When any romance opens with a declaration that a gentleman in question is the last person a lady would ever marry—no beneath that, because she would NEVER marry him—you know they’re going to end up together. Not The Kind of Earl You Marry doesn’t disappoint. Someone is framing the Earl of Norwood, William Atherton, to create a scandal to knock him down a peg or two politically, and has posted his engagement notice to bluestocking Charlotte Hurst, and then planted seeds of gossip indicating they are marrying in haste because she is pregnant. Norwood’s sisters and Charlotte’s brother are in the know but are happily going through the motions as if it were a real engagement, while Charlotte and Norwood’s respect and attraction for one another are growing as she shops for a trousseau, comes out of her shell to attend the theatre and balls, learns to drive his curricle and team of bays, and more.

Humor, respect, banter, and blossoming passion make this a thoroughly enjoyable story, but strong feminist roots add depth: Norwood is progressive and believes in setting up government infrastructure to support women having more autonomy and control over their own finances, even through marriage. He introduces Charlotte to his close friend Lady Serena, who has taken on war widows as her charity of choice and brings Charlotte on a tour of a housing facility in progress, where Charlotte realizes a lady doesn’t need to wait meekly for opportunity to come along, but can set her mind to making her own opportunities. Thus is she drawn into the circle of the Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair. This is a terrific start to a promising new series.

Attentive to period detail down to fashions, customs, turn of phrase and even publications of the era, the novel also boasts a prodigious vocabulary–I had to look up a fair number of words that I mostly could discern from context but wanted to be sure I was not misreading–and delicious formal writing. Readers familiar with the times will nod at references to Almacks social club, Grosvenor Square, the locked garden shared by Berkeley Square’s residents, and Gunther’s Tea Shop. In the regency world, a fake betrothal is akin to fake dating, and and being left alone without a chaperone is a sort of forced proximity; fans of these tropes will be richly rewarded.

I received a free advance review copy of NottheKindofEarlYouMarry from #NetGalley.

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry (The Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair #1). By Kate Pembrooke. 2021. Forever (eBook ARC).

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is a decent debut novel, but overall, it was on the dull side in regards to the romance and the political plotting that caused William and Charlotte to follow through with a fake engagement. There are some interesting characters however, so I would give this series another go.

I love Regency romance so much, so I was so excited to read Not the Kind of Earl You Marry by Kate Pembrooke. William and Charlotte were a delight to read and connect with. I loved the authenticity Pembrooke brought to the book as well!

This novel has an intriguing setup, and I enjoyed the early chapters where Charlotte and William meet, spar, and enter into a fake engagement despite Charlotte disliking the hero. The writing flowed well for a debut. And William’s declarations of love was very sweet.

But this struck me as a regency novel that was trying so hard to be historically accurate in depicting the perspective of the characters that they ended up not feeling very likable, or relatable. William was paternalistic, jealous, doesn’t think women should vote until we educate them first (but doesn’t care about educating women so functionally, doesn’t think women should vote), and seemed more sexually attracted to Charlotte than interested in her mind or personality. Charlotte, initially so fiery, became meek, easily led by friends and the villain, and makes several poor judgments that made her feel TSTL. The main conflict is their different lifestyles and Charlotte’s disinterest in politics and society, but it’s never resolved.

I really love Kate's writng. Her books feel fresh for historical romance. i can't wait to feature her books in an upcoming underrated Historical Romance Authors episode.

4.5 stars

Lovely story of the sweet romance between Charlotte and William, the Earl of Norwood, which begins when his rival posts a bogus notice of their engagement in the newspaper. William, believing Charlotte to be the culprit, and attempting to force him into a marriage is soon set straight. Thus begins an exchange of lovely, silly letters, and a delightful romance. I really enjoy Kate Pembrooke's writing style.

2.5 stars

A fake engagement for practical reasons might just become a real one. This story is cute, but lacks much of a plot. The characters, while likable, don’t have clear motivations for some key decisions.

[What I liked:]

•Both MC’s are likable people. Both treat each other well & want to help others.

