3.5 stars
Enjoyable historical romance. The second book in the series centered around The Widow’s Grace, a secret society that helps ill-treated widows. Jemina St Muir was introduced in book one as a widow who was stuck in the mental hospital, Bedlam, and rescued by Daniel Thackery, Barrister and Earl of Ashbrook. She had been put there two years ago when the ship she was on, coming from Jamaica, went down with only two survivors. Daniel was going to meet his wife that he married by proxy on the same ship, but she did not survive. When he arrive at the dock looking for his wife, he was given the other survivor, a toddler. They assumed he was the father since he was the only non-Caucasian to show up and the babe was also not white. While two years have passed, she still has no recollection of her past and she knows that Daniel has information that could help her regain her memory. Overall, an enjoyable period piece with a nice mystery. The villains were a little bit of a caricature, I felt like they might be standing there twirling their mustache. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

Easy and lighthearted read. I say lighthearted however this book does cover some issues that came up throughout history. If you enjoy history with romance, and especially if you loved Bridgerton. Definitely pick this up!

I've not read anything in this series, so I was confused here and there but I soon got the gist of the story.

Daniel our hero, a lawyer upright but hiding secrets of his own. A little daughter whom he is determined to protect at all costs. Jemima who has a fascination for Daniel and vice versa, suffering from amnesia, knows she was married, had a child and was incarcerated at Bedlam by her husband's family for two years. Also a group of ladies known as the Widow's Grace - finding support and succor for women in need especially those who are cheated by family and society of what is rightfully theirs.

A very intriguing setting with characters not normally found amongst women of that age, this was a mystery well told.

While I did enjoy the first novel in this series, I had a harder time following this one and felt it was a bit overdrawn and I did not care for the main characters in this one. It just was not for me I guess.

****ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review******

If you are a fan of Bridgerton then this may be a book you would enjoy. It gave me the same historical vibes and very similar, we both want each other but can't pull our shit together at the same time, energy.

This story is a historical romance about Jemina, a woman who no-one truly knows, including herself. She was one of the only survivors of a terrible ship-wreck, that may have left her with her life, but with no memory of her past. She becomes a part of the "Widow's Grace" and becomes determined to find the truth of her past. But in the meantime she will dedicate her time and effort in helping other Widows get back their lives, property, and children.

In her search for the truth of her past, Jemina comes upon something she was not searching for... Love.

Daniel Thackery was widowered by his late wife, in the same ship-wreck that stole Jemina's memory, and left with a baby that becomes his new life and love. He isin't searching for a relationship but then he comes upon Jemina and they both embark upon a journey to truth and find more than they bargained for in the arms of one another.

*Side-note if you like your historical romances on the spicy side this may not be the book for you. There is a slow burn but it all stays very PG.. maybe PG-13 in the descriptions of the romantic interludes.

An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler is a delightful book about Daniel the Earl, Jemina the Girl, and Hope the toddler.
Daniel is a widow who is grieving his wife two years after her death. Jemina is a survivor from a ship wreck-the same shipwreck Daniel's wife met her demise. Hope is all Daniel has left.

I really enjoyed reading about Daniel and Jemina. I liked his reservedness and I loved Jemina's courage and feistiness. I could not wait until they became a couple. I was rooting for them from the beginning.

If you like light-hearted mystery romance you should give An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler a try.

This book found me exactly when I needed it. It was adorable, romantic, and wonderfully written historical fiction, which I wanted to continue after my Bridgerton phase. The characters are lovable and extremely relatable which I appreciated. Although I didn't read the first book in the series, it's now immediately on my tbr list, and I do think reading it first would have helped follow the storyline in the beginning, but it doesn't take away from the narrative!

As someone who predominantly reads stories from women, having a woman of color write this beautiful story makes me so excited for the future of literature.

I did read the first book in the series before this one and think that really helped to understand more of the situations & characters we have in this book. The heroine of this book we do meet in the first book, as well as get to know more about the work that the secret society (The Widow’s Grace) is doing. Essentially they are a society to help ill-treated widows regain their reputations, their families (in the first book the heroine is separated from her newborn son), help the women find jobs, or even love again.

