An Earl's Guide to Catch a Lady

Misadventures of the Heart #1

by Tanya Wilde

Evelyn Tremaine HAS DREAMS TO TRAVEL THE WORLD…

And being outwitted by fate will not deter her!

But even she has to admit that waking up in the bed of a stranger with no memory might be a tiny wrinkle in her otherwise grand plan. Was he a peasant? A gunman? Perhaps a duke? Or was he just a figment of her imagination? Evelyn wasn’t about to lurk around and find out. But she will soon learn the mysterious stranger was a force much larger than fate to be reckoned with and he has set his sight firmly on her.

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

317 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 29, 2016

About the author

Hello there!

I have a free book for you.

Get your copy of Under The Highland Sky here: https://authortanyawilde.com/under_th...

Tanya Wilde developed a passion for reading when she had nothing better to do than lurk in the library during her lunch breaks. Her love affair with pen and paper followed soon after she had devoured all of the library’s historical romance books!

In 2020, she won the Romance Writers Organization of South Africa (ROSA) Imbali Award for Excellence in Romance Writing for Not Quite a Rogue.

When she’s not meddling in the lives of her characters or drinking copious amounts of coffee, she’s off on adventures with her partner in crime.

Wilde lives in a town at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains, South Africa.

Be sure to follow Tanya on BookBub for the latest on her sales: https://bit.ly/3AbLlwz

Reviews

[Noura · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is very seldom that i give a 2 star let alone a 1 star to a book. I read this book till the end hoping that it'll get better towards the end. But no...sorry. Nope. I read the reviews and everyone said the book is awesome. I might just be the only one who doesn't like the book. So I'll give my reasons:

1) The characters in the story were just too predictable and 2-dimensional. Reclusive, handsome titled man vs overly stubborn, pretty titled girl. A pair of best girlfriends and a (possibly gay?) guy best friend. A brother and best friend that might end up with said girl friends (the hints were all over the story). Oh yes, don't forget the cliche of a villain: bitchy ex-girlfriend.
2) The heroine, Evelyn Tremaine, is flighty, annoying and stubborn veering towards childishness. She keeps wanting to travel but there's nothing in her actions that seem to support her "great dream of traveling the world" (and this is often repeated in the story as though she's trying to convince herself and used as a reason/excuse to not accept the hero's advances). She lies easily and gets into ridiculous situations. She refuses the hero, then decides to give herself to him, and then continues to refuse him until the end while along the way seem to be giving signs that she's very attracted to him. The only thing she is firm on is she wants to have adventures and travel the world. Again, note that nothing in the story shows that she is working towards doing this. Just a lot of bla bla and whining on not getting to travel if she marries Grey. Sorry...it irks me to read about heroines that are not smart but is described as one.
3) The hero, Matthew Langdon aka Earl of Grey, suffers from insta-lust/love so he automatically turns into a caveman and flaunts his chauvinistic attitude. And so he kisses the girl like he's going to devour he whole face, repeatedly and often, to shut her up and/or to show her he wants her. (Tsk...somehow it's not hot). There is not much to be said of the hero other than the fact that he is often either giving caveman kisses, glowering and staring daggers and pushing his decision to marry Evelyn.
4) The introduction of so many other characters and subplots along the way that was just distracting. Ok...i'm guessing those are supposed to open up to more stories later on. Maybe a book on Jo and St Aldywn, Belle and Simon, the Shaw twins. Wesley. And the secret group...what's that all about? The main story is all about Grey trying to convince Evelyn to marry him. Why didn't the story stick to that or maybe there's just nothing much to that story.
5) Questionable editing.
6) What i call a "wtf?" ending. After all that has happened, after all the going around and around, that was it? After a story like that, a nice little epilogue or a delicious cliffhanger ending would have made the effort of finishing the book worthwhile. But nooooo.......

