This book was very slow. I quickly became bored of the repetitive dialogue and the characters. There was no romance in the book and the plot was far fetched.

He knows he should stay away from her. She's been warned to stay away from him. Neither wants to listen. This book had potential, but the romance I expected appears to have gotten lost within the mystery the Duke's drama and the characters lacked true depth. It was just so-so for me.
Thank you C.H. Admirand, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

Suspense and Mystery with a Dash of Romance

Someone wanted to destroy Duke of Wyndmere, and they would kill to get it done. This story is a historical romance, but the focus is more on the mystery and the suspense of guarding the duke and his family against deadly peril. I would have liked to see more romance, and I would have enjoyed the story had it been half as long. I also thought that the title did not match the book. Even though Edward was a rogue in his past, he did not do anything untoward for Aurelia to avoid his lust. Others warned her against him, but now, that he had the family honor to consider, he was reformed. I don’t think this is a spoiler because Edward was decent and kind from the very beginning.

I did appreciate the suspense and mystery in this story, trying to figure out who wanted the duke and his family destroyed. We get more information about that in the first book of this series. The current duke is good, but his father and older brother were not so honorable. They left enemies, and the current duke and his earl brother are left to clean the mess. Who are their enemies, and does everyone survive?

Lady Aurelia is a debutante and considered young, marriageable, and a “diamond of the first water” as the ton would say. What people do not know is she has her own mind and that is set on her best friends brother the renowned rake Edward!

Edward is going to try and curb his ways, but then he sees Lady Aurelia and figures one more dalliance what would that hurt. However, things happen that place him in danger, his family and her.
Would he consider her just a fling and how is she going to change her Uncle’s mind to let her try and fix Edward?

The twists and turns that abound in this book will indeed keep you on the edge of the page until your finger hits the screen or flip the paper! Enjoy as much as I did!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Edward, Earl Lippincott was enchanted, or really more than that when he danced with Lady Aurelia, a friend of his sisters. But he had been warned not to dally with her and it was a hard promise to keep.

Unfortunately there were threats to his family and at that same ball, all went awry with Edward's sister being held by a madman and he having to free her. It brought him to a determination to clean up his ways.

Edward and Aurelia spend time together when she attends a house party given by his family, but will they ever come together? Will the madman strike again?

There’s a madman on the loose who’s out to destroy the Duke of Wyndmere’s family. The previous Duke made a powerful enemy, one who will not rest until he has destroyed their family and their reputation. The duke’s brother Edward, Earl of Lippincott has promised to reform his rakish ways and help to restore the family’s good name and standing in society. Edward finds it’s hard to reframe from seducing a young debutant at his younger sister’s first ball. He becomes quite intrigued by Lady Aurelia, but realizes he must keep his distance least he ruin her reputation. Fate throws them together and their attraction continues to grow. He know there’s no future for a rake and the young Aurelia, but he can’t help his feelings even as her uncle refuses his suit to court her. A captivating and intriguing story with the madman on the loose causing mayhem, a reformed rake finding love and family and friends coming together to protect those they love. I voluntarily read and reviewed this amazing story.

Edward, Earl of Lippincott, was becoming a carbon copy of his older brother; the 5th Duke of Wyndmere, that was brutally murdered. He decided for the sake of his family, he would become a better person and give up his wild ways. Especially, after his sister was attacked and he was wounded protecting her. Whomever killed his older brother was still after the rest of the family. But Why? The sixth Duke of Wyndmere and the Earl decided it was best to move back to the country, along with a group of hired guards, hoping they could catch the culprits on their own property. In the meantime, the Earl has become acquainted with Lady Aurelia, a friend of his sister, and has decided that he would like to know her better. This is the second in the Lords of Vice series and I enjoyed reading how the Earl was trying to reform himself and protect the family. Wonder what the next book will bring?

So - first of all - this book is not romance. It is historical fiction with romantic elements. The majority of the book focuses on the continued threat to the Duke of Wyndmere's family from a really unstable viscount who blames the current duke for sins of his brother, the prior Duke. Most of the book focuses in on the hiring of security and various attempts to harm the Duke's younger brother, Earl Lippincott and friends of the family.

