A gender flip in terms of fortune, “This Earl of Mine” resonates with 21st century women who are wealthy on their own right, from tech mavericks to cosmetics gurus.

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed, the heroine of “This Earl of Mine,” might have inherited her wealth but she was able to grow it, thanks to her business savvy and thorough understanding of the shipping business.

Our hero, Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott, despite his pedigree is poor, thanks to his father who gambled away the family fortune. He works as a Bow Street runner (the precursor of the British police force) and sends all his earnings to his older brother, the current Earl of Morcott, so that the estate can continue to run.

Part romance, part police procedural and part mystery/thriller, “This Earl of Mine” is a refreshing read. Bold and audacious, which by the way is also how we can describe Georgina Caversteed, there are as many laugh out loud funny moments as there are sweet ones.

Georgina and Benedict are lovable characters, and author Kate Bateman gave them lively dialogues every time they are together.

The supporting characters – from Georgina’s family- Juliet, Simeone and Mrs. Caversteed to Seb and Alex who are Benedict’s friends – are also well developed. Their appearances are not just cameos; they are actually a big part of the story.

“This Earl of Mine” should be in your “To Be Read” list. If you can’t get to it because of the holidays, then make sure that it’s on top of your list when 2020 rolls around.

“This Earl of Mine” is Rated T for Teens. Parental guidance strong advised due to some sexual content and some violence.

Where to start...Oh, right. I'm reviewing This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman as a part of a blog tour put together by the amazing folks at St. Martin's Press and SMP Romance. The FTC requires this disclaimer even though every person who has ever met me knows that I am way too opinionated for a free book to sway my opinion. Let's get to this before the coffee runs out!
I was hooked into this book right from the start. The opening scene was all the sketchy a girl could ask for, a cloaked figure, nocturnal sneaking, mystery and intrigue (those are different!), and, marriage for reasons that don't involve love. Georgiana "Georgie" Caversteed is being 'hunted' by her creep-o cousin who wants to marry her for her money and he's not being subtle about it. Her plan is to marry a man sentenced to be hanged and live her life as the woefully ignored wife of an always travelling husband. Girl, yes! Georgie is kind of next-level if you ask me, in a time where 'proper' women basically had to be married, she had her plan all figured out on how to be her own woman. Marry a man sentenced to death, boom! instant secret widow and freedom to do as she pleases! And her husband of (in)convenience? Not actually a ne'er-do-well convict bound for Tasmania in the morning. He's a war hero, a member of the ton, -coowner of a gambling hell, and an undercover Bow Street Runner. Benedict "Ben" Hyde is given two options from the prison warden, marry mystery lady or die right there. Ben's Not Happy about this situation and completely dumbstruck when he finds out the identity of his new bride, the wealthiest woman in London. And I am telling you the book, huh? Just slap my name on this book, I love it!
The dynamics between Ben and Georgie are stellar. Ben gives Georgie the ability to be herself, enjoy herself, and have adventures (because adventures should be shared). And, Georgie gives Ben a better sense of self-worth little by little, she shows him how to feel, and she helps him out with his case! Reading this, you can feel the sparks between Ben and Georgie from the start, not the instantaneous 'love them, gotta have them, be with them forever' deal, but that warm butterfly feeling that kind of makes you want to vomit but also makes you want to skip everywhere and it quickly gets out of control and OHMIGOSH I LURV THEM! These two understand each other wonderfully and, even when they have a misunderstanding, they don't flounce off for an eternity and a half or break things off, they talk. They're magical unicorns.
Character Time! My favourite character aside from our leads has to be either Georgiana's younger sister, Juliet, or Benedict's little street urchin friend, Jem. Juliet acts like an airhead, but she's pretty on the ball. She's not as fierce as Georgie, but she has no use for the puff-shirts and one of my favourite conversations in this story is between Georgie and Juliet where they ridicule a man, who's after the Caversteed fortune of course, who has sworn to slay dragons for Juliet. And she's head-over-heels for a preacher's kid from their hometown and subtly sticks it to her matchmaking, title-hunting mother every chance she gets it seems. And Jem is just, well, you have to meet Jem to understand. I love that kid. I like Pieter, the right-hand man Georgie inherited from her father, he's overprotective but also knows Georgie can take care of herself. We love a man who gets that zen balance. I like the teasing camaraderie between Ben and his co-owner friends (and fellow runners), Alex and Seb. My dork babies. My least favourite characters? Georgiana and Juliet's mother and their cousin, Josiah. Josiah is a drunk, a gambling addict, and so many other creeper things that involve me digging out my taser.
I flat-out snorted at Starbucks while reading one passage. The only thing I'll say is, Georgie and Ben actually have the same sense of humour. Poor Mother Caversteed, she never stood a chance. There are some things I didn't see coming in This Earl of Mine and I do love a book that keeps me on my toes. I liked that we had consistent historical accuracy in our content, I'm a trifling little chit about this, I will full-stop on a hist-rom that doesn't give me accuracy for days. I'm at peace with this aspect of my personality, don't judge me.
I just really hated Josiah. His entire whole character was human trash. I also learned that reading the word "coitus" just ruins a love scene for me. It's right up there with "moist", y'all. I also wish there had been some friendship out there for Georgie. That girl needs a friend.
I'm giving This Earl of Mine four stars and three flames. I enjoyed this book and it was a great series opener and I cannot wait to read the next book! I think I've covered everything in my notes, it sure seems like it, so this is the end of my review!