•While the romance lacks any real depth, probably since the MC’s don’t really have much to overcome to be together, it is cute & sweet.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The dialogue isn’t bad, but it does lean on the side of wordiness. I get that it’s part of the style for them to speak like Jane Austen characters, & I don’t at all object to the use of big vocabulary words in speech, but sometimes the way they talk is inefficient & overstated; like one character will restate everything someone else just said, & it feels artificially verbose.

•There is very little plot to this novel, despite a premise promising political intrigue & scandal. William & Charlotte basically just hang out at social events. A few incidents happen towards the end where the potential political scandal is brought up again, but it is sloppy & not well structured.

•The reason Charlotte was chosen as the fake fiancée doesn’t make much sense. Why choose a proper, quiet bluestocking, & not someone actually scandalous?

•It’s unclear why Charlotte is so opposed to marrying William after she starts to fall for him. She doesn’t like being social, yeah, okay; they never discuss solutions to that though, & she just insists it’s an insurmountable barrier, until suddenly it isn’t. William’s only solution is kissing her to distract her from thinking rationally, which isn’t helpful either.

•Why doesn’t Charlotte tell William about the blackmail right away? It’s his career that’s at stake! He should at least know what’s going on. Why not get advice from Philip or one of her friends, either? Charlotte was portrayed as such a level headed person, & then she does something so rash.

CW: blackmail

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Miss Charlotte Hurst is enjoying a tranquil breakfast with her brother when the Earl of Norwood bursts in and demands an explanation for the announcement of their betrothal in the newspaper. Angered at his arrogant assumption that she is responsible for an attempt to trap a man of fortune and title into marriage, she not only denies it, but informs him that she is “more interested in the content of a man’s character than the contents of his purse… you’re not a man I would ever choose to marry.”

Readers familiar with Pride and Prejudice will recognize immediately that these two are destined to fall in love and wed, but of course the challenge is to make this process both credible and entertaining. Pembrooke succeeds. To avoid a scandal which would damage the reputation of both parties, Charlotte reluctantly agrees to a temporary betrothal, but as they spend time together, the couple discover attractive qualities in each other and increasingly their feelings become engaged. Marriage prospects are derailed when the villain strikes again with the threat of blackmail, but the pair rise to the challenge and earn the happy outcome. Warmly recommended.
HNR Issue 98 (November 2021)

In Kate Pembroke's Not the Kind of Earl You Marry, the first installment in the Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair historical romance series, this scintillating love story is like no other and would sweep you off your feet. It all started when someone posted a fake engagement announcement in the local paper that pitted William Atherton, Lord of Norwood, and Charlotte Hurst, a wallflower and country girl, together. At first, the idea was absurd since he was the most eligible bachelor in London and left many tongues wagging across the ton. But they've gotten to know each other better when Charlotte received curricle lessons from William as she learned how to live in London in style and made new friends along the way. Until they discovered who planted that scheme into the paper, they put on the charade that they were a couple before an evil threat lurked to reveal its ugly head to throw a moneywrench into the romance. Before they could say I do, they have to conquer this latest obstacle and get their happily ever after.

This was a very low-angst, low-plot romance, which is something that sometimes really works for me. The story immediately drops you into the main characters meeting and the fake engagement plan, but I personally would have liked to get to know the hero and heroine first before things started happening, because I don’t feel like I ever got to know their characters. I really enjoyed that this had a bit of an epistolary romance going on for a little while with Norwood & Charlotte writing letters to one another. I wished that part would have lasted longer. I also loved that Norwood’s first gift to Charlotte was a book from his own collection that they talked about in the letters. While I enjoyed some of the story, I did think the romance development was a bit lacking between Norwood & Charlotte and wanted more depth to these characters and their story.

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

This was just okay, however it is definitely not a bad book; I just think it wasn't for me. I loved the side characters more than the main characters, so I will definitely be on the lookout for later books in the series! A promising debt from Kate Pembrooke.

The first book in the Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair series a well written story with a very good storyline. I enjoyed seeing William Atherton, Earl of Norwood and Miss Charlotte Hurst go from not really liking each other when they first meet to being just right for each other. I would recommend. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The was a fun light romance. It is not the kind of romance I usually read as it is very vanilla.
The only issue I had was I thought it was out of character for Charlotte not to share information with William. I just didn't think she would run instead of talking to him.

