This book was really sweet one. I just needed little historical romance. And here it was. I love this author and her writting. All in all a good book.
Four stars for me.

This novel was so much fun. Prior to watching Bridgerton, I shied away from Regency romance, preferring contemporary. But, I picked this one up for the Bridgerton feel, and was definitely not disappointed. In addition to the romance, there was some intrigue and a bit of mystery to unravel. A fun romp of a book!

I learned some things about Regency society and people of color who lived in that era. I also learned of the horrible impact of Bedlam admissions to make uncomfortable situations go away. Other than that I couldn't muster much enthusiasm for 'An Earl, the Girl and a Toddler'. Although I felt educated, I did not feel engaged. I didn't read the first in the series, and I doubt I will read more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was a sweet read, the characters were well built but the story was somewhat anticlimactic for me. I enjoyed the build up and the small plot twists, but I was expecting/hoping for more. The little back story hints and historical references to people of color during the times was great, I enjoying learning new historical facts.

I have been looking forward to reading this book since I read the first in the series and have been really excited to read it and it did not disappoint.

Jemina St. Maur’s story is an interesting one and this book really does have you second-guessing things along the way. Jemina lost her memory in a shipwreck, along with her husband, and was sent to an insane asylum by her late husband’s family. She does not know anything that happened before the accident but she does know that Daniel Thackery, the barrister who saved her and continues to help her and The Widow’s Grace, is handsome and he makes her feel things. Daniel’s story is also twisted and as things are revealed about the two of them everything becomes more and more complicated and so much more interesting.

Overall, I loved the book and the characters, it was a refreshing twist on the classic regency romance. There were a few twists I did not see coming, but in hindsight make sense, the best kinds of twists. The characters were lovable and offered insight into what it must feel to be an outsider in society. It was an adorable read and satisfied my need to learn more about Jemina after reading A Duke, the Lady and a Baby.

Thank you for the opportunity to review!

This is the second book in the Rogues and Remarkable Women series. I read this book without reading the first book, and I believe that the series would be better when read in order since there are characters and events introduced in the first book that carry over into the second book. For example, I was really puzzled at first about who or what the Widow's Grace was. It turned out that they are a secret society of influential women who help other women who are in bad situations.

This series differs from most historical romance books set in the Regency period as most of the main characters are black, including the hero, Daniel Thackery, and his love interest. Daniel is a barrister (lawyer). He was married by proxy to Phoebe Monroe Dunn, a woman he knew only through letters, whose ship sank on the journey from Jamaica. Phoebe had told him that she was bringing him a surprise.

Daniel went to the shipping office praying that she had survived. When he asked for Phoebe Dunn, he was handed instead a beautiful black baby girl and told that she was the only person of color left unclaimed. He swallowed his grief and took the child, as he was told she would otherwise be given to the first black person willing to take her - likely a dockworker or a woman of color working the brothels. He thought that she might even be the surprise that Phoebe had told him that she was bringing. His heart was broken - he was a widower who had never met his wife and had only her letters to remember her by. There was another survivor on the ship but he was told that she was taken away by her family...

Two years later, Daniel has been awarded an earldom and is now Lord Ashbrook. He attends yet another ball given by his aunt and meets Jemina St. Maur. Does Jemina have anything to do with Phoebe? They were both from Jamaica. Jemina is also working with his aunt in the Widow's Grace rescue group for women in danger. When they meet, she has a bandaged arm - an injury she received scaling a building to a second-floor balcony.

I really enjoyed reading the scenes where black people who occupied seats of power freely mingled with the ton during the Regency period as equals, although there was always the need to be wary for political and other reasons. There was a black Duke, for example, and I think his story was told in the first book. Even better than that, though, there were also some real people of color from that time who appeared in the book. The author's note at the back of the book gives more information on them and others.

There were a few things about the book that I wasn't crazy about. The most important to me was that Daniel and Jemina's relationship seemed disjointed to me. The Widow's Grace society also bothered me a lot, as it seemed unlikely that women of wealth and high position in society would be sneaking around behaving like cat burglars, scaling balconies, for example, and rifling through desks. They were other alternatives for them, such as bribery, or putting a servant or two in the household to spy.

Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book. It was my pleasure to read and review it.
.

An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler is a fine addition to the Rogues and Remarkable Women series. The heartwarming romance occurs amidst mystery and intrigue that is reminiscent of Gothic fiction. Author Vanessa Riley crafts a historical romance with sensual detail and robust characters that will delight readers.

