Emily's Reviews > Earl Crush: A Novel

This is my second Alexandra Vasti book, and it delivers fun characters with very compelling chemistry. Earl Crush is about Arthur, a penniless Scottish earl who invents in his spare time, and Lydia, who is shy in public but very forthcoming as an author of seditious pamphlets. Arthur and Lydia are great together and the banter really jumps off the page.

The story itself didn't work quite as well for me, though, and the plot felt both unevenly paced and contrived at the same time. There's so much going on in this book, with a plot against the government mixed with espionage mixed with a laundry list of family dynamics. All of that is well and good, but it feels more like window dressing for the romance than a truly thought out story on its own. And then it ends without giving you some real emotional beats! (view spoiler)[You never really get the final interaction between Arthur and his brother, or, more importantly, Lydia and Davis. (hide spoiler)]

I keep reading these books because the chemistry is so good, and maybe that's why I like the Halifax Hellion novellas better. I had similar plot complaints with Ne'er Duke Well. But if that's less important for you and you prefer chemistry to plot, then you will probably enjoy this book just fine.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!