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    This Earl of Mine
    This Earl of Mine
    This Earl of Mine
    Audiobook9 hours

    This Earl of Mine

    Written by Kate Bateman

    Narrated by Beverley A. Crick

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors?men who work undercover for London’s first official police force?and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed?

    WILL A FALSE MARRIAGE

    Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong?

    LEAD TO TRUE AND LASTING LOVE?

    Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him?and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 29, 2019
    ISBN9781980044222
    This Earl of Mine
    Author

    Kate Bateman

    Kate Bateman, (also writing as K. C. Bateman), is a bestselling author of historical romances, including her RITA® nominated Renaissance romp, The Devil To Pay, the Bow Street Bachelors series (This Earl of Mine, To Catch an Earl, and The Princess and the Rogue), along with the novels in the Secrets & Spies series (To Steal a Heart, A Raven’s Heart, and A Counterfeit Heart). When not writing novels that feature feisty, intelligent heroines and sexy, snarky heroes you want to both strangle and kiss, Kate works as a fine art appraiser and on-screen antiques expert for several popular TV shows in the UK. She splits her time between Illinois and her native England. Follow her on Twitter to learn more.

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    Reviews for This Earl of Mine

    4/5

    85 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is the first time I've read this author and I'm pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. It's nice to end the year with a good book. The narrator of the audio book was very entertaining, too.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      One of the best historical romances I have ever read. Incredible tropes (marriage of convenience AND fake dating, bluestocking heroine, spy), charming characters, loving family and incredible chemistry! 10/10
    • 4/5
      A nice marriage of convenience story. He has the social standing, she has the money, but they both work (him as a Runner, her managing a shipping empire), so it's an interesting mix of positions. The villain, a couple farfetched things, and just generally believing a real marriage couldn't possibly work long after they point that they should have been reconsidering, were weaker points. But overall it held my interest and entertained me.
    • 3/5
      2.7 starsI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.There were worse places to find a husband than Newgate Prison.Georgiana is desperate to keep herself, her fortune, and her father's shipping company out of her cousin Josiah's hands. Deciding that marrying a condemned convict, quickly making her a widow and gaining more power over her finances, is the best way to do this, she ends up meeting Benedict Wylde in Newgate.A Bow Street Runner undercover as a smuggler, Benedict allows himself to be taken prisoner so that he can try and get some information out of his cellmate. With an Earl older brother trying to save the family holdings because of a father who gambled away the family fortune, he's in constant need of money. An heiress demanding he marry her but also making him sign a contract saying he can't touch her money, in the bowels of Newgate, seems almost Faustian.First in the Bow Street Bachelors series, This Earl of Mine did a great job of hitting all the, somewhat becoming overused Regency London sights, Vauxhall and balls, and giving some new blood details like a submarine. The heroine Georgiana inherited control of her father's shipping company but reader's don't really get to see her in the roll, she spouts off nautical knowledge but for the most part, it was left to the side. Our hero Benedict is a second son who joined the Rifles and fought Napoleon, again a detail added to his character that could have used some coloring in. The first half of these two meeting and testing each other was an enjoyable warming story to fall into but the middle dragged with lack of sparks and the ending brought the focus on a Napoleon plot that never felt entwined with the characters, giving the story a lack of emotion.“What if we don’t keep our marriage quiet?”I thought the details of our leads was interesting, Georgiana running the shipping company and trying to fend off her cousin and Benedict having fought for the Rifles, owning a gaming hell with his friends, and now a Bow Street Runner. While the details were there, the coloring in was absent. I thought the author did a great job giving us the setting but the characters fell flat for me. If you read a good amount of Regency historical romance, you won't find much new here (except for the submarine!) and the lack of emotion breathed into the story was disappointing. There were also some plot points that didn't quite tie together; there being no prisoners condemned to die on the night Georgiana shows up, why the prisoner guard would go to Georgiana's cousin Josiah, and even some of the marriage plot of reasons given to keep it a secret and then not keep it a secret.“I see you,” he said softly.I usually bemoan series baiting characters but I actually thought Benedict's two friends, who are also partners in their gaming hell, could have shown up more, would have liked to have scenes showcasing their friendship and even Georgiana and her family, her sister and mother ended up feeling like caricatures. There is still no denying that the author has a very readable flow to her writing and there were moments between Georgiana and Benedict that flashed but for the most part, this felt like a shell of a story. I'll be looking for plot points that meld together better and more emotion and feeling in the next installment.
    • 4/5
