Earl Crush is a fantastic Historical Romance set in the Regency period that delivers all the feels!

The story follows Lydia, a wallflower who’s spent seven seasons in society without securing a husband. By day, she’s just another eligible heiress, but secretly, she’s been writing political pamphlets and corresponding with the Earl of Strathrannoch for three years—only to discover she hasn’t been writing to him at all.

Lydia, determined and on the verge of being labeled a spinster, heads to Scotland to propose marriage to the Earl, thinking it will solve both their problems (hers: social standing, his: financial struggles). But when she gets there, the real Earl has no idea who she is—or what she’s talking about. Turns out, his brother has been impersonating him in the letters. Ouch.

What follows is a journey filled with twists, danger, and sizzling chemistry as Lydia and the Earl team up to find his brother, who’s clearly up to no good. Along the way, fake marriage and forced proximity lead to real feelings, and the romance is just chef’s kiss.

This book is sweet, funny, and full of suspense. If you’re into Historical Romance with tropes like Fake Marriage and Forced Proximity, you’ll love this one!

Earl Crush is a delightful and spicy historical romance and mystery. The setting is 1818 in England and Scotland. Lydia has been writing political tracts (anonymously) and a man has been corresponding with her for a few years. She knows his name and where his Scottish estate is, and when the book opens, she and a close friend are arriving there, to surprise him with a marriage proposal (she’s got money and he doesn’t; they have a good relationship on paper). But it turns out that she hasn’t been corresponding with whom she thinks she has. Things get wild from there!

I loved the relationship that Lydia and Arthur (the real Earl) built. There were a lot of funny instances along the way, and a mystery to solve, involving Arthur’s brother and some French ex-pats.

Mhairi Morrison did a marvelous job with the narration on the audiobook, seamlessly switching between an English accent and a Scottish accent.

Don’t skip the Author’s Note where she explains that various plot points are based on actual historical events.

Somehow I missed reading the first book in this series, Ne’er Duke Well. (This wasn’t a problem, proving that this can easily be read as a standalone.) I will have to remedy that as soon as possible.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

The narrator was amazing! Her Scottish accent was fantastic! I can’t believe she played all those characters! I would listen to her audiobooks anytime!

Hopelessly anxious Lydia Hope-Wallace has decided to offer herself for marriage to the one man she seems to be able to talk to - penpal Earl of Strathrannoch. Only, when she shows up on his doorstep, he has no idea who she is. What follows is a fun story full of adventure, love, and growth.

Vasti might be my new favorite historical romance author. This book was stunning from beginning to end. A few highlights for me was seeing the growth of each main character, both separate and together, and the mix of adventures and romance was included in the story. I was not sure what to expect going into this story but I was happily surprised! The narrator really added to the story, bringing you in to the plot and character's feelings. If you are looking for a new historical romance to fall in love with, you should check out Earl Crush or anything Alexandra Vasti writes!

4.5/5⭐️ 2/5🌶️ 1/5😢

PROTECT MY BABY ARTHUR AT ALL COSTS

Earl Crush was a magnificent regency-era romance romp (say that five times fast)—ridiculously sweet, a bit spicy, with mystery and political intrigue and just plain ol’ FUN!

The premise felt unique and fresh with two quieter/shy MCs who showed great character development throughout the book. The romance was incredibly sweet and honestly had me tearing up a few times (I was so down bad for Arthur, I’m not gonna lie) 😭😭

However what I loved most was how clearly well-researched it is, with many part of the story drawn off real people, events, and historical writings. I found this to be incredibly engaging and gave the book more depth than anticipated.

I highly recommend Earl Crush whether you’re a seasoned historical romance reader or looking to dip your toes in the genre for the first time! The audiobook narration was wonderful and really brought the story to life.

tropes & themes:
→ regency/historical romance
→ fake marriage
→ wallflower but secretly politically vocal FMC
→ recluse scottish earl/inventor MMC
→ shenanigans & SUSPENSE! 💥
→ grade A groveling 🙇🏼
→ “tell me to stop” 🥵🥵
→ 16 zebras??? 🦓

As with every Vasti book I’ve read, I had an amazing time reading this. The characters were delightfully awkward paired with an engaging mystery plot. The entire plot was wild, and I love how it took Lydia and Arthur all over the place trying to track down Arthur’s brother. I was surprised in the best way how detailed and involved the plot was including the great plot twists and a daring carriage escape. Lydia and Arthur had wonderful chemistry paired with great banter. Arthur was so sweet especially with a certain horse scene. One of my favorite moments was when Arthur met Lydia’s brothers. I loved the entire family dynamic scene and watching how each family member interacted with him. I also just loved how wild and over the top this book was at times. I was not expecting zebras but they made for a great time. I cannot get enough of Mhairi Morrison’s narration. She is such a perfect fit for these regency reads. She brings so much energy and emotion to the role, and I can’t imaging anyone else narrating one of Vasti’s regency tales. I highly recommend reading this story.

