This Earl of Mine is the first book in Kate Bateman's Bow Street Bachelors series. Ms. Bowman is a new author to me; this was the perfect book to introduce me to her work. It's got some of my favorite romance elements: strong heroine, hero who was a military man, Bow Street Runners, witty dialogue, outstanding supporting characters and lots of steam. This book was, in a word, FUN.

Georgiana Caversteed is a shipping heiress who is constantly being sought out by fortune hunters, the most notorious being her horrible cousin Josiah. After he tries to compromise her to force her hand in marriage, she decides she needs an easily disposable husband to protect herself and her fortune. She goes to Newgate to marry a convict who will be hanged, thus leaving herself alone and free. Only problem is, they seem to be fresh out of condemned prisoners. Her only option was a man who would be transported, never to be seen again. Ben Wylde is the attractive and roguish man forced to marry her. And then...she sees him at a ball. Apparently he's not a convict after all, but a Bow Street Runner on a mission! Oops.

I adored the romance between Benedict and Georgie. They both wanted to remain independent, but could not fight their attraction to each other. Their banter was witty and truly brought a smile to my face. There was actually much humor throughout the entire book. The supporting characters were marvelous. I can't wait to see more of Benedict's friends Alex and Seb. They too were brothers-in-arms and Bow Street Runners. My favorite supporting characters, however, were Georgie's beautiful drama queen sister Juliet and her beloved Simeon, who is possibly the worst poet ever. Their relationship led Georgie to believe that not only was love blind, it was also deaf and dumb. There wasn't anything really new here, but my main goal in reading is to be entertained, and greatly entertained I was! Bring in the next Bow Street Bachelor!

I received this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

A wealthy single woman, a penniless but proud rogue, and a marriage of convenience combine in this lusty, passionate Regency Romance! Georgie and Benedict are married in name only, but sparks fly from the instant they meet. I loved the characters; Georgie is independent and smart; Benedict is loyal and determined; the two of them together are an impenetrable pair! I look forward to the rest of the books in this series!

I found the plot for this to be a bit far fetched. Georgina marries Benedict never expecting to see him again. When she discovers he's not only still in London but moving about in society she agrees to pretend to a courtship so they can marry openly, she also agrees to sex exploits as long as neither of them develops feelings for each other. There is also a mystery subplot that at times overwhelms the story. 

This was an okay read, the characters are likeable, but it has way too much going on, and even with so much story it's not memorable. This is the first in the series, and while I didn't love this book, I will stick with the series. 

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Georgiana Caversteed is a wealthy woman in her own right, but should she marry any of the suitors more interested in her fortune than herself, she’ll lose all of the control of her late father’s shipping business: one that she has been successfully running for the last few years. She’s decided that as a married woman she’ll have nothing – but as a widow – she can proceed with her life and run her business, and not take a chance that her actions will damage her younger sister’s chances or reputation. To that end, she concocts a plan with the help of her father’s right-hand man, now hers. She will marry a convict from Newgate, one scheduled to be hanged. The marriage will be proper and carefully orchestrated – and with her new status, she can clam he’s away sailing on one of her father’s ships – and still maintain her life as she wants it. With everything arranged and sorted, she’s presented with an alternative to her original choice: Ben Wylde, and the two are married.

Ben is a second son and his brother, the Earl, is struggling to keep the family estates running after their father ran up untold debts. With little to look forward to in terms of allowances or money, Ben joined the military and distinguished himself. When he left, he and his two best friends opened a new sort of gaming hell – one that admits anyone able to pay the price of membership and settle their debts. Ben’s the only one of the group without his own fortune, in fact he sends all he can spare to his brother to help him manage the estate. Because of their connections in society and their skill after warfare, Ben and his friends are also working for the Crown and their efforts are to find and root out continued support for Napoleon in England. But the marriage, with little choice, is something intriguing -made more so by the woman he finds attractive – even if he’s determined never to marry or allow himself to be hurt.