The heroine in this story is Jemina, she survived a shipwreck en route to London from Jamaica (where she’s from) but ends up suffering from amnesia & since she was found on her own, ends up imprisoned in Bedlam. This story really dives into how women of the time had little agency of their own lives and especially the struggles they faced with their mental health. The hero Daniel is a barrister who had married by proxy but ended up a widower with a young stepdaughter to care for. Daniel is now an Earl and after two years of focusing on his career and being a devoted father, is ready to start thinking about a new relationship. He actually helps Jemina get out of Bedlam & their story unfolds from there.

While I enjoyed this read actually more than the first in the series, I still did have some issues with this read which were similar. The story is told in dual POV but jumps between 1st person for the heroine & 3rd person for the hero which I wanted for them both to be told in the same and there is something a little disorienting with the writing & dialogue as well. Another thing which is a personal thing for me but did not change my rating, I want more steam in my romances and on-page action (kissing is as much as you get on-page).

Things I liked: discussions of race (being Black during regency-era England) & having a historical romance with main characters of color (hero is Black, heroine from Jamaica), showing the struggles of racism and England-colonialism, like the first book in the series this story also highlights the injustices of women at the time (no legal standings of their own & having no agency with their mental health/locked up in Bedlam against their will). I really liked the hero and how he stepped up when he becomes the sole-caretaker of his toddler stepdaughter, it was so nice to see him being a great father! The author also provided extensive research information at the end of the story & I really appreciated all the history!

Thank you to the publisher (Kensington) for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts & review.

I really wanted to like this book, but I thought it so boring. Though the writing is well done, even if at times a bit too flowery, and Daniel was a very compelling character, I just didn't care for anyone (or anything) else in the story. I did not read the first installment of this series, and that might have contributed to it also, but I really disliked that we didn't properly get a description of Jemima until the 30% point. Very tedious.
My last complaint pertains mostly to the publisher (and to publishers in general): please stop with the illustrated covers. They make it very hard to know what, exactly, you'll be getting, which is very bad in a genre known for its relative predictableness (we all know how a true romance is going to end). Had I known this would be a "clean"/"sweet" romance I would not have requested it. Romances with illustrated covers could be the steamiest read or the driest, there is absolutely no way to tell. I don't want to waste my time not knowing. And I certainly do not want to waste my money.

This story is different from the usual, Daniel, the hero, is a barrister and an earl of mixed race. He has entered into a proxy marriage with a black woman from Jamaica and has fallen in love with her via correspondence over the course of time. As the book opens, the ship bringing her to England has sunk, leaving only two survivors: a white woman who has been taken to Bedlam with amnesia and a mixed race baby. Daniel takes the child as his own and assists the woman, who's been identified as Jemina St. Maur, to get out of Bedlam. Jemina has gotten Daniel's assistance through his aunt, Lady Shrewsbury, who has made a cause of freeing women unjustly committed to Bedlam. Jemina decides to work with Lady Shrewsbury for her cause, although she hasn't recovered her memory.. She also wants to try and find out more about herself and her life before the ship sank. The relationship between Daniel and Jemina grows slowly, although they are attracted to each other right away. I found the story a bit slower going than I would like. Even though Jemina is involved in what should be an exciting cause, the book never gets into any specific cases she's involved in. A real lost opportunity and disappointing. Most of the book is about Jemina trying to find out about herself and Daniel trying to protect his daughter from any other claimants. The character of Daniel is the most interesting thing about the book, as can be imagined, because of his unique situation. It seems to be portrayed with realism and I really fell for him. I just didn't feel the same way about the other characters, including Jemina. For those interested, this is a clean book and appropriate even for young adult readers.

I received this as an ARC through NetGalley. I really enjoyed the premise of this book. It’s the second installment of the Rogues and Remarkable Women series, I’m not sure that The Earl of Ashbrook is much of a rogue, but he does enjoy some witty banter with his would-be Countess. This sweet romance, only some PG stuff, push two people who care about each other and the well-being of a little girl together. They’ve both got some trust issues. This book also attempts to address issues of racism and sexism, and while set during the Regency period, it’s messages are felt today. I really appreciated the historical notes at the back of the novel, which led me to believe that the author did her homework and research diligently when writing the book. Since this was an ARC, I did notice some inconsistencies as well as plot holes, which I am sure will be taken care of prior to publication, and while I enjoyed the book, I felt like it went on a bit longer than necessary.

