This second installment of the Lords of the Armory was fantastic. Anna Harrington raised the bar yet again.
The theme of this book is a second chance romance twelve years in the making. It is more than simple misunderstanding that keep Brandon Pearce, Earl West, and Amelia Howard apart. There are external forces working against them. Once again the seedy criminal underworld threatens all the everyone holds dear, including Amelia’s life.
Exceptional read. Highly recommend.

Anna Harrington's most recent venture into Regency-era romance, "An Unexpected Earl," proved thoroughly delightful. The narrative takes a refreshing turn by featuring a spirited and independent heroine who seizes control of her destiny, refusing to passively accept her circumstances. Her altruistic nature, extending beyond the confines of family and high society, provides a perspective that I deeply value. Brandon Pearce, our Earl, stands out for his respectful and considerate approach toward his love interest, engaging with her passions in multifaceted ways.

I adored Brandon and Amelia's story! I just loved watching these two find their way back to one another!

If you love second chance romance and a bit of an action suspense feel to your story, this is a book for you. I love the romance and the history, it was written beautifully and I love seeing the past and present and how it's wrapped up but it has a bit too much suspense and drama for me personally

The relationship between Amelia and Pearce was pretty delicious throughout, but it felt like there wasn't enough of it, and just too much of the political and mysterious organisation stuff. It read very clunky at times because of the mystery/suspense angle, a tad too convoluted at others because, let's add another wrench in the works, why not? I wanted more of this couple and their romance, and mostly read for that, I'll admit

This was a very enjoyable read, the characters and story drew me in from the beginning and I could put the story down. I loved the intrigue along with the mystery in this story.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.

I thoroughly enjoyed Anna Harrington's latest Regency-era romance, An Unexpected Earl. I appreciate that this book features a feisty and independent heroine who takes control of her life, rather than meekly accepting the hand that she has been dealt. She is altruistic, her life extends past the boundaries of her family and high society and I appreciate this perspective so much. In Brandon Pearce, we find an Earl who shows respect and consideration towards his love interest, engaging with her passions in more ways than just one. Without saying any more, I appreciated the well-thought-out subplot that firmly connects this book to the first novel in the series, An Inconvenient Duke. I so look forward to reading the next installment in this series, as it is an absolute pleasure!

When I pick up a Regency Romance I cannot stop at just one book, I usually binge read a few because I get hooked. Be patient at the beginning because this will pick up. I love a good conflictive complex drama and characters in my romance reads and this was right up my alley.

What's not to love? Young sweethearts, torn apart, brought back together, but secrets abound. A group of ex military, called the Armory, who do investigations and a villainous group, Scepter, who needs to be put down.

Brandon and Amelia, were from different classes and were pulled apart when young. He ended up with an officer's commission in the war and several years later came back a hero and then inherited an Earldom, most unexpectedly. He had never forgotten Amelia and still loved her.

She had never forgotten him either.. Her father had sent her to Scotland all those years ago, threatening her if she ever tried to get in touch with him.

But fate brought them back together and the attraction was still there. But secrets abound and Amelia knows she needs to stay away from him, lest he find out.

I delight in everything this author pens and with this second in the series, she wrapped around my heart with this romantic suspense that had me flipping the pages as fast as I could!!

Not as good as I wanted it to be, but it was okay. Easy to read and simple, but it had potential for more. But it's an okay book.

*3.5 stars*

An Unexpected Earl was a solid read from Anna Harrington and works well as a stand-alone, even if it had its flaws.

I enjoy a second chance romance, so I jumped into this series at book 2, and I had no trouble following along. Anna Harrington's writing style was really enjoyable, even if the book took me a bit to finish, and I think she did a lot of things right with the story.

But the female MC was just so damn gullible.

There is a lot of action, and the male MC was strong, but I kept thinking that Amelia just didn't ever do her homework. I wanted to like her more than I did. She was trying so hard to be independent but she trusted people too blindly. I think their chemistry together was good and built over time, but I just felt like something was slightly off about the story.

