I adored this couple, the banter and chemistry they shared from the moment they met was something that pulled you in and wouldn't let go. I fell in love with this romance and was angered by he who dared to endanger it for political gains. I am thrilled to see what the next book shall be about and will certainly be waiting eagerly to get my hands on it! Well done! #netgalley #notthekindofearlyoumarry

4.5 Stars ⭐️ - Top Pick

"When this absurd engagement scheme had been hatched, she’d eagerly awaited the day when she could rid herself of the boorish earl, as she thought of him then. Of course, the man had proved to be anything, but boorish. No, he’d turned out to be charming and amusing. Kind and thoughtful. He could make her laugh with a wry observation and make her pulse race with a soul-stirring kiss that thrilled her, that reached inside her and filled some empty place that she hadn’t even known existed before he came into her life."

I read this book days ago, and I am finding it extremely difficult to believe this is this author’s debut novel! My mind cannot wrap my head around it because everything about this story comes across as a seasoned author who has written multiple books before. I was thoroughly entranced in this story for hours and found myself having a hard time putting it down.

William Atherwood, Earl of Norwood, discovers that he is betrothed to Lady Charlotte Hurst, someone he has never laid eyes on or been introduced to. Upon discovering that she did not set this trap to force his hand, he decides that they should pretend their betrothal is real until the culprit is unmasked. The more time they spend together shows them that maybe they really could be the perfect match for each other.

My favorite thing about this story were the characters. I loved them. William was a cinnamon roll hero who was charming and warm, and Charlotte was intelligent and strong. She did not wilt like a flower any time she had an opinion. She very much knew who she was and what she stood for. I liked that about her. They had wonderful chemistry with each other, and I found myself enjoying how much time they spent together flirting and talking with one another. They were together on page a lot in this book, and I felt like I was watching them fall in love. It was an entertaining and delightful romance with the focus being on the couple instead of the external plot. Although there is a mystery surrounding who published the fake betrothal announcement, I never felt that it overshadowed this couple or their love story.

The only thing that kept this from being a five-star read for me is the fact that sometimes when Charlotte and William were letting down their walls and starting to open up Charlotte would put up a wall and close off. This happened multiple times, and I think it happened a few too many times that it started to feel overdone. Also, the mystery was not one of those where you have to do to much guessing to figure out who the culprit is, and maybe that was the point. I would have enjoyed a couple more twists and turns to keep me guessing, but that is just me nitpicking because this story was just impressive.

I think fans of unique plots such as Bethany Bennett’s or fully developed characters such as Harper St. George could fall in love with William and Charlotte’s journey to love.

~ Michelle

'The one woman in London who doesn’t want to marry him is now his fiancée.

William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, is as shocked as the rest of London to discover his betrothal via an announcement in the morning paper. Furious at what appears to be a shrewd marriage trap, William tracks down his alleged fiancée before her plans can affect his campaign for a coveted political post. But then William realizes an engagement, however fake, may benefit them both...

Miss Charlotte Hurst may be a wallflower, but she’s no shrinking violet. She would never attempt such an underhanded scheme, especially not with a man as haughty or sought-after as Norwood. Yet his suggestion to play along with the betrothal has its merits... and the longer they pretend, the more undeniably real their feelings become. But when the true culprit behind their engagement is revealed, can their newfound happiness survive the scandal?'
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3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is the first book in Kate Pembrooke's debut series, The Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair.

The start of this book was perfect. I loved reading about William on the defensive, thinking that Charlotte and potentially her brother had plotted to trap him into marrige, and Charlotte giving him an almighty set down for his arrogance. But despite the rocky start, they plan to play into the engagement notice in order to protect her reputation and his political ambitions. I found their interactions together to be, by turns, amusing and endearing. I really enjoyed the letters that they exchanged, I feel that that almost gave us a better picture of their personalities than their interactions face-to-face. If I had to say what bothered me about the book though, it would probably be Charlotte's stubborn insistance that the engagement be pretend, rather then temporary and that the ending felt a bit rushed,

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry was a great debut book. I will be reading more from this author in the future and I look forward to reading the next in the series and reading Townshend and Serena's story.
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I would like to thank Grand Central Publishing, Forever and NetGalley for sharing an eARC of Not the Kind of Earl You Marry by Kate Pembrooke. This is my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with this digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Stars
Steam: 🌶🌶🌶/5 (some descriptive steamy scenes)

No Spoiler Review 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

This is the 1st book in the unconventional ladies of Mayfair series! As well the debut book for this author!

