The Earl Who Played With Fire

Muses of Mayfair #4

by Sara Ramsey

A woman courting ruin… No one would suspect prim, proper Prudence Etchingham of lusting after her best friend’s brother. Nor would anyone guess that she’s responsible for dozens of the best forgeries in London’s antiquities markets. But if her love for Alex is doomed to fail, she must raise enough money to escape the marriage mart. She just needs one last, daring forgery to set herself up for life… A man evading disaster… Alex Staunton, the rich Earl of Salford, lives a charmed existence. No one knows that he’s dangerously attracted to his sister’s best friend. Nor has he revealed that he suffers from an ancient curse — one that has given him everything, but prevents him from marrying the woman of his dreams. But when an enemy from his past takes an unseemly interest in Prudence’s future, Alex must find a way to break the curse…or risk losing her forever. A love they’re destined for… Every seductive encounter brings them closer together — but their secret, smoldering desires will inevitably burn them. And when Prudence’s illicit forgery collides with Alex’s desperate search, more than their hearts are at stake. Can they break Alex’s curse and save Prudence from her unwanted suitor? Or will their love become a weapon that will destroy them both? --- Muses of Mayfair #4 Previous Heiress Without A Cause (Mayfair #1), Scotsmen Prefer Blondes (Mayfair #2), The Marquess Who Loved Me (Mayfair #3) Regency Historical London, 1813 80,000 words (full-length novel)

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Regency Romance

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2013

About the author

Sara Ramsey writes fun, feisty Regency historical romances. She won the prestigious 2009 Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® award with her second book, Scotsmen Prefer Blondes. Her first book, Heiress Without A Cause, was a 2011 Golden Heart finalist.

Hopelessly uncool as a child, Sara has overcompensated by becoming obsessed with fashion, shoes, and #regencyworldproblems. She has great taste in Champagne, bad taste in movies, and a penchant for tiaras. She also believes in taking naps, wearing sunglasses at night, and using Oxford commas. Sara currently lives in San Francisco, California, where she can be found drinking overly-artistic lattes and working on her next Regency historical romance.

Reviews

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this the final instalment of the Muses of Mayfair series we follow the story of Prudence and Alex. Prudence has been desperately in love with Alex (her friend’s brother) for years but it would seem that he didn’t return her feelings, she was devastated but determined that she would only marry for love which meant that she had to leave. This seemed a good idea in theory but in reality she is without financial means and would need to make a suitable match so that she can live in security. Refusing to give in she strikes up a lucrative deal with an antiques dealer and makes money by dubious means with the intention of earning more than enough money to buy a house and support herself without having to marry. Although Alex loves Pru he does have a very good reason not to strike up a relationship with her, he does his level best trying to resist her which is not easy as she is currently living within his household as help and companion to his mother.

When I read the first book in this series (Heiress Without a Cause) back in May 2012 I was new to Historical Romance as had never really read very much within this genre. I spotted the book on Netgalley and thought why not, it was well worth a try as I had nothing to lose. I obviously didn’t have very much to compare it to, but I knew that I loved it and found it a very easy and good read so went on to follow Ms Ramsey and eagerly awaited the release of each book.

I loved all the ladies and had really enjoyed each story but had a bit of a soft spot for Pru and really wanted each new release to be her story and now I have finally got to read it. Pru is a strong and plucky character who was well aware that she was not an outstanding beauty and due to her financial position should really marry the first man who asked, but no, she stuck to her guns and refused to compromise and would find other means. I can’t say I approved of how she made the money but I could understand it and in a way applauded her for it. Whenever we came across Alex in previous stories he always came across as a bit of a grumpy character but we got to see him and understand why he was the way he is. I was a bit disappointed with the reason why Alex couldn’t be with Pru and thought it a bit silly, I would have liked to ignore it but it was a big part of the story so couldn’t. I did however like the fact that he loved Pru enough not to risk her and made the decision to let her go. Yes, this is a romance so it was inevitable that he would either find a way or take the risk but I knew that there would be a happy ever after.

