At this time, as I am guessing is obvious by the publication date that was literally years ago, I have decided not to review this title.

Technically, I made this decision a while ago, but was not as prompt with sending feedback as I should have been. My apologies for the delay, as well as clogging up your inbox with this very late review response.

As always, while incredibly late, I thank you for the opportunity to read and review one of your titles.

Laura

I found this a quick and easy read. I really enjoyed the romance between the main characters. This was a solid 3.5 star read for me.

Oh my gosh. I don’t think that I could love a book more than this one. In Bed with the Earl, by Christi Caldwell. I am so thunderstruck by having read this wonderfully, well written historical romantic love story. The author has out done herself.
It was my pleasure to have read this book. Everything about this love story, from the creating of the characters, the developing of a plot, the drama and the romance was flawless. These must have factors for a story has raised this book to a high level for a true readers praises. I was entranced from the beginning. The entertainment and the dueling romance between Verity and Malcolm was an absolute joy, and a pleasure to read.
I had so much fun reading the love story that I didn’t want it to end. These two where like oil and water. I laughed and giggled every time these two came together in the book. The power struggles and dominance between these two was a battle of wills. I had to keep reading to see who would be the victor.
Truthfully, I think Livivie is the one. First I want to thank the writer for writing a leading lady character with in the age range of her thirty. Now on to the story of the main couple. Verity is a woman who will not be cowed by the working force of men. She finds herself fighting the cruelty of men with the power of her pen.
She traced the sewers of London for that one story. She comes across the path of a Tosher who shows her the hidden world of the sewers. Little does Verity know that this man, Malcolm becomes the person she battles with, in intelligence, a silver tongue and similar past history. Malcolm can not believe the minx that has meticulously moved herself and her family into his life without permission figuratively and literally. Almost, Consistently on a daily basis, Verity has Malcolm ready to run for the hills.
The two find themselves in battles of will that had me laughing and enjoying their journey towards each other. The smartest one of the group has to be Livvie, Verity’s younger sister. Let’s not forget Bram, Giles and Fowler. They round out this group of so called misfits that had me up late at night, reading just one more chapter from this magnificent book. I give this book two snaps and a, Bram!
Fowler! Stop trying to intimidate the ton with a beat down. Until next time my fellow readers... read on!

In Bed with the Earl was an amazing read featuring a delightful romance between an intrepid reporter and the lost heir of an earldom.

Reporter Verity Lovelace has one last chance to save her job which means she needs to find the lost heir to the Earl of Maxwell and get an interview. When a lead sends her to the sewers of London, Verity encounters Malcom North, a tosher who she discovers is the man she's been searching for. After Verity's article of him rescuing her sends unwanted matchmaking parents to Malcom's door, the man makes a deal with Verity. Pretend to be his wife and he'll give her the real story she's after, an exclusive look at his life. But as Malcom spends more time with Verity, the attraction between them grows and threatens to consume them both.

Verity is the bastard daughter of an earl who has had little help in life. After losing both of her parents by the age of twelve, Verity has spent the last eighteen years taking care of her sister. During that time she has worked at The Londoner doing various jobs before moving up to reporter. As a woman in a male dominated field, Verity faces a lot of discrimination at her job and the gossip column is all she is allowed to write.

Malcom was kidnapped as a child and taken to St. Giles where he was forced to learn to survive. As a result of his trauma, Malcom has suppressed all memories of his early life. Not long after being taken, Malcom met a man who showed him how to be a tosher and he worked hard to carve out a decent life for himself. Malcom has severe trust issues and has a hard time being close to anyone.

Verity and Malcom's relationship gets off to an interesting start after they meet in the sewers and Malcom rescues her soon after from a nefarious man. Malcom is immediately drawn to Verity despite his initial distrust of her. The attraction between the pair is instant although they do both fight it at first. After Malcolm makes Verity a deal for her story and they begin to spend more time together, their connection quickly deepens. I really enjoyed how well the two were able to communicate with each other and I liked the time they were able to spend together while trying to fool society into thinking they were married. The chemistry between the pair is fantastic and the steamy scenes are very well done.

Overall In Bed with the Earl was a very enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, In the Dark with the Duke.

They were both robbed.

Malcom was robbed of his rightful; birthright and instead grew up in the muck in the worst part of London.
He's still there when he's "found" by reporter Verity Lovelace.
Verity had her words stolen from her. A man took credit for her righting.
Verity also has to pretend to be Malcom's wife....

I found I really liked Malcom and Verity.
Recommend.

Verity and Malcolm's story in In Bed with the Earl is different but amazingly told! I'm a fan of this authors work because she tells the story seamlessly and I love it! I highly recommend this book and many of her works! Great author, amazing plots and delightfully different characters with debth!

