Eve Potter was looking forward to spending the Christmas season with her best friend at Amberly Hall. When her impatience wins out over a snow storm, she accidentally ends up at Black Hall. The Earl of Ravensworth was shunned from society because of a transgression he was accused of. He wants to get Eve back to where she’s headed as soon as possible. However, he can’t help the attraction between them.
I didn’t like this book. It was an instant immense attraction I just wasn’t feeling. I didn’t really like the characters. The worst part for me was after her friend appears in the book.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Another sweet holiday novella with a gruff, handsome and honorable hero and a charming heroine. This is the second book in The Honorable Scoundrels series.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

Rated 4.5!

Eve Potter is much looking forward to her season. All she has to do is arrive there safely. Eve's sisters have already seen to everything in order to make everything possible. Unfortunately, her plans go out the window, when she ends up missing her coach and then getting lost in the snow. Eve finds herself stranded at the home of Earl of Ravenworth.

Bryce Harlowe has his reasons for living alone and far from civilization. With a snowstorm brewing outside, he has no choice but to take Eve in when she shows up unexpectedly. Bryce knows Eve's reputation will be in shreds if it gets out that she was alone in his home with him, but what's a man to do? Suddenly, Bryce begins to notice how lonely he has become and longs for something more between him and Eve. But will Eve return Bryce's love when she learns the secret he is hiding?

THE EARL WHO LOVED HER, the second addition to the HONORABLE SCOUNDRELS, takes us on a journey with the youngest of the trio of Potter sisters, Eve. Eve is young, bright and carefree. She is outspoken at times, but loyal and loving all the same. Bryce is grumpy and gruff, but Eve is just the ice to thaw his cold heart. THE EARL WHO LOVED HER is superb!

This was a short and sweet story with a happy ending. I couldn't ask for anything more is a short story.

This is an easy sweet novella. Eve and Bryce were very endearing. This is the second book in the series and I'll check out the rest of the books. Thanks netgalley and the publisher, I loved this book.

After her second sister, Louise, excepts a position as governess up north, Eve takes her oldest sister Josephine’s advice to accept a friend’s invitation for Christmas. She doesn’t want to leave Josephine alone but it will be an excellent opportunity to take advantage of her friend Margaret’s excellent connections.

The three sisters, great granddaughters of the Earl of Priorsbridge, have been struggling financially since their father died. Louise is now a governess, and Josephine an accountant. They want Eve to make an excellent match and so are saving to give her a Season. With Margaret’s family connections she may be able to meet the right man.

Not wanting to leave her sister alone for the holiday, but understanding the potential benefits of the visit, Eve sets off by mail coach for Haversham.

Arriving half an hour earlier than expected and with the weather quickly turning, Eve decides to walk to Margaret’s house rather than wait. She sets off toward the lights in the distance and arrives, not at the Haversham home, but at the home of the Earl of Ravensworth.

Bryce, the Earl of Ravensworth is immediately struck and completely dazed upon first glimpse of Eve. Gathering himself together he offers her hospitality until his coach can be made ready to take her to her friends home. Disaster strikes when they realise the road has become impassible and Eve must stay the night.

Enjoyed The Character Interactions

As one night turns into several while they are snowed in, I enjoyed how the characters interacted and became drawn to each other. The author seems to effortlessly throw you into the world of the characters and make you want to stay there. This is the second in the series of “The Honourable Scoundrels”, and I cant wait to read the third, The Duke Who Came To Town.

Reviewed for LnkToMi iRead in response to a complimentary copy of the novella provided by the publisher in hopes of an honest review.

The Earl Who Loved Her is the second novella in the Honorable Scoundrels series, after last week’s The Governess Who Captured His Heart. The series features the three Potter sisters, Louise, Eve and Josephine.

The Potter sisters were raised as gentry, great-granddaughters of a Viscount. But their grandfather was a younger son who made a quite comfortable living as a solicitor. Unfortunately for the girls, their father did not inherit either their grandfather’s talent for the law or his facility with hanging on to his money.

