"Courting the Countess" is the sweet story of the Duke of Pemberton's daughter, Lady Elizabeth, embarking on a forced marriage with Richard Barrett, Lord Averston.

While one originally wonders how Elizabeth becomes enamored with Tristan Barrett, a known libertine, it quickly becomes apparent she's merely looking for love and happiness in the face of her stepmother's physical and emotional abuse. However, Lady Elizabeth is a truly lovely person.

Likewise, Lord Averston adopted a stern and serious demeanor in response to his mother's faithlessness. Predictably, misunderstandings abound. Thankfully, there is a HEA, albeit hard-earned.

Elizabeth's insistence on hiring servants from the petty criminal and now REFORMED population is refreshing. I do wish, however, that Elizabeth's lifelong tormentor was punished.

As always, Hatch's prose is lovely and the book is clean. The Regency period is faithfully adhered to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for a copy of this charming novel.

Lady Elizabeth has suffered the abuse of her mother and appears to be keen to leave the family home. All she wants is to be loved, so when Tristan Barrett, a notorious rake shows her some attention, she is instantly smitten. However, when they are found in a compromising situation, her father, the Duke of Pemberton, will only allow Tristan’s older brother, Richard, the Earl of Averston as a suitable husband.
Richard finds himself in a difficult situation as he has ‘almost’ promised himself to another woman, a childhood friend. However, in trying to avoid a duel between his brother and Elizabeth’s brother, he feels that there is no other way around the marriage. So they eventually marry but find themselves avoiding any romantic entanglement as Richard fears his wife still loves Tristan whilst Elizabeth believes her husband, loves another. Yet, could they eventually come to love each other.
This was a sweet clean romance and whilst enjoyable, I found myself in constant disbelief about the situation between Richard and Elizabeth. At times, I couldn’t quite understand why Richard admired Elizabeth when she seemed a bit spineless. However, she did blossom in her marriage and the intricacies of their marriage was interesting.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.