I started this lovely ARC on a whim. It looked light and beachy and carefree. And parts of it certainly were. What a treat to take in the sea!

The uniqueness of the earls is thoroughly entertaining. They're so different, but they care for each other so well. I think Archie is still my favorite of the three, but I really enjoyed Effie. And though she's not an Earl, I quite like Julianna too.

There's an unfairness to life we just can't escape, but there's also character growth and changes in perspective. All of that shows up in Manic Pixie Dream Earl which is, by the way, a fantastic title. It suits Effie very well.

This was a quick, easy read. Full of friendship and romantic yearnings, I found this novel enjoyable, engaging, and emotional. The author's third acts always get me in the feels! The spice is harder to skirt than I was anticipating. I'm not sure if my expectations were wishful thinking or poor recall from previous books, but those who care should be aware. While I tend towards milder books, I do really enjoy Jenny Holiday's writing style.

Many thanks to Kensington Books for this ARC. They have been very generous to me this last year especially. I'm grateful they continue to publish enjoyable historical fiction. I'm very glad they keep providing good audiobooks to go with their releases too. I haven't seen MPDE's audiobook yet, but I'm sure it'll be a good one.

If you want to check this one out for yourself, look for it to publish May 27, 2025. Or, if you haven't already, start with its predecessor Earl's Trip.

objectively, earls trip is the stronger of the two books.

personally, i would’ve died for effie in earls trip and i’ll die for him again here.

read if you love benedict bridgerton (and lady tilly arnold tbh).

This book was lovely! I had such a great time reading it. I appreciated a lot the level of research the author did for this novel being a historical romance!

First off, let's give props to whoever the cover artist and marketing team for this book are. Amazing cover and title - I would buy it just for those. I can't express how THRILLED I was to get this ARC from Kensington Publishers. I ADORED "Earls Trip."

Secondly, if there is a mold for historical romance, Jenny Holiday has just shattered it. She's somehow turned the genre stereotypes on their head and mixed significant role reversal, bisexualism, a boys trip, a friends-to-lovers from different worlds trope, an age gap, a talking parrot (key comic relief!), an inheritance plot, and magazine publishing into one delicious literary soup. This might be the most unpredictable historical romance I've ever read! There was so much for the leads to overcome in this story and their path so twisty, that I actually thought they may NOT get a HEA. I wondered if maybe Holiday would stretch their story over a couple of books because there was just SO MUCH to unpack for these two to finally connect.

Edward "Effie" Featherfinch and Julianna Evans are pen pals. They've never met, and Julianna thinks Effie is short for "Euphemia" not Edward. Earls Trip 1822 takes the affable trio of bros to the seaside this time where Julianna has spontaneously decided to surprise her friend on vacation with their first meeting. <spoiler>I was totally not ready for the moment when - as could only be true with the deepest of soulmates - they recognize each other immediately in person. I totally thought I was in for a more comedic mistaken identity scenario at a ball or something, but that was far from the only way this story surprised me. </spoiler> It's hard to know what to say in this review because I don't want to give any of the "shocking" plot points away. Just add it to your TBR if you're ready to try something new.

Holiday didn't go for the low-hanging fruit at any point or take the easy route to resolution. <spoiler> Instead of making a big deal out of Julianna finding out that Effie is a MAN, she just had Julianna immediately accept the fact and move on. That could've easily been a couple of chapters of dramedy right there, but Jules is like, "Yeah, of course you're a man. Give me a hug!" What a much more interesting choice! </spoiler>

Well done, Jenny Holiday! I can't wait for the next book! Simon looks like he's going to get a cute upstairs-downstairs book nerd romance and I'm SUPER down for that.

I was thoroughly entertained by my second trip with this group of friends! I love their humor and their care for each other. What a delight to watch Effy find love!