Another plot based around a masquerade and cases of mistaken identity/ deception. Lucas, Earl of Kendall must marry, and he is ready to, but his heart says away from the husband hunting debutantes and their mamas who see the title and fortune above all else. On a drunken evening, three friends decide to pose as servants in the household, including Lucas who poses as a footman. His friends pose as a Valet and a groom respectively.

While he is at this house party he is also trying to influence his peers to vote for a bill his deceased brother had asked him to champion.

Frances is the oldest daughter of a gambling man, her mother is determined to marry her off to a rich older man to save the family, Frances despises the man who is pursuing her, and is much more interested in her reforming political views, and how she can promote and champion the causes she believes in.

She find herself more and more intrigued by the handsome doorman who always seems to be in the library at the same time she is, and before you know it, one thing has led to another...

When Frances finds out the bill she has been trying to sabotage is being proposed by the Earl of Kendall, aka Lucas the footman, she feels doubly betrayed.

Can Lucas explain himself to Frances, can they reconcile their differing political views and live happily ever after?

I loved the banter between the men in this book and the feisty Frances. A very enjoyable read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

Lucas Drake is now the Earl of Kendall after his brother unexpectedly passes away. Lucas is tired of every eligible female along with their mother's trying to snag him. He just wants to marry for love and comes up with a plan while drinking with his best friends.....pretend he is a servant at his friend, Clayton's summer house party. This way he can secretly watch the females and see if there could be any possible connections.

The last thing that Miss Frances Wharton wants to do is get married....especially to the pompous idiot her mother has picked out for her. Frances would much rather fight for the poor and she is determined to speak to the Earl of Kendall regarding his dumb Employment Bill that hurts the poor and only helps the landowners. When Frances gets invited to Viscount Clayton's summer party she believes she will finally be able to speak to the Earl of Kendall.

Upon Frances arrival, she is taken by the footman, Lucas, who helps with her things. All throughout the week, Frances finds herself drawn to Lucas and wishes she were a servant so she would be free to be with him. Little does she know, but the Earl is smitten with her too! Just when it looks like Lucas and Frances are going to get their happy ending, everything comes crashing down. It will take a huge leap of faith by both Lucas and Frances to find their happiness but when they finally both jump in, it will all be worth it!

I just adored this story. I loved the premise of the entire series and can't wait to read all the other books. I really loved Frances. She was such a head strong female who knew what she wanted in life. I really enjoyed Lucas too. I loved how he started to realize what the life a servant really meant. It was fun watching these two fall in love and I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

I picked this book up since I was looking to dip my toe into historical fiction romance and the plot for this intrigued me; needless to say I was not disappointed. It was a quick read that had a cute premise behind it and so I gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. It was a more tame and wholesome plotline I think, nothing too drastic happened.

The plot was intriguing, with an Earl trying to find a woman who actually interested more in love than in his title and money. Of course the first woman he runs into is Frances and he can't help but be amused by her at first with her trying to avoid Sir Reginald at all costs. From there, their love story began with stolen moments in the library.

The plot was also straightforward, there was no big twist (other than Lucas being an Earl but we knew that from the start) and any issue that arose was quickly solved. I don't know if that is normal for historical romances or not but I like there to more of a twist in the books I read.

<spoiler>

I found myself laughing at certain parts of the book, especially when Lucas Kendall revealed that he was indeed the Earl and not a footmen. The only one who seemed to notice other than Frances was the Prince, was commented that he was wondering why the Earl was serving him soup.

</spoiler>

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was a nice quick read and refreshing after the last book finished reading. I recommend this book for anyone who likes historical romance and is looking for a fast paced book with some funny moments. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Loooved this book. Usually it's the ladies going undercover as maids or governesses.. This turned that trope on its head and did it well. The friendship between the male characters was refreshing and genuine. The main character is strong and doesn't back down from her ideals. The plot with employment law was interesting and not something that comes up in romance books a lot. Can't wait to read more in this series..

This characters in this book have great chemistry!
Loved the setting and all the historical aspects.
I’ve read a lot by Valerie Bowman and wasn’t disappointed.
I look forward to reading more by her!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book is so unique and fun to read! I've never read a historical romance with this plot before and the author truly did an excellent job of giving what I wanted from this book. It is both light-hearted and full of emotions. I'm rooting for both the main characters throughout the whole book and they're so much fun to read. I really liked everything in this book and I would like to read more from about series and from the author. Aside from Tessa Dare, Valerie Bowman will be another historical romance author I'll be watching out for future releases.

Lucas Drake, Earl of Kendall, is fed up with simpering debutantes and their moneygrubbing mamas. For a bet with his aristocrat friends, he disguises himself as a footman in order to observe how ladies behave towards the help. He encounters the opinionated Frances Wharton at a house party thrown by one of his friends and is faced with the dilemma of keeping up pretenses as he finds himself captivated by this unconventional woman.

