This had so much going on and I loved it! A brilliant heroine, a sweet and silent MC, political intrigue, family drama, all the things! Arthur pining for Lydia never gets old. And I have never felt so deeply for someone casting up her accounts 😂 The letters at the top of the chapters had some of the most poignant, swoonworthy writing!

I received an advanced copy of Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti from the publisher St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: For three years, the wallflower heiress Lydia Hope-Wallace has anonymously been penning seditious pamphlets, and for all that time she has kept a correspondence with the Earl of Strathrannoch, who has taken an interest in her thoughts and opinions and has his own political ambitions. In his latest letter when he reveals his dire financial straits, Lydia has a brilliant idea: she’s an heiress and the Earl needs money, so why not get married? You see, Lydia has difficulty talking to many people, which has sabotaged her own seasons, and so knowing her spouse is someone who she can talk to is good enough for her. So she sets off to Scotland to offer herself as a bride to the Earl. Unfortunately, Arthur, the Earl, doesn’t know who she is. It seems that his brother was pretending to be him and the brother is missing and entangled in British espionage. And so Lydia joins Arthur to find his brother before it’s too late. And soon Arthur and Lydia form a relationship of their own.

My Thoughts: Dear lord, I loved this. I started getting more and more into this book as inauguration was arriving and I was desperate to escape. I open up this book and was immediately swept away in Lydia’s journey. This book is for me near perfect historical romance. We have someone who really struggles with anxiety, finding herself and trusting herself over her anxiety. We see someone who felt she could never really have love because of anxiety finding that she is someone to be loved and that she can trust in love. The chemistry between Arthur and Lydia is just really strong. I found it believable and their sexy times were done well. Arthur is also a lead I could fall for. These characters were so well developed that you truly felt you were observing true love. The subplots of espionage were fun and there is plenty of humor, I cannot encourage you enough to read this.

Who Should Read It: Anyone who loves historical romance.

Summary: A wallflower pitches herself as a bride to be to an Earl in financial straits, to bad it’s the wrong brother.

I absolutely adore Lydia Hope-Wallace and the courage it took for her to go all the way to Scotland to propose a marriage of convenience to the man she believes is the Earl of Strathrannoch. When she arrives on his doorstep, Arthur Baird, the real Earl of Strathrannoch, has no idea who she is. It turns out that his brother Davis has been writing to Lydia under false pretenses and perhaps with not-so-good intentions. Thus begins an epic road trip. I loved that the story kept careening into different tropes: marriage of convenience, mistaken identity, fake engagement of convenience, there's only one bed, etc. At the same time, I felt that it didn't quite find it's footing with the spy/thriller aspects that involved a stolen rifle cope, French conspiracists, and Davis' actual allegiances. Overall a strong second book in the trilogy. Can't wait to read Ladies in Hating.

Headstrong heroines meeting cinnamon roll hero in historicals are my favorites! This one certainly met that criteria. Loads of fun and with adventure and intrigue. Vasti’s writing style is so enjoyable and engaging. I had the most fun reading this. The chemistry between Lydia and Arthur was dripping off the pages. Easy five stars!

This book was an absolute delight. It was the perfect amount of comedy. Lydia is charming and Arthur is an endearing grump. This series is a favorite of mine, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every book Vasti has shared with us!

This was a great historical romance! The plot was interesting, and I thought all the characters were well written.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

Absolutely adored this book. Alexandra Vasti has such a fun way of writing and I adore the characters she creates. A perfect amount of spice and laughter, I can’t wait for more from her!

This was my first book by Alexandra Vasti and I enjoyed it! Earl Crush was a great mix of swooning and quirkiness! I enjoyed getting to see Lydia grow and enjoyed getting to see how the story progress with Arthur! I just loved how fun and silly it was too, all while having serious moments tied up! While I liked the storyline, there were too many parts I had to skip, so I don't think it is a book I would recommend if you like similar books to me.


Thank you NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Set during the Regency Era, "Earl Crush" is a witty, fun, adventurous, romantic, and fast-paced romance that kept me turning the pages into the early hours of the morning to see what was going to happen next!

Alexandra Vasti’s writing jumps right off of the page, and her storytelling and world-building are simply phenomenal. She brings the past to life in such a vivid and detailed way, and I truly felt like I had traveled back in time, and was immersed in the story from the very first page to the very last.

(Possible Spoilers!):
Oh my goodness! Lydia and Arthur! Lydia is such an intelligent, brave, and kind-hearted woman, and there is so much more to her than meets the eye. Arthur is strong-willed, driven, deeply caring with a kind heart, and there is also so much more to him than meets the eye too. With a mistaken / pretend identity, politics, humor, wit, forced proximity, fake marriage, and much more, the story of these two, from the moment they meet my gosh, is truly breathtaking and gripping. The more time they spend together and get to know one another more, their relationship begins to deepen and grow. Neither could either have imagined how their love story will spark. I do not want to say too much about the plot due to spoilers, but, I will say this novel truly has so much in it: romance, secrets, twists and turns, chemistry that leaps off of the page, spying, mystery, plans that take a different turn, and so, so much more.

I absolutely love the epistolary epilogue as well oh my goodness!

