I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Losing his father and brother, and becoming the new Earl of Foster was a shock to the system for Benedict. He blames himself for the fire which his mistress caused, and though he is scarred both physically and mentally, his mother will not let him forget that he is the one who should've died. His entry into society as the earl was fraught with scandal and suspicion, and he longs to return to the country. But his mother soon announces that her goddaughter will be coming to their home, as his ward, and it's his job to find her a husband and get her settled. Expecting a brat to turn up, Benedict is shocked when the beautiful and tantalising Phillipa, and she gets his heart pounding again.

I think this book was even better than the first. Both the hero and heroine are wracked with guilt, and they don't trust themselves, or each other, to not get hurt. I loved their connection, and the way they grew comfortable with each other. Neither had any intention of marrying, but Benedict knows that after he has her, he can't get enough. He wants more, and though he initially goes about it the wrong way, it was sweet the way he fell first, and hardest. A really enjoyable and quick romantic read!

These characters initially come together through lust but it's the commonality of pain and grief that brings these two kind-hearted broken souls together. Wonderful read!
Thank you Bella Moxie, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

What is not to like about a historical romance. I love those so much. the way they spoke and how they acted. This book was not disappointed. Will read more. this is why i like Historical Romance. They are super yummy

Haunted by the Past

Benedict and Philippa are both haunted by their past and riddled with guilt. Some of his scars are obvious, but most are unseen. Her scars are hidden, where no one can find them. What happens when Benedicts discovers what lies beneath the flirty, tempestuous woman that is Philippa? Both Benedict and Philippa are in desperate need of love, healing, and redemption. Can they find them together? They both have secrets, and only they can understand one another’s wounds. Their pain is more similar than they can imagine. I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to those who like steamy historical romance.

This book gave my all the angsty feels from the beginning. Benedict the Earl of Foster is dealing with a lot of guilt and doesn’t know how to overcome it. He has a strained relationship with his mother.

He's grumpy and broody and now has to take on a new charge. He is thinking that a child will arrive and he will have another responsibility to take care of, on top of everything else that he is now responsible for.

What he doesn’t expect is a young woman. A beautiful young woman that is extra sassy. She notices that the Earl is moody and is irritated at every turn, so she makes it her duty to rile him up.

She is also on a self destructive mission. Phillipa is struggling with her own demons and she thinks the way to ruin herself is to do everything self-destructive. So I totally understand why she is behaving the way she is but some of it was just really unbelievable to me.

For instance she was trying so hard to get Benedict into bed but she had no experience what so ever. And in the times that this story took place, women were not that brazen.

I understand wanting to make your own choices and I fully support that, but Phillipa was going out of her was to seduce the Earl, when I'm not even sure how she learned about seduction.

Fine moving on, she gets what she wants and the they both start to fall for each other and I really like how they are together and it is super spicy!

Benedict started to open up and show Phillipa another side of him that he usually keeps hidden and he started to open up and not be the grump he was. I loved seeing this change in him and seeing him be so sweet with Phillipa.

Phillipa seemed to open up to until she was just so hell bent on destroying herself that she did something stupid. I mean she eventually learned but this kind of annoyed me.

But I guess at least she learned from her mistakes and made the right decision in the end.

This is definitely a good read. Even with the things that Phillipa did, the book was extremely captivating and I could not put it down. I finished this book in a day.

This one not really for me. I trawled through to the end but I found the writing fairly grim and soulless and the book a jumbled collection of different tropes and phrases which I felt like I've read before and better in other books. Just not my style.

The Earl's Tempting Ward by Bella Moxie is book 12 in the Dukes Gone Dirty Series. This is the story of Benedict, Earl of Foster and Philippa. Philippa has lost her family and is sent to her mother's best friend to be the ward of her son Benedict. Benedict is scared from a fire that took his father and brother but besides the physical ones he has emotional ones. Benedict didn't expect his new ward to be a young women. This starts their story to love.

Thank you NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the chance to read and review The Earl's Tempting Ward by Bella Moxie.

At 191 pages this fairly short book has smut for days! There is a lot of survivors guilt on both sides which makes this a little different to other regency romance that I've read, but I really liked how Bella Moxie managed to show real growth on both sides.

The Heroine
Phillipa has always had an adventurous personality much to her parent’s disappointment. Her mother & father verbally abused her and her father even beat her. But when she thought she was in love with the stable boy, who laughed in her face, her parents had had enough. Phillipa decided to run away, but the stable boy told her parents and they died in a carriage accident trying to catch her. She truly believes she is a bad person and undeserving of any happiness or kindness. At first, I wasn't liking Phillipa very much; she seemed childish and self-pitying, but, as the story went along, we learned more about how her parents treated her and her tragic love story. I can completely see how the emotional and physical abuse from her parents became so ingrained in her that she started to believe she was a bad person.