“The Footman and I” is your typical aloof-aristocrat-meets-fiery-female, but I liked the chemistry between the main characters. I also liked that the racy parts were in the latter half of the book. I enjoyed the story enough to want to read the rest of the series.

So we have an Earl masquerading as a footman to find true love, and a woman who is obsessed with trying to disprove the Bill he's trying to pass. There is a lot of lies and guilt and you need a healthy suspension of disbelief but I actually quite enjoyed this one.

It's a quick read and a bit of a romp. There are a lot of clandestine meetings in the library but only one proper sex scene at the very end so it seemed a lot less steamy than your average historical romance, perfect for people looking for a cleaner romance book.

I did enjoy the banter between the men, you could really get a feel for their friendship. I'm also very intrigued about the sequels and how their future relationships with their respective ladies plays out.

Bowman has a very easy and fun writing style that made this a quick read. Overall I did quite enjoy it and I'd definitely recommend for historical fans looking for a more light hearted read.

Many thanks to Xpresso Book Tours and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review. This book and it's two sequels is out now!

The Footman and I was such an adorable read! The Earl of Kendall is society's most desirable bachelor, and he's determined to find a wife with good character. He hatches a half-baked plan to pose as a footman at his friend's party in the country. That's when he meets Miss Frances Wharton, who would much rather talk about politics than pursue the awful man her parents are determined for her to marry. Her passion is fighting the Employment Bill, new legislation that the Earl himself is sponsoring that would hurting the working class. While the reasons why Frances and the Earl are both so passionate about the Employment Bill feel flimsy, it's nonetheless entertaining to watch them debate a real issue—especially when the Earl's own position as a temporary footman gives him new perspective on classism in English society. I enjoyed watching how quickly his plan falls apart when he develops a genuine connection with Frances, who has no idea he's not just a handsome servant. Author Valerie Bowman doesn't sweep away the icky ethical issues of the Earl courting Frances's affection under false pretenses, which gives this trope a satisfying conclusion.

The story told in Valerie Bowman's The Footman And I is a great foray into almost upstairs / downstairs romance.
The friendship turned romance that blooms between Lucas and Frances becomes so real that you almost don't want Lucas to be the Earl of Kendall. Even though you know that is the only way that the conundrums of Frances' unwanted marriage and Kendell's need to find a wife will be solved.
Truthfully...
One gets so invested in Kendall as Lucas; that any time within the story that he spends as Kendall seems the real charade.
Emily is a very smart, compassionate, and socially conscious young woman. Lucas is loyal, forthright, and responsible. Which makes one wonder what their future children will be like.

If there is one detractor from this wonderful tale. It is that Frances and Lucas seem a tad too suited to each other from the very start.
Even though there is an attempt by Miss Bowman to throw a bit of a monkeywrench into thinks by way of Frances' besotted lady's maid.
It is quite clear however that the infatuation is nothing more than the very loud ringing of a very hollow bell.

In short...
The Footman And I is a very good first offering in the Footman's Club series. And a quite refreshing
take on the quest to marry for love in the aristocracy.
You go boys!

Fortune hunting mama’s are forever throwing their daughters at the Earl of Kendall. How is Lucas supposed to know which one with love him for who he is not how much money he has. One night he and his friends make a drunken bet, they will all go to a friend’s sumer house party and pretend to be servants. This way they can check out the eligible ladies and see who is a nice person, and who is just putting on a show to marry into money.

Miss Francis Wharton doesn’t want to marry. She is content how she is but her parents have other ideas. They make Francis attend a summer house party to meet eligible bachelors because the family is in need to a wealthy husband for Francis that can take financial care of them all. As Francis does her best to avoid the eligible bachelors she strikes up a friendship one of the footman. They definitely have chemistry but her parents will never allow her to marry a footman. How does Lucas tell Francis he is really an Earl? Will she ever forgive him when he does?

Although very unbelievable, this is a sweet romance. I particularly enjoyed the interaction between Lucas and his friends. I look forward to the other books in the series about the friends adventures .

I have a soft spot for romances where the hero is in disguise when they meet their heroine. Not sure what calls to me, but each time I read a romance with that conflict, I adore it. The great part is this - it is just the first of a three-book series with the same premise! This book is an earl disguised as a footman, the next is the duke disguised as a groomsman, and the last is a marquess disguised as a valet. The whole series is like catnip to me! These days, we all make assumptions based on a person's status and wealth in society, and it often leads to not really knowing who the person is beneath all the trappings. I think we'd all wish sometimes to be in disguise and see how we're treated differently, as I imagine it would open our eyes to another world.

