I love Bronwen Evans, so I was surprised that I thought the beginning a little slow. However by midway through the book, I could not put it down until I had finished it. Guy is not your typical hero and Abigail no ordinary heroine. I loved how the secrets these two were keeping separately brought them so much together. By the end of this book I was full of all the emotions you want to feel in a good book. I would definitely recommend this book.

This book was just ok for me. It was slow to start but picks up from the middle to the end. Abigail and Guy have a nice love story. I do like that the author tackled a disability for the hero. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

The Earl of Argyle's sudden death has left his brother, Guy with the title. Guy is devastated at his brother's loss. How will he take care of things with his disability? Guy will just have to trust in his friends and manage to the best of his abilities.

Miss Abigail Pinehurst has come to Guy's estate to sketch a rare flower. She is also there to spy on Guy. She doesn't know what his cousin's obsession is with him, but Abigail has no choice if she wants to protect her reputation and her sister, Dora's. It doesn't take long for Abigail to make friends with Guy, and she decides to tell him some of the the truth. Together they must foil his wicked cousin. What will happen when Guy learns of her deepest darkest secrets?

I give ATTRACTED TO THE EARL by author Bronwen Evans a 4 star rating. It is the latest installment in her IMPERFECT LORDS series which consists of three books, ADDICTED TO THE DUKE, DRAWN TO THE MARQUESS and ATTRACTED TO THE EARL. I really didn't get into ATTRACTED TO THE EARL until over halfway through the book. That is the point where we start to delve deeper into the two main characters, Abigail and Guy. Finally their pasts are revealed and they are so tragic. To have overcame the things they did only shows what strong, brave, resilient people they both are. Historical romance readers will not want to miss Ms. Evans's IMPERFECT LORDS series.

SIDE NOTE for author Bronwen Evans: I would like to say a prayer for you and your family. That you were able to write through your struggles is a feat in itself. You and your family will never forget, but time will help you heal. So sorry for your loss.

After suffering years of abuse at his father's hands due to his inability to read or write, Guy Neville ran away to join the army and returned a war hero desperate to hide his secret shame. When his beloved elder brother suddenly dies, leaving Guy as the Earl of Argyle, he must now take up all of his brother's responsibilities and somehow still keep his secret. His despicable and jealous cousin, Patrick, knows the family is hiding something and is determined to find out what and preferably set himself up with the earl's wealth and maybe even his title to go with it.

The arrival of a bluestocking who wants to search the estate for a rare flower presents Guy with new challenges to hiding his secret. But the visit was prearranged before his brother's death so he feels he must honor it, though he'd rather send her away. It also doesn't hurt that Miss Abigail Pinehurst is beautiful.

Abigail's passion is plants and sketching them for her benefactress has enabled her to make a stable living and provide for herself and her sister, Dora. She finds herself attracted to the Earl, though she knows she can never have a man so far above her in station. Not to mention the fact that she has her own secrets to keep and she's being blackmailed by the vile Patrick. As she succumbs to the earl's charms she must decide who to put her trust and faith in and who is most capable of protecting her and Dora.

Poor Guy had it rough and his resilience was admirable. I also loved that he wasn't so blinded by Abigail's beauty and was still smart enough to be suspicious. When the two started working as a team this became a very suspenseful double romance with the budding relationship between Dora and Guy's right hand man, Kit. The last half was fraught with tension and a well-drawn, nasty villain. These two had some of the most painful backgrounds of any characters I've read in some time and it was lovely to see them heal and grow together.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow! Bronwen Evans ALWAYS delivers!
I always look forward to her books.
My only complaint is I devour the book and then I want more! Her characters feel like friends and she wraps you up in her stories. Amazing author and another great read!!

This is a touching story. Both our heroes are flawed...with challenges they had no control over. The last page made me cry...sad, but also with joy the Abigail and Guy got the ending they deserved. Bronwen at her very best.

Brineen Evans continues her series with Attracted to the Duke. It can be read as a stand alone.

Guy is a successful earl, war hero, and manager of his estates. What isn’t known is that he has a disability- he cannot read or write. He suffered terrible abuse at the hands of his father and is determined to be successful.
Abigail had her own secrets. With her “sister”, Dora, they come to Guy’s estate under the pretense of drawing the Ghost Irchid. However, Patrick Neville, Guy’s cousin, has blackmailed Abigail into spying for him.
The story unfolds with twists and turns, but eventually, Guy and Abigail get their HEA.
I received an ARC of this book.

I loved Guy and Abigail's story!

Guy has just inherited his title after the death of his brother. Never wanting the title, he now has to worry that the secret he has been hiding his whole life will become exposed. When Abigail arrives, he wonders if his abhorrent cousin has sent her to discover his secret.

