Hot Earl Summer is the fifth installment in the Wild Wynchester series. It follows Elizabeth Wynchester, the sword-wielding sister. It was an enjoyable read, and like the previous books, this novel is filled with humor and silliness. Although I don't have any myself, I appreciate that several books within this series, including this one, showcase characters with different disabilities. The story was entertaining throughout, and I eagerly look forward to the next addition to the series!

*4.75

This was a lot of fun. I liked the banter that they had and how nerdy he was. He was nothing like she expected her dream man to be but she loved him all the same.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advanced copy! You can pick up Hot Earl Summer now.

What a delightful historical romance! This was my first Wynchester book, and while it admittedly was a bit difficult to keep track of all the siblings and their quirks, I still enjoyed Elizabeth and Stephen's journey. I really appreciated Erica Ridley's approach to Elizabeth's disability, and I think it's so cool to see a strong and literally fearless FMC navigating her mission with her physical capabilities in mind. All of Elizabeth and Stephen's characters were handled with such care!

Their romance was adorable, if a bit quick for my preference. I would've appreciated a bit more time with them getting to know each other before jumping each other's bones, but I can't complain too much when it was still so sweet (and sexy).

If you're a historical romance girlie looking for a sword-wielding FMC and mad genius/inventor MMC with massive found family vibes, this is your book!

I enjoyed Elizabeth and Stephen's story! It was so much fun watching these two match wits and work together to defeat their enemy.

Enter Elizabeth Wynchester, our curvy sword-cane wielding berserker! Chronic pain or no, she is about to take on a mission solo. One that drops her into a castle filled with hidden traps and a handsome reclusive inventor.

This series is called the Wild Wynchesters for a reason and I feel like Hot Earl Summer brought all the bonkers Wynchester fun! Was the banter and storyline slightly over the top? Yes, it was. But did it bring me so much joy? Also, yes! Elizabeth's story has been one I have been looking forward to since the very beginning of the series and I love how her character was allowed to truly shine in this novel. I loved how Erica Ridley balanced Elizabeth's chronic pain with her need to fulfil her mission as well as provide her with an out of the box partner who was able to learn from her. This novel was the perfect summer read for me!

The Wynchester's are one of my favorite historical romance families!
Elizabeth has intrigued me from the moment we first met her, so I was super excited to get her as the Heroine of her own story. She is feisty and has a penchant for swinging her sword and asking questions later.
When the Wynchester's get a new case looking for a lost will proving ownership of a property, Elizabeth is on the hunt. She doesn't expect to find Stephen an inventor of crazy machines in the place she's trying to infiltrate, and another person trying to get the property out from under all of them.
While I did think they caught feelings awful fast I did love all their interactions and how they thwarted the other dude and went about searching and solving the clues that lead to the will.
One of my favorite parts is towards the end when all the Wynchester come together and win the fight!

I can't wait to see who is going to be Jacob's match in the next book!

Elizabeth is a scene stealing character whenever she appears in her siblings’ books so I shouldn’t have been surprised that she was so fun to read as a main character. I absolutely loved this. A fun, feminist romp where the heroine is celebrated for her antics, not punished.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

As I have said in other recent book reviews that I have written over the last month or so, I would say that summer 2024 is the summer of royal romances. I have already read at least 3 or 4 royal/regency themed romances this summer. So royal romances are definitely super popular right now. If I had to guess, I would say that it is because of Bridgerton's popularity on Netflix and with the books. While I am not necessarily bored, I must say, how many royal romances can be published at one time? Oh, who I am kidding...I am NOT complaining because I have DEVOURED every single one of these royal romance books the last few months. With that being said, I have to wonder what the next big "trope craze" will be? Because there can only be so many royal romances unfortunately...

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I loved the romantic chemistry. If you want to set out and read dozens of royal romances, I think this book should definitely be included on your list. Erica Ridley did a fantastic job and I would definitely read more books from her in the future (royal themed or not!)