This book starts out with one of my favourite trope of fake engagements! As well as enemies to lovers! It also is a slow burn romance.

I really enjoyed the banter of these two characters!

There is one part with the letters between the two at the beginning that had me laughing and smiling a lot! I love their interactions.

This book is written very well! Characters drive this story! Loved our MC Charlotte her independence, fight for feminism, sass and her love of books! I also loved William, he is such a swoon worthy love interest. The side characters of Williams sisters and Lady Serena made the book quite fun too!

Reason for 4 stars was that I think some parts in the middle dragged on and could have been cut down a little bit. Some parts of the middle felt like not much happened. That being said there was still enough good plot to keep me entertained in this story!

Mostly this book was so good and it made my heart happy!! There was the right amount of slow burn, tension and steam! It’s a really good historical romance read! An awesome romance novel debut! I will for sure be reading the second book in this series when it comes out next year!

I saw the cover of Not the Kind of Earl You Marry and just knew I had to pick up the book. Then to find out that this is Kate Pembrooke’s debut novel… well, count me in.

The story starts off with a bang when William interrupts Charlotte’s breakfast demanding to know why she’s announced their engagement when they’ve never even met. After this initial meeting, they decide to stay engaged temporarily to save Charlotte’s reputation and hopefully advance William’s political career. And of course, since it’s a romance, there is a happily ever after in the making.

I actually enjoyed both Charlotte and William. She’s a bit of a bluestocking, and since her brother is only a baron, she’s been content to be on the fringes of society. She is more at ease reading a good book rather than dancing at a ball. I can totally relate to her. And then William isn’t the typical regency hero. He’s more interested in enacting change in Parliament than enjoying the vices so many young lords participate in.

The romance between the characters is a slow burn, mainly because Charlotte is resisting the pull she has toward William. So the romance was quite well developed, as is the character development of the main characters as they grow throughout the story. There are also many interesting secondary characters that I hope make appearances in future books in the series.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I think the only thing that kept it from 5 stars for me was that I needed a little more conflict. But I was totally drawn into the story, furiously turning the pages until I reached The End. I can’t wait to read more from Ms. Penbrooke. Well done!

I just love a good fake engagement trope! This is a debut historical romance and certainly won't be my last book by her! It was so much fun to read. I loved both the hero and heroine. Even though this is a popular trope, I thought the premise was quite unique. Highly enjoyable and would recommend!

A fake engagement done proper.

While its not a trope I'm particularly fond of, the fake engagement has exploded in popularity (thanks, JQ) this one is done right. William, and earl with political aspirations is incensed when he angrily interrupts a breakfasting baron and his sibling, Charlotte. He assumes Charlotte sent notice of their impending nuptials to the paper. She did not. I liked Charlotte. For a wallflower, she smartly negotiates what she wants as they pretend to be engaged.
There's a very modern sensibility to this book, but I found myself really engaged and recommending the book to my fellow historical reader friends.

Recommend.

London 1817

Miss Charlotte Hurst is having breakfast with her brother, Phillip, a baron, when they are rudely interrupted by William Atherton, the Earl of Norwood, insisting that Phillip read an article in the newspaper. It is an announcement of Charlotte’s betrothal to the Earl of Norwood. All of them are surprised and know nothing of it. After Charlotte sets Williams down for assuming she posted the betrothal, he apologizes and suggests that they agree to a temporary engagement which they can cancel sometime in the future after the gossip has died down. Charlotte finally agrees mostly to ensure William’s political aspirations are not ruined by a scandal. They soon form a friendship sharing their intelligence and sense of humor.

Charlotte is quickly welcomed into William’s family by his sisters who are busy working with a charity to build a home for war widows and then helping them to become independent. Charlotte is so happy to work with them and finds it fulfills her.

Charlotte and William attend functions together and find themselves truly attracted to one another. When it comes time to cancel their engagement, will they even want to? But, someone wants to ruin their happiness and William’s political future. Will they be successful?

I really liked this book finding it very well-written and I admired the author’s attention to detail style of writing. When I read mothers-in-law, I cheered her. How many times do I see mother-in-laws? Gah! I liked William’s sisters and especially his funny aunt with the gorgeous orange cat. Most of all, I really liked Charlotte and William and wish them much happiness.