      Where to start...Oh, right. I'm reviewing This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman as a part of a blog tour put together by the amazing folks at St. Martin's Press and SMP Romance. The FTC requires this disclaimer even though every person who has ever met me knows that I am way too opinionated for a free book to sway my opinion. Let's get to this before the coffee runs out!I was hooked into this book right from the start. The opening scene was all the sketchy a girl could ask for, a cloaked figure, nocturnal sneaking, mystery and intrigue (those are different!), and, marriage for reasons that don't involve love. Georgiana "Georgie" Caversteed is being 'hunted' by her creep-o cousin who wants to marry her for her money and he's not being subtle about it. Her plan is to marry a man sentenced to be hanged and live her life as the woefully ignored wife of an always travelling husband. Girl, yes! Georgie is kind of next-level if you ask me, in a time where 'proper' women basically had to be married, she had her plan all figured out on how to be her own woman. Marry a man sentenced to death, boom! instant secret widow and freedom to do as she pleases! And her husband of (in)convenience? Not actually a ne'er-do-well convict bound for Tasmania in the morning. He's a war hero, a member of the ton, -coowner of a gambling hell, and an undercover Bow Street Runner. Benedict "Ben" Hyde is given two options from the prison warden, marry mystery lady or die right there. Ben's Not Happy about this situation and completely dumbstruck when he finds out the identity of his new bride, the wealthiest woman in London. And I am telling you the book, huh? Just slap my name on this book, I love it! The dynamics between Ben and Georgie are stellar. Ben gives Georgie the ability to be herself, enjoy herself, and have adventures (because adventures should be shared). And, Georgie gives Ben a better sense of self-worth little by little, she shows him how to feel, and she helps him out with his case! Reading this, you can feel the sparks between Ben and Georgie from the start, not the instantaneous 'love them, gotta have them, be with them forever' deal, but that warm butterfly feeling that kind of makes you want to vomit but also makes you want to skip everywhere and it quickly gets out of control and OHMIGOSH I LURV THEM! These two understand each other wonderfully and, even when they have a misunderstanding, they don't flounce off for an eternity and a half or break things off, they talk. They're magical unicorns.Character Time! My favourite character aside from our leads has to be either Georgiana's younger sister, Juliet, or Benedict's little street urchin friend, Jem. Juliet acts like an airhead, but she's pretty on the ball. She's not as fierce as Georgie, but she has no use for the puff-shirts and one of my favourite conversations in this story is between Georgie and Juliet where they ridicule a man, who's after the Caversteed fortune of course, who has sworn to slay dragons for Juliet. And she's head-over-heels for a preacher's kid from their hometown and subtly sticks it to her matchmaking, title-hunting mother every chance she gets it seems. And Jem is just, well, you have to meet Jem to understand. I love that kid. I like Pieter, the right-hand man Georgie inherited from her father, he's overprotective but also knows Georgie can take care of herself. We love a man who gets that zen balance. I like the teasing camaraderie between Ben and his co-owner friends (and fellow runners), Alex and Seb. My dork babies. My least favourite characters? Georgiana and Juliet's mother and their cousin, Josiah. Josiah is a drunk, a gambling addict, and so many other creeper things that involve me digging out my taser.I flat-out snorted at Starbucks while reading one passage. The only thing I'll say is, Georgie and Ben actually have the same sense of humour. Poor Mother Caversteed, she never stood a chance. There are some things I didn't see coming in This Earl of Mine and I do love a book that keeps me on my toes. I liked that we had consistent historical accuracy in our content, I'm a trifling little chit about this, I will full-stop on a hist-rom that doesn't give me accuracy for days. I'm at peace with this aspect of my personality, don't judge me.I just really hated Josiah. His entire whole character was human trash. I also learned that reading the word "coitus" just ruins a love scene for me. It's right up there with "moist", y'all. I also wish there had been some friendship out there for Georgie. That girl needs a friend.I'm giving This Earl of Mine four stars and three flames. I enjoyed this book and it was a great series opener and I cannot wait to read the next book! I think I've covered everything in my notes, it sure seems like it, so this is the end of my review!This has been a review from Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book and I hope y'all enjoyed it! If you're looking for more of them, I'm a dot-com away!
    • 4/5
      This Earl of Mine by Kate BatemanBow Street Bachelors #1Reading the book description I was taken back to reading a book my father shared with me – a book in which a woman in need of a husband also went to a prison to find a condemned man to marry. The two books diverged from there though neither husband actually bit the dust by the end of the book they starred in. Both men were definitely more than the bride expected and both were fallen in love with by their wives before the end of the stories. In this book we have wealthy Georgiana “Georgie” Caversteed being hounded by despicable cousin Josiah. He wants her money and isn’t planning to take no for an answer. Thus, the reason for the marriage of convenience. Georgie has plenty of money but no desire to wed the men in the ton that she has met already. There was a frisson of interest when Georgie met Benedict “Ben” Wylde but she realized that it was NOT real since...he was a dirty prisoner...until she experienced the same feeling when she ran into Benedict at a ball the next time. This book had the two falling for one another slowly while they also spent time trying to solve a case Benedict and his friends were working on for Bow Street. There is a side story of Georgie’s sister Juliet and Simeon and the lead into the idea that either Seb or Alex, Benedict’s friends, will get their stories in books to come. The book did not stand out to me as something new or different but it was an enjoyable way to spend the day.Did I enjoy this book? YesWould I read more in the series? YesThank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks for the ARC – This is my honest review. 3-4 Stars
