he is now suffering bouts of melancholia, or as we call it today, PTSD. Edward loves Kat, or Kitty as he’s always called her from their childhood days, that he’s willing to sacrifice his own chance at love and happiness and allow her to marry the man she has recently become betrothed too. He’s worried that should he go to her and offer for her hand, she would be committing herself to someone who isn’t whole anymore. However, now that Kitty knows he’s alive and back in England, she isn’t one to idly sit back and allow Edward to get away with explaining himself, or for that matter fighting for their love. What ensues between them is nothing short of scandalous back in those days.

Kat “Kitty” Granville is a wonderful, feisty, and loveable heroine. I loved that fact that even though she’s the toast of the ton, the most incomparable as she’s been dubbed for her years of turning down suitors, she’s not afraid of being who she is and not what society expects of her. She loves her Edward, or Rand as he’s called now due to his new Earldom title, and she will stop at nothing till she gets him. The cat and mouse game that progresses between Edward and Kat is quite funny at times, but also hot and steamy as well. I often thought her betrothed Lord Sinclair had to be completely clueless to not see the attraction between Kat and Edward.

I absolutely adored this story and both Kat and Edward. Quincy’s take on PTSD back in those days is well handled and written with care, and watching Edward battle through those episodes and then finally opening up to Kat about them, allowing her to really see how the war has affected him is a very emotional yet uplifting scene. The love they have for each other just pours off the pages and sweeps the reader away on an emotional yet lovely journey between two people who are meant to be. Kat will keep you in stitches at times and other times have you yelling; ‘you go girl’, even though back in those days that was unheard of. Ms. Quincy definitely has another hit on her hands with Engaging the Earl. For anyone who loves historical romance, strong characters who will keep you captivated from beginning to end and rooting for love to win out in the end, then this one’s for you.

Until next time, happy reading everyone!

Reviewed by Marcie

Copy provided by Publisher

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Compromising Willa by Diana Quincy – a Review

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Compromising Willa by Diana Quincy – a Review

Compromising WillaLinks to order Compromising Willa:
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Description:
England, 1805

Lady Wilhelmina Stanhope is ruined and everyone knows it. Back in Town for the first season since her downfall, Willa plans to remain firmly on the shelf, assuming only fortune hunters will want her now. Instead she focuses on her unique tea blends, secretly supporting a coffee house which employs poor women and children. If her clandestine involvement in trade is discovered, she’ll be ruined. Again.

No one is more shocked by Willa’s lack of quality suitors than the newly minted Duke of Hartwell. Having just returned from India, the dark duke is instantly attracted to the mysterious wallflower. His pursuit is hampered by the ruthless Earl of Bellingham, who once jilted Willa and is now determined to reclaim her.

Caught between the clash of two powerful men, a furious Willa refuses to concede her independence to save her reputation. But will she compromise her heart?

 

Review;

This is my first time reading anything by Diana Quincy and let me just say it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed this historical romance and loved Ms. Quincy’s writing style, story telling ability and her character development.  Compromising Willa is a fast paced read that will get you hooked from the very beginning.  It’s a story filled with romance, suspense, treachery, and some well written witty banter between our hero and heroine. 

Our heroine of the story is Willa and I quite enjoyed her. She isn’t your typical female from that era.  She’s very independent, strong willed, witty, and loyal. Even though everyone believes she’s a ruined woman thanks to her evil ex fiancé, she doesn’t care what other’s think. She’s a woman who doesn’t back down and is quite capable of making her own way in a world where women should play second fiddle to their husbands. I really enjoyed Willa’s character and everything she stood for, plus she’s a perfect match for our dashing hero Hartwell. 

Hartwell is recently returned from India where he’s been doing business abroad and amassing quite the fortune, as well as moving into the title of Duke of Hartwell after his brother passed away.  Since he’s been away he has no idea about the rumours and stories that surround the woman who’s captivated him from their first meeting.  This is one of the reason’s I really liked Hartwell as our hero.  He didn’t care what was in Willa’s past, he only cared about the here and now and wanting to prove to Willa what an amazing woman she is, and that she would make a wonderful Duchess of Hartwell to his Duke.  There were moments when he would make me want to swoon with his treatments of Willa, being everything she needs, even her dashing hero who charges in to save the day.  There’s nothing quite like a man who stands up for his woman and is willing to fight a duel to the death to protect her and her virtues.  Just where are those types of men today…’looks around for her own dashing hero on a white horse’, nope nowhere to be found right now, LOL!!  Oops sorry I digress, back to my review. 

If there was one character in this story that made me want to just haul off and beat him, it was Willa’s ex fiancé, the Earl of Bellingham.  He is a bastard of a character and I could not stand him.  He actually gave me the creeps a few times in how he conducts himself, especially around women. He has no regard for them at all and doesn’t see them as anything other then an adornment on his arm and their usefulness in the bedroom.  Ms. Quincy wrote an outstanding villain in this one.  When a character can make me hate them to the point that I hated the Earl of Bellingham, then to me the author has done here job well. 

Compromising Willa is a fun read, that keeps the reader interested with every turn of the page. You will cheer for Willa as she stand up for herself and makes a life for herself in a male dominated society, and swoon along with her as Hartwell courts and surpises her at every turn, all the while calling for the Earl of Belligham’s demise as I was.  I very much enjoyed the way Ms. Quincy set up her story, spun her tale and kept me interested every step of the way.  I particularly enjoyed the witty banter between our hero and heroine.  It was refreshing and surprising at times, for back in that era, woman were suppose to be meek and mild, but Willa is anything but that and I feel that was one of the main reasons I liked this book. I enjoyed Willa’s character from beginning to end and kept turning the pages to see what scenario would befall our heroine next.  All in all, if you are a fan of historical romances then Compromising Willa is just what you are looking for.

Until next time,

Happy Reading everyone.

Reviewed by Marcie

Copy provided by Publisher

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