However....
One saving grace is Evelyn's besties - Jo and Belle. Now they come across as more interesting characters because they (1) seem to be hiding some secret (2) they come across as girls who have character and wit. Also Wesley. It might be interesting to read about the inevitable pairing of the whole host of characters introduced in this book.

I did not enjoy the story and the MCs are just freaking annoying. You know that feeling you get when you read FSOG and it just doesn't come across as American as it's supposed to be although the setting is as American as it gets? That's the feeling i'm getting here - that this story is not as Englishy as it should be. I get that historical romance stories sometimes stretch the imagination and can be unrealistic, but this story to me is just unconvincing in its romance and improbable in being authentically historical.

Sigh.

[layh · Rating 1 out of 5]

what in the soap opera 😟

[Pooja Peravali]

DNF at 25%

When Evelyn wakes in the bed of a strange man, she thinks all is lost. But as her relationship with him evolves, it becomes ever more complex and confounding.

Unfortunately, I found this book cliche and the characters flat. Their actions did not make sense, and there was lots of lying without reason. Everything interesting in the book seems to have happened off screen, and I met no redeeming qualities in the quarter I read. I was not enjoying my read at all, so I’ve ditched it.

[Shruti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how the author kept seamlessly switching perspectives in between paragraphs . That is not something I have experienced before. And the story itself was very funny and entertaining with great plot and lovable , willful characters.

All in all, a memorable experience.

[Karen Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ridiculous and confusing. I barely made it halfway through the book.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was absurd. I knew about 20% in I shouldn't continue reading because there was just too much nonsense. The characters were silly. The heroine was especially annoying in her fight to keep her independence. She was so contrary and immature! Oh no I want the hero! Oh no I don't want the hero! GO AWAY! NO KISS ME AND MAKE LOVE TO ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!! ..... That's the gist of her thoughts throughout nearly the whole book. And the hero was no better! I'm all for a possessive hero, but the way this one was written was just awful. And the whole story and plot itself was utterly ridiculous! And then to have the hero fight to win her despite her making it SUPER CLEAR she didn't want him was frustrating because for a moment I felt bad for the hero because he read across as a sweetheart for a little while but ultimately that didn't last. And really, the crux of the entire book was that the h/H relationship was based on DIDDLY SQUAT! There was literally nothing besides attraction to recommended each other to one another and yet somehow he was in love with her (which God Bless him I'll never understand how) and she was in love with him? Completely unbelieveable!

If I didn't have a morbid curiosity I would have left this unfinished and happily moved on but what can I say? I couldn't look away from train wreck on the pages.

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on a whim, having never heard of the author or seen any reviews for the book, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

It was wonderful, I loved the story , the characters, everything. I liked seeing Evelyn ' s friends also play a role and I can't wait to read their own books.

I definitely would recommend this to lovers of historical romance out there. Very nicely done.

[Aki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irgendwie war das alles zu schnell, vor allem der Anfang und warum können die Leute nicht einfach miteinander reden?

[Tenille · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry in advance. This book is abhorrent. I didn't even want to finish it but I was committed to giving it this review.

The heroine, Evelyn, is your typical pretty English lady caught up in convoluted circumstances that she makes worse. I couldn't relate with a single one of her decisions. She is keenly aware of her position in society and is determined not to marry; she wants her freedom and loathes the idea of being owned by a husband. Knowing this, she still goes about putting herself in positions where she knows she may be forced into a marriage she doesn't want.

Our hero isn't even a Hero. Matthew is a reclusive, handsome, headstrong Earl, who decides he wants Evelyn and relentlessly stalks and pursues her throughout the countryside and the city. No matter how many times she refuses him, he attempts to strong-arm her into doing what he wants, and throughout the story is bewildered that she won't fall in line. He shows up at her home, corners her in public, man-handles her and does the classic kisses-her-to-shut-her-up move.

Spoiler alert - despite all of this, Evelyn never once appeals to anyone for help. Despite his relationship with the Earl, her brother would certainly have intervened if she had told him the full extent of his pursuit. And somehow, despite still not really "getting it", Evelyn still falls for Matthew hook, line and sinker.