I think this romance was *almost* there, so I'm looking forward to reading the others in this series.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

An Unexpected Earl by Anna Harrington is a delightful read with intrigue, plot twists and an evolving sexy of characters I grew to love and loath. Unique plot and well developed characters come together to surprise and delight.

WOW what a great read! I'm a huge fan of Ms. Harrington's work, but I really love this series a lot, and Pearce and Amelia's story in particular! I enjoy historical romance with a great plot and some intrigue, and this book delivers in spades. And the chemistry this couple has, just off the charts! I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and my jumping-up-and-down excitement and enthusiastic recommendation are all mine! You definitely don't have to read the first book in the series to appreciate and understand this one, but why miss out on Marcus and Danielle's story? It helps you get to know other characters better that I sure hope we'll be reading more about in the future!

I really loved this second chance romance. Brandon has recently become and Earl after returning from war. At a masked ball he has a conversation with a beautiful masked woman who seems so familiar. Turns out it is Amelia, his childhood best friend and love who he got caught in a compromising situation with and was sent to the army so nothing further would happen. 12 years later he is instantly in love again and he needs to help her protect herself and her politician brother from a secret organisation that has been blackmailing him.
This is such a well written second chance romance that I adored. The characters are so entertaining and strong willed. They both know what they want and it happens to be each other 😁
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Source Books Casablanca for this complimentary eARC copy.

An Unexpected Earl is the second book in Anna Harrington's gripping Lords of the Armory series. This is a second chance for two people, who were torn apart when then were young.

Amelia Howard and Brandon Pearce were best friends, until the day of Amelia's 16th birthday, when Amelia's cruel father found them together and sent her to ​a girl's school in Scotland, while Pearce was ​sent to the army by his cousin, the Earl of Sandhurst.

Twelve years later, Pearce is now a the current Earl of Sandhurst and former Brigadier in His Majesty’s army, Coldstream Guard. He is part of the Duke of Hampton, General Marcus Braddock’s gentlemen of the Armory. They have dedicated themselves to finding and stopping the criminal organization, Scepter. While Pearce, is trying to track down Amelia’s brother, The Honerable Frederick Howard, he comes upon Amelia, and now that he has found her, he is not going to let her go again. But aside from her brother being blackmailed to aid Scepter, Amelia has a terrible secret of her own. Can Brandon keep his beloved safe?

Second chances are my favorite and Amelia and Brandon, deserve theirs. This book has vivid descriptions, intriguing characters and wonderful historic background exploring the social issues of the day, how women fared in marriage and the corruption of the government (which seems to be timeless).

An Unexpected Earl (Lords of the Armory #2). By Anna Harrington. 2021. Sourcebooks Casablanca (ARC eBook).

Twelve years ago, childhood sweethearts Brandon Pearce and Amelia Howard were separated. An orphan, a relative of Pearce’s purchased him an officer’s commission after Amelia’s rich merchant father ran him off. Now Pearce is a former brigadier and holds the title, Earl of Sandhurst. He is also a member of the Lords of the Armory--a group of ex-military men brought together by former general, Marcus Braddock, Duke of Hampton. The Armory is currently investigating a criminal organization known as Specter. And when the investigation point them toward Amelia’s brother, Frederick Howard, Pearce finds himself reunited with his only love.

Amelia and Pearce’s reunion is not a happy one at first. Amelia has made costly mistakes and she doesn’t trust that Pearce will protect her, but protecting Amelia has just become his most important mission. An Unexpected Earl is a well-written historical romance with a nice blend of second-chance romance and intrigue as the Armory unravels a bit more of the Specter’s mysterious agenda and influence. Both Amelia and Pearce are likable characters who are easy to root for and I look forward to more from this series.

I greatly enjoyed this book! It was a quick easy read. I love a good friends to lovers romance too! Amelia was a great heroine. I was on the edge of my seat with the conflict with her brother too. I will for sure be reading the other books in this series.

Pearce and Amelia were separated as teenagers after being found in a compromising situation. Neither has forgotten about the other after 12 years apart. There is a lot of nefarious things happening in Amelia's life that will keep you turning the pages to find out if they will have their happily ever after.

