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.

Pearce and Amelia had parted their ways on bad terms when they were caught in a compromising position by Amelia's father. A lot had happened since then. They met again after a long time in a masquerades ball. Amelia's brother, Frederick was being blackmailed which was why Amelia wanted to help. But Pearce found out that Frederick got mixed up with the wrong crowd which was why he wanted to protect Amelia. She, on the other hand, was adamant that she didn't need his help or protection. Anyway, Pearce wanted to take actions against the organization named Scepter along with his friends. Both Pearce and Amelia still had feelings for each other but couldn't really be together because of Amelia's umm... 'situation'. One thing led to another and their lives were at risk. Secrets were exposed which shook their entire world. But everything worked out for the couple.

My feelings about this book is neutral. Didn't love it but didn't hate it either.

A second chance romance with a strong element of suspense/almost-spylike drama!

This was my first book from this author, but it definitely won't be my last. I really liked both Amelia and Brandon--they had great chemistry, and it definitely wasn't their fault that their relationship didn't work out the first time (when he was 18 and she was 16--first parental figures and later on her older brother/guardian kept them apart), which is always a plus with a second chance romance. I also enjoyed the investigating-a-criminal-organization element of the book; it's always fun when characters are part of a secret crime-fighting group, and somehow it's even more so in a historical romance. I *loved* that all the men of the Armory are former military, and that having difficulty acclimating to civilian life again was a theme--it's definitely not a new concept, and I wish it had always been more of a concern IRL so it's nice to see it dealt with here, at least a little.

I did think that Amelia kept her biggest secret far too long--for how relatively easily her problem was resolved (even before the epilogue, which practically puts things into overdrive) it just seems that if she'd had a few more conversations about it with people who weren't her brother and/or put a bit more thought into it herself, she could have gotten things moving on that front a lot faster. Even Brandon, who had been gone for years, knew that Amelia's brother doing anything just to be nice to his sister was a stretch, so it's not a huge surprise to anyone but Amelia that he might not have been acting in her best interests all along.

This is the second book in the series (after An Inconvenient Duke ) and though the situation with the criminal group the men of the Armory are investigating was clearly a continuation, I didn't feel *too* behind things by starting here. I already have the first book in my TBR, though, and definitely will be keeping an eye out for Merrit's book ( An Extraordinary Lord ) next!

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

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.

Another favorite by a great author. The plot of the story was very well written. The author really draws the reader in as you read.

Book 2 in Harrington's Amory series (it can stand alone but I am intrigued to see how it plays out throughout).

Pearce and Amelia missed their chance and now it is too late, except Pearce won't accept that. An Unexpected Earl has a great cast of characters, a plot that is intriguing and devious, a fierce heroine, and a stubborn hero. I wish there was a bit more of Amelia and Pearce together but I still really enjoyed it!!

After being caught in a compromising position, Brandon Pearce was separated from Amelia Howard, the girl he loved, and sent to the army. Now, twelve years later, Amelia is all grown up and with serious problems. Her brother, Frederick, is being blackmailed and she desperately needs to keep her past secret to keep him out of prison and ensure no harm is done to the reputation of her charity shop. To satisfy the blackmailer Frederick must use his influence as an MP to place several men into government positions. To do so successfully he’ll need help in Parliament and Pearce is just who he needs.

Brandon Pearce, now the Earl of Sandhurst, is working to adjust to civilian life after his position as a Brigadier in the Napoleonic wars. He and his fellow former soldiers of the Armory have been using their skills to investigate a criminal group known as Scepter which has been quietly engineering fatal accidents for government officials and replacing them with its own choices. Pearce must walk a fine line, appearing to agree with what the blackmailer wants so he can learn who’s really pulling the strings, even though this hurts Amelia. Regardless, Pearce wants a second chance with Amelia and won’t let anything come between them this time, even her own secrets.

This book was quite well-written, and I loved the mystery aspect and the whole concept of Specter and the Armory. It felt a bit like a Regency James Bond film but with less action. I loved Brandon as a hero because I’m a sucker for a war hero trying to acclimate to civilian life. Even so, his character felt a bit one dimensional and we didn’t get much from his perspective as compared to Amelia’s. As is so often the case for me with ‘strong,’ feminist heroines, I found Amelia to be a bit of a pill. I totally understand her hesitancy to trust men after she had been taken advantage of, but Pearce had never given her any reason to doubt him, quite the opposite in fact, yet she still unleashed vitriol on him at every turn. This made no sense combined with the fact that she trusted her brother so implicitly even when he treated her so poorly. She didn’t think or make decisions logically, so her fierce independence just came off as stubbornness for the sake of being contrary. I wasn’t really sure about the connection between Brandon and Amelia and it would’ve been more romantic for me if there had been more of a chance for their chemistry to come through rather than just his longing and her constant enumerations of reasons, she couldn’t trust a man and they could never be together. Her many thought processes in this vein grew repetitive very quickly for me. In another vein, I also found it frustrating and a little off-putting that Amelia only called Brandon by his given name twice or so, otherwise calling him Pearce, yet the brothel owner he got information from called him Brandon during their entire conversation. Not sure why I fixated on this so much, but it undermined their relationship for me, or at least Amelia’s investment in it. Issues aside, I love the concept of this series and the writing style. I think the suspenseful elements, though fairly brief, added depth to the story and an additional factor that will appeal to many, especially if they’re just dipping their toes into romance. I enjoyed the premise of this story and will read more from this author.

