Cover Image: Capturing the Earl

Capturing the Earl

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Oh, definitely my favourite book in this series so far! Another quick and fluffy read but it took my by surprise how much it tugged on my heartstrings at times.

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A fun, historical romance filled with strong, uncompromising women.

Capturing the Earl is the story of Mercy Heath in 1880s England. She has no title, no land, no dowry, but unsurpassed skill and passion with music. Along side the Wallflowers, she has found a comfortable place in the world, living with her dear friend and fellow Wallflower, a Dowager Duchess.
The Dowager Duchess is a young widow with no plans to remarry, but she holds lands that are part of the Earl of Castlewick's ancestral holdings, and he aims to marry her to obtain those lands, though he does not love her, and she has no desire to remarry.
When he goes to call on the Dowager Duchess he once again meets Miss Heath, the woman with whom he has only shared a dance, yet has captured his thoughts. She is not the one he is there to court, yet he cannot seem to stay away.
The Earl and Miss Heath struggle with their feelings for eachother, unable to hide from the other as the Dowager's mother, intent on the match, invites the Earl to social gatherings. As the Wallflowers are rarely apart, the Earl does not see the Dowager Duchess without seeing Miss Heath, and he cannot focus on the task at hand.

Will his feelings for her win out? Or will duty to restore his family's standing win out?

A fun, lively read, that is clearly part of a series - each featuring a Wallflower - yet each stands on it's own.

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This intertwined series of stories is featuring Mercedes Heath and Wesley Renshaw, Earl.of Castlewick. The heroine is a member of a group of girls who went to finishing school, but found themselves unpopular and the butt of many jokes and rumors amongst the popular girls. The girls always found themselves against the wall and embraced the name wallflowers as a badge of honor. They liked to solve mysteries and each story has featured one, but each story is definitely a stand alone story. Mercy, as she is known, feels that she is the true wallflower of the group. She is tall, wears glasses, likes to create and play music and has various mishaps. Her most recent is that she receives the attention of the Earl.of Castlewick and dances with him. During the dance, she stumbles and destroys her glasses. Her aunt, who has raised her since her parents passed, is happy and encourages her to increase the acquaintance. But Mercy feels that he is giving her sympathy and resists. One of her fellow wallflowers, Aurora, is a widow who has opened her home to the wallflowers. Due to her first marriage, she refuses to get married again, but her mother insists that she try to get the attention of, duh-duh-duh, the Earl if Castlewick. Mercy has told no one of her infatuation and feels that she will not interfere. But Aurora makes it quite clear she has no interest and if she knew Mercy was interested would probably do anything to facilitate a relationship for Mercy and Wesley. But miscommunications causes missed opportunities. And poor Wesley. If he would just have been honest with Aurora and Mercy, a lot of confusion would have been avoided. Wesley is under the command of his predecessor who stated in the will that Wesley had to get a certain property from Aurora and return it to the family. So in order to fulfill the order from the will, Wesley forces himself to try and court Aurora when it is Mercy he wants. And there are also some very bad mannered people who need to be vanquished.
I am enjoying this series because even though some characters bounce around the background, they seem just as alive and realistic as the main characters. I feel that I am an un-named wallflower as the story weaves around.
This was a well written story with no spelling or grammatical errors. The story in continuous with a well.defined beginning and end. I recommend this book with 5 stars.

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This book was an entertaining and light secret romance. I couldn't help but to root for Mercy and Wesley ending up together from the very beginning. Watching the two of them fight against their attraction while also falling more in love was exactly the kind of book escape I needed. The only character that bothered me was Malcolm, it seemed like he was being developed to play a larger role at the beginning of the novel and his reintroduction at the end of the felt rushed and didn't live up to the potential built at the beginning of the novel. While this is the third book in a series, I didn't realize that when picking it up and it reads very easily as a standalone novel as well.

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I really wanted to enjoy this book. Mercy and Wesley’s love story started with a interesting premise. I was hoping it was grow into a great connection. Unfortunately for me...it did not, I felt a lack of connection and depth to the story.

