Earl for the Summer

The Bridewell Sisters #2

by Christy Carlyle

A tangled deception, an undeniable desire—how long before the truth breaks them apart?

Scarred by war, in both body and mind, Cassian Rourke lives in seclusion in the Scottish countryside. Only a desperate letter from his twin brother, Julian, Earl of Windham, can lure him back to England. But the favor Julian asks is the last thing Cassian Julian, injured after a reckless horse race, begs Cassian to impersonate him in London and continue courting the diamond of the Season—the woman Julian intends to marry.

Daphne Bridewell once foolishly gave her heart to a rogue who broke it. Now, as the sister-in-law of a duke, she's been granted a lavish first Season of her own. Yet, with her heart still tender, she resists the charms of London's gentlemen, content to fade into the background and support her friend Lady Selena Montgomery, who is the Season’s reigning diamond. When one of Selena’s suitors—a charming earl she finds suspicious—asks Daphne to help him win Selena's heart, she hesitates. But as she gets to know him, her wariness softens. He sees past her false smiles and polite conversation to the wound she hides, and she glimpses the man beneath his charm—a man of depth and unexpected sincerity.

Cassian has no interest in the beauty he's meant to woo on his brother's behalf. Instead, it's her best friend—with sad eyes and an indomitable spirit—who captivates him like no woman ever has. But what will she think when she discovers his deception?

Genres: Historical Romance

161 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 30, 2025

About the author

Fueled by Pacific Northwest coffee and inspired by multiple viewings of every British costume drama she can get her hands on, USA Today bestselling author Christy Carlyle writes sensual historical romance set in the Victorian era. She loves heroes who struggle against all odds and heroines who are ahead of their time. A former teacher with a degree in history, she finds there's nothing better than being able to combine her love of the past with a die-hard belief in happy endings.

Reviews

[kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cassian Rourke agrees to go to London and act like his twin brother, Julian (Earl of Windham), in order to keep Julian's suit for Lady Selina open. Daphne Bridewell, meanwhile, is recovering from discovering her suitor had only been attempting to steal a grope in order to win a bet and is feeling pretty :| about dudes. So when her bff Selina's suitor, Windham, returns to London but different she's like "You sus." And he's like "Yes; maybe boner?" and also the unraveling of 30+ years of unresolved internalized physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his shitty father!!

1. Yeah, ok, so: this was a cute lil romp, up until the "I MIGHT BE JUST LIKE MY ABUSIVE FATHER; I PUNCHED A WALL ONE TIME!!" Like, it's a very real fear to have—but attempting to resolve in a 3 chapter run in the back half of a novella is a choice, and it doesn't quite work here.

There's pieces to support the idea that Cassian has been working on himself, kind of, isolated in his Scottish hunting lodge, but there's also this very real "avoid to overcome" mentality that 100% DOES NOT WORK and makes it really, really hard to swallow the last minute turn where he realizes that he can't live without Daphne; sees one line about his intense love in an old journal from his mother; proposes; and then has sex with his fiancee.

Guess which thing gets the most page time that's right it's BONERS!!!!!!! c = 3, you pervs.

2. I did really like the fact that the ~subterfuge element doesn't last that long: Daphne clocks pretty fast that SOMETHING is different, and the question of Selina is resolved almost immediately! The underlining sense of "betrayal" that Daphne felt was, I thought, enough of a hurdle for the novella (hence my ??? about the abusive father bits).

3. One other element that wasn't my favorite was the way conversations were just....abandoned, midway through? At one point, Cassian is in the middle of attempting to come clean clean about the fact that he was only courting Selina at his brother's behest, and two lines later Daphne asks him to kiss her? There are several "important" conversations that kind of get dealt with like that: one or two lines about the primary topic, and then a non sequitur that derails the entire fucking thing.

(Honestly, it made her later "You betrayed me????" nonsense feel kind of overblown because, UM, THE CLUES WERE THERE I AM SORRY YOU DID NOT USE YOUR EARS OR EYES OR BRAIN TO FIGURE IT OUT????? THIS ONE IS KIND OF ON YOU????)

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Lacey and I have been reading this series together for a buddy read and we’ve both been enjoying ourselves enormously. These novellas don’t have drawn our drama but are instead cozy romances with themes of family and finding the right person in unexpected ways.

Daphne has always been a tender soul and is burned early in the season by a callous man. Cassian is pretending to be his twin to help him woo a lady because his brother injures himself at an inopportune time. They immediately “see” each other and have a connection. Fortunately the deception isn’t drawn out and there are no weird love triangles. They communicate and have undeniable chemistry. I liked how complete this story felt even though it’s a shorter book. It made for no drawn out misunderstanding drama but still plenty of page time for their connection to develop and for us to still see their families and how they all interacted and cared for each other.

Overall very pleased with this. Loved how Daphne noticed something “different” about the twin right away (she is observant and also has twin sisters). Definitely recommend and will be continuing the series!! Yay!!

[Pam Bereznak · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I read 3 books by Christy Carlyle in 2016 and 3 more in 2019. I haven't picked her up again until this series. I didn't think she was that steamy and although book 1 wasn't 50 shades type steamy, it was well written. Same as this one. It seemed to be well written and just the right amount. This is my 11th book by her.

I really liked Cassian and Daphne a lot. I liked the storyline and how they met and the outcome. I love that it had an epilogue. I like when a book gives you that final closure and doesn't just end and you wander what happened to them. :) Overall good read.