    • 4/5
      Well that was fun!An usual woman, a former soldier (ex Rifles, ah Sharpe!), and a hurried marriage at Newgate Prison ensure this tale opens with a bang. Fortunately the pace doesn't waver and the beginning frames the subsequent action superbly.Georgiana Caversteed, a fabulously rich young woman who controls a shipping empire has decided to do away with importunate odious cousins, fortune hunters and other such sycophants that haunts her every step. Her plan is failproof! She will buy herself a husband, one who's about to depart this world, and then present herself to society after a time as a widow. Unfortunately her target died of jail fever and the only other candidate was to be shipped to the other side of the world. Not to be thwarted Georgina goes for plan B and decides to make do with the replacement.What she didn't know was that the dubious character, her prisoner husband was actually Benedict William Henry Wylde, second son of the late Earl of Morcott. He worked for the Admiralty and currently Bow Street gathering intelligence. This time his search sent him to Newgate.Imagine Georgina's surprise when a few weeks later her husband turned up at a ton function. This was not going to do! Oh, no! Never!Well of course things became more complicated in all sorts of ways. And our Georgina is a feisty, intelligent woman. But ah! Those complications!A lively read filled with an interesting array of characters and situations that please.A St. Martin's Press ARC via NetGalley
    • 4/5
      Well, this new series certainly got off to an exciting start. The premise is unique, the romance is lovely and the mystery is a good one. I don’t feel the mystery overshadows the romance at all – I actually think it enhances it. The story is well-written, well-plotted and well-delivered. I loved both of the main characters – both were strong, intelligent and competent. What I liked most about the characters though, is that they were very honest with each other – no big secrets to come out and bite them. She even told her mother and sister what would have been a big secret in any other book. So – thank you to the author for providing us with two main characters who were honest and forthright with each other and others.Georgiana Caversteed is a very, very, very rich young lady who is very intelligent and is definitely in charge of her own life. She makes her own decisions and then acts upon them. When her sludge-pot of a cousin, Josiah, makes a nuisance of himself and makes it plain that he will compromise her in order to marry her and gain control of her fortune, she makes her own plan to thwart him. Her plan? She’ll go to Newgate prison and marry a man who is to be executed the next day. That way, she can marry and then become a widow in short order. That will work for her because widows have more leeway in society and her cousin shouldn’t be able to compromise her and force a marriage.Benedict William Henry Wilde is the poor brother of the poor Earl of Morcott. Their profligate father ran the earldom into the ground and it has been all Benedict’s brother, John, can do to keep afloat. There are massive debts and Benedict helps to pay what he can – which leaves him with little money for himself. He used the money he got from selling his Army commission to open the Tricorn Club, a gambling hell, along with his two friends Sebastian Wolff and Alexander Harland. They all vowed to make their fortunes together.Benedict, Alex, and Seb supplement their income by working for Bow Street on special cases where access to the ton is needed. Benedict is currently working on a case involving the possible rescue of Napoleon from St. Helena and he’s undercover in Newgate prison. He’s certainly surprised when the jailer comes to his cell and drags him out to marry a woman he’s never seen – but he has heard of her. It isn’t like he can refuse – at least not if he wants to live to get out of the prison, so he goes through with it.Georgiana expects her new husband to be on his way to Australia the next morning as he was being transported. Only – she soon finds out that it didn’t happen. When she sees him in a ballroom her mouth drops open. Obviously he isn’t gone and now they have some serious matters to discuss.I liked watching the two of them work through their issues by discussing them openly and honestly and then coming to a solution for themselves. They quickly came to respect and admire each other and, of course, love soon followed.It was a lovely read even though it was a totally improbable tale. Women weren’t allowed to actually own property at that time, so there would have had to be a male trustee, guardian – something.I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
    • 3/5
      So this book has been on my to-be-read list and after I started reading I wished I had left it there. I always read the reviews to gage the opinions and this one was a see-saw so I said let me find out for myself. Well I was bored, yup bored I liked that the idea was new an heiress wanting to thwart her cousins machinations and stop all the fortune hunters interested in only her money so she goes to a jail to get married to someone on death row, however that did not end up to be the case. But that was the only interesting part in the book to me anyway. Once they got into all the spy stuff I was bored, I tried to keep interested but I couldn't I start swiping as fast as I could because it was again I am going to say boring.. I was sad because I have other books to read and wasted, yes wasted my time on this one. All in all I feel that I should not give it a 2 star due to my interest but due to the idea will give it a 3 but I doubt I will follow this author..rcvd an ARc at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions