Review:

To Win a Lady’s Heart by Ingrid Hahn takes place in 1811 England. Lady Grace Landon is attending a party with her mother and sisters. Their life the past few years has been filled with scandal and gossip. Wanting nothing more than to disappear in a dark corner and read a good book, Lady Grace finds herself in a locked storeroom with one John Merrick, the Earl of Corbeau.  His lordship has loved Lady Grace from afar for quite a long time, even previously asking to court her, and the predicament they now find themselves in is quite the quandary. Being the honorable man that he is, he does not want to sully her reputation anymore than it already is. And after being found alone together without chaperones, he decides right then and there to announce that he and Lady Grace are now engaged. 

Lady Grace’s entire family has had a rough few years after their fathers scandalous deceit and gambling transgressions, he left his family in ruins upon his death.  Lady Grace would never bring the scandal that follows her and her family to his Lordship.  With regret and a clear conscious she resigns herself to breaking off the engagement and moving on with her life. After all, it is for the best for everyone involved! But Lord Corbeau has other ideas. And he will do whatever he can to win her heart. 

With an invitation to a Christmas celebration at Lord Corbeau’s manor, he decides to use this time to win over Lady Grace’s heart. But can he do that before she decides to break off their engagement? Will she finally give in to the Earl and have the life she truly wants? Or will she walk away with a broken heart, protecting the Earl from unnecessary scandal? 

As the party continues on around them, Lady Grace slowly lets down her guard, but with  a house full of guests and a few that aren’t so happy with the Earl’s decision to marry who he has chosen,  Lady a grace feels quite overwhelmed. Wanting to make the right decision for the Earl, and for herself proves to possibly more than Grace can handle! 

I found Lady Grace to be a woman on honor and substance, even though her fathers legacy has followed them for quite some time. And even though she would love nothing more than to marry the Earl, she knows that she can not bring scandal to his name, which is what she will surely do if she marries him. Lady Grace is headstrong and stubborn in her beliefs, and I loved the process in which Lord Corbeau attempted to court her. Grace’s best friend Hetty, happens to be the Lord’s sister and I found her quite lovely. She was curious and inquisitive and does her part to move things along between Lady Grace and Lord Corbeau.  Lady Grace shows herself as a truly caring woman, as she joins the Earl in the stables, and in the meeting of the charges on his estate close to Christmas. 

Lord Corbeau is everything you want in an Earl. He is of strong mind and body, steadfast in his beliefs and resolute in his honor. I fell for him quite quickly. The fact that he was an Earl, yet not afraid to work with his staff to better his estate showed quite character.  

The story played out like a Masterpiece Classic and I fell completely head over hills in love with the quaintness off it! I was swept away in the Christmas scene that unfolded and found myself daydreaming of attending such a celebration. But make no mistake, there is also a quite delicious intimate scene between Lady Grace and Lord Corbeau, so wonderful that it left me wanting more!   I truly look forward to more stories of the Landon sisters with the hopes that Hetty gets her own happy ending also.  

Reviewed by Erin

Copy provided by Publisher