Read if you like

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Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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This is another book about the Wild Wynchesters, who are a family who care about people. Each sibling has a unique skill. Elizabeth (Beth) skill is her trusty blade which is hidden inside her cane. She uses this blade whenever she can. Stephen is pretending to be his cousin, the Earl for a while but it is taking longer than he planned. Elizabeth and Stephen become lovers, and Stephen does not want it to end. When Erica Ridley writes a book, you get lost in the book and you lose time. This was an enjoyable entertaining book.
I received an ARC of this book, and I am giving my honest opinion.

Format - E ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶

Series- The Wild Wynchesters #5

Troupes- strangers to friends to lovers, forced proximity, Historical, found family, Adventure romp, slap stick fighting

Representation- rheumatoid arthritis chronic illness

CW- abandonment

Have you been following the Wynchesters on their journeys to find love? Yes then you know Elizabeth and her blood thirsty sword wielding ways. And if you’re anything like me, you desperately wanted to know her HEA. Well we finally have it and its everything I could have wanted and so much more.

For one I love a hero named Stephen, so often they are the villain or cheating ex and that is just not right. Secondly I love the Stephen is a straight up nerd genius that builds what are affectively Grinch level contraptions to do everyday and not so everyday tasks.

These two together banter for days and the sexual attraction is palatal from the beginning while Elizabeth is hacking at a door with a bloody axe. I love how Elizabeth describes her bodies limitations and how her percentages and Stephen’s are different but still make sense to each other. I love that he cares for her but also makes know that he fully believes in her bada$$ery and knows she can handle herself even when all he wants to do it hold her and coddle her.

I loved every wild, witty, blood thirsty, sexy, family bonding bit of this book and cannot wait to find out what Erica has in store for Jacob and his HEA!

Thank you Erica Ridley, Forever and Netgalley for the advanced copy all opinions are my own.

Another great installation in the Wynchester series!

I don't know how accurate Ridley's portrayal of chronic illness is but I liked her portrayal of Elizabeth and her percentages. She was such a fun character, even from previous books you got a strong sense of who she is, and it was incredible to see a heroine go after what she wants and tell her SO what she needs from them.
Stephen was a great match for her sometimes I felt that his empathy and asking for consent for everything were heavy handed but then it fits so well with these too.

Did I totally understand the plot at the beginning? No.
Were there romance reasons? Probably.
Was it one heck of a fun ride? Absolutely.

If you like humor like The Big Bang TV series and swords, this is for you!

The fun title of this book caught my attention right away and I wasn't let down because I loved it!. The story is a blend of humor, wit, and just the right amount of action I was hoping for in a fun Regency romance.

Stephen won me over with his immediate chemistry with Elizabeth, who is hilarious and knows how to handle herself in a fight despite suffering from chronic pain constantly.

I can't wait to dive into the earlier books and learn more about the rest of the Wynchester family!

Overview: Elizabeth Wynchester (aka Beth the Berserker) is on a mission to find a missing will for a client. She will need to work with the eccentric Stephen Lenox, who has taken up residence in the castle in place of his cousin, the earl, who is in line to inherit the castle if the will is not found.

Thoughts: This was such a quirky book!! It took me some time to get into it, as I had trouble keeping track of all the members of the Wynchester family and Elizabeth as a character felt a bit cartoonish and one-dimensional. However, the story did pick up a bit once she met Stephen. The parallel storyline of the missing will was a great plot device to force Elizabeth and Stephen to work together. At first I wasn’t convinced about them as a couple, since their attraction seemed purely physical in nature, but as the book went on I appreciated how they complemented each other intellectually. On a side note, I found the portrayal of Elizabeth’s debilitating lower back issues to be realistic and made her more relatable.

Take home message: Hot Earl Summer is a wacky and hilarious historical rom com featuring a grumpy female lead who is overly enthusiastic about using violence to solve any issue and a grumpy inventor who would rather design murder rooms and other contraptions than socialize with other humans. Other tropes include opposites attract and forced proximity.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Regency romps are always so much fun. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one!! I especially loved how I didn't realize this was a book 5 (!!!) in an interconnected series until right before I started. I didn't feel lost at all and I instantly fell in love with this (found) family ☺️ The Wynchesters kinda give me "Umbrella Academy" x Bridgerton vibes for lack of a better comparison (minus the magic powers, although one could argue the Wynchesters are pretty badass anyways)

The characterization of Elizabeth was probably my favorite part of the book. Her inner dialogue and how she explained her chronic pain in an easy-to-grasp way (ex. "I'm 60% or 100% Elizabeth and climbing" 🥹) & don't even get my started about Mr. Stephen Lenox!!! No wonder Elizabeth constantly thought this man was flirting with his nerdiness and press-ups. LOL

I will say the sub/side plot was a bit outrageous 😂 I wish we focused a bit more on the riddles and puzzles, but alas.

