I am a big fan of Romance books and I found this one to be a very enjoyable read. I will be looking for more books from this author.

I listed this book as one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 after seeing the synopsis. I mean, the shoutout to Bridgerton as well as this being about a fake engagement. I mean, give me all of the fake engagement romances. But while I think this may be a good book to start if you are new to the genre, it was just ok for me.

My biggest issue is that I could not connect with the characters. Charlotte is a self-proclaimed wallflower but I never really felt like I understood or got clarity as to why she is disinterested in being part of the season. And William, he just didn't do much for me. Maybe I'm spoiled by rakes and starchy heroes but he was just an unassuming character and not very memorable.

And my lack of connection to both Charlotte and William left me a little uninterested in where their romance was headed. And with the plot it just wasn't doing it for me.

But I am rating it 3 stars because despite those issues, I did like it enough to finish and I enjoyed the writing and ease of the story. I am more interested in the secondary characters and am excited to continue on as I hope that it was just a combination of me not feeling the story/and first book in the series "meh-ness" that I usually feel.

This is a good book with an enemies-to-lovers trope. Well, perhaps not quite enemies although Charlotte and William tend to meet and and get off on the wrong foot. They decide on this fake engagement to help him get the parliamentary position he craves and to save her from scandal because of the newspaper announcement of their betrothal. Their togetherness fosters feelings for both although Charlotte believes that they do not suit. She is a country girl and he is a city man. The enemy who planted the betrothal notice is busy at work to make life even more difficult for our couple.

I enjoyed this Regency read and can recommend it to the HR fans. This is my first book by this author and I look forward to the rest of the series.

I enjoyed this book and it left me looking forward to reading more from this author. The premise was clever and the characters likable. Charlotte and William's banter was engaging and their chemistry sparked. Their difference appealed to me and I just thought they worked really well as a couple. I felt that there was a true underlying sweetness to this duo that really made an impact on my heart.

This was a new to me author and I'll be definitely be checking out more from her in the future.

This wasn't a favorite for me... the characters and their plights and stories just didn't grab me from the get-go. While this wasn't an out-of-the-park hit for me, I liked the writing style and hope that future stories have much more to the plot for me!

Thank for the chance to read early!

4.5 Stars

Witty, engaging and utterly delightful, Kate Pembrooke’s debut historical romance Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is an enchanting Regency tale readers will fall head over heels in love with.

William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, is absolutely incandescent with rage! The stakes have never been higher for him as there is a highly-sought after position in the British government in the pipeline he is absolutely determined to get at all costs. William’s reputation must be whiter than white and he cannot afford even the slightest whiff of scandal – so he cannot believe that someone had the audacity to publish an announcement in the morning paper stating that he was engaged to marry a woman he has never even met before!

Miss Charlotte Hurst is a wallflower who has neither the time nor the inclination for the puerile games girls of her class are forced to play in order to make a suitable match. Charlotte might not like being the center of attention, but nobody can accuse this wallflower of being a shrinking violet. Fiercely intelligent, resourceful and opinionated, Charlotte cannot bear the claustrophobic shackles society imposes on unmarried women, so when the Earl of Norwood comes charging into her drawing room furious that their engagement has been announced in the paper, she isn’t exactly jumping for joy. William Atherton is far too haughty for his own good and has too high an opinion of himself. And besides, a man like him wouldn’t give a wallflower like her the time of day…or would he?

If William and Charlotte play along and pretend to be an engaged couple in the eyes of society, this arrangement could end up being beneficial for both parties. Charlotte agrees to act as his pretend fiancée, but as she starts spending more and more time with William, she begins to see her arrogant betrothed in a completely different light! As their feelings for one another intensify, will their fake engagement give way to the real thing? When the culprit behind their engagement is revealed, will William and Charlotte’s love be thrown in jeopardy? Or is their relationship strong enough to withstand all the obstacles standing in its way?