So as to the romance - the Earl meets Lady Aurelia the night of the climactic ball from the prior book. They share a lovely dance - and then Aurelia leaves with her uncle before the unstable viscount tries to kill the Earl and his sister. After that dance, the meet again at Gunters and speak briefly. Their families don't think they are a good match. The Earl apparently has a reputation of bad behavior with debutantes (though truthfully - I don't think anything like that was mentioned in the first book - in fact I am pretty sure he talks about sticking with more experienced ladies). So Aurelia's uncle tells her to decline the Earl's invitation for a carriage ride. Basically - they meet twice before the 30% mark and then by the 70% mark haven't seen each other again. Aurelia decides he must not be interested in her because he hasn't tried to see her - which makes no sense at all - because (a) she's been traveling, (b) preparing to travel, and (c) declined any invites he made of her while she wasn't (a) or (b). The Earl, meanwhile, has decided he's in love with her. After meeting twice? for like 10 minutes each time? really? I believe in love at first sight - but based on his description of the events - I am thinking this was more lust. In short, the romance just is weak. Like really weak.

As for the rest of the story - I was interested to see what would happen - but I was really distracted by consistency errors and the lack of depth. Jared, the Duke, became a caricature of himself where the only things he says are "indeed" and "protect my family." Persephone, the Duchess, also seems to have lost a lot of the good sense she had in the first book. She is irritated and acts rashly throughout the second half of the book. This is especially concerning when it is clear she's pregnant. Pregnancy hormones are no joke - but they aren't an excuse to act like an idiot.. I also felt the patriarchal and flatly sexist attitude of the men, while maybe historically correct, was distressing. The attitude of the Duke's sister towards those around her is one of an extremely spoiled young lady. While Persephone tries to set her straight - she definitely has a lot of growing to do.

There are multiple moments on inconsistency in the book as well. There is quite a bit of drama with Lady Calliope (Aurelia's BFF) and her horrible treatment by her extended family. The Duke is aware of these things - but when they get to the Country, Aurelia's uncle acts like the Duke had no idea. There is a lot of repetition of things as well.

Overall - I'd be more interested in reading about the men in the Duke's personal guard than more about the aristocrats.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

Avoiding the Earl's Lust by CH Admirand is the second the Lords of Vice series and features Edward, Earl Lippincott and his sister's friend, Lady Aurelia Coddington. His brother, the Duke of Wyndemere was already glaring at him for his daring to dance with Lady Aurelia. He knew something bad would result. Edward was a rake of the first order and the duke was trying to restore his family's good name, not drop it deeper into the muck. The muck was the fault of their now deceased elder brother, the previous duke. His enemies were still after them as evidenced by the attack just a few weeks ago which had left no one harmed physically, but his sister, Phoebe terrified, waking a night with horrible dreams. The duke and duchess were retiring to their country home and taking Phoebe with them, leaving Edward at home to accomplish tasks for the duke and generally try to figure out from whence the danger came. Lady Aurelia and another of Phoebe's friends were to join them shortly. After several attacks, Edward decided her and his contingent of bodyguards would be of more use to the duke in the country...not to mention Aurelia was there.

You have to love stories featuring reformed rakes. This is no exception. For some reason, a lovely young woman, no different, really, from many others, had captured and held his attention. He was worried about her with the current threats. He was young and strong and vowed to protect her, as well as his sister and their other friend, Calliope, who may have people after her and her inheritance, as well. This was one big, happy fight, full of people who were not as smart as they thought they were and caused a lot of upheaval for no real gain. Edward did turn out to be both a hero and a reformed rake. This is a fun book, with the taciturn duke and his pregnant wife, Aurelia's uncle Phineas, and the girls. It was fun. Read it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Avoiding the Earl's Lust by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own. #netgalley #avoidingtheearlslust

Earl Lippincott has come to the realization that he needs/wants to settle down-marry. And, he has just the woman: Lady Aurelia Coddington. The only issue: he is known as a rake and will need to show that he has reformed before he can request to court her.
Lady Aurelia has a crush on her friend’s brother, the Edward, Earl of Lippincott. When Phoebe requests that she and her friend, Lady Calliope Harrington visit the country to take her mind off of her assault. But the Earl and his brother are not sure that this is their only concern. Lady Hampton continues to try to set them up to fail.
But is their only enemy Lady Hampton? Does she have an accomplice? Or, some evil man with revenge on his deranged mind?
FYI-the book ends very abruptly and was possibly meant as a cliffhanger?

