Another brilliant story by Vasti who has become my favorite historical romance writer! her humor and spice are immaculate, the wit and chemistry of her characters, how down bad they are for each other just the perfect recipe for an addictive story that eill make you giggle and blush.

thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Griffin for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I'm late to the game on saying how much I loved this book, but I simply adored it. As with her light-handed debut, Vasti keeps the rom-com vibe going strong with lively antics and funny animal sidekicks. The titular earl is a gruff, brawny type with a tortured soul, hurt by his brother's betrayal, and Lydia, who has developed nicely from Ne'er Duke Well, is likeable despite her acute social anxiety and deep self-doubt. The need to find Arthur's younger brother, David, and what he has done with an invention he stole from Arthur provides just enough plot and mystery to keep the surface action moving, but the heart of the story, of course, is the soulful--and very steamy--coming together of Arthur and Lydia, who both need to recognize themselves as lovable people before they can confess their love to one another. I am now a confirmed fan of the Vastiverse--this is a complete delight

Earl Crush is a delightful Regency romp that combines sharp wit, sizzling chemistry, and a dash of intrigue. Lydia Hope-Wallace, a wallflower-turned-radical pamphleteer, has been corresponding with the reclusive Earl of Strathrannoch for years, but when she learns of his dire financial situation, she takes matters into her own hands with a bold proposal: marriage of convenience.

The chemistry between Lydia and Arthur is undeniable from the start, and their banter keeps the pages turning. Arthur, a brooding and stubborn earl, is the perfect foil to Lydia’s bold, intelligent, and resourceful character. The tension between them builds beautifully as they work together to unravel the mysteries surrounding Arthur’s brother, who is entangled in espionage.

Vasti expertly blends romance and suspense, creating a story that is as entertaining as it is heartwarming. The characters’ growth, especially Arthur’s as he opens up to Lydia, is truly satisfying. Fans of Regency romance with a touch of adventure and a lot of heart will find Earl Crush irresistible.

Thanks #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #EarlCrush by Alexandra Vasti in exchange for an honest review.

The romance between these two practically sizzles off the page. I loved the very unique and fun meet cute that really sets the stage for a fun story. I especially loved the love letters that were very romantic. This book also had a lovely and unique epilogue. Looking forward to the final book in the series later this year. I've already pre-ordered it!

Earl Crush, the second book in Alexandra Vasti's Belvoir Lending Library series, features painfully shy, short and curvy, redheaded Lydia Hope-Wallace and Arthur Baird, the very large, tall and bearded Earl of Strathrannoch. It introduces the reader to new characters from Strathrannoch Castle in Scotland as well as brings back old friends of Lydia's from Book #1, Selina Kent, now Duchess of Stanhope, and Lady Georgiana Cleeve. There are, of course, unusual animals (a herd of zebras and a sweet degu) and hijinks galore, with a caper involving Lydia's older brother, Jasper and Arthur's younger brother, Davis, a missing rifle scope crafted by Arthur in his forge, and French spies.

But what makes this tale such a delight to read are the main characters themselves, who are so deserving of each other's love and admiration that they might become one of my favorite couples created by this author. They are well-drawn, complex and endearing, their hearts complementing each other's so well, with their vulnerabilities and their huge capacity to love, that they remain in the reader's imagination well after the story has finished. In a world that seems to be falling off its axis right now, I cherished two gentle, heartwarming and loyal characters who truly deserved to get their happily ever after in each other's arms.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, and Mhairi Morrison does a superb job of bringing all of these characters to life, but especially Lydia and Arthur, for whom I couldn't help but root almost from their first meeting.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I'm late to the game on saying how much I loved this book, but I simply adored it. As with her light-handed debut, Vasti keeps the rom-com vibe going strong with lively antics and funny animal sidekicks. The titular earl is a gruff, brawny type with a tortured soul, hurt by his brother's betrayal, and Lydia, who has developed nicely from the first book, is likeable despite her acute social anxiety and deep self-doubt. The need to find Arthur's younger brother, David, and what he has done with an invention he stole from Arthur provides just enough plot and mystery to keep the surface action moving, but the heart of the story, of course, is the soulful--and very steamy--coming together of Arthur and Lydia, who both need to recognize themselves as lovable people before they can confess their love to one another. Vasti will consolidate her growing fandom with this all-around delight.

