This book kicks off the series Courting a Curios Lady. It's related to the Marrying a Malbry series, which I have not read, but that did not prevent me from enjoying the story. It5a second chance love story. Teddy had proposed to Elspeth last season, but she refused. He tried forgetting her by engaging in affair after affair, to no avail, but he does end up with a daughter as a result. As fate would have it, when he travels back to England with his daughter, who does he encounter on the same journey? None other than Lady Elspeth herself. Forced into close proximity, old buried feelings begin to rekindle and Elspeth and Teddy have an opportunity to reconnect.
They were young when Elpspeth had first rejected him, but now they are more mature and understanding of each other and are able to connect on a more deeper level. Their friendship grows as does their attraction for each other, leading them straight towards their second chance.
A lovely and entertaining start to a new series! I am looking forward to reading the next installment. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Lady Elsbeth Rawley is a geologist. Her dream to visit the Dragon Caves of Mallorca has come true. A student of the Belinda School For Curious Ladies, she offers to save the school by marrying before the end of the season, but her trip comes first. Lord Teddy Mabry once proposed to Elsbeth, but when she turned him down, he left for the continent living as a rake. He returns to London after almost two years, a widower with a child and a changed man. He needs to return to the continent, but prefers not to travel on the same ship as Elsbeth and her mother. Only he has no choice. Through close proximity on the ship and a storm, it's a second chance.
Descriptive sex.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this novel and this is my freely given opinion...

This is the first book of a new historical romance series by Lexi Post, but is related to the Marrying a Mabry series, with many familiar characters showing up. This one is a bit of a second chance at love story, and continues a background story from book 1 of Marrying a Mabry as there was a failed courtship between two secondary characters from Stealing the Duke.

Years before, Teddy Mabry, the young heir to the Earl of Lansdowne, became entranced by young Lady Elsbeth. In spite of his passion and strong belief he was in love, neither of them demonstrated that they were ready for a relationship. Teddy especially was quite immature, and Elsbeth wanting to learn more of the world. But when his courtship was rejected, Teddy took things to heart quite badly and ran off to nurse his broken heart on the Continent, acting out and burying his heartache in a gluttony of affairs, earing him a terrible reputation.

During that time, Lady Elsbeth and other young ladies of an academic mind joined the newly formed academy sponsored by the new Duchess of Northwick and thrived in their learning. That is coming under threat after a few years as some of the young students parents are getting impatient with their failure to focus on marriage and they have learned that many of them may be pulled from their studies by their frustrated parents if at least one of them does not wed by the end of the Season. Elsbeth decides that after she meets her goal of exploring the caverns in Mallorca, she would actively seek out to marry someone, hopefully by doing, placating the parents of the other students enough that they would not be forced to abandon their studies, and their friendships, en masse.

Teddy and Elsbeth cross paths again on Mallorca, with Teddy needing some special stones from the same cave she was excavating, to fulfill some superstitions of a member of his staff, so he can return to England. During his swath of rakishness on the Continent, he was careless and impregnated a woman, and he did the honorable thing to wed her. But she died in childbirth, leaving Teddy a single father. Teddy, when confronted with the daunting responsibility of caring for a newborn girl, rose to the challenge out of love for his daughter, but was also determined to return with her to England to meet the rest of her family.

A rather specious but cute reunion between the two young people. Elsbeth was hopeful to rekindle a friendship, but Teddy was quite hurt by her rejection of him before, and determined to keep his distance from her. But of course, they end up spending time together in the caves, and then forced to spend time together as they both travel back to England, and it rekindles some former feelings.

This is a second chance at love story and I rather liked it. But I felt that Teddy was an overly dramatic character in the Marrying the Mabry series, book 1, and quite immature in his behaviour them and that did not quite change. Elsbeth did not appear to lead him on or intentionally break his heart then, nor now, but he viewed her with a lack of trust and suspicion that felt as if he blamed her for his heartbreak and that did not feel just to have her shoulder all the blame, or evidence of his emotional growth and maturity.

But it was good to see a resolution to that story from the past as I did wonder what happened to the errant, heart broken young Teddy.

3.5 stars out of 5

This love story had a lot going on with the many different characters. The story held strong and moved pretty quickly with the plot. I enjoyed the fun and exciting entertainment with the characters. The book is written very well.

Second-Chance, Historical Romance

She rejected him, so he left for the Continent to lick his wounds. A chance encounter in a cave brought them together once more. Would they have a second chance at love? Teddy was not the same man she rejected. Would he open his heart and ask for her hand again?

This is an entertaining, steamy, historical romance. I enjoyed it and look forward to what comes next in this series.

This wonderful story of seconds chances has three main characters - Elsbeth, Teddy and baby Marianna. Elsbeth and Teddy had a broken engagement over a year ago. Elsbeth attends an elite all girl's school and has a passion for geology. Teddy is a former rake who since their break up has gotten married, widowed and has a 3 month old baby. They meet again in Spain and share a ship voyage back to England.
Having been very sheltered in her upper class upbringing, Elsbeth doesn't have much experience with children. She gets a crash course on the long voyage home as she is in close quarters with Teddy and Marianna. Love blossoms while on the voyage between the two mmcs and also between Elsbeth and little adorable Marianna. That wee baby stole the entire show. I am completely smitten with the little lady. What an absolute sweetheart. Watching them together with Marianna melted my heart. Five stars and they all go to the baby!!!

