To Steal An Earl is book 3 of The Sisterhood of Independent Ladies. It can be read as a standalone.
The story is about Sophie and Nash, both trained since childhood as spies. Sophie’s mother is blackmailed for fabricating Sophie’s fake twin brother, the 4th Earl of Rydleshire, in order to safeguard the family's wealth and status. This blackmailer threatens not only Sophie and her mother but also queen Charlotte, so the queen orders Sophie to marry Nash, who is to become the next earl of Rydleshire and thus squash any fake earl rumors and keep Sophie and her mother safe.
Although I like a good espionage plot with strong characters, I had trouble connecting with the characters. Sophie was too harsh towards Nash, even childish; keeping a grudge because Nash teased her and didn’t reciprocated her puppy love when they were young. She even resented him for becoming the next earl, despite the fact that he wasn’t responsible for all of that but was just following orders. Despite her attitude towards him, Nash practically worshipped her (his ‘swan’) from the moment they got reacquainted, and believed she would <i> soon love him just as fiercely.</i>
<i>”I find your company as exciting as a stormy sea and as intoxicating as the brandy we shared in your sitting room”</i> was what he said, shortly after being trown together.
I would have liked a bit more character development and relationship building.
The mystery plot had quite a few unexpected twists and turns but for me, it didn’t feel like it came together in a very satisfying way. The story might work for other readers and fans of the author, so I would not discount the book entirely. I guess it just didn’t work for me personally. But I am willing to give this author another try; I know some stories might just don’t appeal to you while you might find other books by the same author simply fantastic. So maybe just try out this book and make up your own mind. It has a strong heroine, espionage, spies, mystery, love and fierce and loyal girl friends - all the ingredients for a good book.
Thank you Netgalley, Dragonblade Publishing and Maeve Greyson for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this as much as the 2 previous books in this series. I love how headstrong and stubborn Sophie is and how much Nash has to work to win her trust and love. I was brought to tears several times so get your tissues ready.
I wish that there could be more but I may have to be content with other future works by Maeve Greyson.
5 stars!!!

This was an enjoyable story. I do wish that the romance was stronger through. A lot of focus on the plot went to the blackmailer plot, over the romantic elements. It was still enjoyable.

Loved this book. Sophie, having been trained in espionage by her parents, has loved Nash since she was a girl. However, Nash only saw her as a child. Then Queen Charlotte commands she and Nash marry, which opens the story up to many possibilities. She and Nash must fight together to find the threat to both Sophie's family and the Queen. Wonderfully entertaining.
Thank you Maeve Greyson, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

This was a fairly smooth sailing story that had a lot of potential rough spots, but all seemed to be dealt with in a mature manner and smoothed out very quickly. Nice and entertaining read, looking forward to the next one.