This was such a fantastic historical romance - it had spice, it had a very interesting plot, hilarious moments, and fantastic characters which made for an overall fun read. Lydia, the FMC, was a dream come true for awkward introverts everywhere - from her strong political opinions and beliefs, to her wallflower status she was just an utter joy. Arthur, the MMC and Earl of Strathrannoch was an absolutely amazing character - from the way he adapted so quickly to her marriage proposal, then to realize it was his younger brother whom had pretended to be him... just amazing vibes. The way he absolutely empowered Lydia to be her true self, because she was smart and strong - things she never saw in herself before, just made me absolutely love him. As they embark on the journey to find his brother, the hilarious banter, and one-bed scenes just created such a beautiful and enchanting love story that never felt anything but real. I truly loved reading this book!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Story - 3☆ it's okay, if you like Bridgerton and similar Regency romance stories you're probably the audience for this one

Characters - 3.5☆, I did like Lydia and Arthur and thought they had chemistry. Their first encounter banters were hilarious and turned sweet felt cute.

Mystery - 3☆ got me curious in a way of the missing brother, sibling connection, purpose of the rifle prototype and the twist were satisfying in the end

Spice - above my tolerance, too much of open door chapters that I had to skip the chapters entirely. For this reason, I am uncomfortable to rate the book as a whole but it is just for my personal comfort preference.

My overall rating was for the plot characters and mystery!

I need to find recs for Regency romance books that are sweet and plot worthy and just mild lovable moments. But I do know this book will be a lovable one for certain audience.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers copy of Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti!

This one was so much fun! The Regency setting. The clandestine trip to Scotland. The zebra stampede. The espionage and intrigue. The fake marriage. The blooming romance - and the steamy developments thereof. The found family. The actual family.
It was amusing and entertaining, with giggle-out-loud moments and some delightfully ridiculous and wild twists. It was also very touching, and dealt with very relatable aspects of *feeling worthy* and making oneself *vulnerable to love*.

Another wonderful book by Vasti! Radical taking the reins of her life x reclusive Scottish earl who has no idea coming his way! There is intrigue and a road trip and zebras. The meet cute is hilarious and the epilogue tear jerky. Go read Earl Crush now!!

Alexandra Vasti can do no wrong, as far as I am concerned. This is her second (incredible) novel, but I was a fan of her novellas, as well, and she perfectly captures the delight and whimsy of a historical romance with modern sensibilities, while holding onto the romantic and steamy aspects we know and love. The STAKES were THERE, the SITUATIONS were FUN, the TENSION was SEXUAL. Love love love. Can't wait for the next one!

Oh Earl Crush! I loved this historical romance by Alexandra Vasti so much more than her previous novel. From the beginning, with the heroine practicing a proposal to the Earl of Strathrannoch (whom she'd only corresponded with), to the zebras (you'll have to read it), to the cinnamon roll titular hero (surprise, whose brother had impersonated him via pen), everything was note perfect for me until the very end. The whole romance was predicated on the stolen identity, and the fact that the ne'er do well sibling had done the heroine an unkind turn.

spoilers

Except when said brother actually appeared I felt so badly for the story Vasti gave him and his reasons that I was all, gah! Well, please give him a story then. But alas, in the epilogue he has a somewhat satisfying short "he married X, was fine." Boooooooooo.

Almost 5 stars. Will round it up. But dang. So close.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

4 stars!

