I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I wasn't expecting something that I liked so much. But I found that it was perfect for a relaxing read!

Dorothy (Dora) Phillips has recently lost her father, a vicar. Having raised her brothers and sisters after her mother passed away, she is faced with accepting a position as a governess and placing her siblings in boarding schools. Waiting for a carriage at an Inn to take her to her new job, she helps a young woman who has fainted. She lets her stay in her own room along with the young man with her. Then a huge, angry man comes into the inn, throws Dora over his shoulder, and says he is taking her back to her home. He says that the young man is his ward and heir and is eloping with a young woman whose parents are from trade. After hours in the carriage, they arrive at they young woman’s home only to find that what Dora was trying to tell him is correct. She is not the young woman eloping with his heir.

When Dora finally gets him to listen to her, he is embarrassed and says that since they were alone together, they will have to marry. It turns out that he is Toby Spenlaw, Earl of Worsley. Dora reluctantly agrees. After they wed, Toby leaves for his family estate leaving Dora to live in her own home. Delighted to have a new home and money given to her, she brings her siblings home to live with her.

After some weeks, Toby decides to visit Dora, meeting and liking her siblings. He plans to take here to his family estate where they will host a large house party so she can be introduced to his friends. As she has never done something like that, she is nervous but agrees. She and her siblings love his estate and the room it allows for the children to play. But when Dora thinks that he doesn’t want anything to do with her physically, he lets her know differently.

This was an OK story, but I don’t like it when characters play games with one another. Dora sat back and let him take her in the carriage all night where he made a fool of himself. She should have insisted that he listen to her. Cat and mouse games are too common in some historical romance novels.

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

Fun book, with two people who are used to being in charge and must learn when to give a little. Dora is the oldest of five siblings and ran the family after her mother's death when Dora was ten. After her vicar father's recent death, the only way to keep the family together was to use their inheritance to send the younger children to school while Dora takes up a governess post. She's on her way to her first post when her journey is rudely interrupted. While comforting a young runaway couple, the young man's guardian arrives, determined to stop the elopement. Lord Worsley grabs the woman he believes has led his ward astray and abducts her without stopping to check his facts.

Worsley is so intent in his purpose that he doesn't listen as both Geoffrey and Dora try to tell him he has the wrong woman. It isn't until the next morning, when he attempts to return the young woman to her parents that he discovers the truth. Worsley is naturally horrified and apologetic and tries to return her to her original location to resume her journey. Unfortunately, her reputation is thoroughly compromised by now, and he insists on marrying Dora to make it right.

The abduction is the first of many misunderstandings that are both funny and heartbreaking. Dora is a practical young woman who has frequently been accused of being "managing." She doesn't suffer fools gladly and has no trouble speaking her mind. I loved how she didn't get hysterical during the abduction; she simply settled down and waited for the truth to come out. That's not to say she didn't have some choice words for Worsley when the opportunity arose. Worsley, an earl, is used to saying what he wants and having people follow through. He rarely stops to think about the effect of his words.

I liked both Worsley and Dora though they also frequently frustrated me. Worsley doesn't relate well to people. He doesn't understand them and how they say one thing and do another. He'd much rather spend time with his horses. He's well aware of his failings but has never tried very hard to overcome them. However, it does affect Worsley's confidence in himself when dealing with women, and he spends a lot of time castigating himself for his words and actions.

Dora has zero confidence in herself as a woman. I blame this entirely on her father. She is taller than the average woman, and her father constantly told her that she wouldn't appeal to many men. He also told her to give up any ideas of marriage until all of her siblings were settled as they were her responsibility. She spends most of her time convincing herself that Worsley doesn't really want her.

I enjoyed most of their interactions. Both Worsley and Dora believe in honest speech, so they don't play silly games with each other. Unfortunately, Worsley is so verbally awkward that he seems to make matters worse every time he opens his mouth. He wants Dora to know how much he likes and admires her, but he frequently ends up insulting her instead. Meanwhile, because she refuses to believe that he could want her, Dora hesitates to make her feelings known. On those rare occasions she starts to feel something happens (usually Worsley putting his foot in his mouth) that makes her pull back again.

Things got a little better when Dora brought her siblings to live with her. Working together to deal with the children forced Dora and Worsley to talk to each other. When he instigated a move to another property, Worsley hoped that Dora would begin to feel more like his countess. I loved seeing Dora finally overcome some of her reticence and let him know that she wanted to be a real wife to him. At last, they seemed to be getting past some of their communication issues. I laughed out loud at the one scene where Worsley played the neglected lover.

Not everything is smooth-sailing, however. Gregory and his new wife have been living at this estate since their elopement. Pansy is a spoiled brat and managed to alienate most of the estate staff with her attitude. She is also a master of snide little digs that appear intent on making things difficult between Dora and Worsley. Matters come to a head when she does something that endangers Dora's life, and the kids witness it. It's an eye-opener for Worsley as he realizes his feelings for Dora, and I loved seeing him face her with those feelings. Dora's happiness, as she finally believed, was terrific. I loved when she told him: "Stop talking. You know that is not where you excel. Show me how you feel, instead. You are very good at that." I liked the solution they came up with for Gregory (who I did like) and Pansy (who I'm still on the fence about).

When his heir elopes, Tobias chases down the couple and hauls the prospective bride into his carriage, hoping to return her to her family in time to avoid a scandal.

Except the woman isn't his heir's betrothed, but a governess whom Tobias has now ruined. He does the honorable thing and offers to marry Dora. With younger siblings dependent on her, Dora has no choice. As a countess with a substantial allowance, she can offer them a secure future. But can she ever forgive her husband for his brutish behavior?

I love this author's writing style, but I was skeptical about how she would manage to redeem Tobias. Fortunately, he turns out to be a big teddy bear. Far from being the arrogant lord he first appears, he's socially awkward but has a heart of gold. He and Dora have a lot of obstacles to overcome to reach a point of trust and open communication, but they both act with a kind heart and unselfish motives. This turned out to be a really fun book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This was such a cute, sweet story. Harlequin can put you in the mood, that's for sure!! Thankful to NetGalley for providing a copy of this title.

The first half of the book was absolutely fantastic. Then Dora’s siblings arrived and things between her and Toby slowed way down. I’m just not a fan of reading about children in romances.

I enjoyed this book. It was funny in places and I kept reading to see what Dora and Toby were going to do next. I would recommend this book to others as a quick and enjoyable read. Our library doesn’t buy paperback books but they are donated by others. If this book was donated I would recommend it to others.

He thought he was preventing his ward's elopement, but he got it all wrong!

His Accidental Countess is a fun and romantic historical romance about a socially awkward Earl and a determined governess.

Our thanks to the author, Harlequin, and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy.

Dora's father died, and because he was a clergyman, her family had to vacate their home to make room for the new vicar.

Forced to become a governess to keep her siblings at school, Dora spent the night in an inn, midway to her new position. At the inn, she met a young couple in trouble and offered her help, but in doing so, she got mistaken by the eloping bride-to-be.

Toby, the young man's guardian, stressed and wishing to avoid scandal, dragged Dora to his carriage and drove her to what he thought was her home.

I loved how Dora was in complete control of her emotions, even after being forcibly removed from the inn. She was so clever and witty!

Toby was adorably awkward. He was terrible at communicating his intentions, and it was fun to watch the mess he put himself into. He was so sorry for what he did, yet his attempts to atone for his mistake led him into even more trouble.

I loved Dora's siblings and their relationship with Toby.

His Accidental Courtship is a funny and romantic story with a good dose of unrequited (or believed so) love—my first book by this author, but certainly not the last.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 03/30/2021*

I overall enjoyed the plot of this book, as it was, at times, humorous and entertaining. The relationship between Worsley and Dora was intricate and complex and took quite awhile to get to a place of comfort and understanding and I relished in trying to unmask both of their true feelings and discover how each felt about the other over time.

Dora was an amazing character, with much grit, composure, independence and strength, but despite all of this, deep down, she was still somewhat insecure about her looks and her abilities as a female and I think all of these qualities made her so relatable and so likeable. I found myself rooting for Dora throughout the entire book and was so happy with the outcome at the end.

Worsley was more complicated, brusque, burly, and hard to crack, but he was a gentleman, intelligent and caring when it really came down to it. His transformation throughout the book was endearing and enjoyable to read about. His love for Dora was pure, despite their unusual and originally unwanted circumstances and, despite his awkwardness and lack of tact from time to time, he knew how to handle Dora and was a perfect match for her.

I really enjoyed reading about the children: Martha, Mary and Paul and they infused a spirit of fun and laughter into the story and I would love to hear more about them and maybe see a book about Dora’s life before her expedition to the Blue Boar and her accidental kidnapping by Worsley.

All in all, it was a great read but my only complaints would be that it took quite awhile for things to come to a head with Worsley and Dora and I would have liked for it to happen a bit sooner in the book so we could see more time with them as a real, true couple and I wanted the book to be a bit more steamy (but that’s just a personal preference).