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Devil's Duke #2
Earl, The
How does a bookish lady bring an arrogant lord to his knees? Entice him to Scotland, strip him of titles and riches, and make him prove what sort of man he truly is.
Opposites…
Handsome, wealthy, and sublimely confident, Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor, has vowed to unmask the rabble-rousing pamphleteer, Lady Justice, the thorn in England’s paw. And he’ll stop at nothing.
Attract.
Smart, big-hearted, and passionately dedicated to her work, Lady Justice longs to teach her nemesis a lesson in humility. But her sister is missing, and a perilous journey with her archrival into unknown territory just might turn fierce enemies into lovers.
Opposites…
Handsome, wealthy, and sublimely confident, Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor, has vowed to unmask the rabble-rousing pamphleteer, Lady Justice, the thorn in England’s paw. And he’ll stop at nothing.
Attract.
Smart, big-hearted, and passionately dedicated to her work, Lady Justice longs to teach her nemesis a lesson in humility. But her sister is missing, and a perilous journey with her archrival into unknown territory just might turn fierce enemies into lovers.
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First published October 25, 2016
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About the author
Katharine Ashe
33 books1,032 followersKatharine Ashe is the USA Today bestselling author of historical romances reviewers call “intensely lush” and “sensationally intelligent,” including two Amazon's Best Romances of the Year. A professor of history and popular culture, she writes fiction because she adores the grand adventures and breathtaking sensuality of historical romance. For more information, please visit her at http://www.katharineashe.com.
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October 13, 2016
The Earl by Katharine Ashe is a 2016 Avon publication.
“But if I was fearless, could I be your reckless friend?
And if I was helpless, could be the one comes rushin’ in?
- Cyndi Lauper- ‘Fearless’
The showdown we have all been waiting for!
Lady Justice meets Peregrine after many salty, flirty, sharp, and witty written exchanges published for all to see.
The circumstances, though, are less than ideal.
As the Falcon Club comes to an end, the leader, Peregrine, aka Colin Gray buries his father, and become the reigning Earl of Egremoor. When his arch enemy, Lady Justice asked for help in finding her missing sister, Colin agrees. When he finally stands face to face with his arch enemy, he refuses to believe ‘Lady Justice’ is a woman, having thought it was a man he had been sparring with all this time.
Emily, the ‘bookish’ “Lady Vale, is worried about her sister, who has seemingly disappeared. When she heads out to Scotland to find her, she meets up with Colin Gray, a man she has hated for the past eighteen years. The two become victims of mistaken identity and find themselves on the run.
Thus, begins their journey, where Colin and Emily trade barbs, bicker, argue, and debate, while encountering danger and intrigue. They also discover the special pulse that beat between them as children is still throbbing steadily, but the deep pain Emily feels, which is masked by fierce and passionate resentment, and Colin’s arrogant cluelessness about what caused this deep fissure, prevents forgiveness and healing.
Will the imposters be found? What will happen when Colin discovers Lady Justice’s true identity? Can the enemies call a truce? Forgive each other? Become friends, lovers?
This story is the perfect ending for the Falcon Club. While Emily may seem difficult, stubborn, and maybe even a little shrewish, the WHOLE story comes out in the end and explains so much about her behavior, her passion, and how big her heart really is. I liked Emily, actually. She feels things deeply, sticks to her convictions, and despite the price she pays for that, she holds her head up and exhibits courage and strength.
Colin’s story is heartbreaking, and his equally stubborn countenance is the result of his upbringing by a man that is publicly praised and considered a ‘great man’, but behind closed doors is a cold, hard man who raised his son in this same vein, with Colin aspiring to also become a ‘great man’ just like his father.
“A great man is not measured by the strength of his privilege, but by the depth of his heart.”
This novel is full of the contradictions and juxtapositions men and women often face and struggle with. I think Emily represents that conflict women feel by exposing both sides of the coin.
Colin and Emily are full of palpable pain, both believe they are in the right, believing in their cause, and what they feel is right. Both need to give and take, both must face their own hypocrisy and flaws, admit to them, learn from them, and let go of long held resentments, forgive and allow love to permeate and heal.
“A man is only as noble as his honesty”
This a powerful love story, albeit unconventional, which is exactly what I loved the most about it. The emotions are raw and real, stripping the protagonists bare, exposing their most hidden places, and igniting a fiery passion while reigniting their long buried feelings of love for one another.
Katherine Ashe is a force, unafraid to address the vulnerabilities behind the strength we have within ourselves.
Overall, this is an awesome story, full of adventure, passion, and romance, but also full of depth, with interesting character studies added in, which will have you thinking about the them long after you’ve finished reading.
“But if I was fearless, could I be your reckless friend?
And if I was helpless, could be the one comes rushin’ in?
- Cyndi Lauper- ‘Fearless’
The showdown we have all been waiting for!
Lady Justice meets Peregrine after many salty, flirty, sharp, and witty written exchanges published for all to see.
The circumstances, though, are less than ideal.
As the Falcon Club comes to an end, the leader, Peregrine, aka Colin Gray buries his father, and become the reigning Earl of Egremoor. When his arch enemy, Lady Justice asked for help in finding her missing sister, Colin agrees. When he finally stands face to face with his arch enemy, he refuses to believe ‘Lady Justice’ is a woman, having thought it was a man he had been sparring with all this time.
Emily, the ‘bookish’ “Lady Vale, is worried about her sister, who has seemingly disappeared. When she heads out to Scotland to find her, she meets up with Colin Gray, a man she has hated for the past eighteen years. The two become victims of mistaken identity and find themselves on the run.
Thus, begins their journey, where Colin and Emily trade barbs, bicker, argue, and debate, while encountering danger and intrigue. They also discover the special pulse that beat between them as children is still throbbing steadily, but the deep pain Emily feels, which is masked by fierce and passionate resentment, and Colin’s arrogant cluelessness about what caused this deep fissure, prevents forgiveness and healing.
Will the imposters be found? What will happen when Colin discovers Lady Justice’s true identity? Can the enemies call a truce? Forgive each other? Become friends, lovers?
This story is the perfect ending for the Falcon Club. While Emily may seem difficult, stubborn, and maybe even a little shrewish, the WHOLE story comes out in the end and explains so much about her behavior, her passion, and how big her heart really is. I liked Emily, actually. She feels things deeply, sticks to her convictions, and despite the price she pays for that, she holds her head up and exhibits courage and strength.
Colin’s story is heartbreaking, and his equally stubborn countenance is the result of his upbringing by a man that is publicly praised and considered a ‘great man’, but behind closed doors is a cold, hard man who raised his son in this same vein, with Colin aspiring to also become a ‘great man’ just like his father.
“A great man is not measured by the strength of his privilege, but by the depth of his heart.”
This novel is full of the contradictions and juxtapositions men and women often face and struggle with. I think Emily represents that conflict women feel by exposing both sides of the coin.
Colin and Emily are full of palpable pain, both believe they are in the right, believing in their cause, and what they feel is right. Both need to give and take, both must face their own hypocrisy and flaws, admit to them, learn from them, and let go of long held resentments, forgive and allow love to permeate and heal.
“A man is only as noble as his honesty”
This a powerful love story, albeit unconventional, which is exactly what I loved the most about it. The emotions are raw and real, stripping the protagonists bare, exposing their most hidden places, and igniting a fiery passion while reigniting their long buried feelings of love for one another.
Katherine Ashe is a force, unafraid to address the vulnerabilities behind the strength we have within ourselves.
Overall, this is an awesome story, full of adventure, passion, and romance, but also full of depth, with interesting character studies added in, which will have you thinking about the them long after you’ve finished reading.
July 26, 2016
DNF!!! 65%
I normally love Katherine Ashe's historicals. I normally like her strong and likeable heroines. But not this one.
Our heroine, Emily, is a very unhappy and angry women. She has held a grudge against the hero for eighteen years for leaving her when she was eight or nine. Our hero Colin was thirteen. She never tried to find out why or get answers. I'm not sure if the author was trying to portray the heroine as a strong feminist here (even for that time period I feel it was overboard) but in reality to me she comes across very angry and cold. I like the hero but the heroine ruined it for me and I just couldn't read anymore or take her character.
Maybe others will like her or find her okay but she just wasn't for me.
I will continue to read the authors future books, hoping this is a flook.
I normally love Katherine Ashe's historicals. I normally like her strong and likeable heroines. But not this one.
Our heroine, Emily, is a very unhappy and angry women. She has held a grudge against the hero for eighteen years for leaving her when she was eight or nine. Our hero Colin was thirteen. She never tried to find out why or get answers. I'm not sure if the author was trying to portray the heroine as a strong feminist here (even for that time period I feel it was overboard) but in reality to me she comes across very angry and cold. I like the hero but the heroine ruined it for me and I just couldn't read anymore or take her character.
Maybe others will like her or find her okay but she just wasn't for me.
I will continue to read the authors future books, hoping this is a flook.
December 18, 2016
I've given this a straight A at AAR.
Readers of Katharine Ashe’s Falcon Club series will be well aware of the frequent, public, and bitingly sarcastic correspondence that has gone on between the club’s secretary, Peregrine, and the anonymous Lady Justice, pamphleteer, moral crusader and regular denouncer of the abuses and injustices wreaked upon the voiceless masses by the wealthy and privileged. That correspondence continued throughout The Rogue, the first in the author’s Devil’s Duke series, which inhabits the Falcon Club universe and features a number of the same characters. This is also true of The Earl, which references storylines from the earlier series, as well as one of the plotlines begun in The Rogue. That probably all sounds fairly complicated, and I would definitely say that someone new to this author’s work might not want to start here. At a pinch, The Earl could work as a standalone, but I think anyone picking it up without having read any of the earlier books would be at a disadvantage.
Right at the end of The Rogue, the unthinkable happened. Lady Justice, knowing of the Falcon Club’s skill in finding the missing and returning them home, was forced to seek help from the one man she detests above all others: Peregrine. Naturally, Peregrine is intrigued by the request and definitely not above gloating at how much it must stick in Lady Justice’s throat to have to ask him for help. He demands a face-to-face meeting with his nemesis; she refuses. He makes it clear that his help is conditional upon a meeting, and reluctantly the lady agrees, covering herself in a thick veil to prevent Peregrine discovering her identity.
Their meeting is as acrimonious as their written interactions have been, and only confirms Lady Justice’s belief that Peregrine is an arrogant, manipulative, ruthless, self-entitled bastard. Unfortunately, it also shows her something she had not expected – Peregrine is none other than Colin Gray, newly minted Earl of Egremoor, and a man she has known all her life.
Lady Emily Vane is a bit of an odd duck. Bookish and often shy in company as a child, she became a veritable chatterbox in the company of her dearest friend, a boy who could not speak, but whom she nonetheless adored, Colin Gray. Emily’s father and Colin’s were old friends and so the two children spent a great deal of time together as their respective families were happy to leave the two ‘oddities’ to their own devices. But when Colin was thirteen and Emily eight, things changed suddenly and irrevocably, and since then, they have been little more than mere nodding acquaintances. In the eighteen years since, Emily has become somewhat reclusive; the income she has earned over the years means she is independent of her father, can live alone and has no need of – or desire for – a husband. Living alone enables her to retain her anonymity and to continue to argue for reform, rail against injustice and highlight the plight of the oppressed in the pamphlets she continues to write as Lady Justice. Her current crusade is to find a way of getting the Domestic Felicity Act – a bill which will give women actual rights within marriage – introduced into Parliament.
Shocked as she is to discover Peregrine’s true identity, Emily manages to escape that encounter without being unmasked herself. She needs Colin’s help to find her sister, Amarantha, who had been living in Jamaica until the recent death of her husband. But Amarantha has disappeared, last heard of making for Scotland in search of a friend, and Emily is worried. Knowing she can’t possibly accept Colin’s help now – even if he agreed to give it – she sets off for Scotland with a couple of her servants, determined to find Amarantha herself. But Emily has not long arrived at an inn near Loch Lomond when she discovers that Colin has followed leads of his own and that his trail has led him to the same place. But before they can do more than exchange cold civilities, they find themselves in grave danger, owing to the fact that a man who bears a striking resemblance to Colin and is calling himself the Earl of Egremoor is wanted for murder and highway robbery. This man has a smaller, fair-haired accomplice who has been seen dressed as a woman – which accounts for the fact that Emily and Colin have encountered such suspicion among the locals. The animosity directed towards them very quickly reaches boiling point and the pair must act quickly if they are to escape with their lives. Colin and Emily go on the run, making for the Duke of Loch Irvine’s castle at Kallin where they hope they will be able to get everything straightened out. But it’s going to be a difficult journey through rough terrain and uncertain weather; and news of the fake earl’s deeds have already spread widely throughout the area, so seeking shelter is risky as they can’t trust anyone not to turn them in. And all the while, Emily is desperate to keep her secret from the boy who broke her heart and has become a man who stands for everything she hates.
Katharine Ashe has impressed me immensely with her ability to write a gripping adventure yarn that takes full account of historical and political detail while also developing a complex and satisfying romance between two complicated, flawed individuals. Emily can be difficult to like at times, as she is so intractable and willing to see the worst in Colin, although his high-handedness can be just as annoying as her insistence that he’s arrogant and uncaring about those less fortunate than himself. Both characters have to face some harsh truths about themselves and their shared past, although it’s Emily who really needs to have the blinkers removed. She has spent so long feeling hurt and betrayed by the one person in her life she thought knew and understood her that she has allowed her prejudices to cloud her judgement. But as they spend their days and nights running from danger, Emily gradually begins to realise that she is wrong and that Colin is a decent, honourable man who is strongly motivated to act for the good of others.
The pacing throughout is excellent, in terms of both the romance and the adventure. The romance needs time to develop given the fact that Colin and Emily have been estranged for years, and I loved the way it unfolds gradually as they both start to reassess each other. We glimpse them as children and discover exactly what had bound them so strongly together; we experience Emily’s heartbreak, Colin’s shame and frustration; we feel for them as they reconnect and come to know each other as they are now, and when, towards the end, Emily finally reveals exactly what inspired her to become Lady Justice… I was choked up. It’s a masterstroke.
The chemistry between Peregrine and Lady Justice leapt off the page in the other books, and it burns even hotter between Colin and Emily in this one. Emily is refreshingly un-missish about the fact that she finds Colin extremely attractive and the love scenes are possibly the most romantic, sexy and intense that Katharine Ashe has yet written.
The Earl is an enormously satisfying read on many levels. An exciting adventure and a sizzling romance all wrapped up in astute observation and social comment, this is historical romance at its best and it’s gone straight on to my keeper shelf.
