Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is exactly the type of book I love reading. From the very beginning I was hooked. A fake engagement between two people who aren’t afraid to be themselves around one another made for a delightful story. I loved the relationship between Charlotte and William! I can’t wait to read the next installment!! Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the arc to review.

3.5 stars

William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, never expected to read a betrothal announcement for him in the morning paper. Fearing it was another attempt to trap him into marriage, he soon confronts Miss Charlotte Hurst and accuses her of placing the announcement. Unfortunately for Norwood, this is the worst timing for a scandal as he hopes to land a prominent assignment in Parliament. Charlotte is outraged that Norwood storms into her home and accuses her of such a horrendous trick. Norwood finally calms down, realizes it wasn't Charlotte and suggests they continue with the engagement to avoid scandal for both of them. Charlotte is reluctant at first, but finally agrees fearing the damage to her reputation if she does not agree. What starts out as a fake engagement soon becomes real for Norwood, but can he convince Charlotte of his true feelings?

This book started out so well. It was a unique premise to bring Norwood and Charlotte together. I loved the letter writing sequences and wished they had continued. I found Norwood more likeable than Charlotte. She spent much too time internalizing why she and Norwood didn't suit and it made the middle of the book drag. I began skipping pages to get to the end. Ms. Pembrooke is a new author for me and while this book had its good points, it wasn't my favorite. I'd love to read more from this talented author.

Fun fake engagement trope. I enjoyed these characters immensely and watching them go from fake fiancees to lovers was a joy!

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, discovers he is engaged to a lady he has never spoken to or even met for that matter. Their betrothal announcement in the paper must be a mistake. Miss Charlotte Hurst first lays eyes on the Earl when he storms in their breakfast room insinuating that she is behind the announcement. When he discovers that she has nothing to do with it, they team up to protect both their reputations.

Wow. I can hardly believe this was a debut. It was wonderful! The writing was top notch, and I really came to love and root for these characters to get their HEA. I even enjoyed the side characters, and felt they really added a lot of dimension to the story. There was a lot of great dialogue, and felt like these characters were constantly flirting. It was so sweet. I didn't feel their love was rushed, and I truly felt at the end that they were each other's person. While this one has a mystery element, I didn't feel it overshadowed the romance between the main characters at all.

My only complaint is I felt like Charlotte retreated behind her emotional walls quite often, and that was frustrating. I understood her reasoning behind it, but it wasn't my favorite to keep reading about it.

Otherwise, I found this to be pretty great and am excited to read more from this author.

4.5 stars!

This is Kate Pembrooke's debut and she won me over instantly with the fantastic banter between William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, and wallflower Miss Charlotte Hurst. A political rival is spreading a rumor about William's engagement with Charlotte, and the two decide to go along with the lie as they work to uncover who is targeting him. As they spend more time together, they start to realize that their fake relationship is causing some very real feelings.

Pembrooke infuses excellent humor throughout (particularly in the notes that the hero and heroine send back and forth to each other). Charlotte believes a solitary future if what will be best for her, and I loved reading along as William and his sisters welcomed her into their family and made her realize that her plans for herself are allowed to evolve and change.

There was one little hiccup for me around Chapter 17. There's a scene where a maid had been grabbed on the street by a frightening man and our heroine was trying to force the maid to go with her to find the man. The maid is terrified (crying, begging not to go), and her fear is later made light of (she's described as "flightly"). In a book where the heroine is otherwise intelligent and considerate, it stood out as uncomfortable given the power imbalance between them and the maid's reasons for being afraid.

But otherwise, this was an enjoyable debut that left me looking forward to reading more from Pembrooke. It's a low-angst romance, excellent for readers looking for a fun and lighthearted read and fans of the fake engagementtrope.

No one can be more shocked at the announcement in the newspaper that William Atherton, Earl of Norwood, is engaged to bluestocking Miss Charlotte Hurst than the supposed bride and groom themselves, who have never met until the day that William storms into the Hursts' breakfast room to demand an explanation. Neither know who placed the announcement, but it can't come at a worse time: William is on a short-list to chair a committee in parliament, and if he is caught in a scandal, the position could go to someone else who won't get anything done.

And that is how two strangers, who vow upon their very first meeting that the other is the last person in the world they would want to marry, find themselves engaged. Well, until a decision can be made about the committee, at least. And then Charlotte will use her lady's prerogative and jilt the earl. All they have to do is pretend to be hopelessly in love with each other for a little while. What can possibly go wrong with that plan? It's not like they'd actually develop feelings for each other anything, right?

Oh. Wait...

A brilliant debut from Pembrooke, this is an amazing fake-relationship story with a phenomenal cast of characters, witty banter, and so many moments that leave the reader in a swoon. "Not the Kind of Earl You Marry" should definitely be the kind of book you read!

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is the story of Charlotte and William who became engaged through an announcement in the paper. Someone mysteriously announces their engagement and since they have never met, neither are pleased with each other. In order to save face, they decide to pretend to be engaged until they find out who placed the announcement. Fake relationships are a fave of mine and I was all in from the beginning. He is the biggest cinnamon roll and I loved watching him love Charlotte. My only frustration is when a heroine digs her heels in and is difficult just for the sake of stubbornness. Charlotte had a very strong streak of this that was manageable, but not my fave. Overall, I really enjoyed reading it and once I fell into the story it was hard to stop reading. I am VERY excited for the next book.