A fun, light historical romance read with the underdone "right person, wrong time" trope. I enjoyed both main characters and appreciated the message that growing and changing through individual experiences may be what's needed to get to that happy ending.
If anything, I felt there was too little conflict or complexity in the story. There was no real challenge for the main characters to overcome and that left me a little unsatisfied.
This book is part of a large series that can be read alone, however I felt I had a lot of characters and backstory to catch up on in the first few chapters.
Overall, very enjoyable.

This was a great historical romance. Given the author and the publisher, I was not at all surprised by how much I loved this book. I loved the issues associated with changes in people's characters, and how some people just cannot accept that people can change. The poor MMC keeps stumbling over parts of his past. Both the FMC and the MMC were fabulous and I loved them both. I enjoyed the inclusion of the Mabry cousins from past books and the introduction of new characters. I can't wait to read more in this series!

Big thanks to NetGalley, Dragonblade Publishing and Lexi Post for this early release copy in exchange for my honest review.

An unusual lady and a reformed lord make this an entertaining romance. Lady Elsbeth's fascination with rocks forms the basis of this novel and discovering her chipping away in a cave in Spain is the last place Teddy expected to find the lady who rejected his proposal the previous year. There are ups and downs as Elsbeth and Teddy find common ground once more and Teddy's fear of being rejected by Elsbeth is very real. However, he has something she is curious about and when he offers it to her, he discovers that there is no turning back. Overhearing an unfortunate conversation almost derails their relationship, hurting Teddy far deeper than he could have imagined but fortunately, they both have friends who care about them and are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that there is healing for their hearts. I received a copy of this well-written and enjoyable romance as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Uncovering the Lord by Lexi Post was a bit different. The protagonist, Elsbeth, attended a school for girls, Belinda School for Curious Ladies, at which women could receive the same education as college-educated men. The newest rub was that some of the ladies’ mothers had decided that it was hurting their daughters’ marriage prospects and if one of them didn’t marry, each of these daughters would be pulled from the school. After much discussion, Elsbeth decided to take the fall and marry. She had had a proposal. But, first, she and her mother were traveling to Spain to explore a cave as her primary interest was geology. Who should she meet in the cave but Lord Theodore Mabry, Viscount and heir to the Earl of Landsdowne. He was in the cave looking for a dragon’s tooth, which of course was not the actual tooth of a dragon, but a geological formation. To the Spanish it was good luck and he needed it to convince his daughter’s wet nurse to board a ship to return him to England. He cherished his daughter above all, and although he hadn’t loved her mother, he was sorry she was dead.

This was a fun and tumultuous ride, much of it on a ship which was tossed and turned in an angry ocean. During their trip Elsbeth got to know Teddy anew and his daughter, Marianna, and although she had refused his proposal months earlier, she was rethinking her position. She adored Marianna and Teddy had grown into a good man. It was a different kind of plot and one that made it very enjoyable to read. Second chance romances happen often, but not so interestingly. These were both terrific characters and Teddy turned out to be quite the modern man. They did have some travails, but the road to a happy life is never without its bumps. It was a fun read. Thanks Lexi Post, for this entertaining book.

I was invited to read Uncovering the Lord by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #LexiPost #UncoveringTheLord

Lady Elsbeth is more interested in rocks than gentlemen, but has promised her friends that she’ll find a husband to marry this season so that they will be allowed to continue to go to their shared school. On her last expedition to some Spanish caves, Elsbeth runs into her old friend and rejected suitor Teddy, who is now a single father trying to convince his superstitious wet nurse to get on a ship. These two end up reconnecting on the ship back to England and Elsbeth is especially impressed by Teddy’s newfound maturity. The problem here is that she had rejected him once before so she thinks she doesn’t have a chance of catching his attention again, not realizing that he’s still in love with her after all this time. It’s clearly a perfect match between these two and it’s fun reading their slow build of a relationship again.

This historical romance is the first of a new series with links to a previous one. This one involves young ladies who have high intelligence and wish to have an education that is not normally possible for females.
Our heroine is a geologist. She is determined to have an adventure before she marries.
Our hero left London in a temper tantrum after being rejected. Two years on the continent has taught him much needed lessons. He is a much better man now.
Great characters, fabulous adventures and a few giggles. A fabulous start to the series and I look forward to reading the rest.
Good fun.

This book is great!! The storyline and characters are well developed and interesting. I became so engrossed in the book that I finished it in one evening!

2.5 stars,

*second chance romance
*single father
*close proximity
*virgin MFC

As I started reading this I kept finding myself wondering if it was part of an existing series - I had to check and was actually a little surprised that it’s the first of a series because early on (as well as throughout) I felt like I was missing pertinent information about the characters mentioned (***I found out halfway through my reading that while this is the first title of a new series, it’s also a spin-off to a series I have not read. Hence, my feeling lost in places).