Lucas Drake, the Earl of Kendall, is not about to get his heart broken again. After being thrown over while away at war by his title-hungry fiance, he is determined that his wife will be someone who will look past his wealth and see him for who he is. Upon announcing he will be in disguise at a house party dressed as a footman, to scope out the young ladies for the next season, his friends decide to do the same. Soon they are each disguised as a servant, Lucas taking the role of footman, and he quickly meets a woman unlike any other he has met before. Miss Frances Wharton knows she must make a good match to satisfy her mother, as their finances have been run almost dry by their gambling father. However, she would rather not marry at all, if she can't marry for love. Upon meeting Lucas, she is immediately intrigued, and as they spend more time together, she realizes she is falling for him. A footman and a lady could never make it work...unless the footman was not really a footman.

I loved this couple so much, particularly Frances! She was such a breath of fresh air for this time period, no wonder Lucas fell in love with her. She was friendly to servants, had a good relationship with her sister, and cared not a whit for titles. Frances also was greatly invested in politics, which was unusual then, and her views didn't align with Lucas'...at first. Although she was a bit over-the-top at times with her reaction to Lord Kendall, a man she had never met, based on his vote for the Employment Bill, it was understandable given her experiences. Which made the deception Lucas carried out so nail-bitingly tense, as you know as a reader that eventually she will figure it out. Lucas was a sweetheart, clearly, and although deception isn't something I generally encourage, I don't blame him for what he did. His reactions to Frances were heartfelt, and you could tell it was harder each day for him to lie to her. In addition to the couple, I liked some of the secondary characters as well, particularly the housekeeper in the beginning, for putting up with the shenanigans. It was fun to see how the servants reacted to having nobility among them for a short time.

Great couple, warm romance, and it whet my appetite for the next book in the series. I can't wait to read about the duke and his lady!

This was a 4 star book for me. As someone who is an avid reader of historical romance, especially Regency romance, the plot was unique and immediately caught my attention.

This is the first book in the series and I cannot wait for the other books !Lucas and two of his friends, all titled aristocrats, agree to a bet as to who can attend a house party disguised as servants and succeed the longest without being recognized. Even the servants of the house agree to train them and go along with it. They believe that the upper class guests will never recognize them because whoever truly looks at a servant? The secondary characters add a great deal to this story. The two other gentlemen who will appear in the second and third books in this series are well introduced and the friendship between the men is strong and entertaining.

I completely enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series by Valerie Bowman. I would recommend this book for its unique plot, strong heroine, witty banter between the H and h, as well as the friendship between the friends of the Footman's Club.

This is my first book I have read by this author. I enjoyed this book. The main characters were enjoyable. I liked their relationship and I will continue to read books by this author.

Will she be able to see past his errors ...

I confess I happened to see this book’s release but with so many books I promised to review, I am sometimes limited to add some to my already overwhelming list.
Then the opportunity came, and I do not regret my reading. I loved every minutes of my time spent with Frances and Lucas.
Lucas is no the classic haughty and full of himself peer. He is caring and kind, so much he took the mantle of his late brother because he asked it of him. Since he did not questioned the rightness of it, it was his brother’s legacy, so he must do it justice.
Yet under Frances’ influence, he will open his eyes on the wrongness of his project. And realize how stuffy and arse like his fellow noblemen are.
Frances has set her sight on the battle she wants to fight for, she sees the wrongness of some laws, why she is willing to try to make others understand it. Yet, she has her family’s future to think about too, and with it comes a suitor she would prefer to avoid at all cost. Why she plays with fire when she begins a friendship with a footman, whatever how handsome, clever and intriguing he might be. She knows she has entered a dangerous game, but for once, she feels she is understood, someone is listening to her without thinking she’s rambling.

But their relationship began under a lie, so how can they extricate themselves from this predicament without shattering their frail trust. Lucas entered her life under assumption he was someone else, but will his sin be too unforgivable to let her greatest chance at love pass.
5 stars

I was granted a free copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

4.5 Stars! This book is fun, witty, entertaining, and heartfelt. Whenever I picked up "The Footman and I", I was whisked back in time to the Regency Era, and could not put this book down!

This is the first book in Valerie Bowman's "The Footmen's Club" series, and I can't wait to read the next two, and I hope there will be more! She truly knows how to bring a story to life where every aspect jumps right off of the page! Her characters all feel like such incredibly real people, and each has a distinct personality that is so well-written. Their wants, fears, and desires are brilliantly thought-out, and I could feel their emotions as the story progressed.

