My mother told me when I was young that if I had nothing good to say, I should say nothing. I'll try to find a middle way here. Ms. Conkle is obviously a prolific and well-loved author with a great following, but I've never read her work before. She most definitely knows how to string words together into intricate and well-formed sentences, and she tells a story that seems like it would translate well into film. I found much of the story bordering on preposterous, and I found her prose far too flowery and affected. (Why call it a candelabrum instead of a candelabra?) Supposedly a "beauty and the beast" themed book, the trope was meaningless (as it should be) very shortly into the story as the heroine (rightly) was not put off by the hero's scars (don't get me started on how unlikely the account of how he got the scars was). I guess the author should be commended for portraying a talented and professionally-inclined female succeeding in the 18th century, but I found it hard to stay enthused.

This book didn't work for me. I found the story to be hard to follow. The author seemed to leave at key details. I also found the plot to be unbelievable to the time period.

*Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review*
Overall rating : 3⭐️ (narration included)

"Meet the Earl at Midnight" is a loosely inspired Beauty and the Beast retelling. It is about Lydia Montgomery being sold for her womb by her father, to pay off debts to Edward, the Earl of Greenwich.

Oh well... I was so excited for this one, since I love historical romances and the idea that the book is Beauty and the Beast inspired ... Sadly I was disappointed.

Lydia seemed like a quirky, intelligent woman and I loved the concept that her passion is painting and how this was incorporated into the story. She seemed to accept her predicament out of love for her mother. Her mother was mentioned throughout the whole book but we never met her or got to know more about this very important woman.

Edward, the Earl, had not enough character depht for me. We know he is a science nerd and totally into plants, but he seemed so "unalive". His interactions with Lydia were so robotic, devoid off passion and emotion. He didn't show any affection towards her. I do have to say that I liked that he didn't seem to care so much about the scars on half of his body and that this didn't change the worth he saw in himself.

His mother, Lady Elisabeth, was the typical irritating mother-in-law who made Lydia's stay less pleasant and who kept telling her she wasn't good enough for her son.

I also want you to know that Marian Hussey, the narrator, was absolutely amazing. I will listen to more of the books she narrates. She had a very enjoyable voice and I liked how she was able to make a satisfying distinction between the 2 genders. Overall, she breathed life into these characters and made you want to continue listening, even with a verrrryyy slow burn romance.

Let me tell you what put me off so much... the pacing! I'm sorry to tell you this, but the pacing felt off. For 50% of the book nothing exciting happened. The romance was really lacking in my opinion and underdeveloped. I missed sweet and tender moments between the main characters. The chemistry suffered from it and I wasn't really feeling the physical attraction and tension. It would have helped if there would have been less obstacles between the two lovers. I mean, did they literally have to be interrupted EVERY SINGLE TIME they came closer together. I only wanted one kiss... one stolen moment. This frustrated me greatly. The trope was exagerated. It killed my excitement and

*spoiler alert*

resulted in no physical build-up for the one intimate scene in the book (which was solid by the way, but nothing special in my opinion). The love declaration at the end didn't seem genuine, at least not from Edward's side. It seemed so forced and unnatural.

*spoiler over*

Overall, this book was okay but the audio aspect and the fantastic narration made everything better and saved the rating for me.

This started off promising but the pacing and the character arc of the Earl tempered my enjoyment. I listened to this as an audio review copy and I will say that the narrator was excellent.
- The Earl: he's scarred so he's the beast hiding out in his castle who no one wants to marry. In most retellings, the beast is initially rough but underneath it all, he's caring and loving or else what is Beauty falling in love with? This Earl was kind of an ass. He's bossy, selfish, myopic, and dismissive of women - especially their emotions. And I didn't notice that much improved over the course of the story other than that our heroine was sexy and interesting enough to get him to focus on something other than his work.
-The plot: I can look past an unlikely or silly conflict that the couple has to work around in a romance as long as the characters are interesting and the pacing is tight. But here we have a quick fuse of passion lit in the first chapters that gets doused by repeated interruptions and the self imposed waiting of a month to be sure she's not already pregnant by someone else. So you're not going to see a payoff until 90% through the book which comes too late.
- I hated that her work ethic is called into question and that the Earl, who was born rich, handsome and a white man, questions why she couldn't have done something more with her art even though she was a single woman with family in great debt at a time when women artists were not encouraged in the least. Just because she notes one or two who made it doesn't mean it was easy!
- What worked: I liked that she wasn't a virgin and that was her choice. I liked that she had a talent for art and that she made that work in different ways. The sex scene, though late, was well done. The writing was enjoyable to listen to.

To pay off her family's debt, Lydia is forced to marry Edward, a mysterious and reclusive Earl. She soon discovers why her husband-to-be avoids society : His face bears horrific scars that he doesn’t want people to see. Edward also has a passion for botany that takes up all his time and leaves none for frivolous and unimportant society events. As the weeks pass by, Lydia and Edward get to know each other better, but despite the fact that they had previously agreed on the nature of their relationship, they find themselves more and more drawn to each other.

