The Earl's Dilemma
Grade : B+

James Hargrave unexpectedly became the Earl of Arden a year previously following the tragic deaths of his father and brother. On top of having to deal with their loss, and still troubled by his wartime experiences, he also has to contend with the fact that if he is to retain his inheritance, he must take a wife before his thirtieth birthday. This is less than two months away, and as he has so far not found any woman he wishes to wed, so he has travelled to visit his best friend, Harry, Viscount Honeycourt with a view for offering for his twenty-eight year old, red-haired, freckle-faced on-the-shelf sister. James has known Kate forever and thinks that as they at least know and like each other, he might as well marry her as anyone. After all, all cats look alike in the dark, don’t they?

Kate as loved James ever since they were children, but unfortunately for him, overhears the conversation with her brother in which he says quite plainly that he doesn’t love or desire her; he just needs a suitable wife he will be able to get along with and who won’t drive him out of his mind with idle chatter or unreasonable demands.

Knowing that Kate had nursed a youthful infatuation for him, James is fairly confident of success, but when he proposes, her reaction is not what he expects. Knowing that being married to the man she loves so desperately while he has married her merely for the sake of expediency would be torture, Kate turns him down flat, offering instead to find him a wife from amongst the local marriageable young ladies. James really doesn’t want to go down that path, as he hasn’t got time to waste, but he nonetheless agrees to Kate’s plan – on one condition. If none of the ladies she introduces him to take his fancy, then she will marry him herself. Reluctantly, Kate agrees to this, certain that he will find someone else more appealing than he obviously finds her.

James is immediately thrust into a humorous round of teas, dinner parties and outings, but each lady he sees lacks something he absolutely must have in a wife. And not only that, but he gradually begins to see Kate in a different light and to realise that he finds her both attractive and desirable – and that each of those qualities he had found lacking in the other ladies are ones Kate possesses.

It’s not long before James realises that he’s fallen head-over-heels for Kate, and that he doesn’t want to marry anyone but her. But she persists in trying to find him someone else, and finally, in the face of his unequivocal declaration of love, tells him that she’d overheard him talking to her brother and the things he’d said about her.

And thus, the eponymous Earl’s Dilemma. With time fast running out, how can James convince Kate that his love and desire for her are real?

I really liked how the author showed James’ gradual – and initially unwanted – dawning realisation of his growing feelings for Kate. The romance is sweetly sensual, and the central characters are well-matched and likeable. The author adds depth to both their backstories in a credible manner and the emotional connection between them is strongly forged and palpable. I really enjoyed this story and am definitely going to look out for more by this author (who also writes as Emily Larkin).

Reviewed by Caz Owens
Grade : B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : July 4, 2015

Publication Date: 2009/12

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Caz Owens

I’m a musician, teacher and mother of two gorgeous young women who are without doubt, my finest achievement :)I’ve gravitated away from my first love – historical romance – over the last few years and now read mostly m/m romances in a variety of sub-genres. I’ve found many fantastic new authors to enjoy courtesy of audiobooks - I probably listen to as many books as I read these days – mostly through glomming favourite narrators and following them into different genres.And when I find books I LOVE, I want to shout about them from the (metaphorical) rooftops to help other readers and listeners to discover them, too.
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