Readers of Katharine Ashe’s Falcon Club series will be well aware of the frequent, public, and bitingly sarcastic correspondence that has gone on between the club’s secretary, Peregrine, and the anonymous Lady Justice, pamphleteer, moral crusader and regular denouncer of the abuses and injustices wreaked upon the voiceless masses by the wealthy and privileged. That correspondence continued throughout The Rogue, the first in the author’s Devil’s Duke series, which inhabits the Falcon Club universe and features a number of the same characters. This is also true of The Earl, which references storylines from the earlier series, as well as one of the plotlines begun in The Rogue. That probably all sounds fairly complicated, and I would definitely say that someone new to this author’s work might not want to start here. At a pinch, The Earl could work as a standalone, but I think anyone picking it up without having read any of the earlier books would be at a disadvantage.
Right at the end of The Rogue, the unthinkable happened. Lady Justice, knowing of the Falcon Club’s skill in finding the missing and returning them home, was forced to seek help from the one man she detests above all others: Peregrine. Naturally, Peregrine is intrigued by the request and definitely not above gloating at how much it must stick in Lady Justice’s throat to have to ask him for help. He demands a face-to-face meeting with his nemesis; she refuses. He makes it clear that his help is conditional upon a meeting, and reluctantly the lady agrees, covering herself in a thick veil to prevent Peregrine discovering her identity.
Their meeting is as acrimonious as their written interactions have been, and only confirms Lady Justice’s belief that Peregrine is an arrogant, manipulative, ruthless, self-entitled bastard. Unfortunately, it also shows her something she had not expected – Peregrine is none other than Colin Gray, newly minted Earl of Egremoor, and a man she has known all her life.
Lady Emily Vane is a bit of an odd duck. Bookish and often shy in company as a child, she became a veritable chatterbox in the company of her dearest friend, a boy who could not speak, but whom she nonetheless adored, Colin Gray. Emily’s father and Colin’s were old friends and so the two children spent a great deal of time together as their respective families were happy to leave the two ‘oddities’ to their own devices. But when Colin was thirteen and Emily eight, things changed suddenly and irrevocably, and since then, they have been little more than mere nodding acquaintances. In the eighteen years since, Emily has become somewhat reclusive; the income she has earned over the years means she is independent of her father, can live alone and has no need of – or desire for – a husband. Living alone enables her to retain her anonymity and to continue to argue for reform, rail against injustice and highlight the plight of the oppressed in the pamphlets she continues to write as Lady Justice. Her current crusade is to find a way of getting the Domestic Felicity Act – a bill which will give women actual rights within marriage – introduced into Parliament.
Shocked as she is to discover Peregrine’s true identity, Emily manages to escape that encounter without being unmasked herself. She needs Colin’s help to find her sister, Amarantha, who had been living in Jamaica until the recent death of her husband. But Amarantha has disappeared, last heard of making for Scotland in search of a friend, and Emily is worried. Knowing she can’t possibly accept Colin’s help now – even if he agreed to give it – she sets off for Scotland with a couple of her servants, determined to find Amarantha herself. But Emily has not long arrived at an inn near Loch Lomond when she discovers that Colin has followed leads of his own and that his trail has led him to the same place. But before they can do more than exchange cold civilities, they find themselves in grave danger, owing to the fact that a man who bears a striking resemblance to Colin and is calling himself the Earl of Egremoor is wanted for murder and highway robbery. This man has a smaller, fair-haired accomplice who has been seen dressed as a woman – which accounts for the fact that Emily and Colin have encountered such suspicion among the locals. The animosity directed towards them very quickly reaches boiling point and the pair must act quickly if they are to escape with their lives. Colin and Emily go on the run, making for the Duke of Loch Irvine’s castle at Kallin where they hope they will be able to get everything straightened out. But it’s going to be a difficult journey through rough terrain and uncertain weather; and news of the fake earl’s deeds have already spread widely throughout the area, so seeking shelter is risky as they can’t trust anyone not to turn them in. And all the while, Emily is desperate to keep her secret from the boy who broke her heart and has become a man who stands for everything she hates.
Katharine Ashe has impressed me immensely with her ability to write a gripping adventure yarn that takes full account of historical and political detail while also developing a complex and satisfying romance between two complicated, flawed individuals. Emily can be difficult to like at times, as she is so intractable and willing to see the worst in Colin, although his high-handedness can be just as annoying as her insistence that he’s arrogant and uncaring about those less fortunate than himself. Both characters have to face some harsh truths about themselves and their shared past, although it’s Emily who really needs to have the blinkers removed. She has spent so long feeling hurt and betrayed by the one person in her life she thought knew and understood her that she has allowed her prejudices to cloud her judgement. But as they spend their days and nights running from danger, Emily gradually begins to realise that she is wrong and that Colin is a decent, honourable man who is strongly motivated to act for the good of others.
The pacing throughout is excellent, in terms of both the romance and the adventure. The romance needs time to develop given the fact that Colin and Emily have been estranged for years, and I loved the way it unfolds gradually as they both start to reassess each other. We glimpse them as children and discover exactly what had bound them so strongly together; we experience Emily’s heartbreak, Colin’s shame and frustration; we feel for them as they reconnect and come to know each other as they are now, and when, towards the end, Emily finally reveals exactly what inspired her to become Lady Justice… I was choked up. It’s a masterstroke.
The chemistry between Peregrine and Lady Justice leapt off the page in the other books, and it burns even hotter between Colin and Emily in this one. Emily is refreshingly un-missish about the fact that she finds Colin extremely attractive and the love scenes are possibly the most romantic, sexy and intense that Katharine Ashe has yet written.
The Earl is an enormously satisfying read on many levels. An exciting adventure and a sizzling romance all wrapped up in astute observation and social comment, this is historical romance at its best and it’s gone straight on to my keeper shelf.
October 27, 2016
3.5 stars.
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
The Earl by Katharine Ashe
Book Two of the Devil's Duke series
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: October 25, 2016
Rating; 4 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
How does a lady of wit and courage bring an arrogant lord to his knees?
Entice him to Scotland, strip him of titles and riches, and make him prove what sort of man he truly is.
Opposites…
Handsome, wealthy, and sublimely confident, Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor, has vowed to unmask the rabble-rousing pamphleteer, Lady Justice, the thorn in England’s paw. And he’ll stop at nothing.
Attract.
Smart, big-hearted, and passionately dedicated to her work, Lady Justice longs to teach her nemesis a lesson in humility. But her sister is missing, and a perilous journey with her archrival into unknown territory just might turn fierce enemies into lovers.
What I Liked:
This book, for me, was better than The Rogue. I had an easier time reading and digesting this one. When I read The Rogue, I was disappointed, and I didn't love the book. I have not read any of the Falcon Club books. This novel, focusing on Colin Gray and Emily Vale, was heartbreaking and uplifting, infuriating and undeniably romantic.
Colin Gray is the new Earl of Egremoor, after the recent passing of his father. He was the secretary of the Falcon Club, which has been disbanded. When his nemesis, Lady Justice, calls for his help, he is curious, and does not refuse. Emily Vale's sister is missing in Scotland, and she will do anything to find Amarantha. Even if that means calling on Peregrine, the secretary of the Falcon Club. But Emily realizes who Peregrine really is, and decides that she has no need for his help. But Peregrine - Colin - is determined to help Lady Justice (he doesn't know her true identity). By chance, Colin and Emily meet in an inn in Scotland, looking for the same person (though Colin does not know this). They have been avoiding each other for years, but this journey is inevitable, and completely necessary.
The first thing I want to point out is that the synopsis is not quite accurate. Emily does not lure Colin to Scotland, and he is not stripped of titles and riches. Not exactly, anyway. In Scotland, he and Emily have to flee hastily (there are highwaymen pretending to be them), and they do not have any of their belongings with them. So it's not exactly as the synopsis says - it's not like Emily strips Colin of anything. And Colin isn't actually stripped of anything. If that makes sense.
Anyway! I had a much better time reading this one, compared to The Rogue. Emily has hated (or tried to hate) Colin for about eighteen years, since she was eight and he thirteen. The reason is ridiculous, and the whole grudge she has is ridiculous, but I can sort of see why she would harden her heart against him, at age eight. Sort of. I remember being eight.
I loved Colin, infinitely more than Emily. This surprises exactly no one, because with The Rogue, I loved Saint and haaaaaated Constance. In this case, I like Emily, but I adore Colin. I was almost bawling, while reading the prologue. Colin has been hurt and broken in a number of different non-physical ways, since he was a child, and my heart hurt for this fictional character. In the story, he is somewhat emotionless and empty and hard, but utterly selfless and duty-driven. Also, he has a nibbleable jaw. I got a good visual in my head - and I must say, the cover model does him justice.
But back to the man. Gah! He's a swoony hero for sure. I think he deserved more and better, but I liked seeing him work through the past, suffer a bit (I know!), and then get rewarded for everything (in a sense). He's so honorable and so selfless. I could look past his occasional silly remark about this or that, because he's a very true male protagonist in this time period.
Emily... is equally complex but not as likable (to me). She's an independent eldest daughter, and in this time period, that is a bit odd. She writes political pamphlets under Lady Justice, and no one, save a few servants, know who she is. Emily is a bit snobby when it comes to Colin, and she's been holding a stupid grudge for eighteen years. Sometimes I questioned her judgment and her sanity, other times I was rooting for her and her brazen opinions.
Together, the two are fire and ice. There was just the right amount of push and pull between them. It wasn't just Colin chasing after Emily, or Colin constantly apologizing to Emily, or moping or begging, etc. No, Emily did her fair share of apologizing and realizing that she was being stupid and understanding that she hurt him, that he hurt, that he isn't invincible or perfect.
I got punched in the feels soooo many times during this book. The interactions and dialogue between these two characters were so well-written, and sometimes, my heart hurt for them. They hash out a lot about the past, and their anger at the other, and sometimes I wanted to just force them together and have them work things out. I do like how they worked through things as the story progressed, and not all at the end, or something concentrated like that.
So I did like the romance - it was hot and cold and sweet too. The chemistry between these two was there, and constant, smoldering in the background. Ashe's romance novels are never a smoke show, but I like how intimate they can get.
So, overall, I enjoyed this book. I'm quite happy about this, because I remember feeling incredibly sad and a bit mad at myself for not loving The Rogue. With that book, I felt like I needed to love it (perhaps my expectations were too high). With this book, I expected to dislike it (after reading various earlier reviews), but I ended up liking it.
What I Did Not Like:
While I didn't dislike Emily like I disliked Constance, I still didn't completely love Emily. She hurts Colin a lot, past and present, and some of it is unforgivable to me. Of course, I try and tell myself to put myself in her shoes... but some of it, she does all on her own. Some of her decisions are incredibly stupid, for someone so smart.
This book features a huge pet peeve of mine! You know when a heroine messes up and should be the one to apologize first and/or make a big grand gesture or something? Well, in this book, both of them mess up, and both of them send indirect grand gestures... but it's Colin to beg. I thought it should have been Emily. The man left the choice up to her, and then walked away. To me, that means that SHE should be making the choice... i.e., going to him. Not the other way around. Do you see why this is a pet peeve of mine? There is no logic to this! I'm glad Colin was the "bigger man" in this situation. But Lady Justice is this high-minded feminist - shouldn't she be the one to going after what she wants, like she does with the Domestic Felicity Act?
Last complaint - the ending is ambiguous, as to Colin and Emily's relationship. They're together... but to what degree. Honestly, I cannot believe that Emily would go through all of the growth and realizations about marriage and how much she loves Colin... and then not marry him? It's like the author wants to punish Colin (he has wanted to marry her for forever). Of course, the ending is ambiguous... so I suppose we'll see, in book three.
Would I Recommend It:
I'm split on this. On the one hand, I love how smart and feminist Ashe's historical romances are. The heroines are strong and bold, and the heroes are dashing and charming. On the other hand, this particular series by Ashe is definitely not for everyone. I like logic and rationale and fact - and sometimes, the ladies in this series forget about all of those things (which is sad because Constance and Emily are both very smart ladies). Heck, I'm going to need book three to tip the scales, for me. So, yes and no, I do and don't recommend this book. It's not your typical wonderful and sweet historical romance novel - yes, it has those aspects, but they take a far backseat compared to the significant feminist presence (for better or for worse).
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. Not a new Ashe favorite of mine, but still good, and worthy of 4 stars. I'm a tough critic but I also like to be fair and honest. I'm still a little shaky and wary when it comes to this series, but I am looking forward to read The Duke.
***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
The Earl by Katharine Ashe
Book Two of the Devil's Duke series
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: October 25, 2016
Rating; 4 stars
Source: eARC from Edelweiss
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
How does a lady of wit and courage bring an arrogant lord to his knees?
Entice him to Scotland, strip him of titles and riches, and make him prove what sort of man he truly is.
Opposites…
Handsome, wealthy, and sublimely confident, Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor, has vowed to unmask the rabble-rousing pamphleteer, Lady Justice, the thorn in England’s paw. And he’ll stop at nothing.
Attract.
Smart, big-hearted, and passionately dedicated to her work, Lady Justice longs to teach her nemesis a lesson in humility. But her sister is missing, and a perilous journey with her archrival into unknown territory just might turn fierce enemies into lovers.
What I Liked:
This book, for me, was better than The Rogue. I had an easier time reading and digesting this one. When I read The Rogue, I was disappointed, and I didn't love the book. I have not read any of the Falcon Club books. This novel, focusing on Colin Gray and Emily Vale, was heartbreaking and uplifting, infuriating and undeniably romantic.
Colin Gray is the new Earl of Egremoor, after the recent passing of his father. He was the secretary of the Falcon Club, which has been disbanded. When his nemesis, Lady Justice, calls for his help, he is curious, and does not refuse. Emily Vale's sister is missing in Scotland, and she will do anything to find Amarantha. Even if that means calling on Peregrine, the secretary of the Falcon Club. But Emily realizes who Peregrine really is, and decides that she has no need for his help. But Peregrine - Colin - is determined to help Lady Justice (he doesn't know her true identity). By chance, Colin and Emily meet in an inn in Scotland, looking for the same person (though Colin does not know this). They have been avoiding each other for years, but this journey is inevitable, and completely necessary.
The first thing I want to point out is that the synopsis is not quite accurate. Emily does not lure Colin to Scotland, and he is not stripped of titles and riches. Not exactly, anyway. In Scotland, he and Emily have to flee hastily (there are highwaymen pretending to be them), and they do not have any of their belongings with them. So it's not exactly as the synopsis says - it's not like Emily strips Colin of anything. And Colin isn't actually stripped of anything. If that makes sense.