Abigail arrives at Guy's home on a mission to find a flower and draw it. At least that is what she tells him and it's not a lie. She just doesn't tell him the other part of her mission, she has been sent by Guy's cousin to find out what Guy's secret is. She doesn't want to do it, but the man had threatened her and her sister and she'll never allow her sister to be harmed. Will she be able to go through with her mission, or will Guy figure out the truth? And if he does, what will he do?

Being a teacher, it killed me to hear Guy call himself stupid for not being able to read and write. Nowadays, we can diagnose learning disabilities and give child help to learn to read and write, but what Guy had to go through from his father was horrible!! Abigail's early life wasn't much much better. I think because of what they went through as children, they could sense a commonality with the other and that just made the attraction they felt for one another, that much stronger. I loved watching these two come together!! I hope that Evan is not done with this series as I have throughly enjoyed it!

What Guy and Abigail went through as children was horrible. Most adults would be bitter, but it just made them stronger.
Attracted to the Earl, was a joy to read.

2.5☆

What I liked:
The writing style
Most of the characters
Part of a series: Imperfect Lords
Standalone
HEA
Epilogue

I look forward to reading more from this author.

This book is not to be missed. Let other people tell you the story our great author has a story that I could not write as well. I will tell you about the characters and the emotions the book brings forth. Unusual characters but characters you will relate to which makes them fabulous characters. A different story, a unique story from other stories I’ve read

Emotions, this book is filled with emotions. There’s much sadness but underneath the sadness there is an aura of redemption. And sexually, sensually you will not find a better book. There are places in the book which are so Filled with sexual sexuality that you will not put them down and you’ll want to re-read them.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book started out hot right away, and I was actually looking forward to reading the bonkbuster,, but the heat sizzles out and drags for the majority of the book. By the time the couple reconnected, the fire is pretty much gone out

I can’t decide between a 4 or 5. The dilemma is that despite being one of my favorite authors Bronwen Evans is a problematic author for me. On one hand I absolutely love her books. The stories are always romantic with a good dose of danger and mystery. The MC’s are always perfect for each other and I am always desperate for the next book in the series.
On the other hand her hero’s are always huge rakes and there are always sex scenes with other women ( usually before meeting the heroine). I hate scenes with OW since these are supposed to be romance books. Luckily her books are so good that I am able to overlook these scenes. Her hero’s are honorable and good men and that helps.

So what I didn’t like:
• the scene at the beginning with widowed Lady whatshername. I honestly can’t remember because she was never brought up again. This was completely unnecessary. It served no purpose whatsoever. This book did not need that extra sex scene. I would expect that if I was reading smut and I do read it on occasion. I just feel that romance novels don’t need these cheap, contrived sex scenes with OW, they are better than that.
• I thought the romance moved a little too fast. I would have liked the hero and heroine to spend more time together getting to know each other while looking for the ghost orchid.
• things resolved themselves rather quickly and neatly. I would have liked to see them work together to resolve things. I also would have liked to see Abigail and Guy’s mother work things out.

What I did like:
• the heroine wasn’t a virgin!! And not only was the heroine not a virgin but she had taken lovers and enjoyed sex!!! We don’t see that enough in historical romance and I understand it’s the time these authors are writing about, but I am so sick of the rake and the virgin stories. Give me an ex prostitute for a heroine any day.
• the story itself! This was a great storyline. I absolutely loved it. I love that they had both been through so much yet came out stronger on the other side. They also realized that love could help them heal. It may not sound like it after the ranting but I really loved this book.

So I guess I’m going to go 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Safety: after the one scene in the first chapter there are no safety issues.

This novel focuses on those who struggle with disabilities and how society views those that are affected by one’s past. The sins of the father or mother carry on to their children, who are judged by it. Society is cruel to those who struggle with hardships.
Abigail Pinehurst Arrives at the Earl or Argyle’s estate to search for and draw a rare flower. Abigail has much on her shoulders, it doesn’t let it bring her down. Guy Neville, the current earl, cannot read or write. A war hero and intelligent, Guy has help from the one person he trusts. However, his cousin wants the title for himself and plans to discover Guy’s secrets. Abigail and Guy are instantly attracted to each other but are afraid to tell the other of their secrets due to judgements of society. When the stakes become higher, they need to trust in love that was developed between them. Loving someone despite their faults or disabilities is a sign of true sign of love and acceptance.

The storyline according to the description seemed interesting enough. I will be honest and say that it was difficult for me to even read this book. I will try not to give too much spoilers and will stick to my major reasons for not fully appreciating this book.
There were some things in the book that put me off. Like, opening with a bedroom scene between the hero and his mistress even if the hero has not met the heroine. It is just not my idea of how I want to be introduced to a book and its main characters. Sure, there was more to the plot (a secret twist to the background of the heroine) than what was written in the description which other readers might find interesting. But for me it was sort of a trigger. It is an issue I have always struggled with whenever I read about it so I finally decided not to finish the book.
Since this is a new author for me I will have to check her other books so I can gain a better insight of her writing style.