Review: Engaging the Earl
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2014
Engaging the Earl reminded me a bit of Wuthering Heights, in that all of the characters are awful and I couldn’t bring myself to cheer for any of them. Edward and Kat were in love when they were younger, but her father forbid their marriage. Edward went off to war to make something of himself, but didn’t return right away. Now, he’s been given an earldom for his heroics, but Kat is betrothed to a viscount. What happens after their reunion is a frustrating tug-of-war full of deceit.I liked Engaging the Earl in the beginning. I do enjoy these second chance romances, but once certain events started happening, it quickly lost me. Kat does want Edward back and is ready to call of her engagement to be with him. However, he feels like he can’t take a wife because the war has left him damaged; he suffers from post traumatic stress. He does some despicable things to keeps her away, and while I understand why he did them, I just can’t believe he’d do that to someone he loves. Plus, at the end, he all of a sudden thinks he’ll be able to keep in control enough to take a wife and just tells her that they’re getting married, despite her refusals. He hurt her terribly, so I was glad when she turned him down. Not a good sign for a romance.My biggest issue with Engaging the Earl was how cheating was handled. Everyone is cheating on everyone. I have no problem with unfaithfulness in fiction, but this all felt forced. No one had any chemistry, and everyone was lying to everyone else. Elena, who was painted as a strumpet, didn’t strike me as the type to be involved with a taken man, and yet she does with two! And I thought having Kat’s fiance cheat was just an excuse to have her leave him without being the bad guy for sharing some passionate kisses with Edward before calling off their engagement. It was all a messy web of lies and I didn’t enjoy it.I’ve enjoyed this series until now. Engaging the Earl was full of characters that I couldn’t get behind, and none of the relationships seemed healthy or happy. Even the supposed friendships read false and tainted.*Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.