Alexandra Vasti sure knows how to write a charming, entertaining book! I devoured "Earl Crush" super quickly! It's so much fun. It is frequently wild and intensely funny. I laughed out loud every single chapter, I think. I adored these characters, the situations, the resolution! Lydia and Arthur FOREVER. I am going to be thinking about them for a long, long time. You know what they say when they say "opposites attract"? They are the perfect encapsulation of that notion. Their personalities and quirks play off of one another well. Arthur wants nothing more than to make Lydia happy because, while he is brutish on the outside, he is soft and squishy on the inside. Lydia is shy and tends to struggle in social situations. While it takes them a bit to realize their true feelings for one another, the payoff is absolutely worth it. *swoon* I really enjoyed this one. I will read anything Alexandra Vasti writes. I love how her historical romances are expanding my romantic reading tastes!

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexandra Vasti, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Omg , if I loved the first one I adored this second one. Extremely cute . And the Scottish man 😍😍😍😍. This was so fun, I was cracking up most of the book. I like that it connects characters from the first book so well. The story is entertaining and fun. And both of the MMC are fun in their own way. Definitely recommend and hopefully we get more in this series

Alexandra Vasti has joined my "I'll read whatever she writes" list! This book centered somewhat around a trope I don't love, but I thought the book as a whole was delightful, and Vasti writes a great Regency with the right modern sensibility for this reader. I'll definitely be checking out the next one!

THE EARL CRUSH in Jamaica. I had been reading it, but social media currently just killed posting it earlier for me. Although I MUST post about this gorgeous book so here I am.

@alexandravasti has super adorable chaotic everything going on in here. And zebras. My gosh I love those zebras.

But my favorite part after all Lydia and Arthur go through the mad chase, the ridiculous diversion he cococts to get in the inn, the piecemeal deconstruction of the carriage wooden floor to escape, and so many more, is the brothers! 😀🤗😆😆😆
Here is what I mean, best line imo!

---
By the time dinner began, Arthur had met the rest of the Hope-Wallace brothers and concluded that they ought to be separated from one another for the general safety of the British Isles. Preferably via incarceration.
---

Lydia is shy , introverted , neurodivergent in modern terms, but is strong and determined when it matters the most. For Arthur, she breaks free of her chokehokds , dashes after him on a horse, and even stands up to her brothers to defend him. We all have that tiny corner in our mind that's a Lydia. She outshines when she thinks Arthur might be in danger.

Arthur, the adorable giant earl, is a very strong and reliable hero. We know he'd not back out in any situation no matter how lacking he thinks he is, and he delivers. Even when he is self-conscious about his poor finances and what he can't provide to Lydia, he does not think to leave her side. Oh, that livery scene 😆😆😆. But he strongly moves through it.

All in all, this book kept me going this year (somehow making me cope with what's happening in the country). A big thanks!

Thanks, St. Martin and @netgalley, for this gem!!

Welcome back to Alexandra Vasti’s Regency Britain where a wealthy wallflower with a secret life as a political pamphleteer and a broke Scottish earl with whom she’s been semi-anonymously corresponding embark on a high-stakes mystery chase as they seek to stop a potential murderous plot. I love that Lydia - so bold when she puts pen to paper but an absolute wreck whenever required to speak to an human man - decides to reverse gold-digger herself, seeking out the practically destitute Arthur to to proposition him to marry her for her money. The twists, including the case of mistaken identity in the description, require one to suspend one’s disbelief, and the plot Lydia and Arthur hope to disrupt is more convoluted than clever. The characters are unevenly and broadly written and their behavior left me scratching my head on more than one occasion.

And yet! I enjoyed the heck out of this, as I did the previous book in this series, and very much look forward to the next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

<b>Disclaimer!</b> This was an ARC granted to me from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Lydia Hope-Wallace is a wallflower, and perfectly happy to remain so, because she has crippling social anxiety and tends to throw up if forced to interact too much with people outside her immediate family or friends. She's been secretly writing seditious pamphlets and publishing them anonymously for the past three years, and for almost as long, she has been corresponding with a man she believes to be the Earl of Strathrannnoch. When she discovers that Strathrannoch castle is pretty much falling down and the earldom has no funds to fix this with, she rather impulsively decides to go see her penpal and offer him a marriage of convenience. Lydia may be a wallflower, but she's also the second richest heiress on the marriage mart, and all those buckets of money that come with her hand in marriage should be enough to restore any mouldering old castle and struggling estate.