This Earl of Mine is an exciting, beguiling and passionate historical romance that kicks off a fabulous new series for Kate Bateman, The Bow Street Bachelors. Sensual, irresistible and wonderfully enjoyable, fans of witty, intelligent and enchanting historicals are not going to want to miss this!

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is a woman of great wealth used to avoiding avaricious fortune-hunters and lecherous rakes with their eyes on her money. Since her father’s death, Georgie has put all of her time, energies and efforts into the family business and managed to make an even greater success of the enterprise, yet being a woman means that regardless of her immense success in business, men still think that there is no place for females in business – including her cousin Josiah, who has had his eye on her – and her fortune! – for years. Georgie has done her utmost to give Josiah as wide a berth as possible, but with Josiah ever more determined to wed her, she realizes that she needs to find a husband in order to retain her independence and keep her cousin out of her life forever. Georgie does not want or need any kind of emotional attachment or romantic entanglement, so when her companion comes up with the perfect plan to find her a temporary husband, Georgie is thrilled. Only there is a catch: Georgie’s convenient husband happens to be residing at Newgate prison and will be hanged in the coming days! With no other choice available to her, Georgie heads off to Newgate to meet her soon to be husband, only she ends up getting far more than she bargained for when she is married off to a common prisoner called Ben Wylde…

Only there is absolutely nothing common about Benedict William Henry Wylde, second son of the late Earl of Morcott, who is in Newgate prison working undercover for Bow Street investigating a smuggling ring. Wylde is used to getting into all sorts of scrapes, but he never imagined that he would end up married to one of the richest women in the Ton! Wylde would have had his cover blown had he raised any objection to marrying Georgie, so he went along with this charade of a marriage ceremony. But little does Wylde realize that his new wife is going to shake up his world and turn his entire life upside down.

When Georgie had her convenient marriage ceremony at Newgate prison, she never imagined she would see her husband ever again. She thought that he would have been on his way to Australia – she never imagined in a million years that she would come face to face with him at a high society ball. Out of his prison cell, her husband is as dangerously attractive as ever and Georgie cannot help but be drawn to the man she is meant to be spending the rest of her life with. Sparks soon begin to fly between the two of them and when attraction leads to irresistible desire, Wylde and Georgie soon realize that there is nothing remotely convenient about their feelings for one another.

Does Wylde and Georgie’s relationship stand any chance of surviving? Or is a future for the two of them simply out of the question?

Scintillating historical romance does not get any better than this! Kate Bateman is an absolute virtuoso of the genre who writes with such flair, style and confidence that readers are drawn into her story from the very first page. Spiced with passion, sensuality, humor, danger and drama, This Earl of Mine is a spellbinding tale that sparkles with vivid descriptions of the past that bring the nineteenth century to life, witty repartee, searing emotional intensity, page-turning intrigue and uplifting and mesmerizing romance.

Georgie and Wylde are two wonderful characters readers will love spending time with. Georgie is clever, bold, intelligent and independent and Wylde is a gorgeous hero everyone will fall in love with.

This Earl of Mine is an assured, enjoyable and engrossing historical romance and I am already counting down the days until the second title in Kate Bateman’s Bow Street Bachelors series is published.

A good “escape from your daily life” story. I loved the take charge Georgie and her admirable husband Benedict. They are a true match even though the story takes you on a ride until they both believe it.

A madcap romp with a heroine who owns a profitable shipping company and who can sail a newly invented and partially finished submarine down the Thames. Wouldn’t we all like to do so? The hero is suitably humble, wily, and brave in all the ways necessary. Add in a good HEA, a self-involved villain who gets an amazing comeuppance and you have a much better than average romance. The author includes suitably lustful encounters and marriage to a stranger in Newgate.. From beginning to end the action is highly inventive and captivating. The book even includes a secondary romance resulting in marriage. A very satisfying read.

This book has the most ridiculous plot, and yet it manages to pull it off in a really fun and heartfelt way, with a really enjoyable and believable romance! It’s a marriage of convenience, but for reasons I’ve never seen before, and before the end of the book there’s an attempted elopement, a kidnapping, and a stolen submarine… So not your average ballrooms-and-tea society story!

You have to suspend disbelief rather a large way in order to get into the marriage of convenience plot, as Georgie’s plan is to marry a condemned man – any condemned man – so that she can tell her horrible cousin that she’s married, so he won’t keep trying to court her. It’s rather an ill-conceived one, as she’s setting herself up for a massive amount of scandal if she’s discovered, and presumably it would come to light if she ever did find someone she wanted to marry. It’s also rather naive of her to assume that her cousin would just say ‘oh well,’ and give up, but not tell anyone; obviously he doesn’t, and so a large part of the conflict comes from this. However, it’s much more fun than yet another ‘I must take a wife to come into my inheritance’ reason for a convenient marriage, and it sets the tone for the dramatic and madcap events of the novel.

Georgie is a fantastic heroine; she’s capable and witty, but though she’s very savvy about business, she’s rather naive about the murky side of human nature, which does lead her to get into some scrapes. I have a real soft spot for heroines with knives in their boots, but I also liked that she wasn’t flawlessly street-smart, as that wouldn’t have been realistic for someone with such a privileged upbringing. Benedict is just as fun – an ex-soldier with all the cynicism that brings, but with a strong sense of determination and a streak of humour. The two of them fit together so well, and their attraction is evident – I loved the moment when Georgie spots Benedict for the first time dressed as a gentleman!

This Earl of Mine rollicks along at a fine pace, and you find yourself really rooting for the hero and heroine to realise their feelings for each other and make their marriage real. It’s boatloads of fun, and the perfect kind of escapist reading! Four out of five cats!

Kate Bateman does it again with her new series, Bow Street Bachelors starring three men who have fought together on the continent and who are now members of an elite group of crime fighters. Men who have not only proved their courage on the field, but who have also proved their prowess between the sheets ;) The series kicks off with Ben and Georgie’s story. A couple who’s chemistry sizzles off the page and will leave you breathless. Their initial meeting might have been under conspicuous circumstances, but it seems that fate knows what the heart needs better than the mind. And this story proves that.

Georgiana Caversteed has no intention of losing her shipping empire or her fortune to her greedy and lazy cousin. And that is exactly what will happen if he has his way and forces Georgiana to marry him. So she has a plan- marry a prisoner who’s about to be executed and become a widow. No one will force a widow to do anything and she will remain in control of her business and her life. But it seems that the man she has chosen to marry will not be executed. And she won’t be becoming a widow anytime soon. She may not be losing her husband but she is in danger of losing her heart.