Frances is such a strong, passionate, determined, and kind woman who wants to do what is right. She hopes to be able to follow her heart and dreams, and simply be herself, but when she finds out something absolutely heartbreaking (no spoilers), she must make a very difficult decision whether to help her family, or listen to her heart. However, she does not yet know everything going on.

Lucas is such a fun, kind, caring, and also passionate man. He has been heartbroken in the past, and wishes only to find a woman who loves him for himself...one who does not pretend to because of his noble title. Simply wanting to find out how those around him treat him without knowing who he really is, Lucas could never imagine that playing a footman would lead to what happens next.

(possible spoilers!)
I found myself rooting for Lucas and Frances from the very start. They truly bring out the best in one another, challenge each other, and really, really listen to what one another has to say. They have an instant chemistry, and watching them fall in love was absolutely beautiful.

Also, I love that Frances reads Shakespeare!!

Being very honest (and nit picky), the last scene of the book felt a little bit out of place for me. I also felt like the dialogue in the first scene seemed a bit too modern for when the book takes place, (but I did not feel this way about any other part of the story!). However, even with both of these things said, neither took away from my enjoyment of the book in any way.

If you enjoy historical romance, I highly recommend this book! I could not wait to see what happened page after page, chapter after chapter, and was so drawn into the story from the very first page. I hope we see many of these characters in the next books in the series!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and June Third Enterprises for the review copy of this book, I so enjoyed it! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks, Netgalley and June Third Enterprises, for providing me an e-arc for my honest review. #TheFootmanandI #NetGalley.
I love a well-hidden identity trope, especially when it means Privileged class members have to masquerade as members of the lower class.
The Footman and I was a quick, uncomplicated read for me, which I was in the mood for when I read the book. Overall I enjoyed Lucas and Frances's journey towards romance. I was surprised at how much time they spent together, given that technically Lucas was a servant, and Frances was not. Lucas was my favorite of the two from the beginning simply for wanting to go "undercover" to find a wife who wanted him as a person and not for his title and money. I love a historical hero that can admit he wants something real in his marriage. When it came to change, Lucas didn't always assume that he was right or that he always knew what was best. I enjoyed the fact that the hero and heroine met every day so that we get to observe a budding relationship, but something felt off about the pacing and the setting.
The time spent at the beginning with the witty male banter set up expectations for a certain level of well-rounded, rich characterizations that was not satisfied even though the writing IS good.
The secondary characters add a great deal to this story.

This was my first book by this author and I will be checking out more of her books.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a bit different then other Regency books and I liked how the author also added the political and social standing of the different classes to this story. Both main characters are very likable and felt real.

The antics of the characters made me laugh and I can’t wait to read the other books in this series.

Lucas Drake, the fifth Earl of Kendall, was posing as a footman. I must admit that at first, I thought he was a jerk. He was always berating himself. Wondering what Francis thought. Admittedly, he should care but to keep going on about it then he should have just told her. His oldest brother had died a year ago and he never thought he would be an earl.
Miss Francis Wharton, she didn't like Sir Reginald Francis and he was going to the Clayton's house party next week. Her sister hadn't come out yet so she couldn't go. Her mother kept pushing Sir Reginald at her. Her father had lost all their money and now they were destitute.
Lucas was going to play-act that he was a footman. Clayton had uniforms made for them with wigs. The housekeeper worked with them so they would know what to do. Could they do it? would they succeed? I enjoyed the story and the way Lucas and Francis met every day in the Library to discuss the Employment Act. They talked about things that meant so much to them. Even though she was a baron's daughter and he a lowly footman. I thought the author's writing was wonderful. The characters were engaging, humorous, and definitely handsome. It was smooth reading and you could not put it down. I highly recommend it.
I received this ARC from the Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I wasn’t so sure about this book in the beginning. It took a long time for it to pick up and for me to get into the story. I wanted to originally read this story because of the synopsis. Three noblemen make a bet, pretending to be servants and whomever is discovered loses the bet. This first book focuses on Lucas, Earl of Kendall and Miss Frances Wharton. All of the characters are at a house party, with a few surprises. Frances is close to being formally engaged to a Sir Reginald Francis who thinks way too much of himself. She is into politics, knows her own mind and isn’t your average miss.

I always enjoy books where there is a secret to be revealed. Lucas is pretending to be a footman in front of all these people that should recognize him but it seems nobility really don’t pay much attention to servants. I liked how this secret was revealed and how it slowly unraveled.

The romance was sweet and fun. Two individuals who are incredibly different but also can communicate on the same level, maybe with some extra work needed. Lucas wanted to find a wife who could love him for him and not his title or wealth. They had some bumps in the road but made it in the end. They are a very nice pair.

This book wasn’t very consistent with the pace and keeping my interest but I did enjoy it by the last third of the book. I will definitely consider reading the next book.