Anyway! I had a much better time reading this one, compared to The Rogue. Emily has hated (or tried to hate) Colin for about eighteen years, since she was eight and he thirteen. The reason is ridiculous, and the whole grudge she has is ridiculous, but I can sort of see why she would harden her heart against him, at age eight. Sort of. I remember being eight.
I loved Colin, infinitely more than Emily. This surprises exactly no one, because with The Rogue, I loved Saint and haaaaaated Constance. In this case, I like Emily, but I adore Colin. I was almost bawling, while reading the prologue. Colin has been hurt and broken in a number of different non-physical ways, since he was a child, and my heart hurt for this fictional character. In the story, he is somewhat emotionless and empty and hard, but utterly selfless and duty-driven. Also, he has a nibbleable jaw. I got a good visual in my head - and I must say, the cover model does him justice.
But back to the man. Gah! He's a swoony hero for sure. I think he deserved more and better, but I liked seeing him work through the past, suffer a bit (I know!), and then get rewarded for everything (in a sense). He's so honorable and so selfless. I could look past his occasional silly remark about this or that, because he's a very true male protagonist in this time period.
Emily... is equally complex but not as likable (to me). She's an independent eldest daughter, and in this time period, that is a bit odd. She writes political pamphlets under Lady Justice, and no one, save a few servants, know who she is. Emily is a bit snobby when it comes to Colin, and she's been holding a stupid grudge for eighteen years. Sometimes I questioned her judgment and her sanity, other times I was rooting for her and her brazen opinions.
Together, the two are fire and ice. There was just the right amount of push and pull between them. It wasn't just Colin chasing after Emily, or Colin constantly apologizing to Emily, or moping or begging, etc. No, Emily did her fair share of apologizing and realizing that she was being stupid and understanding that she hurt him, that he hurt, that he isn't invincible or perfect.
I got punched in the feels soooo many times during this book. The interactions and dialogue between these two characters were so well-written, and sometimes, my heart hurt for them. They hash out a lot about the past, and their anger at the other, and sometimes I wanted to just force them together and have them work things out. I do like how they worked through things as the story progressed, and not all at the end, or something concentrated like that.
So I did like the romance - it was hot and cold and sweet too. The chemistry between these two was there, and constant, smoldering in the background. Ashe's romance novels are never a smoke show, but I like how intimate they can get.
So, overall, I enjoyed this book. I'm quite happy about this, because I remember feeling incredibly sad and a bit mad at myself for not loving The Rogue. With that book, I felt like I needed to love it (perhaps my expectations were too high). With this book, I expected to dislike it (after reading various earlier reviews), but I ended up liking it.
What I Did Not Like:
While I didn't dislike Emily like I disliked Constance, I still didn't completely love Emily. She hurts Colin a lot, past and present, and some of it is unforgivable to me. Of course, I try and tell myself to put myself in her shoes... but some of it, she does all on her own. Some of her decisions are incredibly stupid, for someone so smart.
This book features a huge pet peeve of mine! You know when a heroine messes up and should be the one to apologize first and/or make a big grand gesture or something? Well, in this book, both of them mess up, and both of them send indirect grand gestures... but it's Colin to beg. I thought it should have been Emily. The man left the choice up to her, and then walked away. To me, that means that SHE should be making the choice... i.e., going to him. Not the other way around. Do you see why this is a pet peeve of mine? There is no logic to this! I'm glad Colin was the "bigger man" in this situation. But Lady Justice is this high-minded feminist - shouldn't she be the one to going after what she wants, like she does with the Domestic Felicity Act?
Last complaint - the ending is ambiguous, as to Colin and Emily's relationship. They're together... but to what degree. Honestly, I cannot believe that Emily would go through all of the growth and realizations about marriage and how much she loves Colin... and then not marry him? It's like the author wants to punish Colin (he has wanted to marry her for forever). Of course, the ending is ambiguous... so I suppose we'll see, in book three.
Would I Recommend It:
I'm split on this. On the one hand, I love how smart and feminist Ashe's historical romances are. The heroines are strong and bold, and the heroes are dashing and charming. On the other hand, this particular series by Ashe is definitely not for everyone. I like logic and rationale and fact - and sometimes, the ladies in this series forget about all of those things (which is sad because Constance and Emily are both very smart ladies). Heck, I'm going to need book three to tip the scales, for me. So, yes and no, I do and don't recommend this book. It's not your typical wonderful and sweet historical romance novel - yes, it has those aspects, but they take a far backseat compared to the significant feminist presence (for better or for worse).
Rating:
3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. Not a new Ashe favorite of mine, but still good, and worthy of 4 stars. I'm a tough critic but I also like to be fair and honest. I'm still a little shaky and wary when it comes to this series, but I am looking forward to read The Duke.
March 11, 2017
5 "Opposite Ends of the Political Spectrum Share A Common Love" Stars for the story and narration!
What an incredibly complex and well developed story! Seemingly diametrically opposed ends of the political spectrum turn out to have common roots and motivations. What can a revolutionary thinker like pamphleteer, Lady Justice (Lady Emily Vane), who champions the cause of the masses and poor as well as women rights possibly have in common with an Earl (Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor) and former secretary ("Peregrine") of the Falcon Club--her public nemesis as thoroughly aired through their public letters in response to one another? Turns out a lot! What a marvelous journey--from the romance, espionage/adventure, and even political diatribes between the hero and heroine, everything in this historical romance worked for me. I loved the tension between wants and desires as well as the need to abide by one's own sense of moral compass while at the same time the inevitable challenge of evolution and changing circumstances. Moreover, Saskia Maarleveld's narration was simply divine making this a story best experienced in audiobook format.
As this is book 2 of the Devil's Dukes Series, I feel compelled to mention that while this book can work as a standalone, there is clearly a lot of history that feeds into the background of the relationship between the hero and heroine. Moreover, this background does not just take place in the prior book, The Rogue, but also Ms. Ashe's prior series The Falcon Club. All that said, this was my first read or listen by Ms. Ashe, and I felt that while I might have felt the animosity and yet sarcastic flirtation between the hero's and heroine's public battle of wits more strongly had I read the prior series, Ms. Ashe still nonetheless gives us enough of the backstory to appreciate its significance. Therefore this story still worked for me as a standalone.
Emily and Colin were the best of friends as children despite two potentially big barriers. First, Emily was 5 years younger than Colin. Second, Colin never spoke a word. Emily, however, functioned as Colin's mouthpiece throughout these early years until the one fateful day when Colin saves her from a threatening situation and uses his voice for the first time. Their lives following that eventful day were completely changed and on different courses for the next 18 years--other than their occasional and very public letters as Lady Justice and Peregrine (though of course they had no idea of the others identity at the time).
However, when Colin's father dies and he succeeds to the Earldom, one of the stipulations of the will is that Colin offer for Emily's hand in marriage (a union that both their fathers had wanted to orchestrate since before Emily and Colin were born and their fathers' became close friends in the war). Emily, however, not only is saddened by Colin's abandonment all those years ago once he regained his voice, but also as a political matter never wants to relinquish her freedom and self autonomy (given the oppressive laws of the day--something she tries to fight against as Lady Justice). So its no surprise that she turns Colin down. However, when circumstances bring them together on an adventure to try to locate her sister, their wills as to their moral ideals as well as their true desires and wants and needs will be tested. Can there possibly a HEA under the circumstances?
Saskia Maarleveld does a fantastic job with the narration. This was also my first experience with Ms. Maarleveld but I will now definitely be looking for her narrations in future books. Ms. Maarleveld excels at all of the characteristics I look for in a good romance narrator. First and foremost, she has great range and produced distinguishable voices for all of the characters. Moreover, her voice for Colin sounded genuinely masculine a feat which sometimes is difficult for female narrators to accomplish. Ms. Maarleveld also produced a number of genuine sounding accents.
Ms. Maarleveld also does an excellent job with her pacing which complements the emotion of the scene. From the fast paced, action filled scenes where to the romantic ones, I loved that she made me feel not just hear the scene being enacted.
All in all, I highly recommend The Earl to historical romance lovers. Moreover, if you enjoy audiobooks, the 5-star narration by Saskia Maarleveld makes this a must listen to title.
Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
What an incredibly complex and well developed story! Seemingly diametrically opposed ends of the political spectrum turn out to have common roots and motivations. What can a revolutionary thinker like pamphleteer, Lady Justice (Lady Emily Vane), who champions the cause of the masses and poor as well as women rights possibly have in common with an Earl (Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor) and former secretary ("Peregrine") of the Falcon Club--her public nemesis as thoroughly aired through their public letters in response to one another? Turns out a lot! What a marvelous journey--from the romance, espionage/adventure, and even political diatribes between the hero and heroine, everything in this historical romance worked for me. I loved the tension between wants and desires as well as the need to abide by one's own sense of moral compass while at the same time the inevitable challenge of evolution and changing circumstances. Moreover, Saskia Maarleveld's narration was simply divine making this a story best experienced in audiobook format.
As this is book 2 of the Devil's Dukes Series, I feel compelled to mention that while this book can work as a standalone, there is clearly a lot of history that feeds into the background of the relationship between the hero and heroine. Moreover, this background does not just take place in the prior book, The Rogue, but also Ms. Ashe's prior series The Falcon Club. All that said, this was my first read or listen by Ms. Ashe, and I felt that while I might have felt the animosity and yet sarcastic flirtation between the hero's and heroine's public battle of wits more strongly had I read the prior series, Ms. Ashe still nonetheless gives us enough of the backstory to appreciate its significance. Therefore this story still worked for me as a standalone.
Emily and Colin were the best of friends as children despite two potentially big barriers. First, Emily was 5 years younger than Colin. Second, Colin never spoke a word. Emily, however, functioned as Colin's mouthpiece throughout these early years until the one fateful day when Colin saves her from a threatening situation and uses his voice for the first time. Their lives following that eventful day were completely changed and on different courses for the next 18 years--other than their occasional and very public letters as Lady Justice and Peregrine (though of course they had no idea of the others identity at the time).
However, when Colin's father dies and he succeeds to the Earldom, one of the stipulations of the will is that Colin offer for Emily's hand in marriage (a union that both their fathers had wanted to orchestrate since before Emily and Colin were born and their fathers' became close friends in the war). Emily, however, not only is saddened by Colin's abandonment all those years ago once he regained his voice, but also as a political matter never wants to relinquish her freedom and self autonomy (given the oppressive laws of the day--something she tries to fight against as Lady Justice). So its no surprise that she turns Colin down. However, when circumstances bring them together on an adventure to try to locate her sister, their wills as to their moral ideals as well as their true desires and wants and needs will be tested. Can there possibly a HEA under the circumstances?
Saskia Maarleveld does a fantastic job with the narration. This was also my first experience with Ms. Maarleveld but I will now definitely be looking for her narrations in future books. Ms. Maarleveld excels at all of the characteristics I look for in a good romance narrator. First and foremost, she has great range and produced distinguishable voices for all of the characters. Moreover, her voice for Colin sounded genuinely masculine a feat which sometimes is difficult for female narrators to accomplish. Ms. Maarleveld also produced a number of genuine sounding accents.
Ms. Maarleveld also does an excellent job with her pacing which complements the emotion of the scene. From the fast paced, action filled scenes where to the romantic ones, I loved that she made me feel not just hear the scene being enacted.
All in all, I highly recommend The Earl to historical romance lovers. Moreover, if you enjoy audiobooks, the 5-star narration by Saskia Maarleveld makes this a must listen to title.
Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review.
July 19, 2019
I'm reading far less HR than I used to, and this book is part of why.
If I'm going to give an author a couple of hours of my precious life (given that I'll be passing through this vale of tears but once; at least, in this form), I want to be able to suspend my disbelief on the doorstep. I need to be swept up in the story, engaged with the characters, and able to enter the historical world of "The Earl" whole-heartedly.
If the period detail is "off", if the characters behave inconsistently, if the plot has more leaks than St David's Day, my disbelief taps insistently on my shoulder, unsuspended, and unhappy.
And that's what happens here. "The Earl" is actually a contemporary road-trip story, decorated with cravats and leather boots, set only nominally in 1822.
For example, a key element of the book is the h's double life as the celebrated pamphleteer "Lady Justice". Lady Emily Vane (who chooses to call herself Zenobia, for some reason) has taken as her latest cause
"the Domestic Felicity Act, which demanded a wife’s legal right to control her own property and income, to hold equal authority over her children as her husband, and to be allowed to escape him if he abused any of them. The bill was her most ambitious endeavor yet and the culmination of years of research and drafting.... [S]he had sent a draft of it to every member of Parliament. Not one of them had taken it up, which drove her pen even more furiously now. This exhortation would spare no censure."
Points to Ashe for her awareness that such a measure was absent in 1822, but it's intensely irritating that this C21st liberal-crusader persona is 200 years ahead of her time, and that she is naive enough to be surprised that no MP supports her. (And it's mildly irritating that Ashe doesn't distinguish between an Act and a Bill, and assumes that a lay person can draft a Bill and send it to MPs.)
Lady Emily despises the H because "he owns at least three carriages and no fewer than four saddle horses, the worst sort of conspicuous consumption of the privileged elite." (Which rather ignores the economic reality of the accompanying jobs the earl has created.) She then concludes her shredding of his character with the Austen-esque phrase, "And he has a stick up his arse."
I'm fairly sure Ashe wants me to admire her heroine's spirit, but because she frames Emily's virtues in a completely anachronistic context, Emily reads instead as immature and strident. She isn't helped by illogical lines like "See what happened to my sister when she fell in love! She gave up her family and England to follow a man across an ocean, and now she is missing." (Not that Emily's parents seem at all concerned by this, bizarrely.)
Emily does acknowledge, in a rare moment of insight, that "We haven’t the connections or the skills to find my sister." However, no sooner does she receive an anonymous letter luring her to Scotland than she airily dismisses any suggestion it might be a trap, and briskly orders her servants to pack for a lengthy journey. Her maid, the sole voice of reason, urges her to tell her father where she is going, which caution Emily ignores. "He would only tell Mama, and she would fret endlessly that I am traveling without the escort of a gentleman." Well, yes. Yes, I can see that she might well fret.
Off they all go pell-mell to Scotland, with the H in hot pursuit, the misogynistic Earl of Egremont. And because everyone knows that Scotland had no law and order at this point, and all Scots yokels were rednecks in kilts, Emily & the earl are forced to flee for their lives together. It's not logical, it's not convincing, it's all about the "together".
To be fair, the H/h relationship does develop a little more sensitively thereafter, and the portions of the story dealing with Colin's childhood were moving. All too soon, though, .
Ashe writes fluently enough, but I look for more than that in an HR. With anachronistic world views, strident characters behaving unintelligently, and an illogical etiolated plot, "The Earl" does not deliver.