An irresistible Regency romance that deftly blends wit, emotion, drama and intensity, Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is a wonderfully written historical tale that is impossible to put down. Full of exquisite period detail, Not the Kind of Earl You Marry introduces readers to a clever, smart and funny heroine and a gorgeous swoon-worthy hero and their hilarious banter, witty exchanges and tender romance is guaranteed to touch the heart and tickle the funny bone.

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is a superb historical romance debut from a terrific new writer with a bright future ahead of her: Kate Pembrooke.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is Kate Pembrooke's debut. It's flawlessly written according to the already coin recipe of historical romance. The language is there, the banter is fun at times and forced at others and this had to be the book most reminiscent of Jane Austen I have ever read. Except Jane Austen literally lived in Regency England and was a true genius with words. Kate Pembrooke tried really hard and she nailed it but in that sort of nerd-ish kind of way where you have somebody execute a task without error but also without any passion. I found the book incredibly dull. For the life of me I couldn't care much about the protagonists or the political issues in the background. And the feminism just annoyed me to no end. It's a personal thing, of course, but it irritates me when I can literally see the ingredients thrown in for good measure so that the publisher can say it checks the boxes. That being said, the only way I'm picking up the next in the series is if I see a plethora of reviews saying it's good AND very different from the first one. Otherwise, nope. For those interested in the sexy times, don't be. They occur very late in the book, it's a one time thing and I could feel that the author was not at all comfortable writing it. So, again, nope. I gave it three stars because it is a first book and it did follow the stencil very well.

*2.5 stars*
This book began with an intriguing and quite novel plot – someone had placed a notice of an engagement between Charlotte and William in the papers. However, both parties had never interacted and after William realizes Charlotte wasn’t who did so in efforts to trap him, they decided to continue the temporary engagement so as to not hurt their political (his) and eventual marital (hers) chances.
I struggled with this book and could not get into the characters and what drove them especially Charlotte. I really liked her in the beginning but about a third in the book, it felt like there was a lot of “rinse and repeat” going on. She kept harping on it being a sham (for reasons still unclear) and that started grating fast. I never felt the chemistry between the 2 characters and their scenes didn’t pack any emotional heft with me.
This is the first book in a series and I think the author did a slight disservice to the main protagonists here by not building them up more.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

I've been enjoying new authors this year and as this is a debut, I was not quite sure how I would like the read. I thought the characters were okay, however I felt there was a connection lost between the two as I read the story. Although it slowed for me somewhere in the middle, I chalked it up to just me and not the book. After I continued to read, the story became very interesting and I started to like the characters and them getting to their HEA.
Nicely written and would re-read again later to see if my thoughts are the same as this review.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book from the very first page. I loved the characters and the plot kept me interested the whole time.

Sweet with a hint of spice. William is furious when an engagement announcement to a woman he has never met appears in the newspaper. He irately rushes to her home and confronts her. Charlotte sets him straight in no uncertain terms. When he realizes she hadn't set a trap, they come to an agreement. William is hoping for the Chairmanship of a government office and can't have any scandal hurt his chances of being chosen. Charlotte needs to avoid the censorship of society (not that she cares.) They'll proceed with the engagement until the Chairmanship position is chosen, then Charlotte will jilt him. Only.....the more time they spend together, the more their feelings for each other flourish. But wait, who put the engagement announcement in the newspaper in the first place? And what other trouble will they cause?

This novel had so much potential, that it is beyond disappointing to me that I never felt it fully explored what could have been. The characters were interesting, and occasionally we got glimpses of the sweetness between them, but sadly I never bought into the romance - at least not on Charlotte's part.

Time and again, we see William trying to win her over, to prove to her that their engagement could be real, but each time she not only shuts down (or as the author puts it "put her guard up"), but she turns him down and tells him they are just "too different" to the point I lost sympathy for her and was almost hoping he would move on without her. While I understand her hesitancy at the start of their "fake" engagement, there was no reason for her to continue to act the way she did for most of the remainder of the story.