Another highly enjoyable read from Vanessa Riley. The secrets of Jemina's past made for a compelling story, and the found-family dynamic between Daniel, Hope, and Jemina was sweet and heartwarming. I loved the bits with Patience and the duke: a nice treat for those who have read the previous book. I'm still not a fan of the dual third and first person, but I found it less jarring this time around, perhaps because I was prepared going in. 4.5 stars.

3.5 Stars

This was such a sweet read. A good one if you are looking for something lighter hearted in between heavy reads. This was my first time reading this author's work, so I did not read the first book in this series, A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby. And though this is a stand alone for the most part, there were a few references that I felt lost on, particularly relating to the widows' secret society and Jemina's role and history in it.

Jemina St. Maur has survived a shipwreck that took place on her voyage from Jamaica to London after which she suffered from amnesia. She meets Daniel who is a barrister and who is now the caretaker of a toddler following the death of his wife.

We definitely see the injustices of women at the time illustrated in this story, (no legal standings of their own/ no autonomy over their mental health/locked up against their will). I really liked the hero and how he stepped up when he becomes the sole-caretaker of his toddler stepdaughter.

I loved the romance between Jemina and Daniel and watching them become their own little family. As a romance, I do wish the book would've had a bit more steam...kissing is about as much as we get here.

Otherwise, this was an adorable and sweet romance and I would definitely check this author out again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for my advanced review copy, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler is a quirky historical romance. Although it's the second book of Vanessa Riley's Rogues and Remarkable woman series, it can definitely be read as a standalone. Unlike other regency romances, this universe has a fun band of women called the Widow's Grace who fight against the patriarchy to attempt to regain their rights, wealth, and children after being widowed. In this book, Jemima (who was Patience's sidekick in book 1) is the MC, and she has no memories beyond the last two years, and she struggles with finding out the truth of her past while navigating the sharks in the marriage market as men try to go after her sizeable dowry. Daniel Thackery is a barrister trying to overcome racial barriers and avoid being pulled into the (sometimes illegal) plots of his aunt, who runs the Widow's Grace. He lost the love of his life on a shipwreck and is left only with a child he didn't know of, but now his whole life centers around raising her and protecting her from being shipped back to Jamaica.

If I were to describe this book in one sentence, I would call it a knock-off, smut-less Bridgerton. Many of the concepts really parallel with the series, from the BIPOC LI abandoned by the male authoritative figure and adopted by a i-don't-care-about-the-rules aunt to a relationship deriving from the rumors of the ton. Additionally. there are soooo many "i burn for..." references I'm like, did this author just copy-paste a Daphne in here? The best part of this book was probably the Widow's Grace, although I wish the author could've leaned more into the whole espionage / action side of things because without it the book was a bit slow. ALSO: THIS BOOK HAS NO SMUT!!! If you are expecting the typical HR steaminess, you will not be getting that all from this book. But if you want a wholesome PG read, this book might be perfect.

I do however, need to give props to the diversity of characters in this series, which is something you rarely see in HRs. It's really clear that the author did A LOT of research to make the book really believable and realistic, and it makes the reading experience a lot better. However, the characters didn't seem that likeable :(. While Jemina for the most part was pretty spunky, sometimes, she acted very irrationally, or had constant flips between hating Thackery and pining after him that left me super confused. And don't get me started on Thackery. He makes no sense to me as a character. Every time I think I get a read on him, he acts in a way that surprises me (in a bad way). I don't understand how he also suddenly shifts from "oh i need a mistress to break up this dull monotony of life" to "ohmigod I need to marry her I love her so much."

Between the two characters, I didn't really feel any chemistry beyond the whole setup of "she/he is forbidden to me because of Widow's Grace." I think part of this stems from the unique form of head-hopping used. While Jemina is told from first person, Daniel's side is told in 3rd person, which often left me questioning his motives and train of thought even tho we were supposed to be in his POV?? I really could not understand Thackery as a character and in so many points of the books I just wanted to shake him and yell "WHAT ARE YOU THINKINGGG" at him.