If I'm going to give an author a couple of hours of my precious life (given that I'll be passing through this vale of tears but once; at least, in this form), I want to be able to suspend my disbelief on the doorstep. I need to be swept up in the story, engaged with the characters, and able to enter the historical world of "The Earl" whole-heartedly.
If the period detail is "off", if the characters behave inconsistently, if the plot has more leaks than St David's Day, my disbelief taps insistently on my shoulder, unsuspended, and unhappy.
And that's what happens here. "The Earl" is actually a contemporary road-trip story, decorated with cravats and leather boots, set only nominally in 1822.
For example, a key element of the book is the h's double life as the celebrated pamphleteer "Lady Justice". Lady Emily Vane (who chooses to call herself Zenobia, for some reason) has taken as her latest cause
"the Domestic Felicity Act, which demanded a wife’s legal right to control her own property and income, to hold equal authority over her children as her husband, and to be allowed to escape him if he abused any of them. The bill was her most ambitious endeavor yet and the culmination of years of research and drafting.... [S]he had sent a draft of it to every member of Parliament. Not one of them had taken it up, which drove her pen even more furiously now. This exhortation would spare no censure."
Points to Ashe for her awareness that such a measure was absent in 1822, but it's intensely irritating that this C21st liberal-crusader persona is 200 years ahead of her time, and that she is naive enough to be surprised that no MP supports her. (And it's mildly irritating that Ashe doesn't distinguish between an Act and a Bill, and assumes that a lay person can draft a Bill and send it to MPs.)
Lady Emily despises the H because "he owns at least three carriages and no fewer than four saddle horses, the worst sort of conspicuous consumption of the privileged elite." (Which rather ignores the economic reality of the accompanying jobs the earl has created.) She then concludes her shredding of his character with the Austen-esque phrase, "And he has a stick up his arse."
I'm fairly sure Ashe wants me to admire her heroine's spirit, but because she frames Emily's virtues in a completely anachronistic context, Emily reads instead as immature and strident. She isn't helped by illogical lines like "See what happened to my sister when she fell in love! She gave up her family and England to follow a man across an ocean, and now she is missing." (Not that Emily's parents seem at all concerned by this, bizarrely.)
Emily does acknowledge, in a rare moment of insight, that "We haven’t the connections or the skills to find my sister." However, no sooner does she receive an anonymous letter luring her to Scotland than she airily dismisses any suggestion it might be a trap, and briskly orders her servants to pack for a lengthy journey. Her maid, the sole voice of reason, urges her to tell her father where she is going, which caution Emily ignores. "He would only tell Mama, and she would fret endlessly that I am traveling without the escort of a gentleman." Well, yes. Yes, I can see that she might well fret.
Off they all go pell-mell to Scotland, with the H in hot pursuit, the misogynistic Earl of Egremont. And because everyone knows that Scotland had no law and order at this point, and all Scots yokels were rednecks in kilts, Emily & the earl are forced to flee for their lives together. It's not logical, it's not convincing, it's all about the "together".
To be fair, the H/h relationship does develop a little more sensitively thereafter, and the portions of the story dealing with Colin's childhood were moving. All too soon, though, .
Ashe writes fluently enough, but I look for more than that in an HR. With anachronistic world views, strident characters behaving unintelligently, and an illogical etiolated plot, "The Earl" does not deliver.
July 6, 2024
Review from 2016
B+ for narration; A for content.
The Earl is the second book in Katharine Ashe’s Devil’s Duke series, and is also the last in her Falcon Club series which is not, sadly, available in audio format. Because it refers to a number of characters and events featured in earlier stories, this might not be the best introduction to Ms. Ashe’s work for anyone unfamiliar with it, although it could be listened to as a standalone if you’re prepared to do a bit of homework in advance and perhaps read a few reviews and the synopses of the earlier books.
Throughout the Falcon Club books, the club’s secretary, Peregrine, carried on a public, witty and usually caustic correspondence with Lady Justice, a popular pamphleteer whose passionate outpourings on the subject of political reform and disdain for the injustices wreaked on the masses by the privileged few are a real thorn in the side of the establishment. But at the end of The Rogue: A Devil's Duke Novel, the unthinkable happened. Knowing of the Falcon Club’s expertise at locating missing persons, Lady Justice asked Peregrine for help to locate a young woman who has disappeared.
With the club now disbanded, Peregrine is not averse to one last mission before he takes up the reins of his newly inherited earldom. He agrees to help Lady Justice on one condition; that after their years of anonymous sparring, she must meet him face-to-face.
Lady Emily Vane is an unusual young woman. The eldest daughter of an earl, she has, for the past few years, lived alone with only a few very trusted servants around her. She has no wish to marry and is for the most part content with her lot; devoted to her political causes and her writing, the income she has earned over the years enables her to maintain a separate establishment which is essential if she is to continue to argue for political reform in the guise of her alter ego, Lady Justice. But news that one of her sisters is missing means that she must ask Peregrine for help, a man she loathes and who represents everything she despises about the aristocracy. Yet she’s prepared to swallow her pride for her sister’s sake and agrees to meet him, taking care to cover her face with a thick veil so as to prevent Peregrine from discovering her identity.
Their meeting is as hostile as their written exchanges have been, only serving to reinforce Emily’s belief that Peregrine is a pompous, arrogant, manipulative and self-serving bastard. But it also reveals something else. While she has taken care to conceal her face, Peregrine has not – and Emily is shocked to discover that he is none other than Colin Grey, newly minted Earl of Egremoor, someone she has known all her life – and who broke her heart almost two decades earlier.
The Grays and the Vales were close when Colin and Emily were young, and the families were content to indulge their two somewhat eccentric children and let them spend a lot of time together. Emily was inherently curious about everything, chattering incessantly and asking questions, while Colin was quiet – although equally curious – and was content to let Emily tag along with him wherever he went. The sad truth, though, is that Colin was quiet because he was unable to speak. In the prologue, we are made aware of the way he was treated because of his inability to utter a sound, and of his father’s belief that he must be an imbecile. Worse, the old earl tried to use Colin’s mother to force him to speak, sending her away at intervals as a kind of punishment when even the threat of her removal could not elicit a sound from his son and heir.
When Colin was thirteen and Emily eight, something happened which profoundly changed things between them, and they have been mere nodding acquaintances ever since. The truth of Colin’s and Emily’s past is drip-fed throughout the story and Ms. Ashe does a wonderful job in showing the listener just how deeply each of them was hurt by the sudden ending to their friendship and how those events shaped their lives.
The discovery Emily makes about the identity of her nemesis causes her to rescind her request for his help, and she heads off to Scotland – her sister’s last known location – accompanied by two of her most trusted servants. But on arriving at an inn near Loch Lomond, she is surprised to recognise the deep tones of another newly-arrived guest and realises that Colin has followed leads of his own which have led him to the same place.
Before they can do little more than exchange a few barbed words, however, Colin and Emily discover that they have more to contend with than their frosty mutual dislike. A pair of criminals, wanted for murder and highway robbery, are operating in the area, one of them calling himself the Earl of Egremoor, and the other a younger, fair-haired man who often passes himself of as a woman. Realising this accounts for the suspicion they have encountered from the locals, Colin and Emily are forced to go on the run to avoid capture, making for the Duke of Loch Irvine’s castle at Kallin where the Duke will help get matters straightened out. But their journey won’t be easy. News of the fake earl’s misdeeds have travelled widely, so seeking shelter from the uncertain terrain and inclement weather is risky, as they can’t trust anyone not to turn them in. And while trying not to get caught, starve or simply crumple from exhaustion, Emily is also desperate to keep her alter-ego a secret from the man who stands for everything she hates, but for whom she is beginning to feel a strong attraction.
The Earl contains just about everything one could wish to find in an historical romance. The adventure story is extremely well-constructed and the historical and political background is well-researched and skilfully blended into the story so it never feels as though one is being subjected to a history lesson or unsubtle info-dumps. Best of all, the romance is wonderful. The chemistry which leapt off the page in the correspondence between Peregrine and Lady Justice is intensified here, resulting in some delicious sexual tension; and the love scenes – which are well worth waiting for – are deeply romantic and full of tender affection and intense sensuality. Colin is a gorgeous hero – handsome (naturally!), highly intelligent and deeply honourable, taking his responsibilities – to his family, his tenants and his country – very seriously and wanting to do the best he can for everyone. Emily is rather harder to like, as she retains her blinkers about Colin’s true nature until well into the book, unable to see him for who and what he is, and allowing the prejudices she formed about him as Peregrine to cloud her judgement. But with that said, she’s good-hearted, courageous and big enough to admit to her mistakes, and when she finally reveals her reason for becoming Lady Justice – which brought a lump to my throat – I could just about forgive her for such wilful blindness.
Saskia Maarleveld returns to narrate The Earl and apart from a few minor niggles and the odd mispronunciation, gives a very strong performance. The slightly husky note in her voice is pleasant to the ear, and also lends an attractive quality to her portrayal of Colin, which, added to a slight drop in pitch, makes him sound suitably masculine and quite sexy ;). Emily is strongly characterised, too, her strength of character and intelligence clearly conveyed by the narrator’s no-nonsense style of delivery. Pacing and character differentiation are both good, and although I previously said that Ms. Maarleveld’s Scottish accents tended sometimes to veer away from Scotland and into Ireland, here they’re much more consistent and convincing; and the French accent she employs for Emily’s maid is spot on. My one real criticism of her narration as a whole is that there are a few places where she doesn’t quite hit the right emotional note – mostly in some of the more heated discussions between the central characters. While it’s true that Colin prides himself on his control, the point is that Emily is the one person who can make him lose it, and that doesn’t always come across as strongly as it should. Even so, it’s a strong narration and one I enjoyed overall.
The Earl is one of my favourite books of this year, and it always makes me happy when a favourite book doesn’t disappoint in audio. If you like smart, complex characters in an enemies-to-lovers romance, then you might consider adding it to your wishlist.
B+ for narration; A for content.
The Earl is the second book in Katharine Ashe’s Devil’s Duke series, and is also the last in her Falcon Club series which is not, sadly, available in audio format. Because it refers to a number of characters and events featured in earlier stories, this might not be the best introduction to Ms. Ashe’s work for anyone unfamiliar with it, although it could be listened to as a standalone if you’re prepared to do a bit of homework in advance and perhaps read a few reviews and the synopses of the earlier books.
Throughout the Falcon Club books, the club’s secretary, Peregrine, carried on a public, witty and usually caustic correspondence with Lady Justice, a popular pamphleteer whose passionate outpourings on the subject of political reform and disdain for the injustices wreaked on the masses by the privileged few are a real thorn in the side of the establishment. But at the end of The Rogue: A Devil's Duke Novel, the unthinkable happened. Knowing of the Falcon Club’s expertise at locating missing persons, Lady Justice asked Peregrine for help to locate a young woman who has disappeared.
With the club now disbanded, Peregrine is not averse to one last mission before he takes up the reins of his newly inherited earldom. He agrees to help Lady Justice on one condition; that after their years of anonymous sparring, she must meet him face-to-face.
Lady Emily Vane is an unusual young woman. The eldest daughter of an earl, she has, for the past few years, lived alone with only a few very trusted servants around her. She has no wish to marry and is for the most part content with her lot; devoted to her political causes and her writing, the income she has earned over the years enables her to maintain a separate establishment which is essential if she is to continue to argue for political reform in the guise of her alter ego, Lady Justice. But news that one of her sisters is missing means that she must ask Peregrine for help, a man she loathes and who represents everything she despises about the aristocracy. Yet she’s prepared to swallow her pride for her sister’s sake and agrees to meet him, taking care to cover her face with a thick veil so as to prevent Peregrine from discovering her identity.
Their meeting is as hostile as their written exchanges have been, only serving to reinforce Emily’s belief that Peregrine is a pompous, arrogant, manipulative and self-serving bastard. But it also reveals something else. While she has taken care to conceal her face, Peregrine has not – and Emily is shocked to discover that he is none other than Colin Grey, newly minted Earl of Egremoor, someone she has known all her life – and who broke her heart almost two decades earlier.
The Grays and the Vales were close when Colin and Emily were young, and the families were content to indulge their two somewhat eccentric children and let them spend a lot of time together. Emily was inherently curious about everything, chattering incessantly and asking questions, while Colin was quiet – although equally curious – and was content to let Emily tag along with him wherever he went. The sad truth, though, is that Colin was quiet because he was unable to speak. In the prologue, we are made aware of the way he was treated because of his inability to utter a sound, and of his father’s belief that he must be an imbecile. Worse, the old earl tried to use Colin’s mother to force him to speak, sending her away at intervals as a kind of punishment when even the threat of her removal could not elicit a sound from his son and heir.
When Colin was thirteen and Emily eight, something happened which profoundly changed things between them, and they have been mere nodding acquaintances ever since. The truth of Colin’s and Emily’s past is drip-fed throughout the story and Ms. Ashe does a wonderful job in showing the listener just how deeply each of them was hurt by the sudden ending to their friendship and how those events shaped their lives.
The discovery Emily makes about the identity of her nemesis causes her to rescind her request for his help, and she heads off to Scotland – her sister’s last known location – accompanied by two of her most trusted servants. But on arriving at an inn near Loch Lomond, she is surprised to recognise the deep tones of another newly-arrived guest and realises that Colin has followed leads of his own which have led him to the same place.
Before they can do little more than exchange a few barbed words, however, Colin and Emily discover that they have more to contend with than their frosty mutual dislike. A pair of criminals, wanted for murder and highway robbery, are operating in the area, one of them calling himself the Earl of Egremoor, and the other a younger, fair-haired man who often passes himself of as a woman. Realising this accounts for the suspicion they have encountered from the locals, Colin and Emily are forced to go on the run to avoid capture, making for the Duke of Loch Irvine’s castle at Kallin where the Duke will help get matters straightened out. But their journey won’t be easy. News of the fake earl’s misdeeds have travelled widely, so seeking shelter from the uncertain terrain and inclement weather is risky, as they can’t trust anyone not to turn them in. And while trying not to get caught, starve or simply crumple from exhaustion, Emily is also desperate to keep her alter-ego a secret from the man who stands for everything she hates, but for whom she is beginning to feel a strong attraction.