Benedict William Henry Wylde is the second son of a duke and after serving in the army is now back in London and trying to help his older brother pay the debts accumulated by their late father. He’s now part of an elite group of Bow Street investigators. He has no idea that the woman he married in Newgate Prison late one night is the shipping heiress that all the fortune hunters of the ton are after. Or that she is as stunning as she is. And even though Georgie and Ben decide to keep their marriage under wraps it seems that their mutual attraction is too strong to keep hidden.

A great start to what promises to be a scorching series. Can’t wait for the next book of the series!!!

This is my first book by Kate Bateman. I really liked Georgie, she owns a shipping company and she’s very competent, she is funny, and practical. Benedict is fun and loyal, he’s trying to help his brother pay off the debts of their father. The chemistry between Georgie and Benedict is very clear, and they become friends somewhat. I loved that there wasn’t a betrayal between them, it made me love them both even more. This won’t be the last book by this author..

This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman
Bow Street Bachelors #1

Reading the book description I was taken back to reading a book my father shared with me – a book in which a woman in need of a husband also went to a prison to find a condemned man to marry. The two books diverged from there though neither husband actually bit the dust by the end of the book they starred in. Both men were definitely more than the bride expected and both were fallen in love with by their wives before the end of the stories.

In this book we have wealthy Georgiana “Georgie” Caversteed being hounded by despicable cousin Josiah. He wants her money and isn’t planning to take no for an answer. Thus, the reason for the marriage of convenience. Georgie has plenty of money but no desire to wed the men in the ton that she has met already. There was a frisson of interest when Georgie met Benedict “Ben” Wylde but she realized that it was NOT real since...he was a dirty prisoner...until she experienced the same feeling when she ran into Benedict at a ball the next time.

This book had the two falling for one another slowly while they also spent time trying to solve a case Benedict and his friends were working on for Bow Street. There is a side story of Georgie’s sister Juliet and Simeon and the lead into the idea that either Seb or Alex, Benedict’s friends, will get their stories in books to come. The book did not stand out to me as something new or different but it was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in the series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

I fell in love with Georgie from the start – talk about a young woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. She lives in a time where woman are primarily used for their wealth, hold no real value except for what they bring to a marriage in title and name. She is wealthy beyond imagine but not the type of wealth that many of the aristocrats in London look up to – her Father earned his money through shipping. She has inherited his bright mind for business and loves the work, she has even increased their wealth. But she will do anything to ensure this does not come into the hands of a greedy gentleman who will lose her inheritance and silence her bright mind and voice. She even goes so far (and does) marry a man in Newgate prison, one whom she assumes is on his death bed for the safety of marriage and then becoming a widow.

Little did she know that the man she marries is Benedict Wlyde, the second son of the Earl of Morcott. But what was he doing in prison? Despite his reputation he works undercover for Bow Street to bring in extra money to help pay off his Father’s debts.

When their paths collide at a society event, will they be drawn together? Will Wylde be able to protect her from society and those who would want to use her only for her wealth? Can she let go and trust enough to see that there are some good people out in the world, that will love her for more than just her money?

I loved every moment of this historical romance and have already re-read it twice. I loved the characters, the plot and the tempo of the story. I kept rooting for these two – I wanted them to learn to trust and to find happiness as they both truly deserved to finally be happy. A definite must read!

Every time Benedict calls Georgie "Mrs. Wylde", I get butterflies. Seriously.

Anyway, this is super swoony and super fun.

While on a mission for Bow Street, Benedict is somewhat forced to marry heiress, Georgiana Caversteed. Georgie just wants a husband in name only to save her from her lecherous cousin, Josiah. When Benedict and Georgie see each other across a crowded ballroom, the gameplan is demolished.

I was so excited to dig into another Kate Bateman novel! She did not disappoint me with the sweeping romance between Ben and Georgie. I love how she flipped the script with a wealthy woman and a penniless, yet valiant young man.