The mystery here and the character’s motivations for this marriage of convenience is truly the highlight – Ben needs Georgiana’s ships and business sense, she needs his name to continue her life – while neither expected that, beneath the frustration of things not going as ‘originally’ planned, there is an attraction that is not simply physical. Georgiana is bright and logical, with a head for business that belies what many would think of her sex in the time. And Ben is, despite his protestations, one who wants love and security, especially after Waterloo, and having Georgiana on his side will help with his spying and ‘second job”. With great conversations, a slow burn of romance that pops up unexpectedly after long focus on the ‘mission’, and the characters of Ben and Georgiana being perfect matches for one another, this is an interesting start to a new series.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-ayj/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

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.

I am always on the lookout for a new series and I loved the sound of this one.

I love love loved Georgiana and Benedict. She's smart and practical and looking for an adventure. He's charming and poor and absolutely smitten. I loved the banter between them and how Benedict not only acknowledged Georgiana's knowledge, he always let her do things for herself. There are some friends of Benedict's that I'm hoping get the next books because I am definitely here for it.

Plot wise, it was fantastic. The story wasn't just about their marriage and how to navigate society with that information; there was an entire thread about a submarine and criminals and the Georgiana and Benedict being partners in everything. Oh, and the chemistry between them was palpable.

Overall, it was a captivating story that I snuck chapters of while at work because I just couldn't get enough. I truly enjoyed this book and I'm sure it'll be one that I come back to for a pick-me-up.

**Huge thanks to St. Martin's Paperbacks for providing the arc free of charge**

3.5 stars for the first in a new series. Ben is undercover for Bow Street in Newgate trying to earn money to help his family’s finances and ends up wedding Georgie to help her not have to marry her horrible cousin. Thinking Ben would be transported, she is shocked to discover him moving about the ton and his real identity.

The two hatch a plan to marry again for the benefit of the ton and in the process fall in love and solve a mystery as well.

I enjoyed the story and the characters and look forward to future books in the series.

I received an ARC of this book to read in exchange for a fair review. This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman is the first book in her new series Bow Street Bachelors. Hoping to escape once and for all the machinations of her slimy cousin Josiah, wealthy heiress Georgiana Caversteed comes up with what she considers to be a brilliant plan. She will marry a convict from Newgate who’s about to be executed and she will be free from both her cousin and the unwanted fortune hunting suitors who have been pursuing her. Unfortunately thing begin to go wrong when the intended groom dies too soon and the substitute groom turns out to be the younger brother of an Earl who was in Newgate on an undercover mission for Bow Street and who is very much alive and likely to remain that way. Georgiana is a most excellent heroine, intelligent, loyal, kind and game for any adventure that comes her way and with Benedict Wylde she’s met her match a man who sees her and not her fortune and who adores her exactly as she is. The story is one one of adventure, mystery, danger, excellent banter and quite a bit of steam. I highly recommend reading this book and can’t wait for the next ones in the series. Medium steam. Publishing Date October 29, 2019. #NetGalley #ThisEarlofMine #KateBateman #StMartinsPress #StMartinsPaperbacks #HistoricalRomanceNovel #Bookstagram #BowStreetRomance

Georgie decides to wed a criminal so that she can keep her fortunes to herself and not have it slip to her scheming cousin. She picks a random stranger who she will never see again. Or so she thinks. A few weeks later, Georgie spots her new husband at a society event. In order to protect their secret, Georgie and Wylde pretend to be courting however there is a very clear attraction between them.
Their attraction is one part of what I adored about these characters. From their very first meeting and first kiss at Newgate prison, there is a very clear chemistry between these two. I especially liked the witty banter and the adventures they went on together. These characters work really well together and this book was everything I didn't know I wanted in a historical romance. There's action, adventure and romance all rolled into one.
This was an incredibly well-written read that I really enjoyed.

