Stephanie's Reviews > Forever Your Earl

𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 — Lady writer and owner of a scandal sheet gets a tempting offer from an earl: to accompany him on his exploits and recount them in her paper.

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"You set me adrift," she confessed.
"And you anchor me," he answered.

This book made me laugh a lot in the first half. It was genuinely funny and I enjoyed both characters: Eleanor Hawke is the owner of a scandal sheet, a talented gambler, and a witty writer. Daniel, the Earl of Ashford, is a common subject in the paper for his rakish exploits, and one day he shows up at the offices demanding to see "E. Hawke" - only to find he is a she.

They strike up a deal: Daniel will take her with him on exploits for her to recount in a new series, "To Ride With a Rake". She questions his motives (what's in it for him?) but accepts - fearing if she declines he'll offer to her competition.

This is my third Eva Leigh book, and I'm most impressed by the pacing of this one. In both of the other books I've read by her (Temptations of a Wallflower and My Fake Rake) I felt the stories both started so strong and then fizzled at the halfway or 75% mark. This one was fairly strong all the way through, and I never felt like it went off the rails or ruined by enjoyment of the couple.

The story that follows recounts class differences, but is made sweeter by the tension between the two of them. They're both smart and witty, and spar verbally in a conversation of questions and later, dirty limericks. As a working woman Eleanor has goals and responsibilities, while as a gentleman Daniel realizes his life has been filled with idle pleasures. He's never known a woman like Eleanor, to work and fight and earn for herself.

As he shifted in his chair, a strange sensation crept through him. Something odd and bright. It was... respect.
How could he respect a newspaper that reported scandal, or the woman who published it?
Yet... it was there. Buried like coal that was starting to burn. Surely more time in her presence would smother that.

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There was a lot of time for fun exploits in this book, and I appreciated that it was woven into the story. The plot allowed for these things given that she's not a lady and their deal is for her to accompany him on his night events - so they go to a gaming hell, a phaeton race, and a masquerade. It was fun to have these situational examples within the story, and not forced as outside events like in a road trip romance where it's a series of comic error.

Their banter was shown full force in these cases, and Eleanor dressing up (in disguise) at each place allowed for funny moments with other characters as well.

"It's a wonder castration isn't more common," Miss Hawke muttered.
"The perpetuation of the human race is grateful that it isn't."
"But not the arses of barmaids."

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I liked the female friendship that existed between Eleanor and Maggie - a playwright - and I'm excited to read book two in the series.

The life of a writer was never one of ease and accolade - or money - but both Eleanor and Maggie had, from birth, been marked by the same curse. Womanhood. It was nigh impossible for their work to be judged of the same value as their male compatriots'. Or, worse, they would be shoved into writing about "proper" and "domestic" topics such as babies and other homespun dramas - things that interested neither Maggie nor Eleanor.

Lastly, I think this portrayed class differences well. They cite the example of a baron who fell in love with and married an opera singer... she wasn't invited into society and he beared it for a few years, until she retired to the country and he took up with a new mistress in town. It was sad and realistic, the concerns that both of them had, and the interference they got from their friends and family.

But at the same time, I liked that this didn't carry on overly long. After all, this is a romance, and we know we're chugging towards a happy ending. It didn't make us wait too, too long.

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