As per usual, Alexandra Vasti knocks it out of the park. This was so incredible. I loved Ne’er Duke Well, but this one topped it. The balance of emotional depth of character, heat and spice and tension, and plot was just so excellent.

From the start I was hooked. I was laughing out loud and thoroughly enjoying myself. The hijinks were so funny and endearing.

And don’t get me started on the MMC. I think my new type is an over large, quiet, Scottish giant who is the very definition of a simp. From the first moment he met the FMC, he was GONE gone. I loved how he just could not get enough of her.

Lydia is an excellent FMC. Vasti manages to write heroines who are relatable to modern readers while also staying historically accurate. I found Lydia so relatable in the way she fought against her social anxiety. Also her frustrating attraction to Arthur was hilarious and so fun.

Overall, I had a super fun time with this book and I’m already looking forward to a reread.

Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti is a book full of adventure. It starts with a mix up and moves through some scheming and ends the way that makes you swoon. This was such a fun book to read!

Thank you netgalley for an arc of Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

Like other stories by Alexandra Vasti, this story is a humorous romp generously seasoned with spicy scenes. We met Lydia Hope-Wallace in the previous novel. In this one, she teams up with her irrepressible friends to run off to Scotland and propose to her pen pal of 3 years, the Earl of Strathrannoc.h. This comes as a complete surprise to Arthur Baird, the Earl, because it was actually his younger brother Davis who penned years of letters in his name. Lots of impulsive running away, horse chases, a zebra stampede(!), sneaking around, and looking for spies follows. The characters' actions are as ill-advised as in previous novels, the situations as implausible, and the lusty temptations as unconquerable; overall and in spite of the silliness I enjoyed this story quite a bit. Smart-but-anxious Lydia grows some resilience, Arthur grows some trust in the people who truly value him, and eventually we get to the happy ending for everyone except the villains. Brava!

Oh Alexandra vasti how I love you. Ne’er the Duke is one of my favorite romances of all time and she did it again with this one! I love how funny yet sexy vasti’s writing is. I can’t get enough. Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc of this very anticipated read!

This book was perfection for me. The characters are so believable, so fun, so rich. Even though we're dealing with some of the same characters from previous books in the series, it doesn't feel like we're missing anything - it's fully a standalone with some fun cameos. The plot was great - I love when a romance has more at stake than *just* the romance.

This is the 2nd Regency rom-com set in the world of Belvoir’s Library. The MCs are Lydia Hope-Wallace, who is one of Selina’s besties from London that you meet in Ne’er Duke Well, and Arthur Baird, the Earl of Strathrannoch in Scotland. Lydia is an heiress with a lot of money and he has a title and a rundown castle. After a miscommunication meet-cute, they develop the hots for each other.

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS:
- Fake Married
- Politics & Schemes
- Longing & Lust
- Vulnerability & Care
- Love Letters
- Can’t stop kissing
- Only one bed
- Too many brothers

Arthur understands her shyness and anxiety and wants to protect her. Lydia feels strength from him and loves his massive torso. He falls hard and is the biggest cinnamon roll. She is a smart politico with a talent for writing opinion pamphlets. Together they pretend to be married for “reasons” and they keep up the ruse for quite some time and is a lot of fun. Aside from the romance I really loved getting cameos of characters from the 1st book when Selina & her besties put their wits together to solve the case. I honestly would watch a Masterpiece Theater series about the Belvoirs library and its female patrons solving crimes. Also, I may or may not have been teary-eyed at the ending.

I’ve read all of Vasti’s books so far and her deft ability to blend romance, humor, steam, politics, class differences, and personal vulnerabilities with real historical events portrayed as a mystery puzzle that needs to be solved remains unmatched. The depth of feeling in her writing is wonderful and I will continue to read anything she writes.

This Belvoirs series is fantastic and I can’t recommend it enough. I’m so excited for Georgiana’s book! Her dog is named Sir Francis Bacon, Bacon for short, and I laughed so hard! 🥓

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC

This book balances adventure and shenanigans so well with the emotional and physical connection between Lydia and Arthur. A fake relationship is always fun to read, especially when the hero is down bad for the heroine, but tries to keep his distance for reasons. It was particularly gratifying to watch Lydia come out of her shell over the course of the story.
I'm not always opposed to epilogues that show the couple several years down the road, but it didn't work for me here. Regardless, I'll read whatever Alexandra Vasti writes next, though I'm praying it's Georgiana's story.

I absolutely loved this story - the characters were so incredibly likable and real. The way that Lydia was around strangers and large gatherings reminded me of myself and felt heartwarming to read about. Arthur was funny and sweet and obsessed with her while still being angry and worried about his brother. I also LOVED the suspense in this book! It was just enough to keep me guessing. Georgiana, Jasper, Ned!!! I can’t wait for more characters in this world to get their own happy ending.

I have already purchased another Vasti novel and am so excited to get reading!

Lydia has been writing to an Earl, Arthur, for years. She decides to propose a marriage of convenience to him but when she shows up on his doorstep, it turns out his brother was posing the Earl in his letters. Lydia and Arthur set off to find his brother who stole something valuable from him. Enter spies, fake identities, meddling servants (❤️ Bertie and Huw)...

I enjoyed this one. At times there was a little too much going on with all the different politics and spy drama but I enjoyed seeing Lydia and Arthur explore their growing connection.

Happy that the next story is Georgiana's!

Alexandra Vasti has written another perfect historical romance in the Earl Crush!

After reading the first Belvoirs novel and just loving it, I am super grateful for Netgalley because I just binged this one in 2 days, I loved it so much! It has all the tropes you could ask for in a Regency romance - fake marriage, a lovable Scottish MMC and of course the only one bed. But this book had a FMC that was so relatable for me as a reader; even though Lydia has social anxiety and struggles in public, the reader was able to watch Arthur love her through it all. He was there to support her no matter what, and when she needed, protect her as well. It was a beautiful thing to read.