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

I really wish I would have liked this one more than I did. The beginning of the story was a bit jumbled and just full of banter between the hero/heroine. The middle dragged a bit with the tiniest hints of intrigue at who set them up. The last third was both the best in terms of the writing and the story coming together but the worst in terms of how things were resolved. William was an interesting hero and I really felt like he had a whole life outside of the relationship. He has goals to win the seat on a special commission in parliament. He has friends who live fascinating lives; Serena especially as she dedicates her time to helping widows gain employment and stability and has a more independent-doesn’t-care-what-people-say attitude. Our heroine, Charlotte, lives a more sheltered life I guess? But by choice, she doesn’t have any friends but her brother, who’s pretty stuffy, and doesn’t go to events or anything until the Duke comes along. She likes to read and take care of the household, which is fine, but she has the air of “not like other girls” that I find a bit annoying in my heroines. She had a lot of fire in the first exchange with William and it just kind of dwindles away the more the story goes on. I think if there was more to the intrigue of who set them up and why, it would have been more of an exciting read for me. I liked the sort of plot line with Serena and the widows and more of that would also have livened the story up a bit. Overall, it was an okay story and I’m mildly interested in book 2 of this series as it is supposed to be about Serena.

A sweet enemies to lovers romance.
This starts out with an announced engagement between the two leads that neither of them no about. The rest of the story is them going along with the fake engagement until the find out who the culprit is.
I liked the dynamic between the two leads. The slow burn enemies to lovers worked really well. I think the fake dating/fake engagement plot was different for the trope.
However, I do think there are parts that dragged. I wasn't too interested in the political plotlines but I understand why they were there; they just weren't my tastes.
Overall I think this was an enjoyable faking engagement, enemies to lovers romance.

This is such a charming and delightful debut novel from Kate Pembrooke. Kate Pembrooke did a wonderful job crafting a story that I was immediately drawn into and rooting for our couple along their journey. Kate's writing is well paced, engaging and accessible. I found her characters to have wonderful dimension and that the situations they find themselves in to be amusing and intriguing. Kate does a lovely job of interweaving some of the workings of parliament, social justice work and a sweetly blooming love story to drive this fake engagement relationship.

Charlotte, the heroine, is a bit of a mystery to the ton, she has not had a debut season and she is practically on the shelf, so when William, the hero, discovers that there is an engagement announcement for them, he is brash and angry, assuming that she is trying to take advantage of him. This misunderstanding is the start of their fake engagement which they both believe will help them skirt this gossip. William is immediately put in his place by Charlotte and he discovers that she is not some quiet country mouse. I think this is the start of William slowly opening his heart to Charlotte and seeing her for the strong and smart young woman that she is.

I loved watching these two begin to respect each other and see their strengths and ambitions both lay in the improving of society in regards to the men and women who have been affected by the recent war. I loved watching William become absolutely enchanted by Charlotte and how he pushes her into seeing their fake relationship as something more. William's courtship of Charlotte is fun and charming as he writes her lovely notes, sends her flowers and is constantly trying to find time to spend with her (even though his work in parliament can be very time consuming). It was amusing and perfectly frustrating watching Charlotte constantly try to keep William at arms length even though she is swiftly falling under his charms.

I would definitely recommend this debut Historical Romance, I found the hero and heroine to be wonderfully endearing, the political side story to be interesting and the glimpses at the characters for the next book in the series to be very intriguing. I am highly looking forward to more works by Kate Pembrooke!

So, this book is a really solid first book in a new series. Though I am personally a little burnt out on historical romances, I can see the appeal of this one.
I think if you love the Bridgerton series, you would find a lot of joy in this series. It gave me similar feelings and vibes to the early books in the series, Hopefully, we will continue to have sweeping, beautiful romances from this author to come.

Fake engagement + historical romance? Yes please!

Author Kate Pembrooke's writing drew me in immediately, and I loved the plot of this story. William, Earl Norwood, is surprised when he reads the paper announcing his engagement to Charlotte Hurst, a wallflower he has never met. Charlotte and her brother are equally surprised by the announcement. After loudly declaring that William is the last man she would ever choose to marry, she agrees to a fake engagement with him to preserve her reputation and to help him avoid scandal while he works to uncover who is plotting against him.