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

What a second chance romance! Suspenseful, steamy, mysterious, An Unexpected Earl was everything you love in a regency romance and more. Amelia and Brandon were an incredible pair right from the start and I had a marvelous time getting to know them.

In fact, Amelia had a marvelous time ruining everything (get it?)

Anyway… Amelia is a fiercely independent woman who has had one too many choices taken away from her, and for that I wanted nothing more than for her to come out the hero of this story. Men had been making decisions on her behalf since she was born, one of which landed her in an incredibly difficult predicament and cost her the love of her life. Her reconnecting with Brandon after he was sent away when they were teens was electric and just as tense and unpredictable as you would want it to be. And Brandon, wanting to pick up right where they left off and make up for lost time tugged at my heartstrings because it was just so earnest.

Obviously there were a few obstacles in the way, but then there wouldn’t be a story now would there?

This book had suspense, it was drama, it was panty-melting, and it was so so so much fun. I loved Brandon and Amelia, I loved watching them work together, I loved their honesty with one another, and I loved the resolution. This entire book was satisfying, and was an absolute pleasure. I can’t wait to read more from Anna Harrington because this was my first of hers but certainly will not be my last (please tell me Merritt gets a book please please please!)

Anyway, this was an incredibly fun and adventurous regency novel and I loved every minute of it. Sign me right on up for more!


{Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for my review copy!}

I really liked this one! Amelia and her love interest both had character development and it took some time before they really got together, it was a bit of a slow burn and the story tied the strings together nicely. It has enough drama and romance and nothing overpowered each other. It was a pleasant read.

I found this book to be quite enjoyable. The surprising meeting of Brandon Pearce and Amelia Howard turned back the clock to a young romance that was cut short by both her father and his uncle. She being sent away to school and he to the army., Brandon is now the Earl of Sandhurst with a mission to uncover a group who is behind murders of government officials. Amelia is trying to save a property she owns before her brother, who is being blackmailed, completes the deal he is trying to make with it. As Brandon tries to find how the two dilemmas intertwine, he and Amelia find themselves together too often to ignore that they still have feelings for each other. As the story unfolds we find several unexpected plots going on that add to the character's storylines and make for a very enticing read. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. #NetGalley #AnUnexpectedEarl

After loving the first book in this series, I just couldn’t connect to the heroine in this book. Amelia always seemed on the verge of crying and decided she didn’t want anything to do with Pearce when he re-showed up in her life after 12 years apart. She wouldn’t even give him a chance until much later in the story. And, there were a bunch of confusing marriage legalities that made me not want to read on. Amelia also, to me, didn’t have much of a spine and basically takes any man’s word at face value but then complains that she can’t trust men because they always take advantage of her. This book just wasn’t my cup of tea.

An unanticipated meeting between Amelia Howard and Brandon Pearce, newly Earl of Sandhurst rekindles a passion that dates back to their youth. Obstacles aplenty stand between them now, not least of which is Amelia’s distrust of the man who went to war and never looked back. Pearce is investigating a criminal gang that seems to involve Amelia’s brother, a role that isn’t going to endear him to her further, but Pearce is determined to rescue Amelia, and get her back in his life.

Theirs is a sweet romance, with plenty of sizzle to keep spicy historical romance fans happy. I can’t wait for Merritt’s story which must be coming up!

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

I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an advance reader copy of this story.

An Unexpected Earl, by Anna Harrington, is available at booksellers on 2-23-2021. The Lords of the Armory Book 2 give us Brandon Pearce, Lord Sandhurst and Amanda Howard. They have a long difficult relationship to deal with. Childhood friendship and love is a broken heart that never truly heals. Thrown together again they both understand the attraction is still there but how to get to the HEA becomes a test of will. Amanda's brother, a real piece of work as it turns out, is the catalyst that brings our couple into each others orbit. Amanda is fiercely devoted to her brother, willing to do anything to save him. She's a good sister, a good person, and brave. I liked her. Brandon is flailing around trying to figure out to live after the army & becoming an earl. He wasn't brought up to manage estates and move around in the ton. Poor guy. All in all they are both likeable and it was an enjoyable read.

#AnnaHarrington #AnUnexpectedEarl #TheLordsOfTheArmory #Netgalley # romance #historicalromance #SourcebooksCasablanca

An Unexpected Earl by Anna Harrington is the second book in the Lords of the Armory series and a must read if you love historical romances. It is filled with plenty of romance, suspense, ton parties, societal rules and gossip.
Amelia and Pearce have loved each other since they were teens, but one night her father tore them apart sending Pearce away while pushing Amelia to eventually marry someone more worthy. After not hearing from Pearce Amelia did just that, but it turns out that the best man for her is still Pearce and he will do everything he can to keep her safe and to call her his someday.
I'm loving this series and looking forward to reading more in the future.