Unfortunately, when she arrives in Scotland, her pragmatic and sensible friend Georgiana in tow, she discovers that Arthur Baird, the Earl of Strathrannoch, has no idea who she is. It turns out that it's Arthur's younger brother who has been writing to Lydia for all these years, and he's currently gone missing, having stolen one of Arthur's inventions to boot. Arthur isn't entirely sure what to do with the beautiful flustered redhead on his doorstep, let alone why she might be proposing to marry him, but Lydia is his best chance at trying to track down his missing brother, who might be wanting to use Arthur's invention (a telescopic rifle sight) for nefarious means. So while she's initially mortified and tries to run away, he's able to persuade her to help him locate his brother.

What follows is a road trip romp, involving zebras, awkward house parties, Arthur and Lydia having to pretend to be married, lying to family friends, and lying to Lydia's brother, who suddenly shows up in Scotland under an assumed name, possibly treasonous French people, spies, a possible plot against the Duke of Wellington and more. There is a whole lot of travelling from Scotland to London or from London to Scotland at speeds that seem implausible to me, and the rigours of travel mostly being ignored in service of the light-hearted plot.

Arthur is convinced Lydia is in love with his brother (she's not, she really did want to offer him a platonic marriage of convenience so he could use her money). Lydia is cripplingly shy and struggles in any social situation, and doesn't think anyone could ever want her. Both are madly attracted to the other, but it takes some time for them to realise this and act on their feelings. Once they do, there's a fair amount of smexy times, including outside in what seems to be rather a cold forest grove. There's a lot of pining and angst from both characters, even after they've actually started acting on their pants feelings, culminating in Arthur doing something truly stupid towards the end of the book (it's OK, he grovels and makes it all better after a while).

As well as the reappearance of characters the reader may have met in <I>Ne'er Duke Well</i> (Selina and her husband, as well as Georgiana), there is a rather large supporting cast, including the lovely retainers at Arthur's castle, who keep conspiring to make sure he and Lydia end up together, Lydia's four older brothers and even her rather meddlesome mother are all a lot of fun. This was an entertaining book, but there seemed to be too many shenanigans and a bit too much "he/she couldn't possibly love ME" for it to be one that I see myself revisiting for comfort rereads. I'm very excited for the third book in the series, though, where Georgiana finally meets her (sapphic) match. That's not out until September, sadly.

<b>Judging a book by its cover:</b> I like that while the cover for <I>Ne'er Duke Well</i> was mostly in blue and green, here there is a lot of violet and purple to complement the green. What I don't like is how tiny the guy in the carriage is. Arthur is described as a big hulking giant of a man so many times throughout the book, this guy looks perfectly normal-sized. Disappointing.

Quick Synopsis: Lydia shows up on the Earl of Stanhope's doorstep and is like, "Hey, let's get married!" Except he's like, "So sorry, who are you?" Turns out she's been in communication with his brother who has been pretending to be him. So rude. And now they have to find his brother because he took off with a rifle scope that allows for *bang bang* to happen from very far away. Yikes! So, off they go on a rollicking adventure with lots of scheming and fun times. Including pretending to be married. *swoon*

I had so much fun with this book, even more than in Ne'er Duke Well, which was also great fun (review of that one to come). Lydia's intense social anxiety paired with Arthur's desire to make her comfortable and then the scheming of the people closest to Arthur to bring them together... A great mixture. I also love that this one is actually such an adventure that was just so much fun. I'm not sure that it's a favorite of all time, but it was an extremely well executed and super fun book that I can see myself revisiting if I just need some joy.