This one was definitely a win in my book. Every spare minute I had, I found myself reading this story, wanting to know what happens next. I'm eager to read the next book in this series.

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

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: blackmail

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f frenemies to lovers
-historical romance
-frenemies to lovers
-fake enagement
-book nerd flirting
-driving lessons

This was a fun and low steam read. I really enjoyed the flirting and the fact that the MMC felt so strongly from the very beginning. He wanted it to be real very quickly and wanted to convince her that they could work. The family characters were a great addition. A light, low angst read.

Rating: 3.5
Steam: 2 (vague terms but there is sex)

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was clever, fun and charming. The characters and story line drew me in and I didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

A trick perpetrated by a political rival results in an unlikely alliance and a fake engagement… soon this fake engagement is feeling all too real and has both questioning what they really want in life and can they turn this fake engagement into a real marriage!

One would think that Miss Charlotte Hurst would be ecstatic with he prospect of marrying William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, but they would be wrong! Though her feelings definitely grow for him throughout their fake engagement, she knows that they come from different social levels and she could never fit into his lofty rank or become the political wife that he needs for with ambitions…

I loved that this is His. Rom. that shows a true distinction between the levels of the aristocracy. So ofter we see a duke falling for a lowly village girl that really omits to show the realities of the time. As well, the characters opposite natures balanced well together and their compromises for each other in the end rang true.

I enjoyed that these characters were brought together thorough a nasty trick (that totally backfires!) and their good natures make the best out of what could be an awkward situation and they find what they didn’t know they needed. This was a subtle Cinderella story and was a true delight to read!

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry by Kate Pembrooke is scheduled to be released July 27th, 2020.

Thanks so much to Forever Romance and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me with my review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#NottheKindofEarlYouMarry #KatePembrooke #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is the debut novel by Kate Pembrooke and I’m happy to say that Ms. Pembrooke is a promising new author. There are a few hiccups but overall it’s a delightful, easy story about two loveable characters.

Our story starts quickly when William Atherton, the Earl of Norwood, interrupts Baron Hurst and his sister Charlotte at breakfast, demanding to know why an announcement of the betrothal between himself and Charlotte has appeared in the papers when they have never met.  William quickly realizes that Charlotte and her brother had nothing to do with this falsehood and the three of them discuss what can be done to right the wrong.

WIlliam is a rising political star, hoping to secure the chairmanship of the Reform Commission but an engagement scandal would dash his chances. And he’s concerned about Charlotte’s reputation, much more so than she is. In the end, they decide a temporary, fake engagement is the best option. They will pretend to be engaged until the chairmanship is declared and then Charlotte will jilt William. William suggests a carriage ride to display their devotion to the ton.

“When I agreed to this plan, I didn’t realize it would include flirtatious carriage rides. I’m not confident I’m that good of an actress.” She pursed her lips and gazed at him thoughtfully. “Although, if you let me drive, I think I could manage to look reasonably happy.”

“That, Miss Hurst, sounds suspiciously like blackmail.”

She gave a saucy little shrug. “In acting, I believe it’s known as motivation.”

Our charming duo then proceed to be seen at all the popular events, even though Charlotte would rather be at home or with a small gathering of friends. But she is enjoying her time with William a little more than she is willing to admit to herself. William is treasuring his time with Charlotte. He finds her sharp wit and unflappable manner delightful and he is wondering if they should explore a real relationship.

Charlotte and William have serious chemistry. The best parts of the book are when they are together, exchanging witty banter or just getting to know each other. It’s a playful relationship that quickly blooms into an attraction on both sides. Charlotte is a smart, quiet wallflower who values her gifts but doubts they would be the things needed to be a successful politician’s wife. She remains true to herself even in the midst of shopping trips with WIlliam’s sisters, demanding that the French modiste include a few flannel nightgowns in her trousseau!

William is a refreshing hero who is not a rogue and comes from a great, supportive family. What??? No mother who could never love him, no father who dismissed his talents, no brother who died on the battlefield leaving William awash in guilt, no gaming hell, no dark sexual desires, no empty coffers needing to be filled. Just a ‘regular’ guy, er… earl. What a breath of fresh air! He’s popular, dashing, and kind. Yep, kind! And funny! He and Charlotte exchange letters frequently and they are so amusing.