The Hero
Benedict has his own burdens; he is responsible for his father and brothers death. He was the spare son and acted as such. He brought his mistress to his family home, knowing she was crazy, and she set her brothers room on fire. His mother has not forgiven him and the scars on his face and body keep him shunned from society. I felt for Benedict; he made some poor choices and they ended in tragedy. It sounds like his upbringing was similar to Phillipa's in that he was ignored and not nearly as loved as his brother. He acted out to get attention and to hurt his family the way they had hurt him.

The Plot
After Phillipa parents die, she comes to live with Benedict and his mother. She sees a scared, angry Benedict and thinks he is the punishment she deserves for her past. She offers to be his mistress but Benedict declines because he is not going to ruin her. She all but throws herself at him, even lying that she is isn’t a virgin, but when he finally gives in to her advances and his desire for her, she is overwhelmed by his kindness and tenderness towards her. He demands that they marry, but Phillipa doesn’t think she deserves his kindness and a happy marriage, so she seeks to sabotage the relationship. But in the end, they both come to realize that they are not defined by their past and they can move forward together.


Tropes
Historical Romance, Regency Era, Outdoor Steam, Carriage Steam, Alpha Hero, Scared Hero, Damaged Heroine, Hoyden Heroine, Aggressive Heroine, Guardian-Ward, Beauty and the Beast

Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Earl’s Tempting Ward is the second book in the Dukes Gone Dirty Series.
It’s about Benedict, who got scarred in a fire that killed his father and older brother.
He now is the Earl of Foster with a lot of guilt and self-hatred. The last thing Benedict wants is to look after an orphaned daughter of his mother’s estranged friend. He thinks she is a child only to find out that Phillipa is a grown woman. They both attracted to another, but Phillipa has secrets on her own.

This book had so much potential, but I had the feeling that the author only scratched the surface with her characters. The story is too rushed, and the characters are not really worked out. I also feel no chemistry between Benedict and Phillipa. The spicy scenes are okay, but sometimes a little too much. I will definitely read more from Bella Moxie.

This second installment of the Dukes Gone Dirty series brings us another entertaining read. The story is more emotionally charged than the first one, but is quite enjoyable. After the death of his father and brother in a tragic fire, Benedict become The Earl of Foster. Ridden with guilt, he takes his duties to heart. The last thing he needs is the added burden of a ward. He expected her to be a child, but Phillipa is anything but. A beautiful and sensual lady who captivates and tempts him, Phillipa comes with scars of her own. Benedict's mother has brought her here to introduce her to society and find a suitable match for her. Benedict comes to find the temptation too much and expresses his desire to marry her. Phillipa, however, is a broken soul and does not believe she is worthy of love. It is up to Benedict to prove to her otherwise.
An enjoyable addition to the series!
I received a complimentary copy from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

A new Earl and his ward both carry scars and pain. Guilt goes a long way in preventing any happiness. While seduction may consume them, it is the confessions to each other of their pain that leads to discovering
trust, love and happiness.
A dominating Earl takes care of his ward, a willing submissive.
An erotic romance.
Heat Level 5
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
4 1/2*STARS*
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This book had so much potential but I felt the author did her characters a disservice by not fleshing out the full story of the main characters. It felt rushed and this impacted on the chemistry of the characters.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whew, this one is a huge no. Setting aside the fact that there is insufficient character development, there are WAY too many consent issues here. He’s her guardian, he’s clearly older and she’s throwing herself at him out of grief. She lies to him to get him into bed and even though he knows it’s wrong he never removes himself from her presence. Nope. No way.

The Earl’s Tempting Ward by Bella Moxie is the second book of the Dukes Gone Dirty series. Benedict, Earl of Foster has been scarred by the fire that killed his older brother and father. Benedict did not expect to gain the title, but he has taken on the duties willingly. Struggling with his guilt over the tragedy and his mother’s hatred, the last thing he wants to do is look after the orphaned daughter of his mother’s best friend. Expecting his ward to be a child, Benedict is shocked to find out that she is a beauty in the market for a husband. He finds her thoroughly irritating yet thoroughly attractive. When temptation wins out, he decides he must marry Philippa himself. Philippa is feeling guilt of her own regarding the deaths of her parents. Neither Benedict or Philippa believe they are deserving of each other’s love.

This novella was a lot heavier than I expected. I did enjoy seeing Benedict and Philippa grow closer and realize their worths throughout the story.

A wild ride! I am always drawn in by angst, and this story takes it to a whole new level. Fraught with angst, anguish and an astounding level of guilt. Never have two people needed each other more. Having grown to think herself utterly wicked and blaming herself for her parents death, Phillipa has taken self-hatred to a whole new level. She is determined to live a life of punishment to atone for her sins. Benedict has always been rebellious but when that leads to the death of his brother and father leaving him the Earl, he accepts his obligations and responsibilities as well as his mothers hatred and his own self-loathing as punishment. It is inevitable that these two come together to heal each other’s wounds. When they do come together their spark combusts into an inferno. Filled with passion and desire and eventually love that will bond them for all time. An intense and passionate story I couldn’t put down.