I loved catching up with the other three ladies and their husbands and really enjoyed reading the banter between the men as it obvious that over time they have become very good friends. I am a bit sad that this is the end of the series but was excited to hear that Ms Ramsey may revisit the Muses sometime in the future as her new series is written in the same world as them and will feature some of the other characters we have already met. Ms Ramsey has hinted that Christabel (Ellie’s sister-in-law) is of interest to her and that is a story I would like to read so keeping fingers crossed that she decides to write it.

I am looking forward to reading the new series – ‘Heiress Games’ which starts with Duke Of Thorns due for release Spring 2014.

Copy supplied by Sara Ramsey with no obligation to review

[Pelusa Rivera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hate Prudence. She was not a good friend at all and I didn't understand why everyone acted like she was so sweet and so nice and she deserved better, I totally did not see that in her. I did want her and Alex to get together in the last book, so I went in this book hoping that they would but by the end, no. She was a horrible friend, I mean I get that Amelia butted in when Prudence went to meet Malcolm, but like it was said before, she didnt like Malcolm she didn't want him, so get over the fact that he wanted Amelia, and Amelia did not go in to hurt you, we know this. So it pissed me off when she would bring it up, once ok, but come on now stop crying. I liked how Alex told her that he knew that Malcolm was not for her because he noticed immediately that Malcolm and Amelia had a spark and they truly loved each other. Here she claims its forgotten but then as her friend (and I say that with a grain of salt) is pregnant almost about to give birth, you claim you love Alex you have the nerve, the nerve to tell him that she should have fought more for Malcolm, he didn't want YOU!!!dumbass, he wanted Amelia since he saw her, I liked what his brothers had called her a dishrag, because that is what she is. She didn;t talk to Malcolm she looked so forlorn, and now now you regret it, puhlease. Hate her, hate her.shoot I ended up liking her mother more and she was a witch in the last book! Can you tell how much I dislike her. I regret reading this book

[Karen Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I liked that the heroine did something underhanded in order to improve her situation in life.

[Tracy Emro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book - not quite as much as the others, but it was a good read nonetheless

I would agree with another reviewer who said they didn't recognize these characters from the previous books. Both Prudence and Alex seemed like totally different people from the Alex and Pru that I meet in the other books and in all honesty - I liked them better before I read this book

Prudence bordered on being a total shrew in this book. She came across as petty, selfish and a bit spiteful - I didn't hate her, but it was a close thing. I understood her life was hard and I even understood her jealousy/bitterness over her friends happiness. But I didn't like her reasoning for her choices and her deceptions.

Alex was also a bit of a disappointment - his defeatist attitude and his negativity got old real fast.

I know it sounds like I didn't like the book - but I really did. I just didn't love it.

As always, the story was fresh and the writing was great. I loved seeing the other muses and their spouses. Ferguson is and will always be my favorite!

I will definitely be reading the Duke of Thorns - I hope his heroine brings him down a peg or five!

[Sofia Currin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book. Did not enjoy the magic. If I had I probably would have liked the characters more but with magic fueling the plot it made it hard to get into. Very disappointed since I had always looked forward to PrudencexAlex.

[Kelly G (Now Accepting Book Boyfriend Applications) · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎧AUDIO REVIEW🎧

Wow! I loved this story a whole lot more than I thought I was going to! I wasn't the biggest fan of Prue because of how she behaved in Amelia's story. But I am a sucker for a sibling's best friend story, and I have loved the Muses of Mayfair so I couldn't pass this one up. Plus I was quite curious as to why Alex hadn't settled down yet since he didn't really seem like a total rake. The fact that there was a myth that was the driving force behind these 2 seriously smart people NOT getting together was interesting! And quite funny. I can't say that I wanted to junk-punch Alex.... but I definitely wanted to grab his shoulders and give him a shake on more than one occasion. Very great story and narration! Loved this whole series..... Ellie and Nick are still my favorite though (book # 3 - The Marquess Who Loved Me)


Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Swoon 😍😍😍
Angst 💔💔
Narration 👏👏👏👏👏

[Carôle Ceres · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Way To End The Series.

I listened to the audiobook version of this title, read by Emma Powell, who narrated the entire series. This was her best performance, as she had to combine all of the various accents and dialects previously used, and she did so seamlessly.

I’m glad that the series ended with Prudence’s story. If it had ended with Nellie’s it would have been (in my opinion), a flop!