I hated the Hero, I hated the story, Evelyn's friends were shallow and unnecessary. And the book just goes on and on forever. The events seem so unlikely for a regency romance that it is probably better categorised as fantasy. Unless you like the idea of being manipulated and steam-rolled by every authority figure in your life, I can't recommend this one at all.

This review has been cross-posted from my blog, Books, Bling & Banter.

[C JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evelyn is a delightful entertaining character going from one self made humorous situation to another with her wild imagination that she lets run wild.

The story begins with Evelyn finding herself waking from a hangover in bed with a naked man with no recollection of the night before. Travelling alone Evelyn was plagued with "misfortune" after "misfortune", her lady's maid becoming sick while travelling to Bath and is left behind to recuperate with her family, her carriage breaks and needs repairs so she stops at an Inn, her footman/groomsman supposedly falls in love with a barmaid and disappears.
Unknown to Evelyn the naked man is Matthew, the Earl of Grey, when she appeared in his room holding two bottles of wine he knew she thought he was a dream especially when she stripped down and crawled into bed and feel asleep. When Evelyn awakes the next morning she panics and runs "borrowing" Matthew's stallion nearly killing herself when she is thrown from the horse when she is being chased down by Matthew. Matthew is intrigued by Evelyn and later learns she is the sister of his once good friend Simon Tremaine, Earl of Westfield. Because of his interest in Evenly and her ultimate ruination he decides he is going to marry her, Evelyn don't wish to marry ever so begins the running away and pursuing of this couple which makes many laugh out loud encounters when he catches up to her before she slips off once again.

Evelyn has two friends, Josephine and Belle, that will provide much entertainment when they get their stories as they are just as independent and stubborn and I can't wait to read the circles that these two ladies will run around Evelyn's brother Simon and his friend Damien Granville, Marquis of St. Aldwyn.....

Big handsome stubborn Lords and Ladies whom are just as stubborn always make for fun reading

[Alejandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was in sore need of a good editor.
The recluse doesn’t function as a recluse, the adventuress is kind of insecure. The plot is far fetched, the characters are somewhat flat. There is no background, no secondary characters apart from those that evidently are going to be main characters in subsequent books...
And sometimes it was messy, some information or background was missing, some scenes were superfluous, and there was a lot of empty drama, specially by the supposedly reclusive hero, who alternates between a drama queen, a brooding victim, an alpha male, a charismatic rake, a reasonable human, a chauvinistic prick and a lovesick fool. The heroine was just insecure and flat. We are told she is adventurous and mischievous, but I just don’t get to see it in the book.
Enough ranting
Did it like it, 2 stars because I managed to finish it and many times I got my hopes up that it was going to get better.

[Leena Aluru · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a long winding,tedious book with a paper thin story line. As usual, the author mistakes a series of incidents(and in this case non incidents)as the story. As I mentioned this book lacks any story advancement till 75% of the book, and then wham, you have a completely new track happening paralelly. Random introductions of characters (Madeline Lovestop) , James Shaw and Jo's brother are introduced. Its obvious to bring about a continuity of her series.

Im confused with Evelyn and her 2 besties, Jo and Belle. Evelyn wants to be independent and travel the world, but she's not about as very competent to.do so. Belle apparently moonlights as the hot dot designer Madame La Frey who only designs scandalous dresses to the ton. And there's Jo, who is very active in championing social causes. Jo and Belle have managed to keep their secret work secret even amongst themselves..
Really? How did she meet her clients to design, and forward it to the seamstress? Jo conveniently moves from charity to kidnapping? And suddenly insists on Evelyn's help? Its so random just to increase mileage ? Anyway, I couldn't like any of the 3 women, they come across as stupid and rash.

The 3 men in the book too don't stand out as dashing heros. They are arrogant, overbearing stereotypes who are just there.
The introduction of the vamp was useless..its a blink and miss.
Dialogues are repetitive, cast and situations are unimaginative.