Of course, there is the dastardly villain to contend with on the pair’s road to wedded bliss. Cousin Josiah is about as disgusting as any money-grabber could be. He never fathomed that Georgie would do something so devious as to sneak out and marry another. His plan to hold all of the Caversteed fortunes is halted, but not forgotten.

As Georgie and Ben get to know one another, the desire for a true marriage becomes almost overwhelming. With a lovestruck younger sister, a hellish cousin, and a rake of a husband, Georgie has her hands full all while trying to run a shipping empire. While Ben initially thinks the best way to proceed is divorce, the determined and kind Georgie turns his entire belief system upside down.

While Bateman wove her love story, she kept me guessing at every turn. I hope she has even more love and secrets to share as the series continues.

I received This Earl of Mine for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

oFrom the very beginning I fell in love with Georgiana Caversteed. She doesn't suffer fools. Yes she loved spending time with her father. She was just as knowledgeable about shipping and trade as him. That is why she was perfect to take over the business upon his death. Her mother and cousin had other plans. Mother wanted to marry her off to a man with a title and her cousin wanted to marry her just to get his hands on her money. Georgie had other plans. She found a solution to her problem. Benedict Wylde is a spare heir. He joined the military with 2 of his best friends. He now earns money as a Bow Street Runner and from time to time does odd jobs for the government. They should not be compatible but the set each other on fire. Georgie longs for adventure and Ben is willing to take her along with him. Till it becomes more.

I can't wait to see who is next up.

‘Nobody ever dismissed her fortune in such a way’ believes Georgie when spending time with her husband Ben Wylde. This has a very unusual beginning with heiress, Georgiana marrying a prisoner at Newgate in order to escape her cousin’s trap of marriage. Georgie will have full control of her fortune in a few weeks on her birthday. Her slimy cousin has been and still is trying to gain control of her and her wealth.

Ben Wylde, prisoner and forced husband of George, is actually a Bow Street Runner and former war hero. When these two meet again at a ton event, fireworks spark. Ben is part of a trio of men who own a club that caters to the wealthy and the other elements of society. They are in the perfect position to gather information needed to protect the crown.

This is a quick read and will keep your interest to find out what is going to happen next, whether between Georgie and Ben, Georgie’s sister Juliet and her poor Beau or what will Georgie’s slimy cousin do next!

5/5 stars

I loved this start to a new romance series that was filled with bits of adventure and the most unique meet cute!

<u>Synopsis</u>
In order to escape from marrying her creepy cousin, Georgiana Caversteed, heiress to a shipping fortune, propositions a man on death row in Newgate prison. Unfortunately for her, Benedict Wylde did not die as planned since he was truly there working undercover as a spy. Did I mention their marriage of convenience is legit and cannot be easily annulled?

<u>Pacing & Points of View</u>
The overall pacing for this story was lightning fast! I read this one in a day and I loved reading both Georgie's and Ben's point of view.

<u>Characters</u>
I absolutely loved reading about Georgie, Ben and several of the other characters. The sizzling tension and sparks between Georgie and Ben had me from the very beginning! I was hooked completely from the start with their meet cute which was more meet crazy/dangerous and couldn't stop reading all the way through until the end. Georgiana was such a strong-minded business woman for her time and I loved how she got a little nerdy when it came time to talk anything maritime. Ben had a very strong presence in the story and I loved how devoted he was to his family and friends. I really enjoyed reading the bits of comradery between Ben and his two brothers in arms from the war, Alex and Seb. Hopefully, those two are in the next few books! Another side character worth mentioning is Georgiana's sister Juliet. She was such a ditz and her actual Romeo & Juliet side romance made me laugh here and there.