An Unexpected Earl
by Anna Harrington
Rating: 5-stars
Summary:
Childhood sweethearts Brandon (Pearce) and Amelia are torn apart by their families only to reconnect 12-years later. The attraction they felt in their youth is still there (if anything, stronger now that they are adults), but the situation they find themselves in makes it hard for them to trust one another at the outset. Brandon is hunting a mysterious criminal organization and Amelia is in the middle of a blackmail plot by said organization.
Overall opinion:
I really enjoyed this book. It has romance, mystery, and action wrapped up into a neat package. Amelia has a hard time trusting which makes sense given her past (however, I do feel she trusts her brother too much, but I get why) which causes friction with Pearce until she learns that she can rely on him.
The story moved at a good pace, had enough detail to richly tell the story without getting lost in too many details, and kept you guessing about who was behind the blackmail and why. The only thing I would change about this book is to add more steam between Amelia and Pearce. Yes, there is obvious chemistry, but I prefer steamier books, and this was good, but not great in the steam department.
If you are looking for a fun Regency mystery/romance to read, I highly recommend this book!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A high-stakes historical romance that beautifully blends passion, action, intrigue and emotion, An Unexpected Earl is the latest captivating Regency tale by Anna Harrington.

Brandon Pearce, the Earl of Sandhurst, would rather be anywhere else than at a masquerade ball, but tasked with investigating the inner workings of a revolutionary group called Scepter, he had found himself with no other choice but to spend an evening surrounded by lecherous members of the Ton who never lose an opportunity to look down their noses at him. Having unexpectedly inherited his title, Pearce knows that he is not exactly welcome by his peers, yet he needs to use his newly elevated position in order to find out who is behind Scepter. At the party, the members of polite society are shedding their inhibitions and giving into temptation, but Pearce needs to keep a cool head and not get distracted by anyone. However, that quickly proves easier said than done when he finds himself unable to take his eyes off a beautiful woman wearing a scarlet dress. When he sees the lady in question getting into a spot of bother, he charges in to rescue her and gets a shock when he realizes that she is his first – and only – love, Amelia Howard!

With her brother Frederick being blackmailed, Amelia cannot simply sit idle while his career and reputation gets thrashed. Determined to get to the blackmailers and uncover them, Amelia risks everything to attend a masquerade ball in order to get close to finding out who is making Frederick’s life hell. Amelia had prepared herself for shocks and surprises, however, she never imagined that she would come face to face with her childhood sweetheart Pearce. The two of them had been head over heels in love with one another, but when circumstances had torn them apart, they had had no other choice but to go their separate ways. While Pearce had gone into the army, Amelia had been forced to wed a man she didn’t love only to be jilted and humiliated in front of the whole of society. Twelve years had passed since that fateful night where all their hopes and dreams for the future had been dashed, but when Pearce and Amelia meet again, it becomes blatantly clear that their love for one another has never wavered.

In order to fulfill the objective of his mission, Pearce must work against Amelia and her brother by pretending to side with the blackmailer, a choice which he knows will break anew the heart of the only woman he has ever loved. With fate having thrust the two together again in the most surprising and unexpected of ways, never forgotten feelings quickly come rushing to the fore. But with duty and desire at odds for Pearce, will he end up losing Amelia again after he had found her all these years later? Or will love find a way to make this second chance at happiness work for both of them?

Anna Harrington’s An Unexpected Earl is a sensuous historical romantic tale that plunges the reader into a world of jeopardy, passion and suspense from the very first page. Sparkling with vivid period detail that beautifully evokes the period An Unexpected Earl is set in, Anna Harrington introduces the reader to two wonderful characters that leap off the pages. Amelia is a strong, loyal and brave heroine readers will find inspirational and dashing and brooding Pearce is sure to steal everyone’s hearts.

A superb Regency tale that is impossible to put down, fans of historical romances will want to add Anna Harrington’s An Unexpected Earl to their auto-buy list.