I had so much fun with this book!

First of all, I really enjoy well-written fake relationship stories. Add in a touch of enemies to lovers and you might as well just take all my money, because I need that book. Make sure the two man characters are both strong characters in their own right, used to calling the shots and running the show? I. Am. So. There. Add in a touch of humor? My grabby hands will suddenly have grabby hands.

This book had all of that, and more. Verity and Malcom's banter was pure gold--especially in the early days when they were at each other's throats, just about every time the two of them were on the page together I legit laughed out loud. Multiple times. And then once they started to get *really* close? Happy sigh...

The secondary characters--Verity's sister, all three of Malcom's "associates"--were just as wonderful. I had to smile every time Verity had a sit down with the two older toshers who lived with Malcom--goodness, they were all just do adorable together. And when Verity's sister gets herself involved in their relationship? Pure. Gold. Fingers crossed that she'll be in her own book when she's a little bit older...

In Bed with the Earl (though goodness, there isn't any "in bed"-ing with this earl for ages, it is worth the wait, at least, but I digress...) is the first in Ms Caldwell's new series, Lost Lords of London. I couldn't out this one down--I am so here for this series! Bring on book two :)

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

To solve a mystery that’s become the talk of the ton, no clues run too deep for willful reporter Verity Lovelace. Not even in the sewers of London. That’s precisely where she finds happily self-sufficient scavenger Malcom North, lost heir to the Earl of Maxwell. Now that Verity’s made him front-page news, what will he make of her?
An amazing story of love and intrigue. This not to be missed tale by Christi Caldwell is not to be missed.
I received an ARC of this title.

Although I'm too late with this review, I really enjoyed this story. I like Christi's style and voice and her emotional stories. This one was another of her successes.

I absolutely loved this book. The story was very well written and complex. The characters were well developed and very interesting. The story was full of drama and emotion, trial and error and hardships that had to be overcome. It's a very realistic and enthralling read that was hard to put down. I highly recommend this book.

4.5 stars. Christi Caldwell writes such deeply emotional stories, and this one is no exception. Percival Northrup, heir to the Earl of Maxwell, is kidnapped as a child. Renamed Malcom North, he grows up in the sewers of London as a "tosher," someone who scavenges the sewers for lost treasure. When he is discovered to be the new earl as an adult, everyone in Polite Society wants to know his story. Verity Lovelace, the natural born daughter of an aristocrat, is barely able to provide for her sister, her nurse, and herself from her job as a newspaper reporter. To keep her position, she bargains to get the big story of the time - the lost heir.

Caldwell's stories always portray people struggling to deal with difficult circumstances. Their loving relationship is the catalyst for a major improvement in their lives. Malcolm is clinging to the things he knows because he has no real hope for the future. He ends up caught between two worlds. The same is true for Verity. But together they conquer all. There were quite a few tears shed before the end. A lovely story written with great depth and sensitivity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for a copy of this in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love regency romances and I read them often. I started this book a couple of times and then stopped, only because the first chapter was so dark and sad. I finally sat down to read this and I loved it. I love a strong, independent and intelligent main female character and Verity Lovelace is exactly that. Malcom North is a great match to Verity. He's smart and protective of her but struggles with letting down his guard to care about those close to him.

I thought the plot was really interesting with various unexpected twists. The settings were described so vividly, especially the sewers. I was cringing as I thought of the dirty water flowing over their feet, the rats scurrying around and the smells that were so overpowering. The attraction between Malcom and Verity grew naturally while becoming so powerful. In Bed with the Earl is a sad story and I finished the book feeling so upset for what Malcom endured in his life. It's not as lighthearted as some other regency romances but it finishes in a beautiful way with so much hope for the future.

It took me a bit of time to get into this book- its was a tad dragging in my opinion at the start of the book. But once it got going it was fantastic the excitment between Malcom and Verity was something else, and Earl but a tosher- looking for treasures once upon a time. I would have never guessed it was Bertha, honestly I thought it was Fairmont- which to be honest I was kind of right. But Bertha was a complete surprise!
This is the first time reading a book by this author, but I will look for more titles by her.