When their mother died, their father descended into a bottle and neglected both his living and his daughters. At his death, the sisters were left destitute. But instead of throwing themselves on the kindness of strangers or even distant and neglectful family, they are determined to rescue themselves.

The Honorable Scoundrels series is the story of those attempts, which have so far proven to be much more successful than any of their late father’s attempts at either business or the practice of law.

The first two stories in this series take place at the same time, but in different places. This is not one of those stories where the same events are viewed through different eyes. As far as Eve (and Josephine) know, their sister Louise is off to her first position as a governess somewhere in the north of England.

As far as Louise (and Josephine) know, Eve is off to visit her best friend Margaret, who lives near Bournemouth on England’s southwest coast. Margaret has married well, and Eve’s invitation to her house for the holidays is intended to provide Eve with important connections so that she has a chance of marrying well and rescuing the family’s fortunes – or at least their position in society.

But just as Louise’s trip had unexpected results, so did Eve’s. She arrived at the coaching station in the midst of a freezing drizzle, and could not face waiting a half hour or more for the promised carriage to arrive to get her. Instead, she set off down the road, expecting to arrive at her destination in good time.

She trudged her freezing, cold, wet way to the nearest estate, only to discover when she was admitted that she fetched herself up not at her friend’s house, but at nearby Blackhall, home of the reclusive (and scandalous) Earl of Ravenworth.

Just as the rain turns into snow, and the roads become impassable. Eve is stuck at Blackhall, alone (except for the servants) in the house with the most notorious man in the district. If her situation is ever discovered, it will ruin her chances for a favorable marriage – whether anything happens between them or not.

Eve’s reputation teeters on the brink of utter ruin.

Of course, nature does not cooperate, and the weather gets even worse. Eve can’t leave. But the more that she and Bryce get to know each other, the more tempted they become. Bryce cannot manage to conceal just how much he is tempted to compromise the beautiful and intelligent Eve. And she is even less capable of hiding just how close she is to letting him.

But Bryce feels like his past actions have made him unforgivable, so he refuses to tell Eve what it is that she should be (or not be) forgiving him for. They are at an impasse – until Eve finally has the ammunition she needs to take matters into her own hands.

Escape Rating B+: Just like the previous novella in this series, The Earl Who Loved Her is a short, sweet and relatively clean read. And treat.

Also like the previous story, this one takes place over a relatively short and deliberately constricted time period, and under circumstances where there are of necessity relatively few characters and the hero and heroine are forced into a circumstance where they have little choice but to spend a great deal of concentrated time together.

It’s a circumstance that makes the relatively quick romance and the short length of the tale work very well.

The Earl Who Loved Her is a little treat – sort of like a “fun-sized” candy bar. There’s just enough story here for a brief pick-me-up, without being so big as to feel (or make the eater feel) over-saturated with sweetness (or chocolate, to continue the metaphor).

The language that the Earl sometimes uses is a bit flowery, but the feelings behind it seem true. As with the previous book, he is a man who considers himself not worthy of the heroine’s affections. He wants to make sure she has the choice to pursue the goal she originally planned, and is absolutely certain that he can’t be the advantageous marriage that she needs, no matter how much she wants him to be.

And no matter how innocent he is of the “crime” of which he has been accused. It’s up to her to get it through his thick skull that he is what she wants after all. And Eve, like all the Potter sisters, is more than up to the challenge!