Both the first and the last in the series had the best plots and the best resolutions (at least the most interesting resolutions) and more interesting characters.

I truly enjoy the interplay between the four main males, who had largely been thrown together by their wives friendships (even though they were loosely connected).

Do not start with this book, begin at the beginning, ‘Heiress Without A Cause’ Madeleine’s story. It really is the best way to experience this overarching story.

[May Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A winding end to the series

This sort of gives an Indiana Jones vibe with artifacts, relic curses (if we may call them that) and historical discourse and all. But the push and pull of emotions that the hero and the heroine were having is borderline annoying I found myself numerous times getting lost with what’s happening in the story. It made me enjoy this one less. All in all this series is okay and I would have loved this more if there was a chapter allotted to give us a final glimpse of all the featured couples in the series. But, if you are just in for the steamy times, this series surely delivers.

[Kristl Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok I don’t usually write reviews for historical romances because they are generally like comfort food. They feel good and fill you up but aren’t generally very unique or complicated. But this one…I loved it!!!!

There was romance, mystery, witty banter that made me laugh, a touch of paranormal that was almost believable, there were imperfect characters making difficult choices. Truthfully I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. Which is rare for a historical romance.

I started in the middle of this series so I can’t wait to read more.

Read and enjoy 🥰

[Sadia's Virtual Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the best book of the series.

The addition of magic, curse and the thrill of adventure was what had made it the best among all others in the series.

Loved how Prudence knew all about the curse and how scholarly she was than many other men out there. Best part was that Alex was willing to overlook everything she has ever done to keep her.

Although it didn't had the fluffy and sweet romantic scenes but still this was worth a read.

[Wendy Tavenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book and series! I could not wait to read Prue’s and Alex’s story! These 2 have been in love with each other for years but neither have said anything. Prue needed money so she started make art forgeries. Alex has been cursed for over 10 years from an ancient artifact that is the reason he has never offered for her. Can these 2 finally come together and break the curse! Loved the book.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good historical

This is the final book in the Muses of Mayfair series and it had a supernatural curse involved that is resolved in an interesting fashion since finding out how to cure the curse is the major plot point of the story and at the end it is revealed. There is a nice HEA at the end of the story.

[Danielle Book Boss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an odd one for me. Especially the bit that made this book more or less a paranormal historical. Where did that come from? It felt thrown together and doesn’t fit with the rest of the series aside from the characters.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite in the series.

Love the narrator, she has a great voice that is very easy to listen to.

The plot is interesting and concludes the series nicely.

[Sammee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mostly decent characters, ridiculous plot, not my fave book of the series

[Pam Bereznak · Rating 5 out of 5]

great series.

[Kbee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible Catalogue

AUDIOBOOK: Read 28 & 29 January 2021
9hrs 39min

Narrator: Emma Powell does a pretty good job.
I really liked this one...was about to give up on it in the beginning but glad I hold on.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My personal favorite from the series. Completely different than the rest with a wish making altering decisions for our hero. Ridiculous but more fun for me.

[Joann · Rating 1 out of 5]

It didn’t keep my interest

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK set of books. Listened as part of the included books in Audible

[Kimberly K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first is still the best in the series. But it was nice to get a story for Alex and pru.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the series but prudence is kind of a wreck

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alas, the irony of picking up Sara Ramsey's first book for free on US Independence Day. :-) This was the only book from her I was able to buy from outside the US. (Boo!).

On the other hand, I wasn't able to put this book down from start to finish.

From the description, I was a bit cautious of these characters with "secrets" to hide. It seems like a lame trope to me. Fortunately, it's not so lame as that. But one of the secrets is, erm, a bit fantastic.
It's really quite dark.

I was impressed by the conflict between the characters in the other book from Sara that I'd read. Here, too, the characters harbor bitter feelings, and have (at times) ugly conversations.
Particularly, I liked to see that Prudence felt jealous about being the "last wallflower", being the one left-out among her group of happily-married friends.

But I guess I gotta admit I found the adventure aspect of the narrative more interesting than the romance aspect to it.