I especially lost patience with her when she went out of her way to seduce him knowing fully what he wanted from her, and knowing from the start she was going to jilt him immediately after. Again, in the moment I understand why, but it doesn't show her in the best light and I know from being privy to her thoughts throughout the novel that she was capable of more. I just wish the author would have let THAT story be told. Let her express her feelings for him as equally over time. I think it would have made what happened later on all the more poignant.

Instead of drawing me in, it became repetitive to the point where I started skimming their passages just to get to the point of them actually being together. Sadly, I soon found myself more interested in Serena's work (and by extension Charlotte's help) than I was in the romance. And the whole sequence (and fallout) with the ladies maid I feel could have been scrapped. There was enough going on without that needed extra bit. And perhaps this is just me being picky, but I wish there had also been a way for William to have what he truly desired as well that wasn't just her as his wife.

However, seeing as how this was a debut novel, I will definitely read more from this author to see how their style expands.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

3.5 Oh, What To Do Stars
* * * 1/2 Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
There is nothing worse than learning you are about to be married while reading the morning news. That is how William Atherton, Earl of Norwood discovered he had a fiancee! The last he checked, he hadn't proposed to anyone, let alone a Miss Charlotte Hurst.

This must be a shrewd marriage trap, and he will have none of it.

Miss Charlotte Hurst and her brother were then interrupted by this man, huffing and puffing about a marriage trap. They were just as upset if not more because Miss Hurst's reputation was on the line. There was no choice in the matter for either of them, a fake engagement is the only answer.

Oh, the tangled web we weave, etc., etc., etc...What starts out as fake so turns into something else as a kiss between them changes everything.

There have been a handful of historical debuts this year, which has been so exciting. However, I've found each of them to be underwhelming and this was no exception.

I think my major issue with this book is that it didn't feel like it had any heart in it. It was light on conflict, and subsequently light on emotion. I didn't understand what kept these two apart from page one, but I also felt no chemistry between them. So much of this book felt tedious, with so many inane details and redundant conversations. Nothing really happened, and there was also such little feeling about anything that did happen - such little romance, such little swoon, such little heart.

This cover is gorgeous, and I felt like the world Kate Pembrooke built had a lot of promise, the story just fell flat for me at every turn.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC.

This book was ok. I mean i was entertained a bit and I did finish it.
I found there wasn't much plot into this one and the. Maybe it's just me.

Anyway, I will read the next book once it comes out just to give this author an other shot. I just hope the next book in the series will be better.

Wow! The opening scene just hooked me. The Earl of Norwood charges in while Charlotte and her brother are still having breakfast. He confronts them over the announcement of his betrothal to Charlotte in the paper. But they have never met, and neither of them submitted the announcement. To prevent a scandal, what can be done? A fake engagement!

I utterly adored the letters they exchanged. I could read a whole book of nothing but witty correspondence. However, the pacing of the book was a bit slow in the middle. It picked up near the end with more intrigue. Further, it did a great job establishing a new social club for women, which I expect will be the scene of many Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair books to come. I quite enjoyed the ending and look forward to the next book.

Thank you to Forever for this book. These opinions are my own.

William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, is shocked to read an announcement of his betrothal to Miss Charlotte Hurst in the morning paper. Furious at what appears to be a shrewd marriage trap, William tracks down his alleged fiancée but Charlotte is as perplexed as he is. Going forward with a temporary engagement may benefit his campaign for a coveted political post and save her reputation.

This is an excellent debut novel for Kate Pembrooke! The story jumps right in, with William discovering the newspaper pronouncement and rushing to confront Charlotte and her brother. She is not having any of his attitude and thinks the situation will blow over on it's own. She grudgingly agrees to keep up the pretense, not understanding how real it would become.

For me, the best part of the story was a series of letters that William and Charlotte exchange. It was really playful and such a fun way for the characters to build their connection! I would have liked a little from the ending, but overall I really liked the writing and can't wait for Townsend and Lady Serena's book next!

Tropes: Fake Relationship, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Bluestocking

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review. #NotTheKindOfEarlYouMarry #NetGalley

3.5 stars rounded up.

Upon seeing his own betrothal announcement in the morning paper, William Atherton, the Earl of Norwood, is just as surprised as the rest of society. A livid William storms to the home of his alleged fiancé to confront her and prevent her scheming from ruining his political career. But when he learns she is equally surprised, William begins to see the potential benefits to them both in continuing on with a temporary engagement.

Charlotte Hurst is both a wallflower and a bluestocking, but she’s not spineless and would never attempt such a brazen entrapment scheme. She’s less than impressed with William’s arrogant display of temper, but agrees to go along with the engagement, as long as everyone remembers it’s temporary. Only, the more she comes to know William, the more they both develop real feelings, just in time for their future to be threatened by the real mastermind behind the effort to destroy both their reputations and see them both imbued with scandal.

This is a very solid debut effort from a promising new author. I enjoyed this new twist on the marriage of convenience/arranged marriage/fake relationship trope and found William’s character progression to be very natural and charming. I really enjoyed his playfulness in trying to engage Charlotte, especially with his letters, and his work to bring her out of her shell. Charlotte was harder for me to like. She was willfully naïve and most times purposely absurd. Her constant reiteration of the fakeness of the engagement grew very repetitive and rather tedious after a while and she just came off as petulant. Charlotte is sensible and practical one minute and then woefully naïve the next so that I had a hard time pinning down her true characterization and it was therefore hard to see how William figured out what was the real her.

The story itself was strong, but at times became too bogged down in the details and minutiae of the main characters’ daily lives and movements. This caused a bit of a lag in the flow that was not helped by the very slow burn of the romance. The villain here was very readily identified, but nothing was done about him, and his threat as hinted at in the blurb, didn’t develop much suspense or intrigue for me. Rather, it left me disappointed in Charlotte’s rather poor decision making. The romance here was resolved very quickly and, though I found it very satisfying, and William delivered a very good declaration of love, I still felt like the story’s ending was rather rushed, especially after the long, slow build up to get there.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story and a promising new series so I will look forward to Serena’s book next.

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

A fresh new voice on the historical romance scene, Kate Pembrooke brings readers a debut novel filled with witty banter, fun chemistry, a bit of a mystery, and one of my favorite tropes. I love a fake engagement story and this one - with an intriguing twist - pulled me in from page one, promising a fun ride that kept me smiling and happily flipping pages.

Charlotte and William are both good people; interesting, likable characters who are well formed and easy to root for. I appreciated William's willingness to quickly apologize and take responsibility for misguided actions. I enjoyed the delicious friction that developed between him and Charlotte as their fake relationship progressed and, eventually, feelings came into play. And I loved how the author used well-placed splashes of humor to unveil more of William's and Charlotte's personalities, especially in the notes they exchanged and their interactions with William's aunt (she's a hoot).

I liked that William's feelings began to deepen first while Charlotte remained determined that their "relationship" would be temporary. I found Charlotte's evolution to be very realistic, appreciating that Pembrooke kept her on a gradual growth path, dealing with conflicting emotions along the way. It made her eventual decisions that much more realistic. I also enjoyed the female friendships she found with William's sisters, Serena (our next heroine), and the ladies of the Wednesday Afternoon Social Club. I want to be a member!

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is a sparkling debut by Kate Pembrooke and a promising start to this new historical romance author's career. I recommend adding it to your summer reading list. I'm already looking forward to book two, Say You'll Be My Lady, scheduled to be released in February 2022.

*ARC received for fair and unbiased review

Really enjoyed this story from debut author Kate Pembrooke!

Things I loved:

Fake relationship
Cinnamon roll hero
The H falling for the h first
Strong female character (and side characters)

A good beginning to the series and I can't wait to read more.