When an expected ward is not a child but a beautiful woman, the Earl cannot believe it.

A story of two scarred souls, each in different ways and each trying to find a true love if possible.
He had the burden of a fire that took his father and brother and left him alive but scarred.

A combustible attraction brings these two on a journey toward a happy ever after.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this e-book; this is my freely given opinion.

Wow... Bella Moxie has only recently been on my radar but each book/novella I have read of hers keeps getting more and more intense and dramatic, with a lot of angst, emotional drama, characters with a lot of depth and trauma that really pull at you, and a lot of hot, dramatic sex.

At this rate, if she keeps going like this, I am going to need to take some sedation and a couple of gin and tonics to get through them without tearing my own figurative guts out! As it was, I sacrificed sleep to finish this, since I started it in the evening, thinking to read a couple of chapters and then go to sleep... Nope. If sleep happened, it was not intentional, I wanted to finish this book!

Benedict was a character who caught my attention in the first book, the friend of Raff's who definitely had a story that needed to be told - I think in my review for book one, I stated I looked forward to Benedict's story, and boy, did Moxie deliver a story! He inherited his title after a terrible tragedy that took the life of his older brother and father; a fire on their family estate that he takes the guilt for. Not only does he feel the guilt himself, but his mother also blames him and does not hide it. Apparently he was the younger spare, who lived a rakish life and did not compare well to his older brother. It sounded to me like his parents put his elder brother on a pedestal and compared him to him, and as the younger son who could not live up to the shining heir, he decided to get attention by behaving badly. His behaviours led to the tragedy that lead to him inheriting the title, losing so much of his family, his mother hating him, and his physical scars.

So to put it shortly, he hates himself, hates his life, and thinks he deserves to suffer. He wants to hide away from the world.

In the meantime, his mother brings her orphaned goddaughter, Philippa, to live with them, with Benedict becoming her guardian. He thinks she is a young girl and is greatly surprised to find she is a young woman. She is a beautiful, sensual woman who was living in Italy with her parents until they died tragically, making her an orphaned heiress. The dowager countess wants to launch her debut in London Society, and insists on Benedict doing his part to help his ward, thus forcing Benedict out into Society as well. She is a bit wild, likes to play with fire, and teases and tempts Benedict as they are very attracted to each other. He figures best thing to do, to get her out of his way, is to marry Philippa off ASAP.

Philippa however, is also a broken soul. She feels deeply that she is undeserving of any happiness, including a happy marriage and family, as she blames herself for her parents death. It sounds like she had it drilled into her head before that she was wanton, wicked, and wild, and she believed it fully, and directly through her actions, her parents met their death. So rather than being a docile, well-behaved debutante, she actively tempts Benedict to ruin her.

Finally, Benedict gives in to her temptations... but instead of this leading to her ruin, he arranges to marry her. But neither Benedict or Philippa can go easily down the road to happily ever after, as they are broken souls with broken hearts, neither of which feel they deserve happiness and love.

They are such tragic characters and their stories and their angst tore me up inside as I read, and made me really hope that they could find redemption, peace, forgiveness, and maybe love and happiness down the road. It does sound like they perhaps are also the results of less than understanding, accepting, and loving parenting as well, and that moulded them into the people they were.

This was a very compelling story, that really caught me from the beginning, had me hooked, and wrung me out. Very intense in the emotional depth, trauma, and guilt... and also very sexually intense too.

4.75 stars out of 5... and I felt it needed another epilogue, further down the road - something to show some positive emotional growth to go beyond their deep seated guilt and self-hatred - at least for my peace of mind.

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

After expecting a child as his new ward and discovering a beautiful woman instead, not much should surprise the new Earl.
However falling for the enticing lady and finding her a charming distraction was not on the cards.

A fun, steamy and chemistry filled romance that keeps you glued to the pages.
Very enjoyable

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

Benedict is trying to take the reins of the Earl of Foster after his older brother and father died in a fire he feels responsible for. His mother isn't any help either. She makes him feel like he can never be up to the task.
His mother go-child is expected. He thinks she is just a little girl until she shows up and is fully grown. She has problems of her own. Her parents have died and she feels it is all her fault.
He takes her to London to find her a husband. But for some reason they are not good enough. Then he finds he is falling in love with her. Phillipa falling for the Earl but doesn't think she is worthy. They have a steaming time together. He is trying to do what is right and she is thinks she should be punished. She runs away and only after he goes after her does she realize they need a new start. There are some lessons to learn about guilt in this story. Thank you NetGalley.