So why a B instead of an A? Well, there is a villain in this tale (the fellow who put the announcement in the paper) and he is vanquished much too easily. And Charlotte does something near the end that I just could not forgive her for. Which is harsh I know, but the selfishness of her action almost had me wishing our charming duo would not end up together. The story is saved in the end but the misstep cost it a higher grade.

Ms. Pembrooke has book number two in The Unconventional Ladies of Mayfair slated for release next year. I’m pretty sure I know who our hero and heroine will be and I can’t wait to read their story.

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I've developed such a fondness for historical romance this last year, and this start of a new series by a debut author is delightful. The Earl of Norwood, William Atherton, and Charlotte Hearst, a bookish homebody, find themselves in a "fake" engagement after a mysterious announcement in the papers declare their engagement. Of course, as they get to know each other, sparks begin to fly. This was really charming- I loved the two main characters as well as those in their orbit, and it was easy to cheer for their relationship. As a series starter, I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author and about the characters.
If I have one quibble with this book, it's that it dives very quickly into the meat of the story and doesn't give us a chance to meet the characters as individuals before they dive into their fake relationship. However, I felt that there was good character development through the story and this was a small issue.

A truly fantastic debut! 4.5 Stars!

William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, is incensed. He's just learned of his own supposed betrothal via newspaper announcement, and he's outraged at the idea that some young woman has tried to trap him into marriage this way. He storms over to the woman's house and demands an audience with her older brother, Phillip Hurst, a baron. Turns out neither of them know anything about it, and William realizes the culprit might be a political rival out to make him look bad. So, he convinces Miss Hurst, and her brother, to go along with a fake engagement until he can unmask the real guilty party. It will potentially save his political ambitions, and it will definitely save Miss Hurst's reputation.

Miss Charlotte Hurst cannot believe this is happening. An arrogant earl comes in, throwing around accusations one minute, and then begging her to enter a temporary fake engagement the next. Charlotte is 23, and a country girl at heart. She has no real interest in London, or its politics. She's not big on social gatherings or parties, and she is absolutely not the right kind of wife for a politician. Good thing this isn't a real engagement. But the more time they spend together the more she wonders if they might be perfect for each other after all.

Charlotte and William's chemistry was crackling, and I loved all of their banter. She was NOT afraid to call him out on things, and he loved it. Watching them fall for each other was a total delight. Both of them are orphans, and Charlotte only has her brother. She's a wallflower, used to being on her own, and never noticed by the highly eligible bachelors like William. William is in the middle of 4 sisters, and he taught them all to drive. 3 are now married, and 1 is still a teenager, who hasn't yet come out. Only 2 feature prominently in the book, Elizabeth and Lydia, and I loved them so much. They keep him grounded, and don't let him get away with any boorish behavior.

All the siblings were wonderful side characters here. They were great sounding boards for the main characters, and I adored the way William's sisters took Charlotte in as a friend right away. I also really loved Lady Serena and her lifelong friendship with William. Charles Townshend, and his frenemies vibe with Serena was quite intriguing as well. They are the main couple in book 2, so I'm very much looking forward to that!

This story just sparkled, and I enjoyed it so much. There were just a couple small things with the dark moment that weren't my favorite, but it didn't take away from my love of the book as a whole. As a debut, it was completely wonderful, and I couldn't have asked for more! Highly recommend!

One of my favorite things is finding a debut author that just gets it right. And Kate Pembrooke gets it right. Not the Kind of Earl You Marry has the feel of a solid, classic regency romance. William, Earl of Norwood, barges in on Charlotte and demands to know why there's an article in the paper announcing their engagement only to learn that Charlotte is just as surprised as he is. The two opt to continue with the fake engagement in a mutually beneficial agreement. Despite having never met before, these two match up more than they would have thought.

I enjoyed this book immensely. William and Charlotte have great banter. At one point, their correspondence back and forth had me laughing out loud. William is very likable. He's good to his four sisters and I liked that the initial argument continued unnecessarily throughout the book once he realized Charlotte wasn't the instigator of the announcement. He also has ambitions beyond simply gallivanting around town with his title. Charlotte seems very true to many women of her time. She's also very true to herself and the kind of life that she wants. This is a slow burn for sure but I definitely was happy for the HEA in the end. The side characters were great and I'm excited to read more about them in future books.

I would say any fan of historicals and Regency romance would enjoy this one. I'm adding Pembrooke to my must-read author list for the future.