The Earl contains just about everything one could wish to find in an historical romance. The adventure story is extremely well-constructed and the historical and political background is well-researched and skilfully blended into the story so it never feels as though one is being subjected to a history lesson or unsubtle info-dumps. Best of all, the romance is wonderful. The chemistry which leapt off the page in the correspondence between Peregrine and Lady Justice is intensified here, resulting in some delicious sexual tension; and the love scenes – which are well worth waiting for – are deeply romantic and full of tender affection and intense sensuality. Colin is a gorgeous hero – handsome (naturally!), highly intelligent and deeply honourable, taking his responsibilities – to his family, his tenants and his country – very seriously and wanting to do the best he can for everyone. Emily is rather harder to like, as she retains her blinkers about Colin’s true nature until well into the book, unable to see him for who and what he is, and allowing the prejudices she formed about him as Peregrine to cloud her judgement. But with that said, she’s good-hearted, courageous and big enough to admit to her mistakes, and when she finally reveals her reason for becoming Lady Justice – which brought a lump to my throat – I could just about forgive her for such wilful blindness.
Saskia Maarleveld returns to narrate The Earl and apart from a few minor niggles and the odd mispronunciation, gives a very strong performance. The slightly husky note in her voice is pleasant to the ear, and also lends an attractive quality to her portrayal of Colin, which, added to a slight drop in pitch, makes him sound suitably masculine and quite sexy ;). Emily is strongly characterised, too, her strength of character and intelligence clearly conveyed by the narrator’s no-nonsense style of delivery. Pacing and character differentiation are both good, and although I previously said that Ms. Maarleveld’s Scottish accents tended sometimes to veer away from Scotland and into Ireland, here they’re much more consistent and convincing; and the French accent she employs for Emily’s maid is spot on. My one real criticism of her narration as a whole is that there are a few places where she doesn’t quite hit the right emotional note – mostly in some of the more heated discussions between the central characters. While it’s true that Colin prides himself on his control, the point is that Emily is the one person who can make him lose it, and that doesn’t always come across as strongly as it should. Even so, it’s a strong narration and one I enjoyed overall.
The Earl is one of my favourite books of this year, and it always makes me happy when a favourite book doesn’t disappoint in audio. If you like smart, complex characters in an enemies-to-lovers romance, then you might consider adding it to your wishlist.
July 24, 2018
This is probably my favourite HR ever. I have taken some time to get to the review writing of this book because, although this was my second read, I find it the kind of book that bears pondering and mulling over.
This is particularly the case because we have gradually become familiar with the MCs, Emily and Colin, through the preceding books in this series. They have never had very large roles, but they are a presence, and the correspondence that takes place in these books gives us a fascinating insight into their characters. The correspondence is also just brilliant. Who doesn’t like fabulous letters in HR?
If you have not read the previous books in the Falcon Club series, don’t read on, as there will be a huge spoiler. But to review this book means to reveal the spoiler. I can’t get around it.
What did I love so much about this book?
1. The writing.
Katherine Ashe writes consistently well, even beautifully. She has a lovely turn of phrase, avoids Americanisms (I believe she is Canadian originally, although she lives in the US) and her descriptions of both physical things like scenery (Scotland sounds so beautiful, and the author spent quite a bit of time there tracing the route her protagonists would take in this book) and the inner thoughts and feelings of her protagonists are evocative and masterful.
I have read all her books and the writing never lets me down. Ashe is also very clever at NOT saying something and getting the reader to work at what is being meant/felt/thought. She doesn't dumb anything down at all and that is not always the case in HR, where stating (and often re-stating ad neauseum) the bleeding obvious can become something of an art-form.
2. The characterisation.
The characters in her novels are complex. They have layers that are not easily revealed and their motivations are never clearly stated, rather, we have to draw our conclusions from the things they say and do. The MCs are often flawed and vulnerable. Indeed, I strongly disliked Colin for most of the series and even most of this book. He was a very difficult person to accept, and it was only as we found out what his childhood had been like that I finally understood him and was able to forgive so much. And as is always the case in KA’s books, the hero does redeem himself beautifully in the end. Her heroines can be a bit more problematic for me, in that they tend to be somewhat damaged and very vulnerable. They often suffer and struggle, but they are always courageous women with whom we sympathise. Sometimes I have found them a bit too forgiving and soft. Emily is by far the toughest and she is awesome. I was cheering for Emily all the way!
3. Historical detail.
KA spends heaps of time researching her history. There is often an afterward at the end where she explains the political or social issues she explored in her story, giving them a firm historical context. So, her books have a certain gravitas and authenticity that make them relevant even for today. As a feminist, many of the issues she explores are fascinating for me and despite the genre being romance, I loved learning so much that was new to me about the 19the century. After all, living in Australia we have inherited the British legal system and the inequalities and anomalies of English law were to be found here, too. The deeply sexist nature of the marriage laws in England, the inherently undemocratic nature of a political system based on class and hereditary privilege, these were all explored by the wonderful Lady Justice in the Falcon Club series, and they reach their climax in this book.
4. The romance.
Her books are so full of passion, lust, love, despair and heartbreak. There is no easy path to the HEA. Her love scenes are so wonderfully described and add so much to the characters’ depth of feeling. The men are alpha but when they fall in love, they will die for their love. The women are vulnerable, even tormented at times, but they are also strong and fearless. In the end, for me, if the romance doesn’t thrill me, speed up my heart rate and give me butterflies, then it will never be a 5-star book. Because the genre is HR. I want to gasp and sigh and cry and laugh and smile. I did all that the first time, and I did it again reading the book for a second time.
This book has the most wonderful heroine in Emily, who, (we have finally found out), is Lady Justice. She is a passionate champion of the underdog, and her war of words with Lord Grey, a man who comes to symbolise for her all that is wrong with England, is both wittily articulate and enlightening. Colin, representing the last bastion of male, aristocratic privilege, is a worthy opponent and does not let Emily shy away from a few home-truths herself. What is fabulous about Colin is his courage: he looks hard at himself and his life so far and is not afraid to see where he went wrong. It is so hard for us to acknowledge that our beliefs may be based on false assumptions, and to actually change them. That capacity for honest self-examination is rare, so to see that in Colin is incredibly positive about humans in general. Despite the horrible times for the vast majority of the population in 19th century England, we can be optimistic for the future. (And I am writing in the wake of the wonderful- for me- result in the abortion vote in Ireland on the weekend.) Colin is also a classic example of what wrongs parents can do to their children, believing all along it is for their own good.
In the end, he was a revelation, and exactly the sort of man I would want standing by my side. (And in my bed. OK, I'm also a bit shallow!)
By the time this book came out, I had massive expectations.
It surpassed them.
It may not be the same for everybody, because we all have different expectations of HR, but I loved it, and will probably re-read it every year.
Couple of quotations:
Emily on the concept of "catching" a husband:
How in the world did we come to this place where marriage is constructed so that finding the person with whom to spend a lifetime- intimately connected- becomes a game?
Emily, after she reveals to Colin that she is not a virgin, because she arranged to have sex with a man to see what sexual pleasure was like, the thing women so eagerly gave their independence up for. Colin just leaves, and she realises that Colin, (like the typical male with the double standard), thinks she should be ashamed:
She remained standing in the middle of the room, her face hot and hands cold with anger and hurt and disappointment so acute, so painful, that for several minutes she could not move. But she had not needed this to prove that he and she were fundamentally different. In their world, his standards reigned. It was the reason she gathered knowledge as she did and wrote about what she learned. It was the reason she was who she was. And for all his vows that he would listen, she was a woman whose words he would never truly hear.
July 2018
Just finished listening to the wonderful audiobook. HR really doesn't get much better than this.
And what I really noticed when listening: how it is not about putting a man down because he has chauvinistic ideas. It's about raising a man up, so that he sees all the possibilities that women are, and admitting to himself that he was wrong. It's about a woman realising that men are essentially good and that they deserve to be heard, too. The feminist message is tempered with compassion and understanding for both sexes. In other words, true equality.
My absolutely favourite hero and heroine.
This is particularly the case because we have gradually become familiar with the MCs, Emily and Colin, through the preceding books in this series. They have never had very large roles, but they are a presence, and the correspondence that takes place in these books gives us a fascinating insight into their characters. The correspondence is also just brilliant. Who doesn’t like fabulous letters in HR?
If you have not read the previous books in the Falcon Club series, don’t read on, as there will be a huge spoiler. But to review this book means to reveal the spoiler. I can’t get around it.
What did I love so much about this book?
1. The writing.
Katherine Ashe writes consistently well, even beautifully. She has a lovely turn of phrase, avoids Americanisms (I believe she is Canadian originally, although she lives in the US) and her descriptions of both physical things like scenery (Scotland sounds so beautiful, and the author spent quite a bit of time there tracing the route her protagonists would take in this book) and the inner thoughts and feelings of her protagonists are evocative and masterful.
I have read all her books and the writing never lets me down. Ashe is also very clever at NOT saying something and getting the reader to work at what is being meant/felt/thought. She doesn't dumb anything down at all and that is not always the case in HR, where stating (and often re-stating ad neauseum) the bleeding obvious can become something of an art-form.
2. The characterisation.
The characters in her novels are complex. They have layers that are not easily revealed and their motivations are never clearly stated, rather, we have to draw our conclusions from the things they say and do. The MCs are often flawed and vulnerable. Indeed, I strongly disliked Colin for most of the series and even most of this book. He was a very difficult person to accept, and it was only as we found out what his childhood had been like that I finally understood him and was able to forgive so much. And as is always the case in KA’s books, the hero does redeem himself beautifully in the end. Her heroines can be a bit more problematic for me, in that they tend to be somewhat damaged and very vulnerable. They often suffer and struggle, but they are always courageous women with whom we sympathise. Sometimes I have found them a bit too forgiving and soft. Emily is by far the toughest and she is awesome. I was cheering for Emily all the way!
3. Historical detail.
KA spends heaps of time researching her history. There is often an afterward at the end where she explains the political or social issues she explored in her story, giving them a firm historical context. So, her books have a certain gravitas and authenticity that make them relevant even for today. As a feminist, many of the issues she explores are fascinating for me and despite the genre being romance, I loved learning so much that was new to me about the 19the century. After all, living in Australia we have inherited the British legal system and the inequalities and anomalies of English law were to be found here, too. The deeply sexist nature of the marriage laws in England, the inherently undemocratic nature of a political system based on class and hereditary privilege, these were all explored by the wonderful Lady Justice in the Falcon Club series, and they reach their climax in this book.
4. The romance.
Her books are so full of passion, lust, love, despair and heartbreak. There is no easy path to the HEA. Her love scenes are so wonderfully described and add so much to the characters’ depth of feeling. The men are alpha but when they fall in love, they will die for their love. The women are vulnerable, even tormented at times, but they are also strong and fearless. In the end, for me, if the romance doesn’t thrill me, speed up my heart rate and give me butterflies, then it will never be a 5-star book. Because the genre is HR. I want to gasp and sigh and cry and laugh and smile. I did all that the first time, and I did it again reading the book for a second time.
This book has the most wonderful heroine in Emily, who, (we have finally found out), is Lady Justice. She is a passionate champion of the underdog, and her war of words with Lord Grey, a man who comes to symbolise for her all that is wrong with England, is both wittily articulate and enlightening. Colin, representing the last bastion of male, aristocratic privilege, is a worthy opponent and does not let Emily shy away from a few home-truths herself. What is fabulous about Colin is his courage: he looks hard at himself and his life so far and is not afraid to see where he went wrong. It is so hard for us to acknowledge that our beliefs may be based on false assumptions, and to actually change them. That capacity for honest self-examination is rare, so to see that in Colin is incredibly positive about humans in general. Despite the horrible times for the vast majority of the population in 19th century England, we can be optimistic for the future. (And I am writing in the wake of the wonderful- for me- result in the abortion vote in Ireland on the weekend.) Colin is also a classic example of what wrongs parents can do to their children, believing all along it is for their own good.
In the end, he was a revelation, and exactly the sort of man I would want standing by my side. (And in my bed. OK, I'm also a bit shallow!)
By the time this book came out, I had massive expectations.
It surpassed them.
It may not be the same for everybody, because we all have different expectations of HR, but I loved it, and will probably re-read it every year.
Couple of quotations:
Emily on the concept of "catching" a husband:
How in the world did we come to this place where marriage is constructed so that finding the person with whom to spend a lifetime- intimately connected- becomes a game?
Emily, after she reveals to Colin that she is not a virgin, because she arranged to have sex with a man to see what sexual pleasure was like, the thing women so eagerly gave their independence up for. Colin just leaves, and she realises that Colin, (like the typical male with the double standard), thinks she should be ashamed:
She remained standing in the middle of the room, her face hot and hands cold with anger and hurt and disappointment so acute, so painful, that for several minutes she could not move. But she had not needed this to prove that he and she were fundamentally different. In their world, his standards reigned. It was the reason she gathered knowledge as she did and wrote about what she learned. It was the reason she was who she was. And for all his vows that he would listen, she was a woman whose words he would never truly hear.
July 2018
Just finished listening to the wonderful audiobook. HR really doesn't get much better than this.
And what I really noticed when listening: how it is not about putting a man down because he has chauvinistic ideas. It's about raising a man up, so that he sees all the possibilities that women are, and admitting to himself that he was wrong. It's about a woman realising that men are essentially good and that they deserve to be heard, too. The feminist message is tempered with compassion and understanding for both sexes. In other words, true equality.
My absolutely favourite hero and heroine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2018
I'm emerging from a sick cocoon that lasted 5 days, I wanted to write a solid review for this book because I had thoughts and feelings reading it but I barely had the energy to leave the bed to lay on the couch.
I see a lot of people had a problem with the heroine but I thought she was the better flushed out character of the two (hero). Yes, her grudge against the hero for "abandoning" her was forced and not quite up to snuff but I thought her brusque hard exterior and attitude towards the hero wasn't anything we haven't seen many anti-heroes or broody heroes pull on heroines in other stories before.
I think my main problem with this was the utter lack of chemistry between the two that came from the characters themselves not feeling fully sketched out or deep. For two characters I have been reading sassy corresponding over several books, I was shocked at how they felt like two stiff boards interacting.
This felt like the author was trying to recreate the magic of How a Lady Weds A Rogue, an adventurous road romance but yeah, the whole two stiff boards thing. I'm going to keep trying with this series because Ashe has given some of a my favorite books/characters/romance but these last few have been a bit disappointing.
I see a lot of people had a problem with the heroine but I thought she was the better flushed out character of the two (hero). Yes, her grudge against the hero for "abandoning" her was forced and not quite up to snuff but I thought her brusque hard exterior and attitude towards the hero wasn't anything we haven't seen many anti-heroes or broody heroes pull on heroines in other stories before.
I think my main problem with this was the utter lack of chemistry between the two that came from the characters themselves not feeling fully sketched out or deep. For two characters I have been reading sassy corresponding over several books, I was shocked at how they felt like two stiff boards interacting.
