Confounding the Earl is the next story by Lexi Post and part of the Courting a Curious Lady series. The main characters are Felton Ambrose, The Earl of Harewood and Lady Dorothea Ansley (Dory to friends and family) both attend the same ball. Following the death of his beloved fiancé, Belinda, Felton keeps to himself and prefers to observe people’s behaviour instead. It is during said ball that he watches as several people walk away from a young lady while she is speaking with them! His curiosity is heightened, and he decides to strike up a conversation with Dory to find out why this happens. Even though most do not have the patience to try to work out what Dory is saying, he finds pleasure in following her train of thought and finds her thoroughly engaging.

When his mother starts planning to host a house party in the hope that Felton will find a suitable match, he includes Dory in the invitation, especially when he realises that she gets along very well with his sister Rose. During the house party, Felton takes it upon himself to help Dory as to how to attract potential suitors by limiting her ramblings. She succeeds and finally has three potential suitors interested in pursuing her. It takes Felton some time to finally realise he has feelings for Dory.

A slow burn romance which at times I felt was a tad tedious. I received an ARC from the publishers and NetGalley and submit my honest review voluntarily.

This was a well written and interesting love story. The main characters were likable and strong-willed. There were many twists and turns that were very entertaining and unique. The path to romance and love was very engaging and delightful. I highly recommend reading!

I really enjoy reading Lexi's books. This is the second series of historical romance novels by Lexi that I have read. This particular novel is the second in the series. I love a good cameo and this had cameos from both historical romance series. However, what really made this story so great was the character development. The MMC took a long journey of development from "fix her" to love. It was just wonderful. He loves her for her faults and not despite them. Just so good!!

Big thanks to NetGalley, Dragonblade Publishing and Lexi Post for an early release copy of this book. This is an honest review.

The entire premise of how Fen started helping Dory with her tangled thoughts was cute. I am enjoying this series with the Belinda school for Curious Ladies. The way Fen reacted after their first romantic encounter left a lot to be desired.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

This was a really sweet Regency romance, with very little spice. It's quite a nice slow-burn, although it feels longer than it actually is. I did have my worries - especially about our hero, but I warmed up to him throughout the novel and he convinced me in the end that he changed his way of thinking.

That being said, it is a tad bit predictable, but it does not take away from the fun. However, I did feel like the young ladies are portrait as maybe a tad bit too juvenile at times, which shouldn't be the case, especially for those young ladies who were attending the School for Curious Ladies.

I enjoyed Dory and Felton's story and was impressed by both the author's philosophical knowledge and Dory's ramblings, which were amusing to follow as a reader, but certainly hard to put down on paper. The plot was well written with touching moments, some twists, steam and very interesting and likable main and supporting characters.

Since the death of the love of his life, Belinda, Felton Ambrose, Earl of Harewood, has lived a life without any great moments of happiness. The only person he now cares for is his younger sister Rose. His only entertaining pleasures are his successes in betting thanks to his powers of observation and sporting competitions. The concept of doing something just for fun and without any ambition to win is completely alien to him.
The fact that his beloved Belinda's name is used by her sister to name a school for curious ladies infuriates him, especially as the pupils are apparently social outcasts and Belinda's name is thus sullied. When his sister informs him that she also wants to attend the school to improve her marriage prospects, Felton decides to improve the school's reputation by helping the female students to become more popular, among them Lady Dorothea „Dory“ Ansley, whom he finds so fascinating that he arranges for her to be invited to his parents' house party.

Dory is known for her unique monologues, jumping from one topic to the next without realising it, driving away potential interlocutors and suitors. However, she needs to find a man as quickly as possible before her mother's scandalous behavior ruins her prospects for good. The only person who seems to understand and appreciate her ramblings is the Earl of Harewood.

At his parents’ house party, Felton observes Dory and finds an effective method that keeps her from rambling. In return for his help, Dory wants to teach Fenton to enjoy the little things in life.
Dory soon has many admirers among the other male house guests, but the only man she feels attracted to is the heartbroken man she can’t have. But Felton also is no longer happy with the success of his experiment...

Overall, a heartwarming, slow-burning love story that I am happy to recommend!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lexi Post has quickly become one of my favorite indie authors as she appeals to my great fondness for the Little Women franchise. Those March girlies touch my heart something fierce and I love seeing them live on more than a century later. Confounding the Earl even focuses on my favorite sister and the one most similar to my own temperament, Beth March. Our hero was once in love with the kind, soft soul known as Belinda Mabry before she passed away to illness she contracted while helping others. Felton never forgot about her and always carries a piece of her in his heart. Fast forwarding to the present day, he offers to help a young lady who attends the school named after Belinda to catch her herself a husband. Not him of course! Don't be silly! Flirting Lessons isn't one of my favorite tropes because we all know the teacher inevitably falls for the student in the ways of love.

I did like this story although I couldn't relate to Dory's predicament. She's a yapper. I'm personally not much of a chatterbox. I'm very soft spoken and have social anxiety. More often than not, people ask me to repeat myself because I spoke too quietly on my first utterance. I really adored the organic progression to our couple's relationship. Everything felt so natural and not forced at all. I did find it to be a shade too long where 100 pages could have been shaved off for the betterment of the novel. Minor criticism aside, this was a lovely romance and Lexi Post never fails to make me swoon.