This is the 2nd book I read from this author and I have struggled to feel warmth with her writing style.

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This book was a really great read. It was pretty different from the previous book, there's no real bad guy, there's no real danger. But there is the tension that they are falling in love, but he needs to marry Aurora to get the final piece of his family's historical lands back. So that was a huge conflict in this book!

One thing that I really wonder about in historical books, is what would they think about the modern music that I'm listening to while reading their stories? This was particularity true in this book, because Mercy has such a passion and talent for music, she tears up multiple times over it. And I listen to our modern music, and wonder what she would think.

Honestly, at times Wesley really annoyed me. He kept thinking that he would marry Aurora, and that would be that. Even though she said that she was never going to marry again. And so I'm glad that he changed his mind, let love lead the way.

My only question is, is Aurora going to find love, are we going to get a 4th book in this series? Or is this the end of stories for the Wallflowers, finding their loves? I mean, I would love to have more, and I really hope that that either Geb Arafa is happy, or he'll find happiness in a future book!

This was a really great read, and I can't wait to read more by A.S. Fenichel!

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Overall I enjoyed Mercy and Wesley’s story. It can be read as a stand-alone but I found it more enjoyable once I read the other two books in the series. The writing was kind of stilted at some points in the book. I received an ARC of this book for my review.

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I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
For the most part I enjoyed this book.
Mercy is one of the Wallflpwers of West Lane. She is an orphan and is a musical savant. After a dance with Wesley she is enchanted however, he needs to marry Aurora another wallflower in order to regain the lands his grandfather sold off. I like the relationship between the earl and mercy for the most part. He is sweet and really does care about not just mercy but all of the wallflowers. There is not real conflict other the desire to regain what his grandfather lost however so the only thing stopping them getting together is Wesley. Aurora makes it clear that she won't marry again no matter how much her mother pushes. The only thing I didn't like is how long Wesley took to realize that some land won't make him happy and how long it took mercy to stand up for herself.
While I do think reading the other books in the series is helpful to understand the relationships and the appearance of the characters from previous books I do think this can still be read as a stand-alone.
Can't wait Aurora's story next.

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Wesley, Earl of Castlewick, has been slowly undoing the damage his grandfather inflicted on the family and its estates. To regain the final piece of property he needs to marry the woman who owns it, Aurora Sherbourn, Dowager Countess of Radcliff. But there are two major obstacles. Aurora is a lovely woman but she does not wish to marry again. And her fellow Wallflower, Mercy, has captured Wesley's heart much against his will. Mercy is wildly attracted to Wesley but has no title and no money to offer. A gifted musician, she feels she rides her friends' coattails in society and much of society reinforces that belief. I enjoyed this story of mixed emotions, thwarted plans, and friendship.

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Thank you to NetGalley for the complimentary eARC of this book!!
I have been hooked on the Wallflowers since book 1 and this one did not disappoint.
Mercy was an amazing and relatable heroine and Wesley. Wow. What a guy.
I love that it didn’t end with their engagement and had even more to work through.
I still think my favorite is the first about Poppy and Rhys followed by this one.
I really hope the next one is about Aurora!!!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC to read and review.

Here we have an insufferable Earl who knows what he feels and insists because of a piece of lost property to not court and marry the woman he loves but court her friend, with whom she lives, right in front of her.

I connected with the Heroine, as she is a musician and overlooked in most social environments. But this guy treats her terribly. I understand historical realities, etc. But, ugh.

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I love a man who can put aside what he thinks he wants for love! Simply a very sweet story about a lovely poor, talented young woman falling in love with an Earl...who thought he had a plan!

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I feel like I should have read the first books in this series to understand the characters more. Oh well, I thought it would be a good standalone.

I DNFed this pretty early. Unfortunately I had some major issues.

1. I really don’t like the writing style and I felt that it was unpolished. Given that it’s a historical romance, it felt kind of fake... Like the voice was obviously a contemporary person pretending to be from the Regency era. Voice is very hard to master in HR, but it’s important, and a bad one can turn me off immediately.