Thank you so much Forever pub and netgalley for the arc!

I have not been able to stop thinking about this book since I received the ARC in the spring. Now that it’s officially released I need you all to read it!

It’s the perfect amalgamation of Monty Python, A Knight’s Tale and Princess Bride all wrapped up in this hilarious and perfect historical romance with the hottest nerdy MMC and a bada** chronically ill, sword-wielding heroine. Elizabeth and Stephen are truly my favorite couple this year.

Special thanks to @readforeverpub for the ARC.

This is the fifth book in the wild Winchesters series. All of the siblings in these books are fascinating and it’s definitely an interesting family. Elizabeth is Kirby and has a weapon and shows up at the earl of Densmore home in order to find papers that would help an orphanage. Stephen, who is an inventor is there supposedly helping out his cousin who’s been missing for several months and end up needing Elizabeth help to guard him from those that are trying to hurt him is such a fun dynamic and it’s great to see such a strong female character in historical romance , I love Elizabeth family dynamics because you can see how much they all love each other even though they’ve all come from different places in life. It’s a book that has action and romance and hijacks so in that way, it’s an entertaining read from start to finish.

"Hot Earl Summer" is historical romance gone slapstick. Which, to be clear, is not a bad thing. This book returns us to the fabulous and clever Wynchester, with Elizabeth "Beserker" Wynchester seeking out the possibly dastardly Earl of Densmore - only to learn that the earl has absconded and installed his eccentric inventor cousin Stephen in his wake. Which turns out to be quite the turn of luck for Elizabeth and her libido.

Anyway, this book is mostly just fun. The entire Wynchester clan makes cameos, and Elizabeth is the epitome of an incredibly strong woman whose body often doesn't cooperate. Yet she keeps going. And Stephen sees her strengths, accepts her moments of lesser percentages, and loves her through them all.

The case aspect of the story is entertaining and I really enjoyed the ending Battle Royale. A worthy read.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

This series is such a fun spin on a regency romance and Hot Earl Summer did not disappoint!

If you’re a fan of either Manda Collins’ Ladies Most Scandalous books or India Holton’ Dangerous Damsels series, then you’d enjoy this cooky take on a historical romcom with a rich action/adventure subplot.

Special thanks NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's not you, it's me. I am in such a reading rut. I got through 8% and just could not get into this one. This is my second book in a row I couldn't get into.

Another great book in Erica Ridley's Wynchester series!

Beth the Berserker is a delightful character, a woman who loves her swords and battles and lights up at the thought of potentially being able to stab someone in the quest for justice. Stephen is a tinkerer, an inventor of many entertaining if unnecessary machines (as well as many that are very useful!) and perhaps on paper they shouldn't work, But they do. They balance each other out, while at the same time, recognizing in one another the unique characteristics that many in society deem not to be acceptable. They really see one another, for their strengths and vulnerabilities. And while they have their struggles, they communicate.

The whole premise for the book is also a wild ride of fun. Stephen is pretending to be his cousin, an Earl who gambled away the castle that his mother intended to go to her sister. The Earl has gone gallivanting around who-knows-where, leaving Stephen to literally defend the castle from an advancing 'army' of men, led by a narcissistic aristocrat who thinks he is a war general (he's not) and is intent on taking possession of the castle he won in order to host a war re-enactment. Beth comes to help find the mother's will to prove the sister is the intended recipient of the house, and as she searches the castles for clues to the scavenger hunt left to find the will, she and Stephen end up spending a lot of time together.

I love how Beth's family showed up at the end, ready to literally do battle, but also committed to ensuring the castle was with its rightful owner. This also meant that we got to see Tickletums, the hedgehog!!! yay!!

An entertaining book that made me smile and laugh!