A fun, fast paced regency story. The unusual plot line first grabbed my attention, and the characters kept my attention, I loved Georgie and how modern thinking she and how she defied many stereotypes of woman of her time period. Ben was also great in how he supported Georgie and admired her instead of feeling inferior to her. Their relationship of marriage to friends to lovers them back to marriage again was fun to read about. There’s some side plots that deal with spies and evil cousins that make for your typical regency romance. There’s not a lot drama, which while I don’t usually mind a little angst, it was refreshing to see two characters honest and open with the other. Overall I enjoyed it!

Smart, fast paced and beautifully executed! I am a huge fan of the genre and this book did not disappoint me. I fell in love with the characters!!! Read it!!!

This book started with a plot I hadn’t read before. Georgiana, an extremely wealthy heiress, was in Newgate prison determined to marry a prisoner set to death. All to avoid her evil and cruel cousin before he ruined her forcing her to marry him. Benedict Wylde was working under cover of as a prisoner in order to ferret out information on a smuggling ring. He goes along with the marriage which brings us to a ball a week later when Georgie discovers the deception. Mayhem and adventure follow. Nothing too deep but fun nevertheless. Roles are flipped. Georgie runs a shipping company and is the wealthy one while Benedict is a poor former soldier trying various ways to earn money. Their romance blossoms as they work together to foil a plot against King and country. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

Personally, I love a good historical romance novel even though they tend to be very formulaic. This book has enough uniqueness to it that you don’t mind the predictability of the plot.

For one, the main female character is the one with the wealth and she’s smart. She’s a business owner, very technical minded but she’s also not a meek mouse. It was kind of refreshing to see modern womanly attributes against the romantic setting of the regency era. Secondly, the characters do get in their own way feeling-wise but not long enough that you spend most of the book annoyed they haven’t professed their love for one another.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Despite its starting premise, which initially put me off as being ridiculously farfetched, I found myself liking this story and its characters. Georgiana Caversteed meets and marries her new husband in about fifteen minutes… in Newgate Prison. Luckily for Georgie, her new spouse is an upstanding, if rakish, member of good society who has gone undercover in prison, and is actually not a convicted felon. While she starts off showing a remarkable lack of good sense for such a business savvy woman, Georgie and her husband team up to make a strong and convincing pair.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This a theme that I like reading a lot in a book, marriage of convenience. It was slow moving for both characters at the beginning and it was fun to read them fall in love. There was mystery and suspence as well throughn in there. The cover of the book is very HOT. There is not a lot of sex scenes in here but it's ok, too much would have killed the story.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

This has a lot of my favorite things in romance. It’s a marriage of convenience story which is one of my favorite tropes.

Overall, it was cute and a compelling story. It isn’t a new favorite, but I would be interested in reading more books by Kate Bateman.

I should probably be more detailed, but I don’t have much to say. The characters are interesting enough. Georgie is the 2nd skipping heiress I’ve read in the last couple of months. I liked her determination and passion for her father’s company. Benedict is nobility, but impoverished and the 2nd son. He works really hard and wants to help his brother restore their family estate. I would’ve liked more with his family especially since Georgie’s mom and sister show up a lot.

The romance was well-paced and fun to read. I liked the friendship of the guys and assume Benedict friends will be the focus of the next couple of books.

Georgiana Caversteed is tired of fortune hunters asking for her hand in marriage. She is especially done with her cousin Josiah, who has gambled and drunk his way into debt, trying to compromise her to force her into marriage. Georgiana devises a plan to marry a criminal condemned to hang so she will then be a widow and be free. That plan went south. She ends up marrying Benedict Wylde, brother to the Earl of Morcott, both of whom must work out ways to pay off their father's debt. After three years fighting Bonaparte Ben returns to London and joins the Bow Street runners to help out and he is in Newgate Prison trying to get information on a treasonous plot. They marry in Newgate. So now Georgie is still married and so not a widow. The new plan is to fake an engagement and marriage and then part ways. That wouldn't be much of a romance story if that's all that happened. Autor Kate Bateman has produced a fine plot with lots of adventure and some sexy times. I enjoyed the storyline in this book and the delightful characters Georgie and Ben as they discoveredtheir true love.

