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The Monsters Ball #8
Emilia and the Eldritch Earl
Dear Miss Emilia Whitehall,
Due to your family’s recent fall from grace and your inability to thus far to secure a match on the Marriage Mart, Her Majesty has deemed your Season a failure. With no further prospects at this time, you are hereby ordered to attend The Monsters Ball. A carriage will collect you, so as to ensure your safe arrival and attendance.
After a family disgrace and a broken engagement, Emilia Whitehall wants nothing more than to hide from the prying eyes of the ton forever. Unfortunately, her scheming mother has other ideas. Forced to attend the Monsters Ball by both royal decree and familial obligation, Emilia swiftly agrees to a marriage contract with a charming marquess with whom she has intense chemistry. Unfortunately, things go awry when Emilia is whisked away by Jack D’Elope, the mysterious Earl of Ritchford, who insists her new fiancé is even less honorable than her previous one.
Bent on revenge against the marquess, Jack holds Emilia for ransom. Furious, she begins hatching plans for her escape. But the longer she and Jack are secreted away in a cozy, romantic cottage, the more Emilia begins to question her decision, especially as she finds herself attracted to the earl. Worse, Jack goes out of his way to tell her who the marquess really is: A scoundrel and a rake with ulterior motives for marrying her. As much as Emilia doesn’t want to believe the stories, doubt about the marquess begins to grow. But are the tales true, or has Jack’s need for vengeance blinded him to reality?
A long-forgotten elder god, Jack is noble and handsome, and for all his mistakes, seems to have her best interests at heart. But when the marquess finally tracks them down, Emilia must make a choice. Does return to the seductive, wealthy man she might not be able to trust—one her mother would certainly approve of—or does she follow her heart and explore her feelings for the earl who kidnapped her?
Due to your family’s recent fall from grace and your inability to thus far to secure a match on the Marriage Mart, Her Majesty has deemed your Season a failure. With no further prospects at this time, you are hereby ordered to attend The Monsters Ball. A carriage will collect you, so as to ensure your safe arrival and attendance.
After a family disgrace and a broken engagement, Emilia Whitehall wants nothing more than to hide from the prying eyes of the ton forever. Unfortunately, her scheming mother has other ideas. Forced to attend the Monsters Ball by both royal decree and familial obligation, Emilia swiftly agrees to a marriage contract with a charming marquess with whom she has intense chemistry. Unfortunately, things go awry when Emilia is whisked away by Jack D’Elope, the mysterious Earl of Ritchford, who insists her new fiancé is even less honorable than her previous one.
Bent on revenge against the marquess, Jack holds Emilia for ransom. Furious, she begins hatching plans for her escape. But the longer she and Jack are secreted away in a cozy, romantic cottage, the more Emilia begins to question her decision, especially as she finds herself attracted to the earl. Worse, Jack goes out of his way to tell her who the marquess really is: A scoundrel and a rake with ulterior motives for marrying her. As much as Emilia doesn’t want to believe the stories, doubt about the marquess begins to grow. But are the tales true, or has Jack’s need for vengeance blinded him to reality?
A long-forgotten elder god, Jack is noble and handsome, and for all his mistakes, seems to have her best interests at heart. But when the marquess finally tracks them down, Emilia must make a choice. Does return to the seductive, wealthy man she might not be able to trust—one her mother would certainly approve of—or does she follow her heart and explore her feelings for the earl who kidnapped her?
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 26, 2023
31 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
About the author
Vivienne Hart
35 books32 followersGreetings! I’m Vivienne, I have my MFA in Creative Writing, and I write all things magical and mysterious.
I’ve been writing fantastic tales since I could hold a pencil. Captivated by fairy tales from a young age, I gradually began to create my own worlds filled with fantastic creatures and monstrous beasts. Now a USA Today bestselling author, I'm still sending my characters on as many wild journeys and dark adventures as I can.
In addition to spinning a good story, my loves include chocolate, reading good books, and taking as many bubble baths as I can. When I’m not writing, you can find me roaming around the southern U.S. with my husband and two very fluffy cats. I’m the redhead in pajamas.
For more about me, and to subscribe to my mailing list, visit viviennehart.com
I’ve been writing fantastic tales since I could hold a pencil. Captivated by fairy tales from a young age, I gradually began to create my own worlds filled with fantastic creatures and monstrous beasts. Now a USA Today bestselling author, I'm still sending my characters on as many wild journeys and dark adventures as I can.
In addition to spinning a good story, my loves include chocolate, reading good books, and taking as many bubble baths as I can. When I’m not writing, you can find me roaming around the southern U.S. with my husband and two very fluffy cats. I’m the redhead in pajamas.
For more about me, and to subscribe to my mailing list, visit viviennehart.com
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 4, 2024
Emilia and the Eldritch Earl was an unexpected diamond to stumble across in my Monster Ball binge, courtesyor Vivienne Hart. Of course, I don’t know Hart like I do Nascosta or Sanders, so that surprise serves me right.
Hart was given a challenge to wrap up the series as it is, and I think she did her job well. Not only did she give her characters their development, but she also wrapped up the development of others’ characters. I walked away from this series, having enjoyed the ride.
Hart was given a challenge to wrap up the series as it is, and I think she did her job well. Not only did she give her characters their development, but she also wrapped up the development of others’ characters. I walked away from this series, having enjoyed the ride.
July 1, 2023
As the last in the series, it was not an amazing romance if you think that the book is about Emilia and Jack. However, as the last in the series it was very useful because Jack and Emilia were just a foil for solving the long running mystery of M, the lost lover of our ball's fair hostess.
Solidly tropey- readers get to enjoy some Stockholm Romance, mild Enemies to Lovers and twice the Marriage of Convenience. That said, the book isn't really at all like the blurb.
On the upside, the mystery of the missing M is finally "solved," even if readers have had all the needed information for roughly eight books worth of subplot. The series as a whole was a fun premise and I would like to see more authors dabble in this world even if all the books were not home runs for me.
Solidly tropey- readers get to enjoy some Stockholm Romance, mild Enemies to Lovers and twice the Marriage of Convenience. That said, the book isn't really at all like the blurb.
On the upside, the mystery of the missing M is finally "solved," even if readers have had all the needed information for roughly eight books worth of subplot. The series as a whole was a fun premise and I would like to see more authors dabble in this world even if all the books were not home runs for me.
June 7, 2024
A cute read and conclusion to the series
I liked how a secondary storyline continued and finished here, along with all the characters from previous books. But more importantly, we needed to focus on Emilia and Jack, who had a bit of an unorthodox love triangle that involved a bride napping! They were sweet and ridiculous at times but all in all a nice quick read that was lower angst. It was a bit less spicy than others in the series but great nonetheless.
Steam: 🔥
Heart Flutters: ❤️
I liked how a secondary storyline continued and finished here, along with all the characters from previous books. But more importantly, we needed to focus on Emilia and Jack, who had a bit of an unorthodox love triangle that involved a bride napping! They were sweet and ridiculous at times but all in all a nice quick read that was lower angst. It was a bit less spicy than others in the series but great nonetheless.
Steam: 🔥
Heart Flutters: ❤️
March 31, 2024
-Another Monster Ball in the books!
-I loved how authentically the romance developed.
-I loved that the MMC overcame some personal past trauma and that Emilia validated him.
-I loved that the side story that follows through all the books got a happy ending! Even though I'm totally reading these out of order😅😜
-It took until over the halfway point for their to be any spice but, hot dang! Once the spice hit, it was downright sizzlin'!🥵🔥
-I loved how authentically the romance developed.
-I loved that the MMC overcame some personal past trauma and that Emilia validated him.
-I loved that the side story that follows through all the books got a happy ending! Even though I'm totally reading these out of order😅😜
-It took until over the halfway point for their to be any spice but, hot dang! Once the spice hit, it was downright sizzlin'!🥵🔥
June 4, 2024
This was... fine, I guess? I found the fmc fairly dull and uninteresting, the mmc not much better, and the falling-in-love-while-kidnapped plot is a hard one to pull off. Of the series, this hasn't been my favorite- and it also makes lots of references to the other books in the series, which I found an odd choice. But maybe that's my fault for not reading them "in order" (although I didn't think these had an order...?)
August 25, 2024
Main Characters:
Emilia Whitehall & Jack D’Elope, Earl of Ritchford
Review:
This was a fun read. I enjoyed Jack and Emilia, and we finally get a conclusion to Countess Stalbridge's love story.
Tropes:
-Age Gap
-Readers
-British
-Historical
-Monsters
-Novella
-Rabbit
-Regency
Quotes:
“Darling, I want you to fall in love with someone who has money,” her mother clarified. “But if you can’t do that, then you should at least marry well. If you can’t be happy, be rich.”
Emilia Whitehall & Jack D’Elope, Earl of Ritchford
Review:
This was a fun read. I enjoyed Jack and Emilia, and we finally get a conclusion to Countess Stalbridge's love story.
Tropes:
-Age Gap
-Readers
-British
-Historical
-Monsters
-Novella
-Rabbit
-Regency
Quotes:
“Darling, I want you to fall in love with someone who has money,” her mother clarified. “But if you can’t do that, then you should at least marry well. If you can’t be happy, be rich.”
June 1, 2023
👀 I was drawn in by the ambiguous Lovecraft reference in the title and ended up absolutely adoring this book!
❤ Jack helped Emilia grow in more ways than one and Emilia helped Jack see that he is worthy of someone caring for him.
📘 I appreciated all the references to the other Monsters Ball characters Hart added, it was a nice touch of world building in this interconnected universe.
❤ Jack helped Emilia grow in more ways than one and Emilia helped Jack see that he is worthy of someone caring for him.
📘 I appreciated all the references to the other Monsters Ball characters Hart added, it was a nice touch of world building in this interconnected universe.
July 14, 2025
A perfectly fine little read. Once Jack and Emilia started to spend more time together I liked them both a bit more (though Emilia does seem a bit boring!), and the secondary mystery/love story was a nice external focus. I did picture Jack's ears as slightly smaller than shown on the cover, and his antlers as more pronghorn-like, rather than weird tentacle like ones.
September 27, 2025
The writing and dialogue in these seemed choppy and the transitions between scenes were stilted. It was a sweet story/plot and the spice level was good. I wasn’t upset I spent time reading it but I found it hard to immerse myself in the book.
June 3, 2023
Entertaining!
March 29, 2025
This had enjoyable moments and great find for figuring out who M was.
June 2, 2023
Loved this! Also, I am sorry but I love that they changed the cover to make him hotter lmao
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews