Series: Wagers of Sin

I received this book for free from Avon in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When you gamble at love...

When Hugh Deveraux discovers his newly inherited earldom is bankrupt, he sets about rebuilding the family fortune—in the gaming hells of London. But the most daring wager he takes isn't at cards. A wealthy tradesman makes a tantalizing offer: marry the man's spinster daughter, and Hugh's debts will be paid and his fortune made. The only catch is that she must never know about their agreement.

You risk losing your heart...

Heiress Eliza Cross has given up hope of marriage until she meets the impossibly handsome Earl of Hastings, her father's new business partner. The earl is everything a gentleman should be, and is boldly attentive to her. It doesn't take long for Eliza to lose her heart and marry him.

But when Eliza discovers that there is more to the man she loves—and to her marriage—her trust is shattered. And it will take all of Hugh's power to prove that now his words of love are real.

Earlier this year, I read and reviewed My Once and Future Duke (book #1 in the series) but wasn’t as impressed as I had hoped to be. Nevertheless, I was immediately drawn in by a secondary romance that promised to be incredibly rewarding. An Earl Like You follows those secondary characters and was  everything I had hoped for. It is feel good, a little angsty, soft and has SOME GROVELING. It also has a DOGGY. WHO IS THE CUTEST. 

Hugh Deveraux is struggling to make ends meet. His newly inherited earldom is completely bankrupt and his father forgot to mention this to him or to anyone else before he passed away. In order to protect his sisters and mother, he chooses to not divulge this truth to them and hits the gambling tables to provide for his family.  One night, a wealthy businessman makes him an offer. Marry his spinster daughter and have all his debts paid off plus dowries for his sisters. The catch is that he must woo her and make her fall in love with him first, agree to keep her dog and of course, make sure she never finds out about the deal.

Eliza Cross is a spinster. And an heiress. Which means the kind of men who are usually interested in her are actually interested in her money. Hugh Deveraux; however, seems different from the rest. He is very attentive, likes her dog and is also very handsome so Eliza cannot help but slowly fall in love. Of course, she doesn’t know that her father made a deal with Deveraux behind her back. WHOOPS. 

So clearly, we are all set up for some angst and some groveling and boy is this romance worth the time. I love that Linden builds character arcs such that it is really hard to hate anyone, including Eliza’s father (who I actually love) for the situation they are in. Everyone seems justified in feeling the way they do and reacting the way they do. There is something to be said about a book where you kind of just love everyone and want everyone to be happy?? EVEN THOUGH NO ONE IS PERFECT. 

There are a lot of directions I want to go with this review but I feel like the best selling point of this book IS the characters. In the previous book, while I enjoyed the romance, I despised one of the main characters so that was kind of a downer. In An Earl Like You, there is so much to love about the main characters and there is even more to love about the secondary characters. 

This book truly represents the best of Linden’s writing and the best of romance. Which means, YOU SHOULD HAVE IT ON YOUR TBR if groveling, dogs, angst sound like your kind of thing.

4 Hot Espressos