This felt like the author was trying to recreate the magic of How a Lady Weds A Rogue, an adventurous road romance but yeah, the whole two stiff boards thing. I'm going to keep trying with this series because Ashe has given some of a my favorite books/characters/romance but these last few have been a bit disappointing.
October 9, 2016
The Earl is Katharine Ashe's long awaited conclusion to her Falcon Club series and the second book in her new Devil's Duke series. For those of you who struggled with The Rogue, fear not! This novel can be easily read as a stand alone, though I'd recommend her novella The Scoundrel & I to get introduced into the long "feud" of the main characters in this novel.
Our hero is the final unmarried member of the Falcon Club and also its founder and leader, Peregrine, or Colin Grey, the recently named Earl of Egremoor. At the beginning of this novel as a refresher (or for new readers) Ashe includes a list of all members of the club so you can recognize their names within the novel (this was a relief for me because I've read them all but still have a hard time remembering them all). The heroine is Lady Justice, or for those of you who have read her other novels, is Lady Emily Vale, the bookish woman who prefers to be called the names of powerful women of history.
Katharine Ashe has a beautiful way with words and I am always excited for her next release. I will admit that there are many times I don't connect with her heroines, but I usually enjoy her heroes so it balances out :) I am more of a fan of her Twist series and Prince Catchers series, but I will say I enjoyed this conclusion of the Falcon Club. It was written differently than some of Katharine's more recent novels and had a more mystical, immersive feel to it. This story was more about the journey for the characters and there was less intrigue and burdensome details. Simply, it is a novel that focuses entirely on survival and raw emotion.
The secret identities of the two leads, Peregrine and Lady Justice, have had a years long public feud in the presses. For those who've read other Falcon Club novels, you will recognize some of the exchanges that were published in the papers between the two. It is why I recommend The Scoundrel & I because you get to read all of the "highlights." In addition to a "feud" between their secret identities, they have also been at odds with each other for 18 years in their personal lives despite being very close childhood friends. When Emily makes a quest to Scotland to find her missing sister, Colin also goes to Scotland to find out more information that he was given by Emily in her disguise as Lady Justice. Emily finds out about Colin's identity as Peregrine early on in the novel, but Colin is in the dark about who she really is or why she has hated him for the past 18 years for most of the book. When they are mistaken for outlaws, they have to flee for their lives until they can prove who they really are. This takes up the bulk of the novel as each character is stripped down to their raw selves as they journey together to safety while still pursuing the missing women.
While this novel is very different in plot and feel from The Rogue, the one thing that was similar was the temperament of the characters. I liked Colin a lot. He had a compelling childhood disability that he still sometimes struggled with as an adult. He was flawed in some of his assumptions due to things he was taught by his father, but was still an honorable, patient, quiet man with deliciously sexy looks (did you see that cover? Ha.) The heroine though, was very hard to like. For those of you who have watched Downton Abbey, do you remember when Violet asks Mrs. Crawley if "she ever got cold up on the moral high ground?" That is exactly how I felt about Lady Emily. She had courage and spine which were noble, but she was so blinded by prejudice against Colin, stubbornness, and her own version of "ideals" that she was hard to relate to. She acts like a woman with a chip on her shoulder and when I found out why she hated Colin and he apologized, all I thought was "that's it?" I felt like she should've been the one groveling and apologizing. She led a sheltered, cushy life, locking herself away from the world and judging it in her pamphlets and had absolutely no right to turn her nose up at other people, particularly Colin. At least in The Rogue, Constance had a history that explained her damaged personality. In The Earl, I felt that Emily had no reason for all her anger and bitterness and she irritated me. I loved so much about this novel, but Lady Emily's harsh personality and lack of ability to humble herself kept this from being a 5 star book for me.
In a nutshell, Ashe crafts a beautiful novel full of well depicted scenes from Scotland, a feeling of danger and urgency, and a mystery that was fully resolved at the end. The hero was compelling and sexy, the sexual tension was well done, and the secondary characters were well drawn and added depth to the story. The one weakness in the novel was its heroine. I have not really cared for any of the heroines in Ashe's Falcon Club series, but have enjoyed them in the Twist series and the Prince Catchers series so I am excited to see what characterization she uses for heroines next. Lady Emily's sister and the mysterious Duke of Irvine are the leads in the final book in the series and they could make for an interesting pair. I just hope the heroine has more compassion and is a little softer than Constance or Emily so that I can really give the third book a 5 star rating :)
I received a complimentary copy to read and review. All opinions are my own. I appreciate the opportunity.
Our hero is the final unmarried member of the Falcon Club and also its founder and leader, Peregrine, or Colin Grey, the recently named Earl of Egremoor. At the beginning of this novel as a refresher (or for new readers) Ashe includes a list of all members of the club so you can recognize their names within the novel (this was a relief for me because I've read them all but still have a hard time remembering them all). The heroine is Lady Justice, or for those of you who have read her other novels, is Lady Emily Vale, the bookish woman who prefers to be called the names of powerful women of history.
Katharine Ashe has a beautiful way with words and I am always excited for her next release. I will admit that there are many times I don't connect with her heroines, but I usually enjoy her heroes so it balances out :) I am more of a fan of her Twist series and Prince Catchers series, but I will say I enjoyed this conclusion of the Falcon Club. It was written differently than some of Katharine's more recent novels and had a more mystical, immersive feel to it. This story was more about the journey for the characters and there was less intrigue and burdensome details. Simply, it is a novel that focuses entirely on survival and raw emotion.
The secret identities of the two leads, Peregrine and Lady Justice, have had a years long public feud in the presses. For those who've read other Falcon Club novels, you will recognize some of the exchanges that were published in the papers between the two. It is why I recommend The Scoundrel & I because you get to read all of the "highlights." In addition to a "feud" between their secret identities, they have also been at odds with each other for 18 years in their personal lives despite being very close childhood friends. When Emily makes a quest to Scotland to find her missing sister, Colin also goes to Scotland to find out more information that he was given by Emily in her disguise as Lady Justice. Emily finds out about Colin's identity as Peregrine early on in the novel, but Colin is in the dark about who she really is or why she has hated him for the past 18 years for most of the book. When they are mistaken for outlaws, they have to flee for their lives until they can prove who they really are. This takes up the bulk of the novel as each character is stripped down to their raw selves as they journey together to safety while still pursuing the missing women.
While this novel is very different in plot and feel from The Rogue, the one thing that was similar was the temperament of the characters. I liked Colin a lot. He had a compelling childhood disability that he still sometimes struggled with as an adult. He was flawed in some of his assumptions due to things he was taught by his father, but was still an honorable, patient, quiet man with deliciously sexy looks (did you see that cover? Ha.) The heroine though, was very hard to like. For those of you who have watched Downton Abbey, do you remember when Violet asks Mrs. Crawley if "she ever got cold up on the moral high ground?" That is exactly how I felt about Lady Emily. She had courage and spine which were noble, but she was so blinded by prejudice against Colin, stubbornness, and her own version of "ideals" that she was hard to relate to. She acts like a woman with a chip on her shoulder and when I found out why she hated Colin and he apologized, all I thought was "that's it?" I felt like she should've been the one groveling and apologizing. She led a sheltered, cushy life, locking herself away from the world and judging it in her pamphlets and had absolutely no right to turn her nose up at other people, particularly Colin. At least in The Rogue, Constance had a history that explained her damaged personality. In The Earl, I felt that Emily had no reason for all her anger and bitterness and she irritated me. I loved so much about this novel, but Lady Emily's harsh personality and lack of ability to humble herself kept this from being a 5 star book for me.
In a nutshell, Ashe crafts a beautiful novel full of well depicted scenes from Scotland, a feeling of danger and urgency, and a mystery that was fully resolved at the end. The hero was compelling and sexy, the sexual tension was well done, and the secondary characters were well drawn and added depth to the story. The one weakness in the novel was its heroine. I have not really cared for any of the heroines in Ashe's Falcon Club series, but have enjoyed them in the Twist series and the Prince Catchers series so I am excited to see what characterization she uses for heroines next. Lady Emily's sister and the mysterious Duke of Irvine are the leads in the final book in the series and they could make for an interesting pair. I just hope the heroine has more compassion and is a little softer than Constance or Emily so that I can really give the third book a 5 star rating :)
I received a complimentary copy to read and review. All opinions are my own. I appreciate the opportunity.
October 26, 2016
I've read all of Ms. Ashe's books, and in my opinion, this one is her best. Incredible tension, believable love between the main characters, and a healthy dose of feminism :) - I cried tears of joy before the end and read it all in one sitting! This one is a keeper and one for the Favorite's shelf!
October 31, 2016
Worth the Wait!
This is the conclusion of the Falcon Club series, the middle book in the The Devil’s Duke trilogy, and for Falcon Club series fans, worth waiting for. I do not recommend reading this out of order as it is best read with the others in the series, but you could definitely pick it up anew and enjoy it immensely. The Falcon Club series has been so spread out that I can hardly remember what occurred in previous books but did not find myself lost at all which is so refreshing. The last thing a reader wants to do when they pick up a book is feel like they have to re-read five previous books to be able to continue with a final installment.
Now, there is a huge reveal in this book...the long awaited identity of Lady Justice who has colored each book with her sartorial wit and human perspective of the woes of the downtrodden of England.
She has amassed quite a following in the years she has published her pamphlet and created quite an adversary (object of attraction?) in Peregrine, the Secretary of the Falcon Club to which she has directed much of her ire. The reveal is not a super big surprise to me, but either way, it is welcome because she is a character I have liked and whose spirit is contagious as you want her to win whatever she is fighting for. The fact the she and Peregrine have history is an interesting element to the story and creates the tension needed for the story to have the depth that it has.
There is a ton of adventure in this story which is very enjoyable and has the reader turning the pages, not wanting to put the book down. I loved the mistaken identity storyline that creates another underlying tension to the story that had me wondering how on Earth the story was going to find completion.
The love story elements make for a wonderful connection between the two characters that their ultimate, inevitable collision is sweet, sensual and sacred. There is a loveliness that is to be savored between them, a breaking down of barriers long built and the reader wants everything to last...but of course, that is not to be!
Read this book - you will love it! You will want more as I do and I cannot wait to read the last in the Devil’s Duke series and more of Katharine Ashe’s books to come.
ARC provided by Net Galley - Many Thanks!
This is the conclusion of the Falcon Club series, the middle book in the The Devil’s Duke trilogy, and for Falcon Club series fans, worth waiting for. I do not recommend reading this out of order as it is best read with the others in the series, but you could definitely pick it up anew and enjoy it immensely. The Falcon Club series has been so spread out that I can hardly remember what occurred in previous books but did not find myself lost at all which is so refreshing. The last thing a reader wants to do when they pick up a book is feel like they have to re-read five previous books to be able to continue with a final installment.
Now, there is a huge reveal in this book...the long awaited identity of Lady Justice who has colored each book with her sartorial wit and human perspective of the woes of the downtrodden of England.
She has amassed quite a following in the years she has published her pamphlet and created quite an adversary (object of attraction?) in Peregrine, the Secretary of the Falcon Club to which she has directed much of her ire. The reveal is not a super big surprise to me, but either way, it is welcome because she is a character I have liked and whose spirit is contagious as you want her to win whatever she is fighting for. The fact the she and Peregrine have history is an interesting element to the story and creates the tension needed for the story to have the depth that it has.
There is a ton of adventure in this story which is very enjoyable and has the reader turning the pages, not wanting to put the book down. I loved the mistaken identity storyline that creates another underlying tension to the story that had me wondering how on Earth the story was going to find completion.
The love story elements make for a wonderful connection between the two characters that their ultimate, inevitable collision is sweet, sensual and sacred. There is a loveliness that is to be savored between them, a breaking down of barriers long built and the reader wants everything to last...but of course, that is not to be!
Read this book - you will love it! You will want more as I do and I cannot wait to read the last in the Devil’s Duke series and more of Katharine Ashe’s books to come.
ARC provided by Net Galley - Many Thanks!
December 26, 2017
3 stars even though it's a DNF because I'm feeling generous.
Lol, no seriously, DNF because it's the author's way of writing that didn't really clicked with me and the story seems to drag on and on and on.
I think the plot is really good and this would have been a favorite if I was able to get past the author's way of writing.
Do check this out though. This might work with you.
June 23, 2017
I don't even feel up to a negative review, this book made me so tired! maybe it was the ridiculous amount of sex these two had in a 4 hour period that exhausted me and that was after reading about 3/4 of the book before they finally kissed. just wanted to tell "Zenobia" to shut it after a while. Bummer because I really rather liked Colin...
June 14, 2017
I did not like Emily. Some parts of the story were really good but other parts did not keep my attention.
October 16, 2018
There was a lot going on in this book. I'm not going to summarize all of it, because I do have to go to work today and I'm not much for reviewing anymore, but it was a lot. And it felt like probably half of it could have been left out, to be honest. Second book I've read by this author, and with this one I believe I'm going to start remembering the style of story weaving that isn't really for me.
October 26, 2016
I think this is 2.5 stars that I'm rounding up. Katharine Ashe writes great prickly heroines. And Emily is certainly prickly. She's self-righteous and a little smug and terrible at admitting she is wrong. She is very privileged but thinks her view on the working class and poor is the best and most informed and well-rounded and the end. She whines about not wearing lace because of the harsh labor that creates it, but then doesn't think about the fact that people would be unemployed without that lace. She paints every citizen of wealth and influence with the same brush, even when she has direct evidence to the contract. There's no middle ground - only austerity for her. I thought she had places to go and gray areas to seek out and that once she opened herself up to the world again she would be less strict about her moralizing. That is all heightened by the fact that we already know Peregrine - that we're already inclined to some sympathy for him even if he has been a tiny pill in some of the other books.
But still. In their present, I liked Emily and I liked Colin. They had an oddly competitive chemistry that I found compelling. I thought the Lady Justice and Peregrine issue caused plenty of conflict for a pair of people who knew each other in their childhood. But I wasn't sure we really needed the childhood conflict as we were presented it.
The fundamental problem with this book, though, is that the prickliness and the odd enmity was kind of ruined for me by the revelations about their past.
And so in the end, knowing that past and the rest, it makes Emily's sermonizing seem a little shrill. Somehow Colin gets no quarter for the mistakes he's made - for the prejudices that were engrained in him at every level of society, and Emily gets a...not a free pass, but enough of a pass? And Colin SHOULD be judged for those prejudices, but as a character we saw him realize his mistake and open his mind and heart and etc. But Emily...she opened her mind only just? I don't know. The problem is that the reforms she was fighting for were in general the right ones, so it's hard to judge her for sticking to her guns.