This was such an enjoyable and, more importantly, satisfying read. Both leads are strong and smart, and witnessing them falling in love was a joy. I look forward to reading more from Kate Pembrooke and her Wednesday Afternoon Social Club.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Fake engagement/enemies to lovers historical. The Earl really messes up his first impression with the heroine. She dislikes him immediately. His reasoning for a fake engagement just had me rolling my eyes. If you like these tropes, you’ll like this book.

This charming book gets off to a strong start and continues on being enjoyable. I very much liked the characters and their banter together was fun! They really suited each other, and I found myself invested in them reaching their HEA. The letters they exchanged were the high point of the novel. Altogether a lovely historical romance featuring one of my favourite tropes.

Miss Charlotte Hurst is disrupted at breakfast with the arrival William, the Earl of Norwood. He has brought a newspaper announcing his betrothal to Charlotte. He thinks that political shenanigans are behind the false claim and to avoid scandal the best thing is to fake the betrothal. Fake dating and engagements are one of my favorite tropes and the beginning is delightful.

Of course the betrothal must appear real so they spend time together for carriage rides, dinners etc. I particularly enjoyed the cute letter writing back and for to each other (like texting today) and wished it had continued longer. The book slowed for me in the middle as each of the main characters work with their causes. The best times are when they are together. William and Charlotte have great chemistry with him more willing than she to recognize their attraction.

I appreciate reading a new author and will look forward to Serena's story in the next book of the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 stars)

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is a is a delightful and steamy story about two people forced to play a role to save both of their reputations. I love the spunkiness of Charlotte and Williams determination. This is a good book to transport into, if you're looking for some time away from reality!

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

Could not get into this one sadly, writing style was not for me. Fun premise and I love the trope but it just didn’t work for me.

This book really started out with a bang, and it really grabbed my attention. It has a very unique twist of engagement of convenience!

One of the things I liked best about this book was how absolute gone the hero, William is for the heroine Charlotte. He stumbles through their first meeting and it completely sets the tone of how she views him.

I did feel slightly disconnected from Charlotte’s feelings towards William. She was just so against him and the life he was working towards. I feel like I would have liked her more if she had just listened to the words and actions William was showing her, rather than being so dismissive at every turn.

I enjoyed reading this story. Brilliantly done. The banter of the two lead character was so much fun. Lovely story that starts with a mistaken engagement announcement and continues into a grand story. Well done.

Fake engagements are great, aren't they? The participants make a mutually-beneficial deal that they'll get engaged but just won't get married at the end of it. But of course, all that fake courting means they have to act like they're for-real courting, and at the end of the day fake courting and real courting are basically the same thing, amirite?

All that to say that the premise for Not the Kind of Earl You Marry was one of our favorites. William and Charlotte enter into their "temporary engagement" because someone put their betrothal announcement in the paper. Once they straighten out that it wasn't either of them who did it, they decide to defy whoever did it and go along with the plan.

The book starts off really strong, with fun banter, witty correspondence, and (of course) sexual tension. The plot does drag a bit whenever Charlotte and William are not on the page together, which happens relatively often (William is kind of a bit deal in parliament, which is why he can't have any scandal attached to his name, but is also why he and Charlotte can't hang out together more often). We are looking forward to reading more from Kate Pembrooke.

Not the Kind of Earl You Marry is a historical romance with the hero and heroine first meeting after seeing in the newspaper their own engagement announcement. When Lord Norwood shows up to meet and confront Charlotte about it, she has no idea what’s going on either. He decides on the fly that for his political aspiration, a fake engagement might just help him out and that they should go with it. Charlotte ends up agreeing to go along with it for a bit to not risk their reputations.

This was a very low-angst, low-plot romance...which can be just right if you’re in the mood for a lighter historical romance. The story immediately drops you into the main characters meeting and the fake engagement plan. I personally would have liked a bit of time in the beginning to get to know the hero and heroine first 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, wished that part would have last longer because their letter-banter was so fun. I also did adore 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 for their story.

Thank you to the publisher (Forever) for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts & review. Not the Kind of Earl You Marry will be published July 27, 2021.

Someone posts an announcement in the paper that Charlotte and William are engaged. While her brother knows the political earl, Charlotte has never even met him. They decide to embark on a fake engagement to save both their reputations. As time goes by, they realize that, while they are opposite personalities, they do get along quite well. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Forever for my honest review.

I just couldn’t get into this one, the writing felt a bit forced, but it may be one I’ll try to pick up again in a different mood

Plot: This was a delightful read! I really enjoyed reading about Charlotte and William's growing feelings for each other, and the problems I thought they were going to have, were not actually the ones they did have, so that was nice!

Characters: All the characters were wonderful, and I quite enjoyed reading about a couple of the side characters in this one, and am happy that they appear to be the leads in the next book!

The Cover: I like it! (Her dress is gorgeous!)

Overall: This was a delightful debut Historical Romance, and I eagerly anticipate reading more by this author! Overall, I would definitely recommend it!

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher.