Romantic, heartwarming, amazing!! I have just turned the last page and my heart is smiling! I so enjoyed this book that I read it straight through and it is 2:00 in the morning! This is a story of Beauty and the Beast but in the opposite direction. The hero being the Handsome one and the heroine being a plain jane ( or so at first sight!) Our heroine Harriett Anderson is thought plain to the point of no one noticing her.,even her family But she did have a special gift. A photographic memory so she could recall even small details from years ago! Augustus Lawton, Lord Berkeley overheard her speaking to her friends and sees an example of her recall and knows she may be the only one to help him restore his Costille House. His late wife had remodeled the castle into a modern home nightmare and he enlisted Harriett with her memory for detail to help restore it to it's former glory. What starts as a business transaction slowly turns into something else as Gus uncovers Harriett's true self and inner strength and beauty. Do not want to give the story away, but this will be a book I put on my to be read again shelf,. I cannot wait to go back and read the other books by this author. She pulled me in with her descriptions and almost palpable emotions.. I would give this more than 5 stars if I could!!

Really enjoyed this book. Liked the interactions and the bit of the twists - didn't see the killer till near the end! Looking for more of her books!

This is a fair and honest review for this ARC. Definitely a different kind of tale. Oh there is the dashing hero and heroine (wallflower type) but the characters have such real and sweet personalities that it is easy to fall in love with them.

Our heroine is terribly ignored by her parents and is also shy and doesn't have much of a social life. One glorious day when her entire family left her behind to go to a house party, she entertains her few real friends with her photographic memory. The Earl sees this demonstration and offers her a huge sum of money, enough for her to buy her own cottage and get away from her parents, if she will just oversee the restoration of his house that his dead wife trashed/remolded. What girl could refuse? The premise of the story is unique and it is nice to see the hero come to appreciate what the heroine offers, rather than just "being stuck by beauty", which is heroine is not. But she is clever and kind and strong. In fact, she is the one who discovers that the Earl's wife likely did not commit suicide, but rather was murdered. So there is also a murder to solve and embarrassing mothers to overcome before finding a happily ever after.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters. It seems like a good story. Just couldn't get into it.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 2 in the Brides of St. Ives Series. We have a woman that has been over looked by her family and just wants to make a living for herself. When the man next door wants to restore his home he needs someone with a super memory to do it. I enjoyed the story a great deal.

The Earl Most Likely (The Brides of St. Ives, #2)
by Jane Goodger

BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY!
No matter what I originally thought. I ended up loving this book. Refreshing different. A woman that wants to make money to be independent and manages it with love and romance and Cinderella. Smiles, and heart and life. I just found it to be a read that was easy to keep turning the pages and easier to root for the characters. Light and not deep, but a read that I found to be enjoyable on many levels. One thing about this author, she rarely disappoints, and in this very different style, I found myself wishing she would write the sisters book NOW! I was given this arc in return for an honest review. Anna Swedenmom

I have always enjoyed this author's stories and this is no exception. Berkeley could see Harriet's beauty although many including her parents saw her as plain. She bloomed but because she saw their chance of being together as impossible she decided to have an affair with Berkeley. Although the difference in their stations was quite large and hard to believe it was as easily surmountable as mentioned in the book. The plot to figure out his first wife's murder was a nice bonus. Thank you.

The Earl Most Likely is the second book in a series by Jane Goodger called The Brides of St. Ives. Each of the stories takes place in a seatown in England called St. Ives. We are introduced to the Anderson Family with their two daughters Clara and Harriet. Clara’s exceptional beauty makes it impossible for her mother (with the highest intentions) to marry her off to anyone, but someone from the ton. Harriet is plainer and is practically ignored by her parents and left unsupervised often. What Harriet does have is a remarkable visual memory for details.

Lord Augustus Lawton (PS - my last name) has returned from America recently and hopes to turn his resident back into what it was before his (now deceased) wife remade it into a Victorian Masterpiece. He needs help however, and Harriet is the one in prime position to help him return it to its former glory. Her parents have taken Clara off to London and Harriet is left alone to pursue this task.

Only we know they are going to fall for each other and we know that nothing can come of their relationship due to the huge differences in station - which is everything in England at the time. An Earl marrying the daughter of an owner of a tin mine and a shopkeeper is unthinkable. Right?

The Earl Most Likely by Jane Goodger is a good read.

Jane Goodger has written a rather good historical romance.

Satisfying Cinderella story with a plain heroine and a hero who has to get his act together over his past and his current rudeness.