Basically, Katharine Ashe wrote a kind of complicated book with maybe too simple of an ending? This book suffered from some strange plot points (and, I haven't mentioned this but I should...not a lot REALLY happens except running through the mountains until the last quarter or so of the book) and details. I still enjoyed reading it though. As always, her characters had great chemistry and I liked reading about their journey.
But still. In their present, I liked Emily and I liked Colin. They had an oddly competitive chemistry that I found compelling. I thought the Lady Justice and Peregrine issue caused plenty of conflict for a pair of people who knew each other in their childhood. But I wasn't sure we really needed the childhood conflict as we were presented it.
The fundamental problem with this book, though, is that the prickliness and the odd enmity was kind of ruined for me by the revelations about their past.
And so in the end, knowing that past and the rest, it makes Emily's sermonizing seem a little shrill. Somehow Colin gets no quarter for the mistakes he's made - for the prejudices that were engrained in him at every level of society, and Emily gets a...not a free pass, but enough of a pass? And Colin SHOULD be judged for those prejudices, but as a character we saw him realize his mistake and open his mind and heart and etc. But Emily...she opened her mind only just? I don't know. The problem is that the reforms she was fighting for were in general the right ones, so it's hard to judge her for sticking to her guns.
Basically, Katharine Ashe wrote a kind of complicated book with maybe too simple of an ending? This book suffered from some strange plot points (and, I haven't mentioned this but I should...not a lot REALLY happens except running through the mountains until the last quarter or so of the book) and details. I still enjoyed reading it though. As always, her characters had great chemistry and I liked reading about their journey.
October 25, 2016
Katharine Ashe’s descriptive writing style shines in The Earl, the second installment in the Devil’s Duke Series. It is an elegantly written opposites attract love story which features suspense, fabulous dialogue, romance and history. I have been waiting for this story for several years and I was not disappointed! Lady Justice writes about social reform in her pamphlets. She and Peregrine are fierce political opponents who have appeared throughout Ms. Ashe’s Falcon Club series. The Falcon Club’s mission was to find missing people and return them. Lady Justice’s sister has been missing for seven months and she reluctantly turns to her rival Peregrine for assistance.
Lady Justice receives a note from Scotland which states that her sister is alive. She dismisses Peregrine and decides to find her sister on her own. Peregrine and Lady Justice meet unexpectedly at an inn in Scotland where they are mistaken for a pair of felons who have murdered a local woman. Outnumbered, they leave the inn on horseback. The couple is pursued from village to village. Lady Justice has no choice but to follow Peregrine. The trip through the Scottish countryside parallels the couple’s personal journey. To outsmart the people who are intent on capturing them, they must learn to trust and rely on each other. I was so immersed in the couple’s travels, that I felt that I was walking through the rugged countryside, down the puddle filled country roads and up the unforgiving mountainside with them.
Katharine Ashe creates characters who have purpose. Lady Justice and Peregrine are imperfect but, are perfect for each other. Both are strong willed and determined and these traits enable them to survive their ordeal. Ms. Ashe is not afraid to portray characters that appear to be strong but, in fact, are emotionally vulnerable. Lady Justice’s pamphlets show the importance and the value of the written word. The letters speak of social injustices, political reform and woman’s rights important topics in 1822 and in 2016. At first, the pairing of this couple surprised me. As I became immersed in the novel, I wanted them to elude the men who were chasing them and fall in love. The conclusion to The Earl was splendidly crafted–and made me cry-one person’s voice can make a difference!
Reviewer’s note: As a longtime Falcon Club reader, I chose not reveal the identities of Lady Justice and Peregrine in my review.
Lady Justice receives a note from Scotland which states that her sister is alive. She dismisses Peregrine and decides to find her sister on her own. Peregrine and Lady Justice meet unexpectedly at an inn in Scotland where they are mistaken for a pair of felons who have murdered a local woman. Outnumbered, they leave the inn on horseback. The couple is pursued from village to village. Lady Justice has no choice but to follow Peregrine. The trip through the Scottish countryside parallels the couple’s personal journey. To outsmart the people who are intent on capturing them, they must learn to trust and rely on each other. I was so immersed in the couple’s travels, that I felt that I was walking through the rugged countryside, down the puddle filled country roads and up the unforgiving mountainside with them.
Katharine Ashe creates characters who have purpose. Lady Justice and Peregrine are imperfect but, are perfect for each other. Both are strong willed and determined and these traits enable them to survive their ordeal. Ms. Ashe is not afraid to portray characters that appear to be strong but, in fact, are emotionally vulnerable. Lady Justice’s pamphlets show the importance and the value of the written word. The letters speak of social injustices, political reform and woman’s rights important topics in 1822 and in 2016. At first, the pairing of this couple surprised me. As I became immersed in the novel, I wanted them to elude the men who were chasing them and fall in love. The conclusion to The Earl was splendidly crafted–and made me cry-one person’s voice can make a difference!
Reviewer’s note: As a longtime Falcon Club reader, I chose not reveal the identities of Lady Justice and Peregrine in my review.
October 15, 2016
At long last Katharine has released the story of Peregrine and Lady Justice. They have been entangled in a back and forth correspondence through The Falcon Club Series. Their letters to each other were smart, brusque and laugh out loud funny. What they don't realize is that they know each other personally and have since Lady Justice was christened.
Colin Gray is the tenth Earl of Egremoor, he is handsome, intelligent and takes his responsibilities seriously.
He was the Secretary of a secret group that aided people rich and poor with all kinds of dilemmas and situations, some of them life threatening. All the members of the group are now happily married, except Colin. He knows that his duty is to propose to the lady that he has been promised to his whole life. Now that his father is gone he can no longer put it off and sets off to do his duty.
Lady Emily Vale has kept her secret identify as a champion of woman, the poor and the forgotten. She is perfectly happy with her life just the way it is. Then Colin Gray shows up and proposes marriage. She cannot believe that he would have the nerve to even be in the same room with her. She remembers Colin as the only person who understood her as a child and they were inseparable until he changed and had no more time for her.
Lady Justice writes Peregrine because she needs his help to find her sister who has disappeared and she is frantic to find out what happened to her. Peregrine only has one condition, he wants to meet Lady Justice in person. Will their secrets be revealed? Will they forgive each other and admit to the feelings they have always had for each other?
Katharine's writing is so beautiful and heartfelt. I have loved every book and novella that she has ever written. The research and accuracy of the time period is praiseworthy and enlightening. She is witty, brilliant and in my opinion one of the best and brightest in the Historical Romance Genre. You will delight in the adventures that take Emily and Colin on the journey of their lives.
Colin Gray is the tenth Earl of Egremoor, he is handsome, intelligent and takes his responsibilities seriously.
He was the Secretary of a secret group that aided people rich and poor with all kinds of dilemmas and situations, some of them life threatening. All the members of the group are now happily married, except Colin. He knows that his duty is to propose to the lady that he has been promised to his whole life. Now that his father is gone he can no longer put it off and sets off to do his duty.
Lady Emily Vale has kept her secret identify as a champion of woman, the poor and the forgotten. She is perfectly happy with her life just the way it is. Then Colin Gray shows up and proposes marriage. She cannot believe that he would have the nerve to even be in the same room with her. She remembers Colin as the only person who understood her as a child and they were inseparable until he changed and had no more time for her.
Lady Justice writes Peregrine because she needs his help to find her sister who has disappeared and she is frantic to find out what happened to her. Peregrine only has one condition, he wants to meet Lady Justice in person. Will their secrets be revealed? Will they forgive each other and admit to the feelings they have always had for each other?
Katharine's writing is so beautiful and heartfelt. I have loved every book and novella that she has ever written. The research and accuracy of the time period is praiseworthy and enlightening. She is witty, brilliant and in my opinion one of the best and brightest in the Historical Romance Genre. You will delight in the adventures that take Emily and Colin on the journey of their lives.
October 5, 2016
This book is the 2nd of the Devil's Duke series and the last, I think, of the Falcon Club series. I couldn't put it down. The hard part for me in writing any review is to share my love of the story without giving too much away. I don't like too many plot spoilers.
I have enjoyed the back and forth letters between Lady Justice and Peregrine, aka Colin Gray, now the Earl of Egremoor. When Colin meets a disguised Lady Justice he doesn't believe a woman actually writes the columns. Lady Justice is asking for his help to find a woman missing in Scotland. He agrees to search for her.
Emily Vale, currently known as Zenobia, hasn't heard from her sister in months. She believes Amarantha to be in Scotland so sets off with her companion, Clarice, to find her. Emily has known Colin all of her life. Their parents betrothed them at her birth. For the first nine years of her life, Colin was her world but then he broke her child's heart and it stayed broken. Their childhood is important to who they are as adults.
In Scotland, Colin stops at an inn and of course it's the one Emily has stopped at. He is mistaken for a highwayman who has a close resemblance to him. The villagers believe he is the bandit and Emily his associate. He grabs Emily from her walk and rides off with her to avoid being arrested or shot. He heads for one of the Duke of Loch-Irvine's castles as he will be able to get help there. Of course there are many adventures on the way to safety and Colin and Emily have time to sort out past wounds. They also come across the real highwaymen.
Possibly the best lines describing Colin: "And that jaw! It's nibbleable."
I loved this book and can't wait for the Duke of Loch-Irvine's story.
I have enjoyed the back and forth letters between Lady Justice and Peregrine, aka Colin Gray, now the Earl of Egremoor. When Colin meets a disguised Lady Justice he doesn't believe a woman actually writes the columns. Lady Justice is asking for his help to find a woman missing in Scotland. He agrees to search for her.
Emily Vale, currently known as Zenobia, hasn't heard from her sister in months. She believes Amarantha to be in Scotland so sets off with her companion, Clarice, to find her. Emily has known Colin all of her life. Their parents betrothed them at her birth. For the first nine years of her life, Colin was her world but then he broke her child's heart and it stayed broken. Their childhood is important to who they are as adults.
In Scotland, Colin stops at an inn and of course it's the one Emily has stopped at. He is mistaken for a highwayman who has a close resemblance to him. The villagers believe he is the bandit and Emily his associate. He grabs Emily from her walk and rides off with her to avoid being arrested or shot. He heads for one of the Duke of Loch-Irvine's castles as he will be able to get help there. Of course there are many adventures on the way to safety and Colin and Emily have time to sort out past wounds. They also come across the real highwaymen.
Possibly the best lines describing Colin: "And that jaw! It's nibbleable."
I loved this book and can't wait for the Duke of Loch-Irvine's story.
October 28, 2016
Finally! Lady Justice and Peregrine! Well worth the wait. ;)
May 20, 2021
Friends-to-enemies-to-lovers.
Good emotional payoff from the build up of the last few books of Peregrine vs Lady Justice but the handful of hiccups/oddities that were there stuck in my craw.
The biggest issue was Emily's 20 year grudge. Not to go into to spoiler territory, the reason is so common place and unremarkable that I've seen it happen a few times in my life and Colin didn't even remember it.
I wish there was time and space to deal with Colin digging a little deeper inside himself to fully unravel certain automatic responses to Emily's various comments and revelations as I have some theories about what certain feelings ultimately mean but I feel the text doesn't go far enough to truly support any.
I will end on a high note: I love the ambiguous ending. It's wonderfully feminist and illustrates both parties willingness to meet the other where they are at.
Good emotional payoff from the build up of the last few books of Peregrine vs Lady Justice but the handful of hiccups/oddities that were there stuck in my craw.
The biggest issue was Emily's 20 year grudge. Not to go into to spoiler territory, the reason is so common place and unremarkable that I've seen it happen a few times in my life and Colin didn't even remember it.
I wish there was time and space to deal with Colin digging a little deeper inside himself to fully unravel certain automatic responses to Emily's various comments and revelations as I have some theories about what certain feelings ultimately mean but I feel the text doesn't go far enough to truly support any.
I will end on a high note: I love the ambiguous ending. It's wonderfully feminist and illustrates both parties willingness to meet the other where they are at.
June 29, 2017
This was my first Katharine Ashe book and I enjoyed it. This can be read as a stand alone, however, I think my overall reading experience would have been a little less confusing had I read the other books in the series first. There were characters and references, many humorous, that I just didn't "get".
Colin and Emily are both strong-willed, stubborn characters who not only share a history dating back to childhood, but witty retorts and great romantic tension, too. And Emily is not your stereotypical damsel-in-distress which was refreshing.
The ending tied up this series while also setting the stage for a new one.
Colin and Emily are both strong-willed, stubborn characters who not only share a history dating back to childhood, but witty retorts and great romantic tension, too. And Emily is not your stereotypical damsel-in-distress which was refreshing.
The ending tied up this series while also setting the stage for a new one.
May 21, 2024
Everything I wanted from Colin & Emily’s story!!!
February 21, 2017
Reviewed by Robyn
Sexual Content: Subtle/Sensual
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content: None
Violent Content: Minimal
Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor is determined to find the identity of Lady Justice, the pamphlet writer who is the bane of his existence. Now that his father is dead, he needs to stop his previous activities with the Falcon Club—a group of people determined to find missing people—and take up the activities of an earl. Lady Justice—Zenobia (or Emily as she is actually named)—knows she’s been a thorn in his side, but she needs him now. Her sister is missing in Scotland and she needs help. She turns to Peregrine (Colin) to ask him for help. To keep her identity secret, she asks his help finding her sister’s friend—the girl her sister originally went looking for. He agrees to help her, not knowing who she really is.
In the meantime, Zenobia receives word to meet her sister on All Saint’s Day at Castle Kallin. The letter says her sister is in trouble and needs her. Heedless of the danger, she and her friend Clarice travel by coach to Scotland trying to make it to Castle Kallin in time. In a chance meeting, they end up at the same inn as Colin. Through unusual circumstances, the two of them set off across Scotland trying to find their doppelgangers and trying to get to Castle Kallin.
The story really takes off and there is lots of action, some moments of true danger and other things that make you laugh out loud. Colin is so used to being alone and quiet with just his thoughts that having a jabber box like Zenobia around is alternately intriguing and irritating. The two of them were once childhood friends and slowly details of their past are revealed. They begin to become much closer to where they were as childhood friends and partners. But each one is hiding their secret identity from the other. It makes for some challenging moments.
I loved their history and interaction. The fact that they had such a past together that had been brutally ended causing a rift between them added drama and more realism to the story. In some ways, I hurt for their respective childhood losses, but hoped they would find their way back to being friends…or more. They obviously were having romantic feelings for each other as they travelled. It was joyful to see them start to reopen and explore their old friendship.
