Review: The Earl Not Taken

ABL Review at a Glance

Title:  The Earl Not Taken
My Rating: 3.75
Genre:  Historical Fiction, Romance
Author:  A.S. Fenichel
Format:  ARC*
Publication Date: March 17, 2020

Blurb

Left standing on the side while their contemporaries marry into society, four young ladies forge a bond to guard each other from a similar fate . . .
 
Finishing school failed to make a proper lady of Penelope Arrington. But as a Wallflower of West Lane, Poppy has a far more vital role—she and her three best friends have made a pact to protect each other from the clutches of dangerous, disreputable men. So when one of them is about to be married off to a duke sight unseen, Poppy makes it her mission to divine the prospective husband’s true character. If only she didn’t require the aid of London’s most unsuitable rake. 
 
Rhys Draper, Earl of Marsden, has known the headstrong Poppy since she was a young girl, naïve to the ways of men. To her eternal chagrin—and to his vague amusement—they have been at odds over the memory of their embarrassing first encounter all these years. Now, with his services in need, Rhys sees a chance to finally clear the air between them. Instead, he is surprised by the heat of their feelings. If the two do not tread carefully, they may end up in a most agreeably compromising position . . .

My Thoughts

Sometimes, it’s hard for me to start a review because I can’t decide how I feel about a book. When my thoughts are all over the place, it’s hard for me to get a coherent review together, but I’m giving it a go.

I really, really liked the main character, Poppy, probably because she was an unconventional and unexpected heroine. She was clumsy and abrasive with very little tact, which was not the norm during the Regency period. Some of the things she said even shocked me, so that was incredibly pleasant.

My only issue with Poppy was her stubbornness. I understood that her idea of marriage was shaped by the marriages she had seen before, mainly her parents and her friend Faith’s marriage. I also understand that these were not good marriages to say the least. But she seemed to cling to the idea that it was impossible for a man to love a woman for far longer than was feasible. It was almost comical.

Rhys, the male love interest, was a good character. Strong and infinitely understanding. I particularly loved his willingness to woo Poppy even when social convention would have told him that an Earl wouldn’t need to. He seemed very willing to make himself vulnerable to Poppy, a trait I adore in fictional men. Actually, I love it in real men too, but feel like it’s more likely to come from fiction than reality.

Their courtship is, shall we say, less than ideal, but a lot of fun. My absolute favorite part of the book came when they were stranded at an estate due to the weather. A common occurrence when roads were made of dirt, Poppy and Rhys cannot travel for a few days as they wait for the roads to become passible. Luckily, they find ways to amuse themselves.

This is a very quick read with lots of banter between the four girl characters that make up the Wallflowers of West End. I think this book could have been improved with a bit of careful thought about the characters. While Poppy seemed dead set on never changing her mind about anything, Rhys seemed to jump from detesting a girl to loving her way too quickly. He was already talking about her in amorous ways during their first one on one meeting. It was a bit of whiplash.

Otherwise, the story is delightfully charming. The dialogue flows perfectly. The party scenes are so cinematic that I honestly pictured them in movie form. A lot of the time I found myself picturing the ballrooms and dances.

I want to make a quick point here. A.S. Fenichel avoided one of my pet peeves in ballroom scenes, and it made the book so much better for me. Dances in this period had a lot of coming together and separating. This made conversations stilted and difficult. Often in books, writers have dialogue as if the characters are standing in a room by themselves face to face.

In The Earl Not Taken, she sets the scene beautifully by stopping and starting the lines as the characters take turns in the various dances. She often points out where some topics would be impossible because of the dancing.

It’s a small stupid thing, but made the story more real for me.

Like I said before, The Earl Not Taken is a charming book with delightful characters and a fun story. The cover also brought some much needed color to my shelves.

About the Author

A.S. Fenichel gave up a successful IT career in New York City to follow her husband to Texas and pursue her lifelong dream of being a professional writer. She’s never looked back.

A.S. adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story.

Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in Missouri with her real life hero, her wonderful husband. When not reading or writing she enjoys cooking, travel, history, and puttering in her garden.

ORDER YOUR COPY
Amazon → https://amzn.to/2P0nS6S 
 Barnes & Noble → https://bit.ly/32a3J3X 
KOBO → https://bit.ly/2uPJEDE 
Google Play → https://bit.ly/2Hr2DqD

*Special thanks to A.S. Fenichel, Kensington Books, and Pump up Your Books for my copy of A Lady’s Past in exchange for an honest review.