This novel had real, complex characters that were so easy to relate to (and fall in love with). It was an absolute pleasure to read this ARC. A huge thank you to NetGalley, Alexandra Vasti, and St. Martin’s Press!

Our story begins as our FMC, Lydia Hope-Wallace, runs off to Scotland with her best friend, Selina, traveling to Scotland to propose a marriage of convenience to the Earl of Strathronnach. Lydia has been anonymously exchanging letters with him for years, but Arthur — the real Earl of Strathrannoch — has no idea who she is. They figure out his brother has been using Arthur's name to pose as the earl in the letter. Now, his brother has gone missing with something very important to Aruthr.

This was such a fun romp! I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. Our main characters are so wonderful and well-developed. We get so many genuine moments of Arthur and Lydia as individuals (especially Lydia, who pukes into potted plants when she has to go to parties — nice to see a relatable character for once) and together. This story is such an unexpected joy. So many scenes had me giddy, e.g., the drawing room and the stairwell scenes especially! The buildup between Arthur and Lydia is so perfect. Also, it was very surprisingly high stakes?

Author Alexandra Vasti does a tremendous job here. I was fully immersed in the world she's built for the entire duration and then came out at the end feeling so joyous and satisfied and wishing I could somehow read it again for the first time. This is a historical romance, but it feels very current and relevant. They had so many moments of joy, humor and pure love. I was so taken with Lydia's subdued strength and Arthur's unfailing support for her. Their love had a certain quietness and softness that somehow, at the same time, felt so authentic to them.

"Earl Crush" has rightfully earned a spot as one of my top books of the year.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

I'm not going to write about characters or storyline or this author, who became one of my favorites, you have other reviews for that. I'm here to say that usually I avoid Scottish characters because I get annoyed when I have to look up too many words or expressions. Not with this one. My Outlander level knowledge was enough.
I really enjoyed this book.

This was another joy of a read from Alexandra Vasti. She crafts such marvelous, fun, mysterious and spicy regency stories.

Arthur you are always always worthy of love my dear!! Seeing Lydia come out of her shell after book one was such a joy!!

I love the mystery & action involved in this story. That made this for a very interesting read.

The banter and dialogue are top notch!! And the spice is delicious!! Easy 5star Historical Romance!!

I have really enjoyed Vasti's previous work and this one I had high expectations for and was just slightly disappointed. Felt a little like insta love. I am not giving up on her work, but this would not be the one I would recommend to people to start with.

This was a joy, and surprisingly mysterious and high stakes! I love Vasti's lean into (historically authentic) absurdity, and the opening scenes were hilariously melodramatic. Lydia was such a compelling character in Ne'er Duke Well, and to see her absolutely wreck a big, burly, pure-hearted Scotsman feels so RIGHT. I loved seeing how she and Arthur learn one another's minds, and how her secret and scandalous political career is foundational to how she's understood by him and his family. Lydia deserves to be a whole person, and the exploration of how her family has shielded her - a misguided attempt to protect her - from conflict and anxiety was so well done. To see her and Arthur again self-confidence and a sense of individual purpose through their journey was so moving.

And this political plot!! I didn't see it coming and loved where it took us. This made for an exciting third act that propelled us headlong into difficult discoveries, and thankfully brought along a cast of loveable side characters, too.

The interwoven epistolary elements and chapter starts were brilliantly done and helped land an emotional gut punch in the third act, and I give 12/10 stars to these love declarations. Such a fun follow-up to Ne'er Duke Well, but one that can easily stand alone for new readers. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader's copy.

Marriage of convenience, only one bed, grumpy/sunshine, social anxiety rep

Lydia Hope-Wallace at six and twenty (a spinster, really) has corresponded with the Earl of Strathrannoch (Arthur), on political matters, in which she also writes pamphlets about under a pen name, Lydia decides to surprise him with a marriage proposal. Except, once she arrives in Scotland, nothing is as it seems.

Hilarity & adventures ensue, along with a few steamy scenes, a zebra chase and a bit of mystery,

Alexandra Vasti does it again, an absolute 11/10 read.

The characters are complex, human, and relatable. Even the side characters have incredible depth to them, and I can't wait for more of this series. I love how the rules and norms of the time are portrayed accurately and include groups typically left out of historical romances. The best thing about this book are undoubtedly the characters. The women supporting other women, and the men that respect them as they are despite the time period the story is set in.

I am recommending this book to absolutely anyone that will listen for preorder.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! Earl Crush was such a fun, cute read. As a fan of historical romance, I had a good feeling about it, but Lydia was such a likeable character that it elevated it even more. She seemed to refreshingly normal in the sense that she was anxious,‘didn’t always light up a room, and had so many options but didn’t know how to express them. We also love a moment of romance where the person on paper literally doesn’t match what she had in her head, and chaos ensues.

This book is so much more than a historical romance. To start, I’ve never come across a character more relatable than Lydia. In her moments of anxiety and self-doubt, I saw myself. With the soft, supportive scotsman Arthur at her side, she truly blossoms. As a fellow wallflower, I was inspired by her growth.

In regard to the plot, the addition of mystery and suspense was a refreshing twist, offering readers more depth and intrigue than the usual historical romance storyline. Finding out that it’s inspired by actual historical events was an added bonus. I would definitely recommend this to my romance reader/historical fiction friends.

Thank you NetGalley, Alexandra Vasti, and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a fun read! As a fellow anxious lady, Lydia was such a lovable and relatable character. Earl Crush is the perfect historical romance for those that love an adventure and a little bit of espionage.

Mark your calendars for January 21, 2025!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.