Additionally, I think amnesia fics are either reallyyy well done or really really bad. Unfortunately, I thought this book was on the latter side of the spectrum. I feel like this book could have been resolved 2/3 of the way through, and the end was unnecessarily long as it dragged through all their trust issue and 'face-your-fears' angst. The final resolution left me pretty unsatisfied and partly surprised me while also partly could be seen from the first page of the book. (also in terms of things you could spot a mile away, Patience's 'predicament' is sooo obvious I really hate the flabbergasted-ness of the characters when they drop the reason and also that part was really skimmed over and not giving my girl her proper due).

Overall, this was not my favorite HR (especially because of the lack of smut) but if you can deal with that, it may be an interesting book to read, if only for the diverse characters.

Overall I was very confused with this book. The reason it gets 2 stars is because maybe this is because I did not read the first book so I am giving the author the benefit of that doubt. It did say standalone but I do wonder if it really is more a part of a series.

What I liked about this book was that she really touched on what it would have been like for a man or woman who was colored of any variety to have to life in London. The main male character is David and he is a black lawyer and the main female character is a white woman name Jemina from Jamaica. The theme of race and how this impacts his job as well as his relationships with others is something I had not truly read in a historical romance novels. However I did not like these character very much. She drug out their conflicts through almost the whole book when it was clear to all what the truth was. This caused a lot of unnecessary strife and anger in the characters. I liked that she explored how women were sent to Bedlam back then if their family or husbands simply didn’t want to deal with them or wanted to cheat them out of an inheritance and there was nothing that the women could do to defend themselves.

Overall she needed to expand her thoughts more as there were many unfinished thoughts, there were just too many loose ends not tied up. I would NOT consider this a romance novel by any means
There were also some things left unfinished in this book, which I'm assuming will be cleared up in future books. So I would just caution people expecting this to be a typical romance book within a series; do not expect all loose ends to be tied up. You'll have to read the next book (I think) to get closure. At this point I don’t see myself reading another book by this author.

I received this advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly this book was a DNF for me. I was beyond confused through the half of the book that I read. I feel like from what I’ve gathered among other readers, is that it is not a stand alone book and it really helps to read the first book in the series prior.

That being said, I loved seeing ethnicity alive and well in historical romance. I will say that I was hoping for a bit more sexual tension between the two main characters. Maybe once I read the first book, I will come back to this one in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the eARC.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. I was even going to ignore the whole 'fade to black' of love scenes even though I am generally of the strong opinion that if I have to suffer and pine with the hero and heroine, they had better let me in on the good times as well. So that was not the issue. I felt like I was preached to and given a (useful and well researched) history lesson on colonialism and the struggles of the women and of the people who weren't white. I'm not saying that's not valuable and I do enjoy a hint of feminism in my historical romance but this was a bit much for me and while I can say it was educational, I don't feel that it was enjoyable. I couldn't buy the happy in all of that and it took away from the reading pleasure.

I wanted to like this book. So much so, I decided to give the first novel in this series a read. The first book was definitely an adventure and contained more than its share of twists and turns...

This book took that level of excitement to level 5. Unfortunately, this didn’t make the characters more enticing. Jeffries is a talented writer, but sometimes her books don’t connect with me. If you’re a fan of adventure and mystery more than romance, I would recommend this novel.

The widows are at it again this time with Jemina St Maur. Safe from Bedlam, she has a dowry of 20,000 pounds but something is missing for the amnesiac. ARC from NetGalley.

Did you love Bridgerton on Netflix? You will love The Earl, The girl, and a toddler.

Daniel Thackery, the newly minted Earl of Ashbrook has no time for relationships. His world revolves around his daughter and his work as a barrister. As one of the few titled men of color, he has to work harder to gain respect in the courts and in daily life. In walks Jemina St. Maur, a widow who makes him consider that maybe there should be more to his life. If she doesn't give him heart failure first!

Ms. Riley does an excellent job of bringing the reader into the struggles of the characters and challenges they face as well as the secrets that are unveiled.

I highly recommend!

"Masterminded by the ton's most clever countess, the secret society The Widow’s Grace helps ill-treated widows regain their reputations, their families, and even find true love again - or perhaps for the very first time...

Surviving a shipwreck en route to London from Jamaica was just the start of Jemina St. Maur's nightmare. Suffering from amnesia, she was separated from anyone who might know her, and imprisoned in Bedlam. She was freed only because barrister Daniel Thackery, Lord Ashbrook, was convinced to betray the one thing he holds dear: the law. Desperate to unearth her true identity, Jemina’s only chance is to purloin dangerous secrets with help from The Widow’s Grace - which means staying steps ahead of the formidable Daniel, no matter how strongly she is drawn to him...