To be honest, I was a little confused, and a little bored with this story. It seemed to drag on in some places, adding unnecessary plot twists, or dialogue that really did nothing to move the story along. Even the characters became somewhat one dimensional towards the end.

I also feel it's worth mentioning that there will be some people who dislike this story from the beginning simply because of the number of things that need to be overlooked. One of the main things that really sticks out to me is the fact that despite the fact that this story is set in Regency England - where women aren't even allowed to own property - Georgie not only owns and runs her late father's entire shipping empire - but she also has a stipulation that any man that wishes to marry her must sign the equivalent of a prenup, giving away all rights to her fortune. Things like this just weren't done (nor do I think they would be legal considering the government at the time).

The characters are not without their own flaws. When we first meet Georgie, she is on her way to Newgate prison to marry a man heading for the gallows. To her, being a widow is better than being married to her cousin. Well, I mean in her defense, she plans to tell everyone her husband is alive and well - for a while anyway - however it doesn't seem to dawn on her that the moment her widow status is announced, her cousin will be right back around trying to trap her into marriage. After all, it's her money he wants, not her.

I was also a little put off by Wylde's character. Why was he considered to be a rake when we were given no indication of his indiscretions? Also, why was he sharing top secret information with a woman he barely knew, much less allowing her to come along on missions? For all he knew Georgie could have been a spy. Also, it's worth mentioning that Wylde isn't actually an Earl until the very end of the book. He is actually a mere second son until the Prince creates a new Earldom just for him after his services to his country.

However, there were just enough interesting pieces of this story that it was enjoyable enough. It doesn't stand out among the crowd of other historical romance novels on the market, but I can see where it will appeal to a lot of people more than it did to me.

All things considered, if the next books in this series manage to catch my attention the way this one did, I would give this series another chance.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

OMG, this book is everything! Absolute romantic perfection!

One of the best opening lines ever! How can you not read a book that starts like this?

"There were worse places to find a husband than Newgate Prison. Of course there were."

Written in third person alternating POV, this is a wonderfully deep and expansive romance with characters who are both irresistible to each other and to the reader. Benedict and Georgie take us along for an exciting adventure, filled with amazing historical detail and edge-of-your-seat action, and includes both their strong focal romance as well as a sweetly-developed secondary love story, both of which get the full HEA treatment by the end of the book.

Georgie is a smart, successful woman who rises to the challenges life has given her and isn't afraid to think outside the box for solutions. Ben is the exact opposite of the man she thought she was marrying, yet she couldn't resist the allure of partnering with him to investigate the situation that landed him in Newgate to begin with.

The writing style takes us right into the hearts and minds of the main characters, beautifully detailing their conflicts and triumphs, with an intelligent wit and next-level wordplay. There are many absolutely delicious layers of promise in the way the author describes Georgie's feelings, and how she reacts to Ben. Though their marriage is known only to themselves, I swooned every time Ben demonstrated his gently-possessive hold on her by privately referring to her as Mrs. Wylde, as if it were their own inside joke.

I couldn't love this book more if I had written it myself. It's a literary work of art, a joy to read from the first line to the last. This book deserves a place on every historical romance must-read list. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Georgiana, trying to escape her conniving cousin, marries an inmate of Newgate who she believes will be transported within a few days and is surprised to see him weeks later at a ball. Benedict explains that he was working undercover when she forced his hand into marriage. The story tells of how their sham of a marriage starts to become something they both want to make last. Romance is not the only thing going on in this book, it involves a kidnapping, a plot to help Napoleon escape and a secondary romance. The book is well written and entertaining. It is a good read and I would recommend it.