Dark as I found the narrative, her male secondary characters did give me a laugh or two, especially nearer the end. :-)

[Letschat1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stars 3/4 (Kate Pearce, Maureen Driscoll, Elisa Braden)

Hey fellow readers I don’t summarize the books (as there are always great full summaries written that I read myself).

I only give it my personal, general, summary of 5 stars to 1 star.

3 stars: This book is worth a read but didn’t really have me excited about interacting with the book where I could not put it down. It lacks the excitement and well roundness of my personal markers for a great read throughout the book.

Development and interest in main characters, secondary characters, humorous, movement of the book, writing/conversation and romantic/sexual content (1-2 scenes or too much unnecessary).

Read it once and that is enough for me.

However, if this book is part of a series, I would read the next book (pervious book) in the series as it would still peek my reading interest.

I’ll continue reading from this author. I wouldn’t cross the author out of my potential reads in the future.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe Heiress Without a Cause set the bar too high or I'm getting too picky but I was hoping for more from this book. Especially since it was Prudence's story and she's my favorite Muse. I did enjoy it though, even if I think it could have been much better.

Alex and Prudence were great characters, although I do wish that we had been given some context of how and why they fell for each other in the first place. Sure they'd supposedly been not so secretly in love with each other for years and shared similar scholarly pursuits but with no flashbacks or many references, their romance came across as a bit 2-dimensional. Still, the pair shared an undeniable chemistry and were both very likable together and as individuals. The main plot concerning Alex's 'curse' was ridiculous albeit entertaining if only because I enjoy Egyptology.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book!! And I did, but not enough. This is my first book from this author, and while the writing was good, the characters fell a bit flat for me. Prudence came off petulant and not at all prudent. Unfortunately, her character felt underdeveloped. Alex, the supposed scholar, was lackluster and dispassionate. In all honesty,I found myself rooting for the villain, the Duke of Thorington for most of the book. The supernatural element of this book intrigued me, and the book paid a lot of attention to it but not in an exciting way. Maybe that's the best way to describe this book, unexciting. There was no sense of urgency to it, and it took me a couple days to finish because I just didn't care. This won't be the last book I read by Sarah Ramos, because I need to read the Duke of Thorington's novel. THAT book will probably be the last one.

[Joan Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Earl with a curse

This was an interesting story about an Earl cursed from a wish he had made on an ancient dagger. Alex loved Prudence but because of his curse, he refused to marry her for fear that the curse would take her life. Before he could marry his love, he had to find a way to end the curse. Of course there was a Duke, a former friend of Alex, who was also cursed and didn't wish the curse to end. Both had wished on the dagger when they were young but for different things. The Duke played the villain so I intend to purchase Duke of Thornes to see how he will redeem himself. This was a wonderful story that had my heart breaking for Alex and Prudence and kept me on edge waiting to see how the curse would be broken.

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice the conclusion of this series that has fascinated me from the beginning, even though my favorite character only at the end had the story she deserved; although I will miss this series, I'm however glad that next year there will be the novel starring the "cursed" met in this book.

Molto carina la conclusione di questa serie che mi ha affascinato sin dall'inizio, anche se il mio personaggio preferito ha avuto solo alla fine la storia che meritava; anche se questa serie mi mancherá sono comunque contenta che l'anno prossimo ci sará la storia sul "maledetto" incontrato in questo libro.

THANKS TO SARA RAMSEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The two characters of Alex and Prudence intrigued me enough during the first and second book to give this last one in the series a try. While the whole notion of a curse causing the rift between the characters is a big far-fetched and ridiculous, it was interesting. I'm a fan of history and Egyptology so those aspects kept my motivation up but like the other books, I just couldn't stop myself from thinking that being a woman during this particular period in England is just terrible. I've read other books set during the same time period but it seems to be this series just brought out the worst of my pessimistic tendencies.

[Sandy Digger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Earl Who Played With Fire

This is Prudence's story. In previous books it was hinted at who Prue loved but this book tells how long she waited for him. It's a hard tale to read as the outcome isn't what it seems like as you're reading . Prudence turns out to be quite enterprising, she is good at making fake antiquities to survive. Alex is quite frustrating as he doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind. He acts like he cares and then like he doesn't, poor Prue despairs of ever hearing that he loves her. But the author does a good job of keeping you guessing if they will ever get together