<u>Overall</u>
Overall I loved this story filled with banter, a bit of action and adventure, and plenty of romance! I can't recommend this one enough to those that want a good story with their historical romance. I truly cannot wait to read the rest of the series in the future!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this amazing digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

London - 1816

Georgiana (Georgie) Caversteed, age 24 and a wealthy heiress, is off to Newgate Prison to find a husband. Her father’s manservant, Pieter, is with her. She prefers someone about to be hanged the next day leaving her a widow and in control of her own money. After her father died, she came under the dictates of her odious cousin Josiah who wants to marry her and control her money. This way, he must now leave her alone. She had inherited her father’s trading and shipping business and is extremely wealthy. Her mother and younger sister live with her and they also received nice inheritances.

Benjamin (Ben) William Henry Wylde, age 28 and the second son of the late Earl of Morcott, is a war hero who has been imprisoned at Newgate. He, along with two friends, Alex and Seb, own the Tricorn Club, a gambling hell, which also allows them to spy on people for the Crown. Ben is in prison as a plant to listen in on a smuggling scheme. Ben makes extra money from the Crown to help his brother, John, pay off their late father’s debts.

At the prison, Georgie finds there are no men assigned to be hanged soon so she decides to marry Ben because the jailer says he is to be deported the next day. In exchange for marrying her, Ben will receive 500 pounds with no claim to anything more.

Thinking herself safe, Georgie is shocked to meet Ben at a soiree. She soon discovers his true background and admires him for vowing that he did not marry her for her money. But before they can even consider whether they should continue their marriage, there are many adventures ahead for them.

This is a nice romance with lots of intrigue thrown in. I think that there is almost too much “extra" added to the story which is why I gave it 4 stars. Sometimes, less is more.

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

This was a good read. The premise was a bit hard to believe, but after I got past that, I enjoyed the story. I like a strong female lead and this definitely delivered. The writing felt rushed at times and, to be honest, very flat. I really wanted to see this fleshed out a lot more, but it was a quick fun read and the fast pace kept me reading.

This Earl of Mine is the first book in the Bow Street Bachelors by Kate Bateman. The main characters are Georgiana a ship heiress who wants to make sure that her cousin won't get his hands on her fortune and Ben a prisoner turned out to be undercover Bow Street runner.

Honestly, when I finished the book I had mostly positive feelings about it. Then I started to realize that some things simply didn't and couldn't work. There is no way a woman could own a company as large as Georgiana did in 1816. I liked how she tried to be independent, but at this point, it feels like every single heroine in Historical Romances is trying to be a woman of the 21rst century. Two, Ben is not an Earl, so the title could be called misleading. He is the second son and his brother doesn't die. There was something else that didn't exactly bother me, but I have to say it. The heroes of the next two novels are Ben's friends and I feel like we could have seen more of them. It would have been a very good way to make us wanna read their books, but now the felt like the lowest of the secondary characters.

On the bright side of things, I liked the romance between the main characters. There is a secondary romance but those characters were more naive and childlike in my opinion. The man of that romance was always lacking in comparison to Ben and the lady seemed a little airheaded. Ben and Georgiana's characters are nice people and Ben ended up being my favorite. That honor could have been delivered to Georgiana, but I didn't like how cold and cynical she was when it came to her sister's feelings. I was worried about what Ben would do next sometimes but he always proved that he was a worthy man and he kept surprising me in a pleasant way.

Overall, the good outweighs the bad, so I would recommend the book!
1 like

This Earl of Mine is fun and engaging first book in a brand new series.



Georgie is a strong female lead. She is a unique character for a book set in high society just after the Napoleonic wars and is incredibly easy to like. She is also the perfect counterpart to Benedict - one of three friends/former soldiers serving as part time Bow Street runners. He is an atypical hero, but the combination of these two as a couple was terrific.



The set up here was something that I hadn’t seen before and I appreciated the fresh approach to a historical romance set in this time period. Add in elements of intrigue and this is must read that has me looking forward to the next book in the series.

Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong? Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him—and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?
Going into this book, I really didn’t have any expectations. With historical romances (and any romances actually) there are only so many plots that can be used so it’s nice to find new authors who write books I really enjoy. I really liked both Georgie and Benedict. I loved following them on their adventure. There was actually a lot crammed into this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for the next book. I highly recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book