Eve Potter is off to visit a friend when she takes a wrong turn. Eve is the second Potter sister to find her HEA. She leaves a day after her older sister left to take a job as a governess. Weather takes a hand in finding a HEA for Eve. Bryce Harlowe lives as a recluse but gives Eve a place to stay when a winter storm closes the roads. He is a nice man who is unjustly accused. He does not feel he deserves Eve but in the end all works out for the best.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Eve is on her way to a house party, when her carriage drops her at the wrong house! It's freezing rain, she is cold , and wet, now, she will miss out on eligible men to look over! Can anything get worse!
Bryce Harlowe, who just happens to be the reclusive Earl who lives in this enormous home, all by himself, with a few servants, now he has an unexpected guests! She is mad about him, at first glance, tall, dark, and handsome, is she in danger from herself, or will he throw her out, as soon as possible? He is a recluse, due to unfounded rumors, that ever his parents believe! I loved this story, the only problem? I did not want it to end!
I highly recommend! Thanks! Enjoy!
carolintallahassee 👒

This is the second book of the Honorable Scoundrels series that centers around three impoverished sisters. Their great-grandfather was a Earl and they are the wards of the Duke of Snowden. However, they have never met the Duke and he has made no effort to contact them or provide for them in the year since their father passed away.
Eve has decided to visit her longtime friend Margret at Amberley Hall for the holidays in hope of finding a husband. Her coach has dropped her off and she walks in the wrong direction and ends up at the house of a recluse Earl.
Bryce Harlowe, the Earl of Ravenworth isn’t please Eve is stuck at his estate, he becomes attracted to her and as the snow and ice continue to hinder her departure they grow closer. Eve doesn’t believe the rumors of why Bryce has been shunned by society and his family and she defends him to her friend Margret. This is a sweet novella where two people fall in love, but they both have obstacles to overcome to find their HEA!!!
This is my honest opinions after I voluntarily read a copy of this book that was provided to me with no requirements for a review.

This is a charming Regency novella. Eve, the youngest of three well-born but impoverished sisters, is the only one of them with a chance to still have a Season and make a good match. On her way to visit with a well-connected friend, she mis-identifies her destination and arrives on the wings of a gathering snowstorm at the home of the Earl of Ravenworth and is trapped there by ice on the roads.

Ravenworth is a delightful hero; cruelly isolated from the world because of somebody else’s unworthy actions, he could easily take out his frustrations on Eve, but chooses instead to treat her gently. The resolution to their dilemma is obvious, and this being a novella, comes without unnecessary drama. This is a short and enjoyable read, though I did find a few modern phrases and anachronisms which a Regency purist would condemn - Eve being tucked up under a ‘duvet’ was one example, the duvet not being popularised in use until the twentieth century. For this reason, I can’t give the book five stars, but it’s certainly a solid four.

Eve Potter Has missed the coach that would have brought her to Amberly Hall, not wanting to miss the opportunity of making a successful match she decides to go on foot. She never thought she’d take a wrong turn that take her to the Earl of Ravenworth’s home. Surly Bryce Harlow has to play host to the beautiful Eve he can hardly send her away, especially in the stormy weather. Getting to know each other they’re attraction grows stronger,even though Bryce’s past once reviewed could leave him broken hearted.
This was a real charmer a quick read that brings the spirit of Christmas with redemption and second chances at love. Sophie Barns writes beautifully touching stories and this is one of them. Well written and well developed characters.
I reviewed this ARC voluntarily for my honest opinion I received a copy from NetGalley .

I love how Eve and Bryce come to be together. The whole story was wonderful and just seemed to flow. I loved it!

Eve Potter’s sister, Josephine, is encouraging her to go visit with her friend, Margaret Havisham, at Amberly Hall. Eve is hesitant to go because Josephine would be home by herself. Their parents had passed away some years ago. Their sister, Louise, has just left to take a governess position in the north of England.

Josephine works hard as an accountant to keep their bills paid. Their uncle is their guardian but they have never met him and they don’t want to ask him for money.

When Eve arrived at the meeting place for Margaret’s carriage, she waited a bit and seeing a home in the distance decided to walk to it. When she knocked on the door, she found herself not at Margaret’s home, but instead at Ravenworth, the home of Bryce Elliot Hatlowe, Earl of Ravenworth. It turns out that Amberly Hall is a few miles down the road in the other direction.

Bryce kindly offers her tea and a chance to warm up and then plans to take her to Amberly Hall. Quickly though, the roads freeze and she must stay overnight at Ravenworth. But Bryce and his servants are the only people at his home necessitating that Eve lie and say she stayed at an Inn. With no female chaperone, she cannot tell the truth.