We get to mix a little bit of road trip with a little bit of fake identity and throw in a bit of fake marriage in this romp! The social awkward and painfully shy Lydia has shown up at an earl’s castle in Scotland to propose a marriage of convenience after three years of secret correspondence with the man. Except Arthur the earl is not who she had been writing to, it was his younger brother pretending to be the earl. And then the brother might be in some sort of scheme with a rifle part and Arthur needs Lydia’s help to track him down. It was so fun reading these two work together to solve the case and Arthur was just so impressed by Lydia’s cleverness. All the best kind of chaos, yearning, and steam.

Earl Crush is already an excellent book, and Morrison’s narration pushes it over the top! Arthur and Lydia’s story is filled with heart and hope, as well as just enough political intrigue to keep readers interested. I can’t wait to read whatever Vasti writes next!

Earl Crush was so good. Alexandra Vasti is such an excellent writer and her books always pull me in. The plot of this was really fun to read and I loved the couple. Absolutely would recommend the book!

The narrator was great! Audiobook is a solid choice.

I loved this! Really amusing read. FMC was, frankly, HILARIOUS. Author clearly put a lot of time into formulating this idea before it was executed. What a complete and total joy!
4.25/5.0

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced copy! You can pick up Earl Crush on January 21, 2025.

This was a super fun and sweet (yet spicy) historical romance! I loved how relatable both Lydia and Arthur's characters were (especially Lydia's social anxiety), and how they complemented each other in the best way. Their romance had the best tension, but it was also supported with true emotional attachment too (not just insta-lust). Their journey to uncover Davis's past and its repercussions really brought them together, and I love how Alexandra Vasti's books always have a healthy plot in addition to a scorching romance.

Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti is a thrilling regency romance filled with mystery, comedy, and spice! This is the second book of the interconnected series that can be read separately (but I believe reading the first will give some fun context).

These two are so adorable with how awkward they are 😆 I knew I would love them by their first meeting! I also love the real historical context woven into the book. Alexandra is an incredible author, and if you haven't followed her on social media, I highly recommend it! Thank you for introducing me to the best of this genre that you so clearly love!

We're starting off the new year with a bang! (no seriously, though)

I'm writing this immediately after finishing the book... and I have absolutely no words right now. Books very rarely leave me speechless but this one - the prose, the plot, the pining - was stunning! It deserves an infinite number of stars. Alexandra Vasti's books are becoming some of my favorites. If you love historical fiction/Bridgerton, or if you want to give historical romance a try, then these are an amazing place to start! You will not regret picking this one up.

Synopsis: Lydia Hope-Wallace, a London wall-flower, has been in correspondance with an earl from Scotland struggling with finances. She decides to journey to his estate and propose marriage. But upon arrival she discovers that Arthur, the Earl of Strathrannoch, has no idea who she is! Now forced within proximity, Lydia and Arthur work together to find answers to their questions and fight the undeniable attraction between them.

Again, I'm just absolutely speechless after reading this one. The plot is fast-paced and grabs your attention immediately. I simultaneously read the book and listened to audiobook and I felt completely absorbed into the story. I gasped, and swooned, and cried right along with the characters. And speaking of crying, the ending was the absolute cutest thing I've ever read in my life. The letters!!!? I sobbed like a baby. The mutual pining, the spice, the declarations of love, the humor. All of it was perfect.

Lydia was the perfect mfc for quiet anxious girlies, and she reminds us all that we are strong and brave and smart enough. Arthur was the perfect mmc because he is patient with Lydia, and he see the parts of her that no one else does. His internal dialogue sent me into orbit! We LOVE a man obsessed. I don't think I've ever highlighted so many quotes in my LIFE. Their love was so sweet and pure. I adore them.

Tropes -
- pretend marriage (not quite a marriage of convenience, more like fake dating)
- mutual pining
- forced proximity
- spicy!!!

thank you st. martin's press for the arc + alc!!

Alexandra Vasti has been consistently pleasing me with her historical romances. I appreciate the wit of the FMC and the MMC's stoic personality but strong character. I happily received both an ARC and ALC from Netgalley and love any good Scottish brogue. Props to the narrators.
The storyline was interesting, including their attempts to solve the mystery of the location and intent of MMC's brother, while aligning with some actual historical events. The plot wasn't so outrageous to cause me to roll my eyes while not being too obvious as to the resolution.