I was given an ARC from the author/publisher. All conclusions are mine and mine alone.

A Lovely Regency Romance with Suspense, Mystery, and Intrigue

This delightful book pulls you in from the very first page. After all, who can resist a masquerade and the secrets it might hold? Amelia and Brandon loved each other as children, but Amelia’s cruel father separated them. Now that Brandon found her, could they rekindle the flame? It won’t be easy. There are conspiracies at work, and there is intrigue that will keep you turning the pages. I loved the story and would recommend it to those who enjoy second-chance, Regency romance filled with secrets, intrigue, suspense, and mystery. The story has a twist. Will you see it coming?

I've always been a fan of second chance romances because the history between the two characters always make the emotions feel both real and deeper. This story fit very well in that genre, as the two characters, Brandon and Amelia were very close when they were growing up, but were torn apart by the futures ascribed to their stations in life. Time passes and they are reunited in a most unexpected place, where Amelia is trying to help her brother out of a precarious situation. Can they overcome the past and the present to reach their happily ever after? I did enjoy this book, though I think I enjoyed the first in the series more. My main issue is that Amelie is way too trusting, even having been burned before and no matter how many bad things happens she still puts her trust in the wrong people and takes too long to trust the people she should, which left me a little frustrated.

I would like to thank the author and NetGalley for providing a free copy of the book for review.

I’m so glad I was given the second book to this series as I loved the first one! This was just as amazing!! I was sucked back into the suspense & second chance at love! *I’m not usually a second chance kind of girl but this one was done so well, I could help but enjoy it* Pearce and Amelia fell I love at a young age but when Amelia was out in a possible compromising position, they are torn apart & Amelia is sent to Scotland. Amelia is a strong independent woman & looks to help others! Pearce goes into the military and comes out a war hero with a new title; Earl of Sandhurst. *who is quite swoon-worthy in my opinion* Both Amelia & Pearce are still in love with one another. But trusting doesn’t come easy for Amelia, plus she has secrets of her own. These not only have amazing chemistry but they have several obstacles to go through to get to their much deserved HEA! Plus the suspense just adds to the anticipation! This whole book was just wonderful & I'm ready for the next!

I really enjoyed An Unexpected Earl. I haven't read the first book in this series, but I'll definitely be rectifying that soon.

This book's tropes are childhood friends to lover, second chance romance, with spy/mystery thrown in. There was a lot going on, but the author did a great job of giving the reader enough backstory information while keeping the book momentum moving forward.

I loved the set up of the Armory, a refuge for former military men. I liked the mystery surrounding the Scepter.

Amelia and Brandon were great characters who I rooted for from the beginning. They had to work hard for their HEA, plenty of obstacles in their way, but they get one.

This story had a good combination of romance, humor, depth of characters, and intrigue.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for review. The thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

I haven’t read the first book in the Lords of the Armory series, but I don’t think it mattered particularly. It was easy enough to pick up that the Lords are a bunch of former soldiers who have returned to London after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and started making themselves useful to the government, investigating a shadowy group called Scepter who are definitely Up To No Good - even if the Lords of the Armory can’t quite figure out what.

Investigations lead to Brigadier Brandon Pearce, now the Earl of Sandhurst, running into a lady he is startled to recognise - Miss Amelia Howard. Twelve years earlier, when Amelia was just sixteen, Amelia’s father caught Brandon in her bedroom and he was forced into the army to silence any gossip, Amelia’s hand reserved for whatever lordling her father could catch. Now it seems Amelia is both still unmarried and in some kind of trouble, hanging about in places she shouldn’t be and trying to talk to men she definitely shouldn’t. Pearce can’t help but step in.

Amelia’s troubles are far deeper than she can share, a massive scandal in her past causing her to be utterly dependent on her brother, who shows from the beginning that he’s untrustworthy, leaving himself vulnerable to blackmail. Desperate to maintain her small measure of independence and continue to support the charity for war widows she founded, Amelia will do whatever she can to get her brother out of the hole he’s dug for himself. Even if that means asking Pearce for help.

The chemistry between Amelia and Pearce is off the charts from the beginning, the romance between them very believable. I definitely liked that Pearce didn’t try to sideline Amelia, involving her in solving the problem when she made it clear she needed to be part of it, and it was great that Amelia actually got to be there in the final confrontation with the villain, allowed to vent her feelings and have a say in what justice was meted out. I did see the villain coming (though I won’t spoil it here) because a few things in the story didn’t quite add up for me, but I admit I was shocked by the extent of the fraud which had been perpetrated.

This is a great story, and I’ll definitely be looking out for more books in the series, as while Amelia’s immediate issues were solved, the Armory didn’t get to the bottom of the Scepter mystery yet, so obviously there is more to come. Five stars for a very good historical romance with some intriguing mysteries at the core!

What a fun, exciting and pleasant change of pace for a historical romance! I loved the intrigue and the mystery, as well as the second chance romance. There was a good balance of drama and excitement, and good old fashioned romance!