The days pass with more delays and then Eve hurts her ankle making things even worse. What will Margaret say when she finds out that Eve has spent a week under the roof of a single man? Will Eve be ruined?

Oh but Eve and Bryce have had some lovely talks and have enjoyed getting to know one another. Could this lead to something more?

I enjoyed this lovely novella and can honestly say that once again, Sophie Barnes has written another beautiful story. I know readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Earl Who Loved Her by Sophie Barnes is the second book in "The Honorable Scoundrels" series. This is the story of Eve Potter and Bryce Harlowe. I have read the previous book but feel this novella can easily be a standalone book.
Eve is excited to be spending Christmas at Amberly Hall with her friend Margaret. Eve takes the Mail coach for her travel but tries to walk and ends up at the Earl of Ravenworth house. Bryce is living in exile and knows when Eve comes to his door he should turn her away...but the story has cause it to dangerous for her to leave. Eve finds herself very taken with Bryce but can her reputation take his?
Loved it!

The second book in The Honorable Scoundrels Series is another must read by Sophie. This story tells the tale of the youngest Potter sister. Eve Potter has been invited to her friend's house for the Christmas Holiday. She doesn't want to leave her sister home alone, but Josephine insists that she go. The Potter girls are living on the income that Josephine brings in, also Louise, the heroine in the first book has left home for a Governess position. Both sisters are determined to give Eve the Season to that she deserves and will do whatever has to be done it see Eve take her place in Society and find her a husband.

Arriving early and not seeing the carriage that is supposed to take her to Havisham , Eve decides to walk and arrives at the wrong house. Bryce Harlow the Earl of Ravenworth has no choice but to let Eve spend the night and have her taken to her friends home in the morning. Eve and Bryce are instantly attracted to each other. Inclement weather strands Eve at Bryce's house. Bryce is determined to resist Eve even though his feelings are growing stronger. Bryce knows that as soon as she finds out about his reputation and why he has been ostracized from his family and society she will leave him alone and with a broken heart. What he doesn't count on is Eve's belief in his honor and her love for him.

This is a beautiful love story that highlights the strength of the human heart and how fate can change your life. Eve and Bryce are truly honest and noble characters that you will love. This is more than just a Christmas Season Novella, it is redemption and life-changing for Eve and Bryce. Sophie has written a superb novella and I cannot wait for Josephine's story. I highly recommend this book.

Publisher's Description:

A chance meeting…

Eve Potter can hardly wait to arrive at Amberly Hall for the Christmas season! The hope is that she will make a match with an eligible gentleman. But as fate would have it, she misses the coach that is sent to collect her from her point of arrival, and starts out on foot…only to go in the wrong direction. Nearly frozen, she arrives at BlackHall, where she is invited inside and introduced to the master of the house, the Earl of Ravenworth. Eve is smitten, for he is beyond handsome, which makes him a temptation she must avoid. But can she…?

Bryce Harlowe lives as a recluse, shuned by Society and even his own family after being accused of a scandelous transgression. The young woman at his door cannot stay at Blackhall less her reputation be ruined. And yet, when the pesky winter climate leaves them snowed in together at Blackhall, Bryce and Eve grow closer, each discovering a mutual respect and longing for the other. Until Bryce’s past is revealed, threatening to rip apart their newfound love…

My Thoughts:

This is an engaging short read. The length of this book was just right. Eve could not have stayed in the company of a stranger longer and not suffered dire consequences.
Eve has set out to visit a long time friend when she looses her way after arriving to find no one waiting her arrival. She sets out on foot in the direction she is sure her friend lives only to end up six miles in the wrong direction and at the home of a reputed scoundrel.
Bryce is a gentleman who was unjustly accused of ruining a young woman. He has since then kept to himself.
Will this chance meeting turn into an everlasting love?
This clean, sweet novella is one for the keeper shelf.
I gave it 4 of 5 stars for storyline and character development and a sensual rating of 1 of 5 flames.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book via NetGalley from the publisher to read.
This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

