Kate Bateman

This Earl of Mine

"Bateman's scintillating first Bow Street Bachelors Regency is full of intense emotions and dramatic twists. Intelligent, affable characters make this fast-paced novel shine, especially for fans of clever women and the men who sincerely admire them. Future installments will be eagerly anticipated by Regency readers." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors—men who work undercover for London’s first official police force—and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed? WILL A FALSE MARRIAGE Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong? LEAD TO TRUE AND LASTING LOVE? Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him—and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together...until actual death do they part?

A Bow Street Bachelors Novel

Annabella

A marriage of convenience between a strong independent businesswoman and a rakish Bow Street runner? Yes, please! I loved the dynamic between Georgie and Benedict and thought they had excellent chemistry. The banter between them felt natural, and I loved how Benedict would push Georgie's buttons. Bateman builds the tension between them, and there were so many moments I was yelling at the pages for them to just kiss already. Aside from the romantic aspect, I thought the plot was fun. I liked watching Georgie and Benedict work together in his investigation, especially when it led to some interesting situations. I can't wait to pick up the rest of the series.

Heather Harrington

"Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors--men who work undercover for London's first official police force--and the women they serve to protect ... and wed?"--Back cover.

Sheena

It’s hard to come across decent historical (regency) romances that aren’t too overwhelmingly cheesy and bland, and I pleasantly surprised by this read and how much I loved it. The author was able to set this apart from other by introducing a wealthy aristocrat finding herself marrying a criminal to stop suitors who are in hot pursuit of marrying her to get to her family wealth. It was different from the traditional and generic historical romances I have read as of late and as might be expected I am highly impressed with the author's ability to immediately enthralled me from page one with the rich historical imagery and emotion that the writing style displayed. In addition to that, let's talk about the lead characters that initially won me over. From the get-go the chemistry between Georgie and Ben’s were off the charts and once introduced, the playful banter and flirty interactions were swoon worthy and showcased how well they mesh well together despite their vastly different cultural backgrounds. Any reader can feel the intense heat and attraction through the pages, and because of that, I just knew this was a keeper. Needless to say, “This Earl of Mine” is a must read for all historical regency readers looking for a decent read to spice up their life.

Becky

Definite thumbs up from me. Especially as this is the first book I've managed to finish in a couple of weeks. It was such an enjoyable slightly ridiculous read which I thoroughly enjoyed. Did I have some grumbles? Yes, but they were minor things which never fully removed me from the story but I notice in passing.

Honestly, I kind of expected I might not enjoy it as I keep struggling with what to read so it was a pleasant surprise to immediately feel drawn into the story. Especially as I began reading on my way to work and morning reading to start a book is always an iffy prospect as throughout the day at work I can easily convince me I'm in fact not enjoying a story I thought I was enjoying and then it falls to the DNF pile. This wasn't the case here.

I was swept in the slightly farfetched tale of Ben and Georgiana and their Newgate wedding and hooked by their hijinks. I was smiling at their flirtations and friendship and shouting for the bad guys to get their comeuppance. Sure there were plot points that were predictable but also certain plot points (namely the woman needing rescuing) were subverted some. I would have liked Georgiana to have the chance to come to Ben's rescue but then she was the breadwinner in their relationship instead and so did spin things about when it came to money. No rich lord coming to the impoverished girls rescue here. No instead she was running a company and being a badass and who wouldn't enjoy that?

Genny Santellan

I just got so bored. DNF at about 60%. I just couldn’t be bothered to care about the romance and I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters. This was a disappointment for me.

Alexis 

4/5 Stars 

I Stan for our main character Georgiana. She was a BOSS. She knew what she wanted and what needed to happen. I loved how strong she was as a female character during this time. I enjoyed the mystery aspect, it was fun and added something for me to the story. I also enjoyed the romance. I always enjoy a marriage of convenience romance. Overall I liked it and will be picking up the next book soon!