This audiobook was entertaining. I liked how neither of the MCs was actively looking for love at first, but came to both respect and love the other as they got to know each other better.

I'll take into account the fact that the story was written a decade ago, but I still find it devoid of originality. The characters weren’t compelling or endearing enough for me to genuinely care about them.
Also, for a book that is supposed to be inspired by the Beauty and the Beast, with a disfigured MMC, Edward's appearance seems to be of little importance. To me, the whole point of the story is to "love someone for who they are and learn to look beyond physical appearance", so I was a little disappointed because Lydia wasn’t the least bothered by Edward's scars, even when she saw them for the very first time. Edward would also have been a much more endearing character if, in spite of everything (his title, his wealth, his brains ...), he was more self-concious bout his appearance. I mean, we saw him make some assumptions about Lydia and his mother's opinions about him here and there, but I wish he was more ... vulnerable. That's for the main characters. The supporting characters were just nonexistant or grotesque caticatures (like Edward's mother).

Finally, there's also all that business with Edward's departure, and the deadline for baby-making ... It was a bit ... weak and unconvincing and meh ? I'm not even willing to write more about it, it’s just a waste of time really.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for giving me access to this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of the audio in exchange for an honest review.*

Unfortunately, this historical romance didn't hit the spot for me. The story itself is a 2 star. The plot was fine but nothing particularly exciting or original. The hero and heroine were, again, fine but could have been better characterised. The connections to 'Beauty and the Beast' were very vague and it honestly could have just as easily not been implied. It got a bit on my nerves every time the hero referred to the females, their responses, or their body parts as 'feminine'. We get it, man. She's a hysterical woman with feminine knees!
However, this books rates higher because the audiobook and its narrator were great! She was incredibly easy to listen to, and I even happily listened to it at 2.5x speed.

A nice love story between Edward and Lydia.

Edward is scarred, and an intellectual. He uses his science to earn money in trade. He is a loner and lives with a crew of loyal servants.

Lydia is an artist, but is given to Edward (to marry) by her stepfather. She is also not a virgin.

Edward and Lydia's story is a slow build. Overtime, trust and love build, on a foundation of need and awareness.

This was an okay read and I assume a re-release as an audio book. The narration was very good.

Read is you're bored and really need a distraction.

This is an Edwardian era retelling of Beauty and the Beast. You have Edward, Earl of Greenwich, who is in need of a wife. Or, more specifically, an heir, and on a deadline. But he has scars that scare most women away. When he discovers a clerk has stolen from him, he makes a bargain- he will not bring charges if he weds his stepdaughter. Lydia goes along with the scheme to protect her mother from debtor's prison. Edward and Lydia discover they have a lot in common and actually enjoy each other's company. Except Edward is leaving soon- on a voyage that will take several years. Lydia tries desperately to sway him, but he is adamant.

I liked both Edward and Lydia. They suited each other well. However, Edward's insistence on his voyage was a bit unbelievable to me- he had sound reasoning, but I didn't actually feel it was that important to him.

This was somewhat less formal than many romance books set in the era. I think it is because both characters were very progressive for the time.

Marian Hussey narrates the audiobook and it is a solid narration.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Vibes: Beauty and the Beast, nerdy hero, a surprisingly experienced heroine, forced marriage.

When Lydia is taken to meet the reclusive Earl of Greenwich, Edward, she doesn't understand that her stepfather and brother have put themselves in debt to the earl. The only payment he wants? A wife to give him an heir. Although she doesn't intend to go through with the marriage, Lydia accompanies the earl to his estate, where she quickly discovers that there is much more to him--and his plan for the future--than meet the eye. If she marries him, he plans on giving her relative freedom within a short amount of time; but once she actually gets to know Edward as a person, will she want it?

Here's the thing. Gina Conkle is a solid writer, I love Beauty and the Beast, there are some unique takes on the character beats here, and the leads have chemistry. So why didn't this work for me?

Well--pacing is everything.

Quick Takes:

--I want to point out the things I found unique about this book, which was originally published nearly a decade ago. Lydia is a fun, confident heroine who isn't a rebellious renegade type, but also isn't at all missish. She's not a virgin, and there isn't some particularly tragic backstory to all that. She just wanted to get with a guy and he turned out to be a douchebag. But she had fun before that! She's described as a "hoyden" a little too often, and at times she can be a bit too perky, but overall, I found her likable and I appreciated that she wasn't just this sweet girl who existed purely to soothe Edward's tormented soul.

And despite Edward being one of those heroes who has this super beautiful one side of his face and a super scarred other side, he kind of defies a lot of the stereotypes there. Yes, he avoids society; but he's not nearly as tortured about the scars as you would expect, and a lot of his character arc revolves around him being like. Obsessed with plants. And worms. Did this always work for me? Uh, well, no, but I appreciated the creativity.

--Edward and Lydia do have chemistry, and there is an immediate sexual tension between them that is boosted by the fact that she knows what sex is and does in fact like it. She's not afraid of her own sexuality, or his for that matter, and that was a really nice change of pace. And like I said, the writing is good, which makes it easy to get engaged from the start. The issue is that the early engagement and momentum is totally lost, because...