Guest Review by Amy Compton
Pretend relationship tropes are one of my favorites. I love that moment when the relationship no longer feels pretend for the characters but begins to feel like something very real. I love all the confusing feelings and blurred lines when characters unexpectedly fall in love. All the questions they ponder. What’s real and what’s fake. Was their heart involved or was it all pretend. It makes for a deliciously painful slow burn when two people who thought they’d never needed anyone else find they can’t live without each other.
Someone is stealing the words of Londoner reporter Verity Lovelace. And in turn they’re stealing her livelihood. Money that could keep her and her sister safe and secure, and provided for. Verity was the first to break the story of the lost heir to the Earl of Maxwell. And now someone was ripping it off from her. With her job on the line, Verity agrees to find the new earl. Her employment depends on it. Find the earl and reveal a story all the world has been waiting for.
Robbed of his title, Malcom North, Earl of Maxwell, has lived a life very different from the one that was planned for him. Rather than walking amongst the peerage, he’s been walking under them. Making his living by combing the sewers. With no memories of his past, his life before was a mystery and he preferred it that way. There was no place in his life for friends or family. Those attachments marked weakness. He certainly had no interest in claiming a fortune he didn’t build from a family he didn’t remember. But thanks to Verity Lovelace, he had little choice. “She had single-handedly slain his previously safe existence.” Now he dealt with fortune hunters seeking to marry off their daughters. But the woman who’d made him a mark among the peerage could be his path to freedom. And so a pact was forged. A “pretend” marriage to him in exchange for his story.
You can’t help but fall in love with Verity and North. Both had been forced to navigate the world alone much too soon. Both had survived life’s ugliness and depravity. When there’d been none to save them,they’d saved themselves.
North was content living in a miserable world others would sell their souls to escape. That life was his own. All he knew. His previous life was just a throbbing echo in his head. The life he knew in the sewers was more safe and comfortable than this new life he’d been thrown into. Sharing his story with Verity was especially uncomfortable. Bringing up painful memories and feelings was surely a sign of weakness. He’d made its through life without those connections.
Verity was a force to be reckoned with. Prideful, spirited, stubborn, and brave. She’d supported herself, her sister, and their nursemaid since her youth. She was loyal to those she loved and would do anything to keep them safe. In a world where women had little control, she’d fought for every opportunity to better their lives. Yet even though her family’s future relied on her getting North’s story, she knew his need for privacy was just as important to him as her need for survival was to her.
For all his hard edges and gruffness, Verity saw that deep down North was a genuinely honorable man. And though Verity challenged him at every turn, North admired her and was fascinated by her. There was a mystifying pull between them neither could explain or resist. The interview sessions for his “story” became less about Verity’s article and more about a need to know more about each other. Verity never forced North to speak. She shared stories of herself, helping him to understand why he clung to the life he’d made. That gave him the strength to share. There came an ease to accepting his past and those memories. And so the memories, though still painful at times, became freeing.
I loved watching friendship and trust form between these two characters. Their love was born in that time of sharing and assurance. North discovered he could depend on others and care for them. That didn’t make him weak. Verity discovered she could rely on someone else and still have control of her life.
Christi Caldwell has proven yet again that she is the master of storytelling. Another beautiful and deeply emotional historical romance. The relationship between Verity and North was such a tender one. In spite of the hard lives they’d had, they were eventually able to trust in each other. And in so doing, they both had a second chance at the life they so richly deserved. This story is filled with historical imagery, emotion, betrayal, and passion. What a fabulous start to a new series! I can’t wait to see what’s next. I’m hoping for more of Giles and Livvie. If you love a complex plot, authentic dialogue, a beautiful love story, and characters that work their way into your heart, you don’t want to miss out on this series.

From Goodreads:
Christi Caldwell, USA TODAY bestselling author of the Wicked Wallflowers series, combs London’s underground and finds romance and danger for a missing lord and the lady who loves him.

To solve a mystery that’s become the talk of the ton, no clues run too deep for willful reporter Verity Lovelace. Not even in the sewers of London. That’s precisely where she finds happily self-sufficient scavenger Malcom North, lost heir to the Earl of Maxwell. Now that Verity’s made him front-page news, what will he make of her?

Kidnapped as a child, with no memories of his well-heeled past, Malcom prefers the grimy spoils of the culverts to the gilded riches of society. Damn the feisty beauty who exposed the contented tosher to a parade of fortune-hunting matchmakers. How to keep them at bay? Verity must pretend to be his wife. She owes him.

The intimacy of this necessary arrangement—Verity and Malcom thrust together in close quarters—soon sparks an irresistible heat. But when the charade ends, the danger begins. Will love be enough to protect them from a treacherous plot devised to ruin them?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My Thoughts: I found myself enjoying this book enough that I devoured it in one setting, always a good sign of a fun and good read! The heroine demonstrates the fine line between courageous and brave and stubborn and desperate...and the risks one is willing to take for family and those we love. Our hero, as we learned in the previous book, has both some shady, unscrupulous family members, and some that are innocent of a series of wrongdoings against him as a child, leading to his making a living, a rather good living, as a scavenger. He's stubborn, sometimes cruel, friendless (in his mind), and still living like he's desperate and not comfortable in terms of money and access to the necessities. Together they come together and end up finding a way to help each other out...security for Verity and a sense of belonging and security for Malcom as well. Verity helps him see that it is not him against the world, no matter how he tries to frame it, and that actions have repercussions internally and externally. I loved how it all came together at the end, how they work through personal and external challenges, and ultimately determine that life is better surrounded by other people that care about you, and vice versa.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Montlake Romance for the opportunity to read this advance copy!

