This book was a fun read I didn't realize it was a follow up until I got into the book and so I immediately had to read the first in the series. I love her books they have all the swoony spicey stuff you love in her books and

This book follows Effie, heir to an earldom, who writes poetry under a pseudonym for a ladies' mag and Julianna, the editor of this magazine who lets it run her life. Effie is headed out for the annual Earls Trio with his friends Archie and Simon in Brighton. After some publishing setbacks and self-reflection, Julianna on the fly decides to head to Brighton to see if she can meet up with her good friend Effie, who she is under the impression is a woman poet. Both of them make eye contact and immediately know they are who they are. Julianna takes it in stride that Effie is actually a man and after a tiny bit of awkwardness, they develop their in-person friendship more and start to feel things for each other that is decidedly not friendship. As with the previous book in the series, we have a more intense traumatic past for our hero that he works through with the help of his best friends and Julianna; in this case, some child neglect and abuse that is bubbling up to the surface through nightmares he's been having. Julianna has her own past issues as well, mostly dealing with familial drama and railing against the confines women have during this time. I do appreciate the friendship group and how they work through their issues and help each other out. I appreciate Effie and Julianna both being queer, specifically both seem to be pan while Effie is also portrayed as demisexual. The demi rep was pretty good. The thing I didn't really care for all that much was the way Effie deals with the whole earl thing in the end. It really didn't make all that much sense to me and I didn't particularly care for it. I am very intrigued to see where Simon's story goes in the next book and if that will be the end of the series or if Olive will be an unofficial earls trip POV.

It's always a joy when a highly anticipated read lives up to your expectations, and reading Manic Pixie Dream Earl was a real joy.

We first met Effie in Earls Trip: he's the flamboyantly eccentric member of the group, a poet and a painter who loves his pet parrot, wears red-painted heels, and attracts members of all genders. (If you're thinking, "Hmm, sounds like a manic pixie to me," you wouldn't be wrong.) We learn in this book that while he is attractive to all, he's attracted to very few: only those who he feels close to as friends, first. As the book opens (and really, as the last book closed), we know that Effie is currently very close with his editor, Julianna. Unfortunately, there are several points against their ever having a fulfilling relationship, namely:

a) She thinks he's a woman;
b) She's determined never to marry;
c) She's a working class woman 10 years his senior, and thus completely unacceptable (to his father and to Society as a whole) as a countess.

But when Julianna and Effie finally meet, they're just as drawn to each other IRL as they are in their correspondence. This is a romance novel, so it has an HEA. But the real happy ending is seeing Effie and Julianna grow as individuals, not just as a couple. That sounds cheesy, and you know what? It unapologetically is. And I loved it.

A word for all historical romance readers looking for "historical accuracy" in their novels: this series is purposely anachronistic, featuring a friend group of emotionally intelligent bros who unconditionally accept each other for their foibles and feelings. I personally absolutely love what Jenny Holiday is doing with historical romance, especially since she is making every writerly choice deliberately. I will close by saying that I am not always a lover of author's notes, but I think MPDE's is worth reading.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Another really great (and fun) Earls Trip Regency romance that sees Julianna, an editor and her columnist who she knows as Euphemia but who is actually Edward, the virgin Viscount Featherfitch who has also been her correspondent and friend for years.

When Julianna tracks Ephie down on his annual trip with his friends the two finally get a chance to meet in real life. I loved how the author writes queer characters so beautifully and realistically (he's demisexual and she's bisexual) as well as two characters who want to defy societal conventions (ie marriage and children).

Jenny Holiday puts a new spin on classic tropes with this dual POV, reverse age gap, virgin hero, mistaken identity love story and I was here for it! Excellent on audio with the BEST found family and bromance vibes and highly recommended for fans of authors like Joanna Lowell, Cat Sebastian or Alexis Hall.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book of the series!!

While I felt some sections could have used a bit more development, overall I enjoyed this romance. I’m a sucker for found family, and I felt that the queer representation was very well handled. Love seeing some demisexual rep!

The chaos continues with this year’s earls trip. Best guy friends Effie, Simon, and Archie are on their way to the annual holiday and Effie is all sorts of flagellating because he’ll be gone for two weeks and might miss his letters from his penpal/magazine editor Julianna. Meanwhile, she’s at a loss for work with a printing delay and decides she’ll crash her penpal friend Effie’s vacation. Except that she thinks that Effie is a woman, and not a viscount and heir to an earl that he really is. They do actually finally meet in the seaside town of Brighton and they get along as fabulously in person as they do in writing. But see, Julianna is the closed-off no-nonsense person in the relationship, and it sets up our soft-hearted Effie for heartbreak. Loved seeing the demisexual representation from Effie, the strong support from his friends, and the bisexual representation from Julianna. As chaotic as Effie seemed to be with his interests, the emotional depth will make you feel all the feels.