Quite possibly because this is a spin-off, and I was unfamiliar with characters, and past events, I found that I wasn’t able to ever connect with the story, invest in the characters, or really care much about the outcome.

Also, it takes quite a while to get to the steam here and what there was was severely lacking, imho.

Steam - ⭐️/5


My wish after reading this is to never ever read the term “groin sac” again.



Thank you to Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

⭐⭐⭐.5/6.
🌶🌶.5/5.

Elsbeth is an avid student and one of her interests and studies are all sorts of rocks so she goes to Spain to explore the caves that have some interesting rocks and such but before she goes on this journey, she assures her other classmates and friends that she will marry once she comes back and secure their place at the school.
I must say I was quite bored with the rocks and all of that so I skimmed parts of the story mostly in the beginning but once we get introduced to Teddy things become more interesting.

Teddy has once asked Elsbeth hand in marriage but she refused him and broke his heart hence why he had been traveling abroad. I liked who Teddy became after he discovered he was a father and how much that changed his views.
I quite liked Elsbeth & Teddy together however that did not last long because there was a misunderstanding and rightfully so Teddy reacted accordingly imo. That could've very much been avoided and I don't get why Elsbeth didn't tell Teddy what was going on especially after they got involved. On top of that, the fact that she didn't intend on ever telling him made me even more frustrated and totally made me compassionate towards Teddy and what he was feeling. I liked what she did to get him back but again all of it could've been avoided.

* I read an arc of this book. *

New series with a second chance plot. Teddy was turned down when he asked Elsbeth for her hand. Now they cross paths again but much has changed at least for Teddy. A lovely second chance story with characters from a prior series as well as a new adorable character. When life knocks on your door a second time, don't miss the opportunity it has given you. Great read.

Teddy Mabry was rejected by Elsbeth and escaped to the continent for adventure and recovery.
A convenient marriage, a newborn daughter, and the loss of his wife changes his perspective and maturity.
When he encounters Elsbeth again, she is enamoured of the changes in him realizing that she has loved him all along.
The romance is beautifully written with in depth character development.
Addition of characters from previous books in the series add to the fun of reading.

I discovered Lexi Post last year through her Little Women retelling series, Marrying a Mabry. I absolutely devoured it because the source material has a very tender piece of my heart. I loved her characters that gave wonderful homage to the March sisters yet still maintained a fresh originality. This spinoff series, Courting a Curious Lady, was just as enjoyable. This particular collection also harkens back to Louisa May Alcott with the Little Women sequels featuring the school Jo established. We got glimpses of Teddy and Elsbeth in the first series and it was actually nice to see them again, matured for the better. I'm not usually fond of second chance romances, but I was cognizant enough of their previous relationship that I wasn't spoon-fed their history like most reunion plotlines. These were so tender and I knew they were destined to be together.

Elsbeth was really into geology and it took her all the way to Spain to explore the stalagmites in the Dragon Caves of Mallorca. And who else should she find but the man whose proposal she rejected in years past? These two reconnect and are forced to share a long naval journey back to their mutual home of England. I really like romances set on boats because it emphasizes forced proximity and rollicking waves often encourage late night comforting. These two were so darling and I didn't mind that he was a single parent. Shocker! The only instance I'll allow children in romances is when they're chubby little babies who can't speak. Baby Marianna was the MVP of this book and no one was more surprised than I. Having someone love your baby is a direct pipeline to having them love you. Sorry, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them.

Uncovering the Lord was a rocking good time and I'm looking forward to future installments. All Elsbeth's friends seem so sweet and deserve their own happy ending. I'm so happy I discovered this author and I desperately need to catch up on her catalog. I'm not one for geology, but I'm willing to explore some dusty caves if I have any hope of Uncovering the Lord just like Teddy.

"Uncovering the Lord" takes us back to the Mabry family and to Joanna's The Belinda School, which caters to young women seeking to know more. FMC Elspeth is a student of the school with a love for geology and a widowed mother who is happy to indulge her daughter's educational leanings. Learning that her friends' less indulgent mothers have decreed that they cannot return to Belinda unless one of the students takes a husband, Elspeth agrees to make the ultimate sacrifice - but not until after one last cave exploring adventure in Spain.

It is on this adventure that Elspeth reconnects with MMC Lord Theodore "Teddy" Mabry. Elspeth turned down Teddy's proposal of marriage in the previous season, unimpressed by his immaturity and fawning. Now a widower with an infant daughter, Teddy has grown up and glowed up, leading Elspeth to rethink her prior rejection. As for Teddy, his feelings for Elspeth never fully dissipated (his poor wife) and the pair quickly rekindle their connection.

Teddy and Elspeth are a lovely demonstration of right person wrong time. With more maturity and life experience under each of their belts, they are able to make a deeper connection than would have previously existed, building something on friendship as well as attraction. Yet even here Elspeth fails to be fully honest with Teddy, leading to a third-act separation fueled by miscommunication - not a trope I particularly enjoy. Overall, though, I enjoyed Teddy and Elspeth's story, which does, of course result in a HEA.

4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and DragonBlade for a complimentary ARC. These opinions are my own.