I just finished the new Stacy Reid ARC "When the Duke Met His Match" and it was excellent. As much as I love all the books I've read by her, I feel her most recent few have been a level up.

It's hard to give too many details on this one without spoiling it, but I'll sketch the basic beginning. Phoebe is the daughter of a controlling duke, set to marry her off to an old man for political reasons. Hugh is heir to an Earl who grew up fairly isolated in the Scottish countryside. Hugh advertises for a wife in the London paper, Phoebe responds sassily to criticize his wife hunting methods, and they begin a correspondence. When Phoebe is forced to flee England and her terrible betrothal, she goes to ask Hugh for protection through a marriage of convenience.

And then they lived Happily Ever After. Ha! Of course it's not that easy, but it's worth the journey. Any more plot details may spoil too much. Here are some things I particularly liked, without giving too much away:

Except for one dumb decision that landed her in a mess that sends her to Hugh, Phoebe is quite level headed, loyal, loving and open and honest with everyone. She's easy to like and to love. She even wins over her grumpy father-in-law quite handily.

Hugh's disability of muteness plays a really interesting part in their story. It becomes an obstacle they have to work around in the beginning in order to effectively communicate. And then when Phoebe learns to sign, it becomes a strong bond that links them.

Hugh is an interesting mix of a typical alpha hero, who doesn't understand what these weird things called feelings mean ("a bacon-headed buffoon" as Reid writes 😂) and a more "cinnamon roll" type in the way he cares and respects Phoebe immensely from the beginning. It's interesting to see both sides existing in one hero, but it worked for me.

Some things I didn't loooove:

Their dog Wolf played a great role bringing them together in the beginning. But he sort of dropped out of the story about ¾ of the way through. Like ceased to exist.

There were several minor inconsistencies, that I hope will be fixed before the release date. They didn't detract from my overall love of the story, but it just didn't feel as closely edited yet I usually expect.

Overall, this was a great story: sweet and tender, hot and steamy, with really interesting family and social dynamics at play.

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

I devoured this book in one sitting! I love Stacy Reid stories! Her characters are always a treat to discover and learn about. Slowly peeling at their backstories, pulling you in emotionally.

When the Earl Meets his Match we are introduced to Hugh and Phoebe’s story. They meet via letters, Phoebe answering an ad that Hugh has posted for a wife. She was scandalized to read it and decides to write to tell him so. She is the daughter of a powerful titled family. But even though with such a background, she wasn’t dry or boring. She wasn’t completely spunky, but more soft and sentimental- which I found I totally adored in this story.

Phoebe soon finds Herself in dire need to escape. She is compromised, and out of fear and desperation she decides to once again write to Hugh and offer to be his wife. She even goes as far as not waiting for his answer, but shows up at his estate, not knowing the he also is from a much wealthier, titled family.

Hugh Winthrop, the future Earl of Albury, is looking for a wife from a respectable titled family. Having been deserted by his mother at a young age, he has been thought by his father to marry for convenience, and never fall in love. There are rumors that he and his siblings are bastards, but the Earl of Albury is confident that with their wealth and a proper wife at his side, Hugh will be received by the Ton. After all, they have so much money that they can buy their interest. We also discover that Hugh is mute. This poses an additional challenge.

At first Hugh is not sure what to do with Phoebe, and she realizes that she may have made a big mistake, especially after finding out the family he is from. Such a powerful family will not accept her, protect her. But she is pleasantly surprised by Hugh who is gentle and so tender from the start. They little by little discover each other and while vowing not to fall in love, try their hardest to remain unaffected.

I enjoyed how devoted Phoebe was to Hugh. The investment that she made to learn sign language so that she can communicate with him. I loved the relationship that she had with the Earl of Albury, Hughs father. Even though he was such a grumpy guy he showed more love and acceptance than what she may have ever received from her parents. It was really sweet.

This was a sweet story. Their chemistry was just right and some of the details that Hugh had with Phoebe just made you grin like a fool or sigh out loud.

Every time I read one of Stacy Reid's books, I am awestruck at her talent for writing such wonderful stories. It's no wonder this author is a "must read" for me!!

I so loved Hugh and Phoebe's story, it's so full of passion and emotional angst, with a hero who has a disability and is distrustful of love and a heroine who will stop at nothing to make him change his mind. Beautifully written with a very touching storyline. Love doesn't have to hurt if you just let it into your heart.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I received an e-galley from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been such a long time since I read a historical romance and I really enjoyed reading When the Earl Met His Match as my return to the genre. In this story, Phoebe and Hugh find that they both need a marriage of convenience but they soon find that perhaps love can be born of such a marriage. I really enjoyed watching both of these characters grow and I think this is the first time in a historical romance that the hero is mute. I really liked this element of the character as it was another layer of the ways that Hugh and Phoebe had to learn to communicate with one another. I’m definitely going to want to bring more historical romances back into my reading.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the e-galley!

Stacy Reid did it again!
An amazing second chance at love masterpiece, complete with a wonderful husband and lover.

Where the Earl Met His Match is a beautiful story of hope and love. Reid takes you on a wondrous journey from start to finish.

I would be delighted to read more of her works.

Swoon worthy and so so sweet! I absolutely loved this book! It features a love interest with a disability and I absolutely appreciated that. The story is so much fun and I absolutely devoured it. I love how strong and courageous Phoebe (our protagonist) is and how funny she is. Hugh is a very caring and sweet guy ( who can be a bit of an idiot when it comes to love but hey, we love him nonetheless). The romance and chemistry between these two is absolutely palpable. I loved reading about how they take care of each other and all the little things they did for each other. I loved seeing Phoebe win over Hugh’s father and how she is very blunt about her feelings. The story was great and I can’t wait to read more from this author! Seriously, this is a great read for romance lovers and I highly recommend it.

* Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

I'm a sucker for a "two damaged people finding love in a hopeless place" trope and this one delivers, slightly less sexy times than what I'm used to with this author but that's pregnancy for you. A pleasant read