I'm very intrigued to read the future book in the Courting a Curious Lady series. As a wallflower myself, these women are very relatable. I hope they all get their happy endings and a ring on their wee fingers. Lexi Post is a lovely author whose every publication warms my heart. We Confounded the Earl this time, what member of the gentry can we thoroughly muddle next time?

Confounding the Earl by Lexi Post is part of the Courting a Curious Lady series. Felton Ambrose, Earl of Harewood, prided himself on winning bets. He believed he could read people so well he knew what they were doing before they did. The betting book at White’s was his friend. He saw no match in the future for himself. His beloved, Belinda Mabry, had died years ago and his heart was still full of her. Now one of her sisters, a duchess, had started a school for young women and named it the Belinda School. He had to determine that the school honored, rather than besmirched, her name, so he set about getting to know one of the students, a curious lady named Lady Dorothea Ashley. She was indeed a curious lady and one who did not hesitate to speak up, even to him. She also did not hesitate to snoop when it seemed reasonable and would go to preposterous length to avoid being caught. She fascinated him.

Both well-written and interesting characters, it was intriguing to watch them fall in love; to watch Fen realize that his heart was now filled with someone other than Belinda. She was indeed outrageous, but she stimulated him and made him want more from life. This was an engaging story. His friends, enjoyed it, too. There are far more independent Regency ladies in fiction than there were in reality. Twists and turns abound. It was fun. Thanks Lexi Post!

I was invited to read Confounding the Earl by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #LexiPost #ConfoundingTheEarl.

This historical romance series is linked by a school for ladies who want to be more than ornaments or broodmares. Our heroine this time has a particular reason for needing a marriage soon. Unfortunately, she is very intelligent, but let's her thought processes wander at will. The men of society expect a totally different kind of woman as a wife.

Our hero lost the love of his life years ago and is only existing on the fringes of life without enjoying any of it. His lost love and his sister are the only people of importance to him.

I especially loved the heroine in this story. She is honest, kind, and with so much to give everyone around her.

It is a very interesting and enjoyable story with great characters. Because the series is set around a school filled with ladies from many different backgrounds, they are easily read on their own. I, for one, am addicted to the series and will read all of them. I'm assuming that Lisette will be the next heroine, and she has a lot to share with us.

I loved it.

Have you ever been around someone that can't stop talking and you get so lost that you are completely confused? I have, I live with five of them so I can relate to this story 100%. This is Dory's issue and a symptom of ADD. So many thoughts running in her head that they get muddled up. That is until she kisses Fen. Fen is experimenting on helping Dory and isn't prepared for what happens as part of the experiment. A moving story of being different than what society expects and the fall out from it. Great characters from primary to supporting ones. I especially like Rose. Don't miss this series, it's different and fun.

A true gem! Just because one is different does not mean they can not be a success. Enter out heroine, Lady Dorothea, charming, witty and bit of a talker. She fits the hero, Fen, so well, you wish their story to continue. ARC from NetFGalley.

My heart went out to Lady Dorothea as I identify with her to an extent, especially as in my youth I too found it difficult to end my discourse gracefully. Felton, the Earl of Harewood, is still holding a candle for a lost love and his heart is frozen in time. Nevertheless, he is both amused and protective towards Dorothea and sets out to teach her how to be more socially acceptable. Dorothea is grateful, but in the process loses her heart to him, even though she knows it is a lost cause. As a spiteful person sets out to destroy any chance of happiness for Dorothea, Felton finally comes to the realization that if he doesn't do something quickly he is likely to lose her. Although this is a sweet romance, it is rather slow-moving, but it does come to a good conclusion. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Humor, suspense, mischief, bantering and more. Doroteha and Felton are really meant to be together. A great read! Am looking forward to reading more from this creative author.

I have enjoyed reading this author's work in the past, but this book fell short for me. The premise of the story was interesting. The hero was Felton, The Earl of Harewood. He was emotionally stagnant after losing Belinda, the love of his life. Her sister was now running a school to honor Belinda's memory. Felton, who wanted the school to be worthy of Belinda's good name, realized that the students were a group of social misfits. He therefore made it his personal mission to help the young ladies improve themselves.
Dory was the outgoing student who began interacting with him. She felt pressure to marry quickly because of her mother's scandalous reputation. Unfortunately, she herself had developed a reputation for her unusual manner of conversation. She would go on and on jumping from subject to subject. Felton resolved to help her stay focused, reasoning that a calmer demeanor would help her find a husband.
Predictably the two of them ended up falling in love. The story moved slowly and there really weren't any surprises. It took me several days to read. I'm sure I would have liked it better if I had read more of the Mabry books. Several of the characters in this story were happily married couples that were featured in previous books.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Continuation of the two series on Belinda’s school and now on the curious ladies attending.
Fen the Earl was deeply in love with Belinda and her memory still stays with him daily.
He wants the school to be successful so he tries to mentor Dory who is a student into controlling her speech.
Affection turns into love but there is always the memory of his heart interfering with going forward.
Dory just wants to be loved for herself not the new version but the real her.
Entertaining and sad at some points with family members involved.
Following along with previous characters makes it fun and ties it all together.