This book is perfect. I thought so when I read the e-book and I couldn’t be more in love with it after listening to the audiobook. Such an incredible performance, exactly what I pictured as I read. Love it it so much. Can’t wait to hold this book in my hands and make everyone I know read it.

Thank you for the early access 🤍

This book had such a great beginning and just continued to entertain the whole way through. I loved the mystery involved in the story and the way it was intertwined with the romance. It was fun revisiting characters from the first novel and I can't wait for the next installment in the series. I also really enjoy the STEM aspect of the female characters in these books and appreciate their courage. The audiobook is narrated beautifully and is a fantastic way to enjoy these novels.

I loved this one so much! Alexandra Vasti truly has a gift and her incredible writing really shines in <b>Earl Crush</b>. This story had action, adventure, and a romance that couldn't have been swoonier. It started with a mistaken identity meet disaster, which then set the stage for two of my very favorite tropes - forced proximity and fake dating/marriage.

I adored Arthur and Lydia. The pining on both sides could have filled a forest! Seeing their relationship shift from strangers to adorkable friends and then to more was so satisfying. They truly saw and loved the other exactly as they were, and though they had trouble expressing their feelings, they showed that love in their actions over and over again. The slow burn build up was so well done and all their fumbling and awkwardness only made me love them more. Yes, they make some (incorrect) assumptions and poor decisions along the way, but it was understandable given their histories and struggles with feelings of inadequacy. I really enjoyed how all the pieces and characters came together in the end when all was revealed. This was such a well-crafted story, and the epilogue couldn't have been more perfect. My heart was so full when I finished, and this is definitely a new favorite for me. I can't wait for Georgiana's book next!

Edited 12/30/24:
I jumped at the chance to reread this one via audiobook and it is even swoonier the second time around! Mhairi Morrison is so talented and I loved hearing her Scottish accent. Her performance made me fall in love with Arthur and Lydia all over again. Earl Crush is truly a book not to be missed!

Audiobook Review
Overall 5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 5 stars

CW: espionage, guns, threats to safety, abusive and manipulative parent (past), financial concerns

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

This was a fun story, with plenty of twists and adventure (and spice). The narration was wonderful. It did feel to drag a bit at times, but overall was a very entertaining read.

📖 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂 𝑽𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊
🎧 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑴𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴.“

Alexandra Vasti has once again delivered a fantastic historical romance full of banter, steam and mystery! Her characters are each so unique but still so easily relatable. The audiobook was PHENOMENAL. 𝑴𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 does such a fantastic job of bringing this story to life. I am obsessed with her narration. Everytime she said zebra I freaking CACKLED. 🤭😂

Our wallflower FMC, Lydia Hope-Wallace goes in search of her long time penpal, the Earl of Strathrannoch, Arthur Baird. Lydia is hoping to convince him into a marriage of convenience. Lydia writes political pamphlets that very few people know she is the author of. She is tired of living in the protection of her older brothers. She dreams of being in a relationship where her partner appreciates how strong she is underneath her wallflower persona.

Unfortunately, when she finally meets Author, he has no idea who she is! This strangers to lovers story had me kicking my feet. Author was a great MMC! His Scottish accent was the stuff of dreams are made of! ❤️‍🔥 He tried to deny his budding feelings for Lydia but it was literally undeniable.

Lydia and Author’s adventure was so fun! Slowly but surely they peeled away the layers to the mysterious Davis Baird.

Let me just say, Alexandra Vasti understood the assignment and DELIVERED on the spice! Author was INSATIABLE.

“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

The ending of this book left me FERAL for Jasper’s book!

I need all my historical romance lovers to go add 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂 𝑽𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊, your to TBR today! I highly recommend consuming this story via the audiobook!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
🕰️ 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
✨ 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
🧭 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴
🖋️ 𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘔𝘊
🔭 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩/𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘔𝘊
💞 𝘔𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨
😂 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧
👀 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺
❤️‍🔥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘪𝘪𝘤𝘺
🦓 𝘡𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘴
🤭 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨

Thank you St Martins and Dreamscape for the early copies.

I’m not a huge historical romance fan, but I’ve heard great things about this series and decided to give it a try. While I thought the first book was just okay, I really enjoyed this one! It offers much more than just romance, which I think is the key for me to truly enjoy these kinds of stories. The non-romance plot weaves in elements of mystery, espionage, and political rivalry, making it compelling and enjoyable in its own right. The romance feels like an added bonus rather than the sole focus, and I loved that balance. If you’re looking for a fun historical romp, definitely give this one a try!

I absolutely adore the narrator for this series! Her accent perfectly captures the Regency era—or at least how I imagine it should sound—and she truly brings the story to life.

3.63/5, rounded to 4