You can completely miss this one.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there were moments I loved, I spent a lot of the book frustrated. The heroine was whiny and manipulative, the hero obtuse. Too often new characters were introduced or changes occurred in the plot that had me wondering whether I had skipped pages or, at one stage, whether I had opened a new book. Some of these were explained, but often not in much detail. Others were left hanging. For example, we were never given an explanation about the letter Evelyn found in Matthew’s pocket when she stole his shirt.
Additionally, a good editor was needed.

[Christiane Robillard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chaotic and confusing

I didn’t find this book particularly enjoyable. I found the dialogue slipshod and clumsy. Sometimes confusing. The plot was disjointed … there seemed to be so many different scenarios happening at once, and successively, it became chaotic. It seemed there was a plot within a plot within a plot! The characters were not well defined … seemed confused, wavering on personality disorder. The storyline was somewhat original and I enjoyed the humour. The book could have been great, had it been better written.

[PollyAnna Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little convoluted

Yes, An Earl's Guide to Catch a Lady is a bit convoluted and over-done. The whole intrigue where Evelyn helps her friend kidnap a battered young woman adds length to the story as well as depth to Evelyn's character, but it is unnecessary in regards to the romance story. I definitely enjoyed reading Matthew and Evelyn's story; don't get me wrong! Lol. Evelyn is definitely a woman with a mind of her own. It's no wonder Matthew falls so hard for her.

[Liset · Rating 1 out of 5]

About 35% into the book I realized that each chapter was more of the of the same. The h being silly, contradictory and plain dumb. The H constantly chasing and asking why she keeps running away. Anyway couldn’t stand reading the rest skipped to the final chapter because I need to close loops and still not even a satisfying ending more of the same. Final love declarations (pretty weak). I think the worst of it was the constant lying and unnecessary lying. Like the h was a pathological liar.

[Katrina Holder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

I enjoyed this book. Minus the few grammatical errors it was a light and fun read and a great introduction to the series. Loved the determination and the spirit of the heroine. In spite of being in a male dominated society she and her friends proved there was more to a woman than just vying for a good husband and provider.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. Evelyn was funny with a crazy imagination. While Matthew was her opposite in so many ways. Both characters stubbornly refused to back down so you get a battle of wills that is both entertaining & sometime heartbreaking. I am looking forward to reading Jo's & Damian's book.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

There needs to be better, more obvious breaks between the constantly changing perspectives.

Also the plot was all over the place and a lot of the drama could have been avoided by the characters communicating.

Also Evelyn was a compulsive liar and that really took enjoyment out of the story.

[Zena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story!
This story had me smiling from beginning to end.
Oh, the secretiveness of the characters! The ladies against the men and each trying to outdo the other which made this such a refreshing tale and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
And, I do most definitely recommend it!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Headstrong Lady

Evelyn is a very headstrong woman and gets into all kinds of trouble. She has decided never to marry, but to travel the world. And then she wakes up in the bed of a stranger and her whole world changes.

[Katarina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read over 200 historical romance books and this was first time that main character was described as and all actions screamed: Rapist, Narcissist 😣 Such uncomfortable book, so many scary emotions. Don’t think will be continuing to read books by this author.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young lady is running away to find adventure and travel and ends up in a complicated mess with a brooding earl who has exiled himself from society six years earlier due to the treachery of a woman. After quite a bit of mishaps, misunderstandings and more than find their hea

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great 3 series book

Great writing. I read all 3 books. It's best to read in order. Can't wait for the book on Brahm??

[Damandeep · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Candy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. I enjoyed it enough to want to continue the series.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/11/2020)! 🎁

[Debbie Dodd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book.

[Diana Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not worth the time.

Starts well enough but then comes to a horrible, contrived story that drags on for what seems like 500 pages of nothing.

[cheryl giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satisfying read

I enjoyed the characters and it had an creative plot. I am now looking for more books by this author.