The cool, aloof earl
And the enchanting lady
For Jack Beresford, Earl of Hawkenden, emotional entanglements are the path to pain. But when his brother brings his new wife and her best friend to his country home, everything changes. Lady Cecily Thornhill is both vibrant and beautiful, and Jack finds himself increasingly captivated by her sunny nature. Yet he must resist her charms, for in a month she’ll be gone—unless his frozen heart thaws before then…
My Thoughts
⭐⭐⭐⭐
When we first meet Jack Beresford – the Earl of Hawkenden, he is still reeling from the news of his younger brothers recent and rather unexpected marriage. Despite his brothers words of reassurance, Jack can’t help but feel that Tom has been bewitched by his new wife Nell. To Jack marriage is nothing more than a necessary business arrangement, with no love involved at all.
It is this cynical outlook that sends Jack on his own personal mission to free his brother from his marriage which he deems to be an awful idea. It is whilst he is on this path that he encounters Lady Cecily Thornhill who Jack initially mistakes for Nell. Their first meeting is full of tension, as it is clear that Jack doesn’t approve of her, but Cecily wrongly assumes he is unhappy with her friendship with Tom and Nell, unaware that he has mistaken her identity.
Cecily is enraged by Jack’s behaviour, and she certainly doesn’t hold back when it comes to voicing her own opinion of him. When Nell and Tom move in to their own residence, Nell asks her best friend to stay with them, but what Cecily is unaware of is that Jack will also be residing with them which throws the already quarrelling pair into close proximity of one another once more. As Jack comes to realise who Cecily really is, his initial opinion of her begins to change, but we are left questioning whether or not this unlikely pair will be able to break down one another’s walls once and for all.
This was such a fantastic read that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. The storyline is well structured and is full of drama and romance, both of which reel you in from the opening chapter. The dialogue between the characters really add to the story and allow you to get a better understanding of who they are as individuals alongside their motives as the story moves forward.
With plenty of detail to the era in which the story is set, alongside a truly captivating plot, this is one of those books that I powered through in one sitting.
You can purchase a copy of this book by following the link below
https://books2read.com/captivatingearl
About the Author
Catherine Tinley is an award winning author of historical romance. She writes witty, heartwarming Regency love stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Her first book, Waltzing with the Earl, won the Rita Award for Best Historical Romance 2018, while Rags-to-Riches Wife won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2021.
She has loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, Sure Start, maternity campaigning and being President of a charity, she now manages a maternity hospital. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, cats, and dog and can be reached at catherinetinley.com,on facebook, twitter, and instagram.
*Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources, Harlequin Books and Catherine Tinley for providing me with a gifted copy of this book in return for my honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own and not influenced in any way.*
Victoria Wilks 