I love the cover on Not the Kind of Earl You Marry! I was really excited to try this one last month, unfortunately I read 17% and never picked it up again. I love fake engagements in historical romance, I'm hoping to try this one again, but for now its a DNF

This book has all the tropes I enjoy: fake engagement, opposites attract, and a dash of enemies to lovers. Mixed together with strong characters and witty dialogue, it's one of my favorite books I've read this year. I'm already eagerly awaiting the second book in the series!

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry | @readforeverpub #gifted

This was such a delightful historical romance and I cannot wait to read more in this series and by this author! I thought the premise was so fun - a fake engagement, but with a fun twist. I was flying through the pages of this one and didn’t want to put it down.

4.5/5

The title of this story made me want to read it. What kind of earl does anyone not want to marry? I thought everybody was in a mad rush to marry into the aristocracy. Charlotte, our heroine and her brother, Phillip are rating breakfast, when a madman storms in waving a newspaper around. Turns out, he is the Earl of Norwood, our hero. And he is a big jerk. He accuses Phillip, Lord Hurst, of printing an article. Phillip denounces it and Lord Norwood, prince un-charming, immediately accuses Charlotte of the same. She reads the paper he thrusts in her faces and she is gob smacked to read an engagement announcement between the two of them she is sick, she doesn't want to marry him and it isn't a joke in those days. She and Lors Norwood could lose their reputations if they deny it. So she has to be engaged to him until they find out what political rival set it up and why. Charlotte is very unhappy.
This tried-but-true story theme is very well used here. The story is enjoyable. The characters talk smack about each other, and it is funny and not cringey like most stories. The author spins us and the main characters around London ballrooms and such in order to unravel the mystery. There is some intrigue and adventure mixed in. The characters develop into normal people, not spoiled elitists. I enjoyed this story as I felt involved in the ot and settings. This story was well written and I liked the people in the story. I give it 5 stars and recommend reading it.

This was a new to me author & I was absolutely blown away!! I just loved this story!! If you’re a fan of Bridgerton, this book is for you! Let’s start with the amazing meet cute, where Charlotte is having breakfast with her brother as William, the Earl, interrupts bc the paper has made an announcement of his and Charlottes engagement! *Love this!* These two however, decide to go along with this fake engagement to keep their reputations in tact. Charlotte is smart and shy. She’s not looking for an attachment. William swoony, proper, and trying for a position on the government committee. I adore that he isn’t a rake. He grew up with 3 sisters! I also have to say how much I LOVED the letters these two exchanged! And let’s not forget the rain scene!! Omg!! Everything about this story was wonderful! I enjoyed the slow burn as they grow to love. The chemistry that lead them to steamy goodness was the best! Charlotte and William were just perfect for one another! I can’t get over this story & look forward to what’s next from this author!!

An extraordinary historical romance debut that depicts Regency era life in such captivating detail that the reader is transported to another time and place.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Not The Kind of Earl You Marry by Kate Pembroke is the first book in what looks to be a delightful new series, The Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair. Bluestocking and Wallflower Charlotte Hurst is not quite sure how one minute she was having a quiet breakfast with her brother, and the next she’s agreed to pretend to be betrothed to William Atherton, Earl of Norwood and this season's prime catch. Once William realized that the Hursts had nothing to do with the betrothal announcement in the Morning Post, it became clear that the only way to salvage his rising political career and her reputation was to fake a betrothal. As they spend time together, William comes to feel that perhaps the malefactor who posted the notice has done him a favour instead of a disservice. Fake Engagement has always been one of my favourite tropes, and this book with a strong heroine, charming and thoughtful hero, nasty villain and intriguing supporting characters was a very enjoyable read. Steam Level: Medium. Publishing Date: July 27, 2021. #NotTheKindOfEarlYouMarry #KatePembroke #NetGalley #ForeverGrandCentralPublishing #HistoricalRomance #FakeEngagement #HistoricalRomanceReader #RomanceReader #bookstagram #bookstagrammer