This was a fairly quick read, although it did take me a bit to get into. This could be contributed to not having read the first book in the series, as I was a little confused for a bit. Once I worked it out, I could see where things were heading, and I did enjoy most of the trip to get there.
I got a little tired of the seemingly constant misunderstandings, but nothing that put me off too badly.
Overall, I did enjoy this and I would read more by this author.

I love Vanessa Riley and this second book in her series is wonderful. I learn so much when I read Vanessa's books and have a much better appreciation of the history of the world. In addition, I get a lovely, romantic story of characters who work for their HEA and deserve it. Loved it!

An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler is the second book in the Rogues and Remarkable Women series. There wasn't as much of a mystery in this one as the last one. The mystery did still follow one of the Widow's Grace women that we met in the first book, Jemina St. Maur. She is one of two survivors of the shipwrecked Minerva from Jamaica. She has amnesia and is trying to find her history. Daniel is her barrister, the man who saved her from Bedlam, and the nephew of the Widow's Grace ringleader. Daniel has secrets of his own about the Minerva and doesn't want Jemina uncovering them. There were no holes left in this mystery like there was in the first book. However, I did have a bit of a time with all the misunderstandings and evasiveness of Daniel and Jemina. There was so much of it that it began to get tedious. Overall, the book was enjoyable and a fun read. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to give my voluntary and honest opinion on #AnEarlTheGirlandaToddler.

I'm not usually a big fan of the amnesia trope in romance, but I thought it was incredibly well done in An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler. Jemina suffered amnesia after surviving a terrible shipwreck. She knows her name, but nothing of her past. Daniel Thackery is the adopted father of the only other survivor and holds the secrets to Jemina's past and her future.

I really enjoyed the story as a whole, thought I did get a bit frustrated in the middle section when the relationship between two characters seemed very obvious to me, but took the characters longer to figure it out. I was still very happy with how everything was explained in the end and enjoyed the book.

I am not sure if it is because I did not read the prequel to this book, but it is not what I was expecting.

The story line is fast-paced. VERY! Almost confusingly so, and there are lots of characters to keep track of-again maybe my fault.

I enjoyed the wriitng and the character development and diversity and think that I might give it another try after getting my hands on the first one. For now-this book was just okay for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

if you like regency era romance or romance period, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go get this book now! I loved this book even more than the 1st. the writing is great, the world the characters live in is vivid and so well written you can picture yourself in it. If you need a palate cleanser book this is the one to read, you will feel so happy after reading it!

I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series and was excited to learn more about Jemina and Daniel. Unfortunately, this was a case where my expectations were much higher than the book delivered. Credit where it's due, Riley once again creates a vivid historical picture that organically incorporates diverse perspectives. However, that's about all I can credit as an overwhelming positive. It might have been intentional to parallel Jemina's amnesia, but the plot was so confusing. I couldn't quite tell who knew what, what I as a reader was supposed to know, or where the story was going. This also meant that I couldn't really get invested in Jemina and Daniel's relationship. Hope was a sweet little scene-stealer, but couldn't save the novel for me.

I appreciate a regency romance with diversity! It’s not often that we see stories like this, and I think they’re important to tell.

I did find the pacing to be slower than my liking and ultimately led to me not being as engaged with the story and losing interest in characters as it went on.

This was so adorable. After reading A Duke, the Lady and a Baby, I really wanted to learn more about Jemina, so I was happy that she was the heroine of this book. Jemina and Daniel's love story was so original and refreshing. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, Vanessa would surprise me in delightful ways. Not only does she craft well-written love stories she also imbeds history into them as well. The historical details adds another rich layer to the story, which I really enjoyed.

Now we need a book about Lord Gantry and his wife!

I highly recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.