This second book in the Honorable Scoundrels is a great read. The series centers around three impoverished sisters. Their great-grandfather was a Viscount and they are the wards of the Duke of Snowden. However, they have never met the Duke and he has made no effort to contact them or provide for them in the year since their father passed away. They are totally on their own. Josephine, the oldest at twenty-six has employment as a bookkeeper. Louise, the middle sister left just yesterday to take employment as a governess (that was the first book in the series – see my review here). This novella features Eve, the youngest at twenty. The two older sisters want very much to give Eve the season they never got to have and are working hard to do just that.

Eve’s childhood friend, Margaret, has invited Eve to spend the Christmas holidays at Amberley Hall. Eve is hesitant to leave Josephine all alone during the holidays, but Josephine encourages her to go because of the contacts and exposure to eligible bachelors. Eve understands how very hard her sisters are working for her and how very much they want her to marry well, so she agrees to make the journey.

Eve’s mail coach made excellent time on the trip to Amberley Hall and arrived about half an hour early – before Margaret’s coach was to meet her. So, Eve decides to walk. It is dusk and Eve heads toward the lights in the distance. When she arrives – she finds she is at the wrong house. Her destination lies six miles in the other direction and the roadways have now turned to ice. Neither man nor beast can make the trip. This means she must spend the night in the home of the bachelor who lives there.

There is an instant attraction between Eve and Bryce Harlowe, the Earl of Ravenworth. He collects, books, coins and . . . . . . flowers. He is also rusticating at his estate – for the last three years – because he’s being shunned by society for a scandalous transgression. He’s really a kind and lovable man and you come to feel his pain as you get to know him. He and Eve make a great pair and their journey to an HEA isn’t a smooth or easy one.

The characters are fully developed and very robust and that is something that is hard to do in a novella. The book is interesting and filled with twists and turns. When you finish, you feel as if you have read a full-length novel rather than a shorter novella. It is excellently done. The plot is solid, the characters are full and the romance is convincing. Well done Sophie Barnes!

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Another wonderful and sweet novella in the Honorable Scoundrels series, but despite being the second book in the series it can be perfectly read as a standalone.

The blurb completely describes the story and while the novella is short both the characters as the plot are well written and developed, it doesn't feel shallow or rushed in any way. The pace is fast and you can read it very quickly, besides it's really an enjoyable read with some really sweet and romantic moments. Like with the first one I'd say my only complain is that I'd have liked just a bit more, a short epilogue would have made it even better for me.

Sophie Barnes is a new to me author that I've been keeping an eye on for some time. When this trio of novellas popped up on NetGalley, I quickly jumped at the chance to read them. I received advanced reader copies in exchange for an honest review and, just as with the first book in the series, I liked The Earl Who Loved Her.

Yes, I liked it. I didn't love it. I may or may not read it again. It is a very quick read - easily finished in one night - and it is well paced and well written. BUT, the thing this had going for it is that the hero and heroine do almost exactly what you hope two intelligent, moral, respectable people of the era would do. The plot uses the common trope of being snowed in together and an injury to create forced intimacy. But, where this story stands out is in the judgments, reactions, and maturity of Eve and Bryce.

For example, they spend the night on different floors. They recognize the attraction between them and that it may be inappropriate and try to distance themselves from each other. AND, this is huge, they WAIT for their wedding night! Shocking. I know.

I do have to take away one star, though, because they weren’t quite as intelligent and emotionally mature as Louisa and Alistair from book 1, The Governess who Captured His Heart. For example, Bryce and Eve each say things they regret, he does not willingly open up to Eve about his past, and she endangers her life and others by making an incredibly poor decision. I also thought Bryce was too quick to disappear from society, it seems like his past would have blown over after so many years.

In general, though, if you want a fast, sweet read, by all means give this one a go. You won't be disappointed.