3.25 Stars
Edward, Earl Lippincott is cut from the same cloth as his late and unlamented brother, Oliver the Fifth Duke of Wyndmere or is he? When a man intent on revenge has the earl’s family in his crosshairs, the earl’s overindulgence, and self-destructive ways halt. He works alongside his brother, Jared the Sixth Duke of Wyndmere, restoring the family name to secure a suitable marriage for their sister, Phoebe but is distracted by their sister’s lovely friend Lady Aurelia. Lady Aurelia is enthralled by the handsome earl and secretly delighted when he dances with her at his sister’s ball. Everyone warns her to stay away from the earl including her guardian & even his own sister! The earl’s social invitations tempt her to accept, but her uncle insists she decline. After a traumatic experience Phoebe is taken to the family’s estate in the north, Aurelia & her close friend Calliope are invited too
This is the second book in the series & I think it would be better if the first book had been read as events do follow on. An engaging book but I felt the pace lagged at times & if it had been shorter then the events would have had more impact. I enjoyed that Jared & Persephone featured heavily. I liked both Edward & Aurelia but whilst they were attracted to each other there wasn’t any courtship & in fact they were separated for much of the book, I felt that whilst chemistry between the pair existed it wasn't developed & I also felt we didn't get to know them – they were almost like secondary characters to Jared & Persephone. There were also unanswered questions about Calliope. I do now want to read the next book to have the answers
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Avoiding the Earl's Lust by C.H. Admirand is a good Regency story. The story has both a bit of romance and a lot more suspense and intrigue. This is Edward and Aurelia's romance story but there are really thoughts and feelings that each other have towards the other but is not spoken to each other until much later in the book. So not too much romance throughout only longing. I did enjoy the colorful language of the times especially from the brothers. It also had a bit of humor throughout that I also enjoyed. Many of the characters were well developed and enjoyable.
The issues I found with the story were:
The title of the book did not match the story, as it is so full of the dangers to the family.
There were too many characters involved in the story and also too many side stories.
It was so full with so much going on, that it became too busy and difficult to enjoy at times.
The pace was not consistent.
It needed more romance, less of the suspense details, as the story went off track from the romance aspect.
The author is one of my favorites as I really enjoy her writing style. Although this story did have some of that writing style, it also had too much loaded into it. Half of the details could have been edited out. This story was not one of my favorites as it went down two paths.

The book follows Edward, Earl Lippincott and his romance with Lady Aurelia, or so it might seem from the title. However, there is also considerable attention paid to the family of the Duke of Wyndmere. This is a hectic book with many side stories and so I found myself confused by the plot, which at times was quite slow in its pace. Even the romance didn’t progress as I thought it would, with Edward often avoiding Aurelia – so much for the title!
Whilst there were some good ideas for this book, I found it a challenge to enjoy.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

To Whom This May Concern:

I would first like to say that this is the second book of The Lords Of Vice Regency series. The first book follows Jared Lippincott and Lady Persephone’s love story. This couple is very much in the second book, so it would be well advised for readers to read the first book before the second book. I did not read the first book and giving my opinion on the context in the second book only. Also, this is the first time I am reading a product of C.H. Admirand.

The couple in this book is Edward Lippincott and Lady Aurelia. Edward has a reputation among the debutantes, while Aurelia is coming out for her first season. I do not typically read historical romance, which this type of book consists of. IMO, the character development for the main couple is very lackluster compared to all of the remaining characters such as Uncle Phineas and Lady Calliope. I would like to point out that the book is through multiple point of views.