Simona Andrijauskiene

* I've got this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review*

I'm disappointed in myself, that I haven't read this book sooner, because I enjoyed it immensely. This book was like a fresh breath of air in historical romance genre, because of how independent the main character was. I loved how she demandend respect and wasn't affraid to voice her opinion. She knew what she want and wasn't affraid to seak it. 
Her love interest, even though, very manly, like all men in historical romances wasn't overprotective and almost dismissive, but was interested in her opninion and respected it. 
Maybe it was a little bit too instalovy, but it didn't impact my enjoyment very much. 
Definitely reccomend.

Jolie

I knew I was going to like This Earl of Mine after I read the first chapter. Any book that has me giggling the first chapter is a keeper. By the end of the second chapter, I was laughing out loud, and the book got better after that.

The plotline of This Earl of Mine was fast. After Georgie and Ben see each other at the party, the book takes off. There is no lag. There are no dropped storylines. The flow of the book was terrific. It was written in a way that made me feel that the characters were genuine.

I loved Georgie. Plain and simple, she was a boss. All she wanted was to be left alone and run her shipping business. But, this was Regency England and men ruled. She needed the protection of a husband to keep her business. And with her nasty cousin Josiah trying to compromise her, she decided to get married on her terms. Of course, she didn’t think she would ever see her husband again. So when she saw Ben at a gathering, she was astounded. She did handle everything with grace and a sense of humor. I liked the solution that she came up with. It made sense, and that scene when they were talking about annulment had me dying laughing.

I loved Ben as much as I loved Georgie. He didn’t have a choice in marrying her. She intrigued him, and he made it a point to bump into her at that party. I loved how he kept calling her Mrs. Wylde. He also rescued her on more than one occasion. I believe he fell for her before she fell for him.

Ben and Georgie had an immediate sexual attraction to each other. That sexual attraction kept building until an explosive kiss in a submarine (yes, a submarine!!). The author did a great job of building up that sexual attraction after each encounter. When Ben and Georgie finally had sex, it was terrific. What impressed me is that each sex scene afterward was just as amazing as the first one.

I was “eh” with Juliet and Simon’s plotline. It fell flat for me. I did appreciate how awful Simon’s poetry was, but other than that, bleh.

The plotline with Ben, Seb, and Alex and the Bow Street Runners were interesting. I liked how the author integrated that plotline in with Ben and Georgie’s plotline. I loved reading about the investigation and the clues that took both Ben and Georgie to figure out. Of course, Seb and Alex fascinated me too.

The Josiah plotline did surprise me. I should have seen what happened coming. I do think that Josiah got his just deserts too.

The end of This Earl of Mine was perfect. I loved how Ben and Georgie got their happily ever after. I was wondering how the Earl in the title was going to come into play (Ben was the “spare” and had no money). The way the author chose to write it in was excellent!!! I loved it. I cannot wait to read Alex’s story.

Sarah Williams

4.5/5 stars

THIS EARL OF MINE is absolutely delightful. From the very beginning, I was hooked and spent the rest of the book falling absolutely head-over-heels in love with Georgie and Ben. If you’re looking for something romantic, witty, and historical, this is the book for you.⁣
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Shipping heiress Georgie Caversteed is desperate to avoid marrying her cousin, who is just another in a long line of fortune-hunting men that keep harassing her. Seeing no other option, she decides to marry a condemned criminal at Newgate Prison who is set to be executed. In exchange for helping his family and friends financially, Georgie will get to live as a widow with substantially more freedom than as a single woman. In a turn of events, she ends up having to marry the criminal’s cell-mate, Benedict Wylde. She thinks he’s just another criminal set to be sent out to sea to serve on a ship as penance; little does she know, he’s actually the second son of an Earl and is working undercover at Newgate on assignment for Bow Street.⁣
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I love regency-era romances with marriages of convenience but even I was unprepared for how much I ended up enjoying THIS EARL OF MINE. Georgie is tenacious, independent, and business-minded. In short, she’s the feminist shipping heiress we need, but definitely don’t deserve. Ben is swoon-worthy, the perfect amount of dangerous, and a gentleman at his core. Together, they’re the perfect couple for a fun, witty take on one of my favorite romance tropes. ⁣

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and the author in exchange for my honest review. This has not impacted or influenced my review or my opinions.

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This Earl of Mine

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