This story has intrigue and suspense built into the romance with a healthy dose of humor to make it interesting. Although this is the second book in the series, it stood alone fairly well. There were a few confusing moments for me where I knew I was missing information from the previous story, but overall, Katharine Ashe did a great job of keeping new readers informed. I enjoyed the story, the action, the suspense and the romance. It was a wonderful read and I look forward to more from Ms. Ashe in the future.
-- ROBYN
October 18, 2016
Lady Justice, a pamphleteer whose mission is to defend the oppressed, and Peregrine, Colin Gray, the Earl of Egremoor and member of the now defunct Falcon Club, have been at odds for years in the press. The Falcon Club’s mission was to retrieve missing persons, but now Lady Justice is in a pickle, after colourfully insulting her foe for years, she needs Peregrine’s help. Her sister has vanished, but she cannot reveal her name, or else he will know Lady Justice’s identity. As an acquaintance of Lady Justice’s is also missing, that’s the excuse Lady Justice gives Peregrine, and so they end up looking for a missing woman in Scotland, and out of Peregrine and Lady Justice, only one of them knows the true identity of the other…
The public exchange of letters between Lady Justice and Peregrine is the stuff legends are made of: every word of these letters is perfection itself, and readers of Ms. Ashe’s Falcon Club series have been waiting for this story for ages, while THE EARL can also easily be savoured as a standalone book. The correspondence is just as brilliant in THE EARL, which concludes the verbal sparring of these two characters, in spectacular fashion. I opted not to divulge the identity of Lady Justice, which makes this review a tad more complicated to write, but you will not get any spoilers from me!
As is customary, Katharine Ashe goes to great lengths to ensure that historical accuracy prevails, which make Lady Justice’s cries against injustice still more glaring. Ms. Ashe’s superlative prose is incandescent and luminous as she captures the gorgeous Scottish countryside in all its glory. THE EARL has an exceedingly complex plot, with several characters and many layers, all leading to an extraordinary romance of unfathomable depth. There are also several small mysteries, in addition to the missing women, and it is while attempting to solve them that Peregrine and Lady Justice come to acknowledge their respective weaknesses, which both had somewhat erroneously perceived as strengths. There is a race to safety that is so vividly described that I think I held my breath nearly throughout the whole scene, and there are some revelations that were, to put it mildly, not at all what I expected. THE EARL is a story about being true to who you are, but also having a good look at yourself, and that is what our two lovers discover when they stop bickering.
The sex scenes left me nearly speechless: they are so exquisite, so filled with fiery ardour and total abandon, that will make your heart flutter and your insides melt. But the romance, O the romance! I am still not sure if the words to express the wonder of Peregrine and Lady Justice’s romance exist: magnificent, sublime, exquisite, glorious, do not even begin to do justice to the love story. The emotions are articulated with such clarity, that I feel that Ms. Ashe has found the exact way to express true love for the first time in writing.
And be sure to read A Note on Women’s Rights at the end, they are utterly fascinating.
Lady Justice and Peregrine got the book they so richly deserved, which seemed to be asking too much from the author, and Katharine Ashe more than rises to the occasion with the outstanding story of THE EARL.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
The public exchange of letters between Lady Justice and Peregrine is the stuff legends are made of: every word of these letters is perfection itself, and readers of Ms. Ashe’s Falcon Club series have been waiting for this story for ages, while THE EARL can also easily be savoured as a standalone book. The correspondence is just as brilliant in THE EARL, which concludes the verbal sparring of these two characters, in spectacular fashion. I opted not to divulge the identity of Lady Justice, which makes this review a tad more complicated to write, but you will not get any spoilers from me!
As is customary, Katharine Ashe goes to great lengths to ensure that historical accuracy prevails, which make Lady Justice’s cries against injustice still more glaring. Ms. Ashe’s superlative prose is incandescent and luminous as she captures the gorgeous Scottish countryside in all its glory. THE EARL has an exceedingly complex plot, with several characters and many layers, all leading to an extraordinary romance of unfathomable depth. There are also several small mysteries, in addition to the missing women, and it is while attempting to solve them that Peregrine and Lady Justice come to acknowledge their respective weaknesses, which both had somewhat erroneously perceived as strengths. There is a race to safety that is so vividly described that I think I held my breath nearly throughout the whole scene, and there are some revelations that were, to put it mildly, not at all what I expected. THE EARL is a story about being true to who you are, but also having a good look at yourself, and that is what our two lovers discover when they stop bickering.
The sex scenes left me nearly speechless: they are so exquisite, so filled with fiery ardour and total abandon, that will make your heart flutter and your insides melt. But the romance, O the romance! I am still not sure if the words to express the wonder of Peregrine and Lady Justice’s romance exist: magnificent, sublime, exquisite, glorious, do not even begin to do justice to the love story. The emotions are articulated with such clarity, that I feel that Ms. Ashe has found the exact way to express true love for the first time in writing.
And be sure to read A Note on Women’s Rights at the end, they are utterly fascinating.
Lady Justice and Peregrine got the book they so richly deserved, which seemed to be asking too much from the author, and Katharine Ashe more than rises to the occasion with the outstanding story of THE EARL.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
November 1, 2016
Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Fabiola
Review Copy from the Author
The Earl is the second volume in the Devil’s Duke series by Katherine Ashe. My review of the first volume, The Rogue, can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A third (and probably last) volume is planned and we already know who’ll be the next heroes, but I let it be a surprise for the readers.
The Earl also brings to a close The Falcon Club series as it tells (at last) Peregrine and Lady Justice’s story. For me who didn’t read this series, there wasn’t a problem to comprehend the text. Fans from the outset will be pleased to have this story.
As much as I loved The Rogue, that wasn’t the case with this book. And it’s really too bad because I couldn’t wait for it! To tell the truth I would probably have not read it entirely if I had had a review to write. In the end the reading stays pleasant, the author’s style is still good, the adventures are interesting, but I didn’t really like the main characters.
Colin was too set on his principles, often full of himself, quite haughty. What’s more, he has a too naive side that often annoyed me.
Lady Justice (as her real name isn’t told in the synopsis, I’ll hide it too LOL), fights a beautiful battle. Really. But from the beginning I felt a lot of selfishness in her, with resentment that spread to men and to the Ton, and too much dissimulation. I thought it was easy for her to talk in the name of the people while hiding under a pseudonym, given her position in the society.
I don’t really know which one of the two had to evolve the most, but I didn’t really believed in Colin’s one. For one part it arrives too late in the novel, and for another it doesn’t come from him as a person, but only pushed by the heroine. And when it’s like that, I often think that such a hero could go back to his old ways.
The heroine discovers quite fast who hides under the name Peregrine, but doesn’t reveal her own identity, which unfortunately also validated my opinion about her. And if there’s something I don’t really like, it’s this kind of dissimulation between the main characters. Especially when they have the opportunity to lift the veil and they don’t do it.
Where the author manages very well with her book (and the reason I don’t give it the minimum rating) it’s that the story in itself doesn’t revolve around the chassé-croisé between Lady Justice and Colin/Peregrine. So our heroes meet in Scotland and must join forces when they find themselves in a very shaky position. That’s by the way with this adventure the heroes get to know each other again and the feelings reappear. The problem is that when I closed the book, I didn’t really know if I believe in the happy end, especially because of the secrets revealed too late in the book.
Reviewed by Fabiola
Review Copy from the Author
The Earl is the second volume in the Devil’s Duke series by Katherine Ashe. My review of the first volume, The Rogue, can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A third (and probably last) volume is planned and we already know who’ll be the next heroes, but I let it be a surprise for the readers.
The Earl also brings to a close The Falcon Club series as it tells (at last) Peregrine and Lady Justice’s story. For me who didn’t read this series, there wasn’t a problem to comprehend the text. Fans from the outset will be pleased to have this story.
As much as I loved The Rogue, that wasn’t the case with this book. And it’s really too bad because I couldn’t wait for it! To tell the truth I would probably have not read it entirely if I had had a review to write. In the end the reading stays pleasant, the author’s style is still good, the adventures are interesting, but I didn’t really like the main characters.
Colin was too set on his principles, often full of himself, quite haughty. What’s more, he has a too naive side that often annoyed me.
Lady Justice (as her real name isn’t told in the synopsis, I’ll hide it too LOL), fights a beautiful battle. Really. But from the beginning I felt a lot of selfishness in her, with resentment that spread to men and to the Ton, and too much dissimulation. I thought it was easy for her to talk in the name of the people while hiding under a pseudonym, given her position in the society.
I don’t really know which one of the two had to evolve the most, but I didn’t really believed in Colin’s one. For one part it arrives too late in the novel, and for another it doesn’t come from him as a person, but only pushed by the heroine. And when it’s like that, I often think that such a hero could go back to his old ways.
The heroine discovers quite fast who hides under the name Peregrine, but doesn’t reveal her own identity, which unfortunately also validated my opinion about her. And if there’s something I don’t really like, it’s this kind of dissimulation between the main characters. Especially when they have the opportunity to lift the veil and they don’t do it.
Where the author manages very well with her book (and the reason I don’t give it the minimum rating) it’s that the story in itself doesn’t revolve around the chassé-croisé between Lady Justice and Colin/Peregrine. So our heroes meet in Scotland and must join forces when they find themselves in a very shaky position. That’s by the way with this adventure the heroes get to know each other again and the feelings reappear. The problem is that when I closed the book, I didn’t really know if I believe in the happy end, especially because of the secrets revealed too late in the book.
October 1, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed the latest book in the Devil's Duke series and it is also the final installment of the Falcon Club story, where we have Peregrine and Lady Justice’s story. All through the series, we have read their letters back and forth to each other. We learn that both of them have a backstory that goes to their childhood.
Colin Gray, was a quiet boy, whose only friend was a little girl named Emily Vale. Emily was promised to Colin as a baby to unite their two families. When Colin turns 13, the friendship ends and they go on their separate ways. Emily felt like Colin had abandoned her. Colin grows to manhood and has no idea that his friend, Emily, has become Lady Justice.
The mission of the Falcon Club was to find missing people and bring them back home. Colin’s final mission was to help Lady Justice find her sister. Colin agreed under one condition; they finally find out who each really is. At the meeting place, Colin admits he is Peregrine and he can’t believe Lady Justice is a woman. He believed her to be a man and insults her by demanding to see her master, the real Lady Justice. This leaves Emily to not reveal herself.
As Colin is just starting the mission, both he and Emily encounter each other at an Inn. They find out that a man and a man, dressed as a woman killed a local man’s wife. The one man looks just like Colin and claims to be him, the Earl of Egremoor. No one believes Colin and Emily, when they say they are not the killers and run through the wilds of Scotland to escape. The main questions I had as I read the book were who were the imposters and why did the one look like Colin? Would Colin find out that Emily is behind Lady Justice? Will Emily and Colin put any misunderstandings behind them and find love together?
Throughout the story Emily wanted to be called Zenobia. Colin refuses to call her this new name. When she talked about being called Pocahontas at one time, I recalled reading about her in another story. When a Scot Loves a Lady. In fact, Colin has a big part in it, too. I remember, as I read the former story, how it was cute how she kept changing her name. Though, in The Earl, I was a bit like Colin, she always was and would be Emily to me.
Colin Gray, was a quiet boy, whose only friend was a little girl named Emily Vale. Emily was promised to Colin as a baby to unite their two families. When Colin turns 13, the friendship ends and they go on their separate ways. Emily felt like Colin had abandoned her. Colin grows to manhood and has no idea that his friend, Emily, has become Lady Justice.
The mission of the Falcon Club was to find missing people and bring them back home. Colin’s final mission was to help Lady Justice find her sister. Colin agreed under one condition; they finally find out who each really is. At the meeting place, Colin admits he is Peregrine and he can’t believe Lady Justice is a woman. He believed her to be a man and insults her by demanding to see her master, the real Lady Justice. This leaves Emily to not reveal herself.
As Colin is just starting the mission, both he and Emily encounter each other at an Inn. They find out that a man and a man, dressed as a woman killed a local man’s wife. The one man looks just like Colin and claims to be him, the Earl of Egremoor. No one believes Colin and Emily, when they say they are not the killers and run through the wilds of Scotland to escape. The main questions I had as I read the book were who were the imposters and why did the one look like Colin? Would Colin find out that Emily is behind Lady Justice? Will Emily and Colin put any misunderstandings behind them and find love together?
Throughout the story Emily wanted to be called Zenobia. Colin refuses to call her this new name. When she talked about being called Pocahontas at one time, I recalled reading about her in another story. When a Scot Loves a Lady. In fact, Colin has a big part in it, too. I remember, as I read the former story, how it was cute how she kept changing her name. Though, in The Earl, I was a bit like Colin, she always was and would be Emily to me.
July 2, 2023
Mystery box book #17!
This book made me feel drunk, or like I'd been hit in the head. For something with such a silly plot --the main couple, who were childhood friends but now hate each other for semi-obscure reasons, are mistaken for a pair of highwaymen and pursued around Scotland -- I found this difficult to follow. Possibly because it is both the 5th and 2nd book in other series (though, even if part of a larger series, romances like this are usually meant to stand alone!); possibly because it is simply very boring with generic, wooden characters.
Also featuring some of my least favorite romance tropes:
--a French side character who you know is French because she says "ma chère" at the end of every sentence
--other side characters who "och aye" through their dialogue because, you know, Scottish
--the introduction of a cute moppet for no reason
--bad, anachronist, wish-fulfillment politics
--a male love interest who repeatedly refuses to call the female main character by the name she is asking to be called
Read this book is you want to encounter this conversation over and over:
I'm sorry, I know both of these characters are cis but: transphobic.
(She caves at the end, of course.)
This book made me feel drunk, or like I'd been hit in the head. For something with such a silly plot --the main couple, who were childhood friends but now hate each other for semi-obscure reasons, are mistaken for a pair of highwaymen and pursued around Scotland -- I found this difficult to follow. Possibly because it is both the 5th and 2nd book in other series (though, even if part of a larger series, romances like this are usually meant to stand alone!); possibly because it is simply very boring with generic, wooden characters.
Also featuring some of my least favorite romance tropes:
--a French side character who you know is French because she says "ma chère" at the end of every sentence
--other side characters who "och aye" through their dialogue because, you know, Scottish
--the introduction of a cute moppet for no reason
--bad, anachronist, wish-fulfillment politics
--a male love interest who repeatedly refuses to call the female main character by the name she is asking to be called
Read this book is you want to encounter this conversation over and over:
"Emily?" he said uncertainly.
"My name is Zenobia."
"I will call you Zenobia when hell freezes over."
"Why won't you call me by the name I wish to be called?"
"Because to me you are Emily," he said. "You will always be Emily."
I'm sorry, I know both of these characters are cis but: transphobic.
(She caves at the end, of course.)
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