What a delightful and satisfying book! I really enjoyed reading First Earl I See Tonight as the story is incredibly well-written and so easy to read from beginning to end. The plot and sub plots in the book kept my interests from the first pages to the very end.

As the summary indicates, the Earl of Ravenport, Gray is a mysterious and skeptical man. Jilted by an ex-fiancee, is he hesitant to trust any woman again. Taking himself off the marriage mart, Gray decides to devote all of his attention and care to restoring the ancestral castle left to him by his parents. With only a doting and kind grandmother, the Earl wishes to bring the castle back to its original glory for his grandmother, the dowager Countess. Having barely enough fortune to live within their means, Gray did not expect a marriage proposal from a stranger - an heiress who promises to use her dowry to help him restore his wealth and status.

Well of course Gray is immediately suspicious and denies the marriage proposal even though the vast fortune can help him and his land return to its original glory. I liked Gray from the moment he entered the pages. He's rough and gruff but also has a soft heart that he lets no one see. Enter Fiona Hartley, said heiress, and a whole lot of intrigue and games ensue. Fiona is determined to wed the Earl as he is the best prospect out of all the other eligible bachelors.

Determined to win the Earl over enough for him to propose, Fiona hopes to use her dowry to pay off a blackmailer who could create a very devastating scandal for her sister, Lily and the Hartley name. The marriage to an Earl can also raise their own stations in life enough that Fiona hopes her being a future Countess will also prevent any scandals should the blackmailer go back on his words. I'm not going to spoil anything here by revealing what the huge secret is but know that it is a very legitimate and serious secret and could ruin almost anyone back then and even now.

Throughout the story, Fiona is trying to win Gray while Gray is trying to lose Fiona. He hopes that by having her stay at his decrepit castle that she'll run far away from him just as his previous fiancee did. He knows nothing of the blackmailing or the secret in the beginning but as Fiona is advised to trust Gray and vice versa, their friendship also develops. Slowly, through spending time together in unconventional ways, the pair realizes that they are more alike than they realize. Both are keeping secrets from the ones they love and both will do anything to protect their future. Fiona loves her sister, Lily, dearly and will do anything to prevent her from being hurt and ruined by the scandal. Gray on the other hand, will do anything to make his aging grandmother happy while keeping his childhood past a secret.

The story is well paced and moves along splendidly. While there were a couple of discrepancies that I noticed in the story, they didn't bother me enough to stop reading the book. In fact, First Earl I See Tonight is probably one of the best Regency stories I've ever read - and I read this genre every day and from a myriad of authors.

The main characters, Fiona and Gray are described beautifully; their personalities shine through explicitly throughout the story. You can tell that the author really enjoys her hero and heroine. Fiona is talented, shy, and extremely modest while Gray is gracious, apprehensive, and strong-willed. While on the surface these two couldn't be more opposite of each other, underneath their facades they just have a lot of mistrust and ambiguity of how people work in this world. The supporting characters are also fun to read especially Lily and Gray's grandmother who are both charming and supportive of Fiona and Gray.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading First Earl I See Tonight. Just a note however, that there are a bit of R-rated instances in the story when the passion between Fiona and Gray just couldn't be held back, so this book is more suited for adults to read.
I will be keeping an eye out for this author!Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

What a great story. I like it when the lead female takes the first step on her way to getting married. Good chemistry between the mail characters. Nice twist at the end. Very entertaining.

The story was interesting, with only a few details that made no sense. Why didn't the heroine simply show the letters to the hero and let him come to his own conclusion? Why did the ex-fiancée want the hero back? Overall, an enjoyable read.

Fiona, a title-less heiress, needs money to pay off a blackmailer and proposes marriage to a poor duke to get her hands on her dowry. While Gray could use some money to fix up his estate, he is not interested in marrying Fiona and does his best to scare her off, which turns out to be difficult as she is not the prissy kind of girl.

I loved the banter between the two, especially in the beginning of the book. Also following how they fall in love with each other was awesome. It did get a touch long winded toward the end and could have done with a bit less repetitive feelings.

Sexual content: there are a couple of descriptive scenes.
POV: 3rd person
Location: London and London country side

One of my litmus tests for a romance, especially a Regency romance, is whether anything actually happens - e.g., whether there is a plot beyond the relationship. This book sets up a necessity for a quick romance, but then buries any tension with a not very compelling relationship and no focus on creating any real sense of urgency. So this gets a #meh from me.

Fiona Hartley must find a husband....fast. She's being blackmailed by someone with information on her sister Lily's birth mother that would cripple her chances in the marriage mart.
She does her research to find the best candidate for a quick marriage of convenience and settles on Lord Gray Ravenport, who is appalled by her note.
He could use the offered funds.....but after being dumped by his first fiancee after she saw the condition of his home, didn't want to go there again.
He decided to invite her to a house party at his home, as he was making the repairs to show her the shape it was in, sure she would cry off.
She didn't cry off. She fell in love with the house, Gray AND his grandmother.
Neighbors, friends, ex-fiancee, mother nature and the blackmailer attended the ball on the last night of the party, the one that was to announce her engagement.
She fled with her father leaving him to figure out what had happened.
After Gray pieces it together and takes care of the threat, the pair reunite.
Enjoyed it.
I requested a NetGalley ARC as soon as I saw Ms. Bennett's offering.

This was a fun story. I really liked Fiona and Gray. I thought the romance moved a little fast but it worked for the story. I loved Grays grandmother and sister. I am looking forward to Lily’s story next.

Cute, entertaining, humorous romance. The plot is implausible but the story is engaging and it has a happy ending.

Fiona is being blackmailed. If she doesn't pay up in two weeks, the blackmailer will leak an awful truth about her family. Fiona, not wanting to burden her family. decides to propose to Grey, and impoverished earl who is desperate to repair his crumbling estate. They both have secrets, and he hosts a house party thinking that he will foist her off on someone else, only to end up enchanted by her. Grey was a character with nuances, strengths, and flaws, which was nice to see. Fiona as well. She was somewhat naive, but what 20 year old girl at that time wasn't? But she was strong, and independent, and fierce in her loyalty to the ones she loves. The mystery of who was blackmailing Fiona really kept me guessing, but I found that I was annoyed when the truth was finally revealed. It all seemed a little coincidental to me. Overall, it was nice to watch Fiona and Grey fall for each other, and it was nice to see a story where you could see why they fell.

I absolutely adored Fiona! She came up with a plan to keep her family safe and nothing was going to stop her! Gray was never going to fall in love after the heartache he experienced and Fiona wasn't going to change that. The characters were awesome and I loved the fact that they kept secrets from each other, but eventually confided in each other before being forced to show their hand. I wasn't sure who the blackmailer was until near the end. It wasn't who I actually thought it would be and I'm glad for that. I stayed up til 130 a.m. finishing this book and it was well worth the loss of sleep! Thank you for the advance readers copy. You'll enjoy this read!

Loved this book. A regency romance with a difference. The usual feisty heroine, strong, handsome hero, but a less than usual tale of blackmail and romance. A great read for lovers of this genre.

I received an ARC via Netgalley by St. Martin's for an honest review.

Enjoyable. Just right amount of smut not to make it gratuitous. A blackmail plot that forces the story just enough but not that outlandish as other novels. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and the debutante's diaries.