The plot line of the story was very slow. Edward and Aurelia did not interact consistently until 70% of the plot has been developed. However, the prologue introduces them. The antagonist in the book doesn’t give the readers a justification for their actions. On the positive note, there is a ton of conversations between the characters and less descriptive imagery scenes than most historical romances. If you like to read dialogue between characters, this is the book for you. The diction is not hard to read in this book either.

The “romance” scene was not very steamy. I will never judge on the amount of romance scenes in a book, but more the quality of the scenes themselves. I understand due to the times that the story was set in that there can’t be consistent groping. However, there was more affection between the first book’s main couple versus this book’s main couple. I counted less than a handful of scenes that was even intimate between Edward and Aurelia. In the book, there is only two scenes where they are alone which happens towards the end of the book.

The ending of the book was rather rushed and not consistent with how long the beginning and the middle of the book dragged out. The characters did get a happy ending, which is always nice.

With that being said, I give the second book in this series a 1 out of 5. The progression of the plot and the lack of involvement from the couple together makes this book a very hard read for me. It took me a week to get through the entire book, with many breaks in between just because of lack of plot that kept me on the edge of my seat.

With thanks.

Disclaimer: I did get this book for free through NetGalley. However, I did not get paid for a skewed review. This is an honest review with no intentions to sway readers to persuade sales.

A hectically busy book, this novel focuses on the danger to the Duke of Wyndmere and his family and somewhat less on the romance between Edward, the Earl of Lippincott, and Lady Aurelia. I found that the story was heavily padded with day-to-day events, such as taking tea and instructions to the guards employed by the Jarad, the Duke of Windmere. There is also more than one plot in this story involving the Duke, Edward and Aurelia, and finally her friend, Lady Calliope. At times I found myself becoming confused by all the comings and goings, but ultimately, Edward does prove himself to the lady and her guardian. I am also a bit bemused by the title as it is not a reflection of the nature of the book. However, it is a standalone, and although not a completely satisfactory conclusion, Lord Edward does redeem himself. I received a copy of this book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Loved the story...but the title doesn't work for me. Edward was an honorable man. The plot is great. Aurelia is a strong heroine. I really want to know Calliope's story.

Enjoy this fast paced story.

Lady Aurelia is a innocent debutant, wide eyed and entranced by the Earl.
Edward, Earl Lippincott is thought to be cut from the same cloth as his late and unlamented brother but he helped his brother, the Duke with a pressing matter.
Will she follow her heart or her head in this sweet tale of love.
This is a good book from an author not previously known to me. It is a long tale filled with trechery.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2 stars

Despite some wild & fantastical action/danger, I was very bored by this book. Super slow pacing, unclear character motivations for one of the MC’s, & not much relationship development.

[What I liked:]

•There are quite a few kind & caring characters, like Persephone & Uncle Phineas. So I had several characters I cared about, at least a little.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The title is ridiculous. The earl does the avoiding, not Aurelia.

•The word “bloody” is used at least once per paragraph & it got really repetitive just a few pages in. If you’re going to cuss that much, at least be creative about it?

•Edward talks to himself out loud so much it feels a little unrealistic. It would make more sense if most of those statements were internal dialogue instead.

•Often the dialogue feels a bit awkward. It’s not horrible, but it doesn’t always feel natural. For example, anytime a person is mentioned in conversation someone else in the dialogue immediately says the mentioned person’s full name, marital status, etc. I get that it’s a strategy to drop background details without info dumping, but the way it’s written is still clunky.

•There isn’t much of a romance for this being a romance novel. The MC’s meet once or twice at the beginning, but don’t interact at all until the last 20% of the book, at which point it’s insta-love. Avoiding the earl’s lust? Why would Aurelia need to avoid him if she never even saw him?

•The plot is very convoluted, not to mention the main villain’s grudge & plan for revenge is very over the top.

•The writing is very fluffy & could use a lot of tightening. There is so much dialogue that’s just polite small talk & unnecessary to the story, and I can only bear so many conversations about tea & clotted cream before I’m bored.

•I’m really not sure what Aurelia’s goals or motivations are. She just kind of floats around & goes to parties. Her character was a bit flat as a result of underdevelopment.

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]