If you enjoy Historical Romance, I highly recommend this book! I can't wait to read what Alexandra Vasti writes next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC of this novel and to St. Martin's Press for the beautiful finished copy as well! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book dives right into and does not let up until the end! I loved it! Lydia runs away to Scotland to propose to her penpal, only to realize her penpal was pretending to be his older brother and is now MIA. She teems up with said older brother to find him and set things straight. This is a fun, fluffy, at times ridiculous book but the characters are charming and the romance was endearing, even if it was a little insta lovey/lusty! There's fake-marriage, terrorist plots to stop, zebras, and plenty of spice! My favorite part though, was definitely the little excerpts from letters/journals at the start of every chapter, I was so intrigued and loved how it all tied up at the end, super cute! The epilogue was also one of the best ones I've read in a really long time!

I had high hopes going into this read, enjoying Lydia’s character from the first novel where we meet her, but this story fell flat for me. It was a great start that brought me into the story, but I struggled to pick this book up. It could be the writing style isn’t for me or it was missing something.

Another fabulous novel from Alexandra Vasti. I have never completely loved everything from a single author as much as I love hers. She never disappoints. The entire series is like a delicious little pastry that is over sooner than you want it to be, the characters are charming and draw you in to the story, the pace is good and the story is always satisfying.

The chemistry between the main characters is amazing, the characters were sweet and funny. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this historical fiction book and look forward to continuing the series

Another charming romp from Alexandra Vasti! Zebras, inventors, spies! In a world that wasn't always kind to women, Vasti finds the best in people and situations. The light tone and humor allow her to explore real issues with emotional depth that sneaks up on you. Can't wait for the next book in the series to come out!

I’m really enjoying this series. This starts off super funny with a crazy meet cute and ends super strong. I loved Arthur so much, strong silent grumpy man but falls sooo hard for Lydia! Lydia is trying to find her footing in the world even though she is a badass behind closed doors and libraries. Great side plot as well.
I can’t wait for more of this series!! Steamy- fun- hot!

These two were so precious, while also having such chemistry! Loved it. I love a good romp through the countryside, with the threat of murder and mass destruction to keep the story moving along. The only area I really struggled with was the little flashback letters. Devices like that always make me hesitant to continue reading to uncover the third act breakup. A me thing, for sure. Well worth a read if you've enjoyed any of Vasti's any other books.

This story was so funny, I just loved the two main characters, take a spicy journey in this historic rom com. I promise it will not disappoint; it will have you cheering for these two Love Birds.

Two brothers, one lady and devious political plan, one brother must track down what his brother is up to, but he will need the help of this beautiful red head. As much as they both try, as they dig deeper in into investigating his brothers plan, they can't help the attraction they have for each other.

Both have no plans to marry, so what they are feeling is just that, maybe one night to get it out of their system. But it seems that they can't keep their hands of each other. Now that they are closer to finding his brother can they just leave all the feelings they have behind?

Thank you to NetGalley and Belvoir's Lending Library for copy of this book for my honest review.

I’m not that big on historical romance, but Alexandra Vasti always manages to capture my heart with the humor and lovely flow of her prose. I fell in love with these characters so hard. Arthur is this big brute (think Jamie Fraser before he fell for Claire), and Lydia is very intimidated. She is very strong minded but kind of socially awkward. She speaks up for women (which is illegal) through pamphlets she publishes under “H”, and has been corresponding with the Earl for years, discussing politics. They have developed an affection for one another, and when she learns that his finances are in dire straits, she has come up with a solution. She will marry him.
So when she shows up to the estate to do just that, plot twist— he has no idea who she is. Turns out his brother, Davis, has been posing as the Earl in his letters and it is he who has been writing. And Davis has gone missing. So Lydia and Arthur go looking for him, and due to some misunderstandings and covers, they have to pose as a married couple. Which naturally leads to real feeling as Lydia starts to melt the brute’s heart (he’s actually a big softie). I loved these two so much, and yes I will be picturing every Scottish male lead as Sam Heughan LOL
I adored the letters Arthur writes to Lydia, because he wants her to have letters written from him and by his own hand. He was very emotionally stunted in my opinion, in terms of expressing his emotions, and he ran away from his feeling quite a bit, especially when in competition with Davis at any point. But Lydia was pretty stable and just like “he’ll be back”, even if it did hurt a bit. Arthur had some learning to do, and Lydia was good for that I think.

Fast paced historical rom com with great chemistry between the characters! Insta-attraction but both characters are struggling with their own issues.

I really enjoyed this book - whether because of the fast pace, the mystery, the spies, the found family, or a combination of all of the above.

This is the very definition of a ROMP. We’ve got: Mistaken Identities, Zebras, Bad Guys with Guns, A Runaway Carriage, Really Silly Disguises, the French, Political Intrigue, oh yeah, and a really lovely romance between two very smart and solitary characters who have to put themselves out there and trust to be loved. And they fall for each other, hard. If you are against the third act breakup, I will warn you that this one will make you slam down your book but once you pick it back up, the grovel is well worth it. Drink this book: If you can get a hold of British Sparkling- this is the moment. Otherwise grab a South African Cap Classique and think of Zebras.