Book 2 in the Earl’s Trip series was as enjoyable as the first. Three unlikely best friends again find themselves dealing with an awkward situation in the strict social confines of the Georgian Era. Looking forward to a book 3.

Highly entertaining, well written historical romance that kept rooting for the characters and having fun
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A chuckle of a romance between Effie and Juliana. I liked that the characters are bi (surprise!) and that they built a good friendship. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A romp.

Poet Edward, Viscount Featherfinch, secretly corresponds with his beloved, magazine editor Julianna, under a female pseudonym. When she unexpectedly confronts him, their carefully constructed identities crumble, forcing them to face their growing affection and the class divide between them.

This novel is hilarious with lovable characters and an interfering hyacinth macaw. Effie and Juliana have a lot of baggage from their pasts to work through before they can be together in this heartfelt and uplifting rom-com.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I received this book as an ARC. The cover and title alone just pulled me in and it was such an enjoyable and easy read! It's a fun and silly queer regency romance with humor, friendship and great characters.

fun romp of a romance with two awesome main characters (who are both bi, btw, didn't expect that), a romance that works and feels real, and a great plot. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Had a couple of moments that made me laugh, but Effie was my least fave of the 3 earls. His manic pixieness is a bit too much for me. Nice bisexual / demisexual representation though.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This is a sweet follow up to Jenny Holiday’s historical romance series Earls Trip. Edward (Effie) and Juliana are the best of friends, but the problem is that Juliana thinks Effie is a woman writing for her magazine through their mail correspondence. Chaos and love ensues when they end up on vacation together in Brighton. I liked a lot of things about this book. I liked the age gap, the vacation setting, that both of the main characters are queer, and that friendship is centered so much between the earls that take vacation together. I think for me the main issue with this book is that it dragged, possibly to do with the length? It felt a little long to me. Overall, I liked this book, but it took me weeks to read, and that means I was not loving it. I am a huge fan of Jenny Holiday though, so I’ll definitely keep reading this series. Overall I recommend this book for fans of historical and thoughtful romance, as well as Jenny Holiday.

*Received as a free ARC*
I knew going in I'd likely enjoy this, since I deeply enjoyed Earl's Trip. While I didn't find it as laugh out loud hilarious, I still enjoyed. Effie is delightful and Julianna came around in the end. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was a bi4bi romance with demi representation! I don't think it's really advertised like that much of anywhere, but just because a pairing looks hetero, doesn't mean that it is. Looking forward to book 3 and finding out what's going on in Simon's head!

Fun and silly queer regency romance. Read solely based on its title; liked it enough to read the first Earls Trip book.

This was so much fun! The title caught my eye first and the story is just as fun and entertaining. It's unpredictable and engaging and I loved the characters

I *love* Jenny Holiday and will read anything she writes, so when I say this wasn't my favorite of hers, it certainly doesn't mean that it's bad! Still very much worth a read, and I found the secret identity/long-term correspondence setup here to be really effective, though I did have a harder time getting into the story than I usually do with Holiday's books. The titular Manic Pixie Dream Earl is Effie - whose real name is Edward Astley, Viscount Featherfinch - and this year when he and his friends go on their annual earls trip, this time to Brighton/Hove, he admits to the them that he's in love with Miss Juliana Evans. Juliana edits a magazine to which Effie has been contributing poetry and other writing, and they've had a long-term, increasingly intimate correspondence. There are two pretty big issues: 1) they've never met and 2) Julianna thinks Effie is a woman. After Effie comes clean to his friends, and in the process explains to them that he identifies as demisexual (though not in those words), he is shocked to find that Julianna has come to Brighton on a whim to try to find him (or her, as she thinks she's been talking to someone named Euphemia). They have a bit of a magical vacation romance, with Julianna in particular trying to avoid a long-term attachment because she's largely against marriage and is also aware of their significant class difference. There were so many lovely scenes here - especially Julianna's introductions to sea bathing and Effie's heartfelt conversations with his friends - and I did really like it! Not my favorite of Holiday's books, but still easily a four star read, and I reallllly hope I don't have to wait too long for the third book in this series!

I very much enjoyed the first book in this series as well as another few books from Jenny Holiday, and this one did not disappoint! A sweet feminist historical romance. Looking forward to more books from this author.

Like the first book in this series, I found this to be such a specific mix of lighthearted romp and the pure silliness of true friendship and deeply emotional, serious explorations of what it means to belong to someone, found family, freedom vs. duty, and being true to yourself no matter the cost. I found the writing very beautiful in places and laugh out loud funny in others, and I especially appreciated the approach that Jenny Holiday takes to PTSD, non-toxic male friendships, demisexuality, and general gender/sexuality expression. I think the closest read alike to this series is Alexis Hall's Something Fabulous. Definitely recommend this, but I do think the tone and mix of tension/angst to light heartedness might not work for everyone.