2. The wooden way that the characters react. I’m used to more flair and drama in my historical romances. The protagonist doesn’t want to marry, but her mother insists that she does. Why do her protests lack vitality? Why is it that when her love interest/the man courting her kisses another woman in a shady hallway, she takes it perfectly in stride? This would be <i>super scandalous</i> for the time period.

I appreciate the female friendships that are central to this series, but the romance gave me no butterflies. If I’m not swooning over the leading man then what is the point.

Basically, this does not have what I’m looking for when I read the genre.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with a free e-copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

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3.5 Stars. I did not realize this was part of a series when I started it. Though I think i could have benefited from reading the earlier books, this was still a cute and enjoyable read. I really loved all the Wallflowers, each one was unique and strong. Mercy was definitely my favorite, a this story focused on her and her future. I loved how strong these women were and how they put themselves first vs. what society of that time expected of them. Wesley Renshaw was so charming and swoony and I loved reading his point of view. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC.

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Yet again another Wallflowers of Westlane book I devoured in one session. This is the third book in the series and I don’t know how she does it but A.S. Fenichel has created yet another story that will steal your heart. Mercy’s story although not as action packed as Faith’s story was, is still an emotional ride. At times I was angry for Mercy and other times I was mad at the way the she talked about herself. Like the other two stories though it was an amazing journey and I really hope Aurora’s story is next. 🤞🏻

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Mercedes Heath is an orphan whose Aunt was kind enough to take her in. When her Aunt married a second time, she went to Wormbattle School. They are known as the Wallflowers of the West End. While there she met three other girls and they became fast friends. They are inseparable. She is also a prodigy at playing musical instruments. She can play anything. She is mesmerizing when she plays,
she is so talented. Aurora, her friend, was married before but her husband was very abusive to her. The other girls would run to her to help her. She had massive bruises and most of the time she could not move. Her husband was killed while at a gaming parlor and he was cheating. Never will Aurora marry again.
Wesley Renshaw, the Earl of Castlewick, is trying to get his family's lands back. His Grandfather did what he had to do to keep from going to Debtor's prison. He only had one more piece of property left to pick up. He was going to marry Aurora but the Wallflowers would protect her. He has two sisters and a cousin plus a governess, left for him to care for.
A thrilling story that is exciting and entertaining. Wes and Mercy are such sweet people and they seem to have a lot of respect for the people in their lives. They enjoy mutual respect and caring and this includes all their friends.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

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4/5 stars!

Four friends bond as they protect each other from perilous matrimonial pitfalls, especially after one of them had a loveless marriage. Two of them found love in their marriage, so now it is up to the heroine to protect their widowed friend from the attentions of a handsome earl, one that she is herself attracted to. Likewise, the hero is attracted to the heroine, but a deathbed promise to his late father made him turn his attention to the widowed friend. How will the story write itself towards the happily-ever-after that the couple deserves?

I enjoyed the story, though it does need more details for smooth transition in certain parts and characters. I liked how the couple each grew individually and together in the story. Plus I enjoyed the sisterhood the four friends have, supporting each other and being there as well in solidarity. Some secondary characters were also wonderful to read, providing that freshness during times when the story dealt with some serious situations. Overall, the whole story just gave some positive vibes and I would love to read the widow get her own story in the future.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.**

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Wesley needs to recover his family estates which are now owned by the beautiful widow Aurora. He decides to court her for her land. Her good friend, Mercy, objects and instead decides to spend time with him to see if he is worthy of her friend who was abused in her last marriage. As they become closer, Wesley and Mercy realize that the attraction between them is too much to overcome. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books for my honest review.

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Mercy and her friends stick together through thick and thin. This story is no different. Mercy is trying to protect Aurora from an unwanted suitor and it's a triangle from there. Good story and have enjoyed all of the Wallflower stories!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an opportunity to read and review Capturing the Earl

This is the third book is this series, and probably my favourite. I really enjoyed Mercy and Wesley’s love story and the continuing adventures of the Wallflowers of West Lane.

Although this story lacks some of the drama and thrill the first two novels had, I loved the musical aspects and that it was a simpler but more beautiful love story,

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