This was an amazing start to a series. Loved the main characters as much as the setting. It was a story that keeps you turning the pages.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

This was at some points really hard to read as there was so much emotion behind the scenes of these two characters. Both Malcom and Verity had rough backgrounds and at different points in their life dealt with poverty. How they dealt with this adversity was different and maybe because Verity knew that she was loved and worked hard to protect her younger sister while Malcom didn't have family and did not consider his friends anything more than co-workers.

Malcom was so hard and uncaring that you really were not sure that he could come to care for Verity. While Verity was so accepting of Malcom's bad of misfit friends! I was happy to see that Verity came to realize that getting the story on the "Lost Earl" was not as important as she thought and actually cared about what was going to be printed about Malcom.

An attack against Verity came from a surprising person and was brought on by a very unexpected betrayal that was kind of shocking!

The ending was great and wrapped up some things and made for a great HEA!!

I really liked this book. The author has written a story that caught you in from the beginning and that particularly kept me reading every chance I had free.
Verity and Malcolm are strong, determined people who have survived and struggled to move forward despite the problems and injustices they face. After being robbed of his family and everything that was rightfully his, Malcolm grows up in the sewers and forms a kingdom where his word is obeyed at all time or suffer consequences, but when someone discovers that he is an earl and the rightful heir to the title his life changes radically, not only because he doesn't want that noble life, but also because in his quest to keep her job as a reporter, Verity will go down into the sewers in search of the count and his story, and that's when Malcolm and Verity's paths will cross changing their life’s forever.
With a very well elaborated and sustained story the author takes us through the life of these characters, their sorrows and misfortunes where we will witness the injustices and betrayals, but also the friendship and love that they will live through the book.
I have enjoyed reading and I am looking forward to reading the next part of this series. I hope we have Livvie's book because I think she is a beautiful character who deserves her own story.
4.5/5 stars

I received an ARC from NetGalley on exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #InBedWithTheEarl

Verity, an illegitimate daughter of an earl has taken care of her little sister for almost 20 years and when she loses her job she desperately goes into the sewers of London to find the lost Earl. But he finds her instead and saves her. He wants to be left alone, she wants his story so she can get her job back. But things backfire for Verity and she not only angers Malcom the earl but also piques his interest. As she entwined herself into his life it seems he dislikes her but there is a fine line between love and hate and the tightrope they walk is dangerous but oh so tantalizing. Voluntary review of complimentary copy.

One was born to privilege but raised in the sewers to look out for number one. The other was conceived out of wedlock but raised to see the value in family. They have more in common than what’s on the surface and it was a joy to watch them discover new pieces of themselves.
Malcom’s tragic backstory shaped who became on so many levels. He did his level best to convince himself that no one mattered to him but himself. That’s the way it had to be for “tophers”, sewer treasure hunters. I know the stories of London during the Regency era and it wasn’t pretty. Even the pretty parts of London carried the stench and grit of those who survived in the London underground. Malcom was one of the lucky ones. I had hope for his future when he showed some backbone, even as a young man, early in the book. It foreshadowed how his personality would develop for the good and the stubborn.
Verity Lovelace is an honestly refreshing female lead. She doesn’t play games and try to make the reader, or Malcom for that matter, guess at what she’s thinking. She just says it. She doesn’t accept that as a female that she doesn’t have a place in a man’s world. If this were a true story, she would have been a source of pride for the early feminist movement. Not because she tried to make Malcom less of man, just that she wasn’t afraid to fight for her position and value as a working and intelligent woman. The story rings true in that her fight would not have been a popular one during the Regency era. I can say with complete honesty that I never saw the twist towards the end. It made me a little sad but just added to the layers of the story.
Speaking of Regency romance era books, I had to smile when three patronesses of London society made a cameo. I’ve loved this romance era for as long as I can remember and these three ladies never failed to make an appearance in those first books that whet my appetite for London’s Lords and Ladies. That was a fun little surprise!
In Bed with the Earl has some fantastic intrigue sprinkled throughout the story. As Malcom begins to recall memories long pushed down, I could see him developing and becoming who he was meant to be but still holding tight to the man who created a family from the sewers. Those men who he rescued and kept close were terrific secondary characters.
This was a wonderful first book in a new series. I look forward to reading more by Ms. Caldwell. Her writing voice is easy to follow and the story feels complete.