--The pacing of this book is really off, and I have to think that a different editorial hand would have perhaps tightened it up. I was kind of shocked when I realized how little had happened at the 50% mark, because you really do begin so strongly. I was excited about the beginning. Like, I thought these two were going to GET DOWN to the business pretty quickly, based off the immediate sparks and innuendo.

What begins the slowdown is the fact that Lydia tells Edward she's not a virgin, which he isn't super bad about, the bar is underground, but... He does insist that they wait a month before getting married in order for him to ensure that she's not carrying another man's child. Which is not an unheard of trope in historicals, I've seen it before.

However, here it doesn't make sense for a couple reasons. For one thing, when the book begins Edward is going to basically dip for a long journey in three months, and the journey is long and dangerous and family trauma and so on, and as such he wants to basically leave a wife behind, pregnant with his heir. Already, this is kind of a flimsy plan because, as the book acknowledges, that is not a lot of time to get someone pregnant. Also, it might not even be a boy. Hell, it might not even be born alive. But whatever, I can wave that away.

But if the need for an heir--which is more about satisfying familial legacy obligations than Edward's own personal desires for an heir--is so great, and he is willing to have Lydia stay at his estate for the month prior to the marriage anyway... Why not just go ahead. Does the child have to be HIS? I mean, who could really prove anything? Additionally, why does he have to wait a month? Just wait until her next period, which will probably come sooner. (This is a tactic used to great effect in Elizabeth Lowell's Untamed, where the hero is like ready to GO as soon as she's had her period, and if that worked for Medieval Times McGee, I don't know why it couldn't work for Georgian Botanist Earl.) I mean, it's not foolproof, but it's pretty good and will give you some extra time to try. Sort of. Not really sure how that lines up with fertile windows, but honestly! I don't think local Georgian Botanist Earl does either!

--And after this one big obstacle to our leads at least knowing each other carnally (I mean, I'm not saying they have to be IN LOVE early in the story, but at least getting somewhere) occurs, there are then a million little broken moments. Oops, his mom walked. Whoops, here's his housekeeper. Oh no, here's an Issue. It just killed the excitement I had and made me really, really frustrated.

I'm all for obstacles to lovers being together, but this felt like obstacles to basic progress, and that just hurts a romance, always.

--To be clear, I would say that if you love love love a slow burn, this may work for you. I found the degree of slow burn contrived. However, I won't deny that the sexual tension in this novel was well done, and those who throw down for a slow burn above all else may really like this. I'll admit: if I'd known how slowly this burned ahead of time, I wouldn't have requested it, because slow burns are pretty hit or miss for me and prolonged slow burns often don't work for me at all.

--That said, on an audiobook note, Marian Hussey is a very good narrator. I've heard her narrate books before, and she does a very good job of differentiating male voices in a pleasing way--voicing the opposite gender well is always tough, so I appreciate that.

The Sex:

There is one sex scene. It's solid, but it is very late in the story, and you don't really have much physical buildup to it. Furthermore, because this sex scene happens so late in the story and so much hinges on these two consummating the relationship, you then have a total rush to the finish line of the entire romance arc, physicality aside.

Ultimately, I just felt like this was a great start that totally wasted its own potential. Which kind of annoyed me more than a book that was bad from the start would. I'm not against trying other works by Gina Conkle because she clearly has the ability to write romance, but I do think I'll need to read some reviews first to ensure that the pacing quickens.

Thanks to Netgalley and NYLA for providing me with this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed listening to the narration of this novel. The blossoming romance between the main characters was captivating. This was my first time listening to an audiobook, and was surprised that it didn’t bore me.

The pacing killed this book, there was so much lead up and chemistry between the main pair, I expected something dynamic and spicy when they finally came together but it was all an after thought. With so much slowburn I would also expect the romance to be more fluid, but so muvh dragged out without real relationship building until suddenly she was proclaiming she was in love

This beauty and the beast retelling was so engaging and entertaining! We start in a dark night where the FMC was tricked by her stepfather into going to meet the MMC to give her in exchange for some debts. Chaos ensues when the FMC finds out but she agrees to the exchange so her mother will not suffer due to the debt. I really enjoyed this book, it went by so quickly and the narrator did a fantastic job in making you feel immersed. I was on the edge of my seat for half of the book wondering where it would go next. Sure, it is a little predictable which is why I docked it one star but the journey was delightful.

Tropes: Arranged marriage, rivals to lovers, and forced proximity.

Thank you NetGalley, Gina Conkle, and Dreamscape Select for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Forced into a marriage of convenience with the Earl of Greenwich, a reclusive botanist, artist Lydia is shocked to find a man who appreciates her talent. As passion ignites, she resolves to unveil the real man behind his beastly facade before she loses him forever.

Full of secrets and intrigue, this novel has a gothic quality. Lydia and Edward are likeable characters with a strong attraction between them. I enjoyed the audiobook narration.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.