Married only by proxy, now widowed by shipwreck, Daniel is determined to protect his little stepdaughter, Hope, from his family’s scandalous reputation. That’s why he has dedicated himself not just to the law, but to remaining as proper, upstanding - and boring - as can be. But the closer he becomes to the mysterious, alluring Jemina, the more Daniel is tempted to break the very rule of law to which he's devoted his life. And as ruthless adversaries close in, will the truth require him, and Jemina, to sacrifice their one chance at happiness?"

Because every remarkable woman wants a rogue right?

I have had the opportunity to read several books by Vanessa Riley. She is a great writer, her characters are believable, enjoyable, ready to go and are well put together. I also saw an interview with her and Brown Book Series - Shay Bohannon. It was awesome. I am a book fan of historical romance, for me historical romance has something extra added into the mix that makes for a more enjoyable read.

I read the first book in this series and knew I wanted to read the next book in the series. I’m glad that Jemina got her book. Jemina developed amnesia after surviving being shipwrecked on the Minerva. She remembers very little except for her name. Jemina is a widow that was in the mental hospital in Bedlam that Daniel rescues her from and is the nephew of one of the Widow’s Grace leaders. Daniel holds the secrets to Jemina’s past and her future. He also knows the mystery about the Minerva and doesn’t want Jemina to uncover the secrets and mystery. They are the perfect couple. They have both lost and loved. It is so cute that they don’t see what others see about their relationship. It took them sometime to figure it out; but they did figure it out. I loved the history that came with the two characters. There are trust issue and mystery but they seem to handle them fairly well.

Thank you Netgalley and Zebra Books for giving me the opportunity to receive an ARC. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

SERIES: Rogues and Remarkable Women #2 ( it can be read as standalone)
GENRE: historical romance
TROPES: amnesia
CLIFFHANGER: no
RATING: 3,5⭐
RELEASE DATE: April 27th

And we are back to the world of secret society The Widow's Grace.

Jemina St. Maur's nightmare began when she survived a shipwreck on her way to London from Jamaica. She was isolated from everyone who could know her and imprisoned in Bedlam, a mental institution, she was suffering from amnesia. But barrister Daniel Thackery, Lord Ashbrook, was there to help her. The story takes place two years after the shipwreck. On that ship, Daniel's wife Pheobe was coming to him but she didn't survive. Only Hope, a toddler that Daniel is now left to care for.

Vanessa Riley has the ability to make a storyline lighthearted while at the same time filled with heavy subjects. Remarkably so, I don't feel like any part was overdone. I can tell she cares about these characters.

A perfect read for all historical romance readers who like less steam in their books.

Vanessa Riley is doing an amazing job of writing historical romances that center characters of color and really grapple with the complex realities of colonization, enslavement, and colorism that characterized the time period and the immoral source of wealth for many of the British elite. She also includes interesting history at the end of the book for those who want to learn more. (and in case you were wondering, yes there were people of color in England at this time, including among noble families!)

An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler is the second book in a great series following widows in dire circumstances, often because the men around them want to keep them silent and control their resources. Sometimes by having them unethically committed to an asylum, which is also a thing that really did happen. In this book we follow a widow who has been freed from just such an asylum. She was one of the only survivors of a shipwreck and has amnesia, is unable to recall anything from her former life living as a white woman in Jamaica. Now she is much sought after in society for her exoticism and her twenty thousand pound dowry. The hero is a lawyer and earl who works to help women such as herself. He is also a biracial Black man who faces frequent racism and microagressions. He lost his bride to be in that same shipwreck and is now raising her young daughter. But he has secrets he doesn't want uncovered.

I really loved the romance here and the relationship dynamic between the couple. They face many challenges, from conspiracy to racist oppression and must learn to trust each other. This also explores the realities of parenting a biracial child who doesn't look like you, which I can attest still causes challenges today. The book is slower paced and Riley has a unique writing style that can take awhile to get used to, but ultimately I liked this book a lot. And if you want a romance without explicit sex, this is a good option. On page we only have kissing and it takes a closed door approach to sex scenes, BUT Riley does a wonderful job of making the reader feel the chemistry and passion between the characters, which not everyone can do well. I would definitely recommend this. I received an advance copy for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings include gaslighting, violence, taking a child from a mother, racism and slurs, forced committal to an asylum, etc.