The ladies of the Belvoir Library have gotten themselves into a real pickle now! It was supposed to be a surprise marriage proposal by one of the ladies to her pamphlet correspondent- but turned into a mad dash back to London to foil a terrorist attack!

Lydia Hope-Wallace resigned herself to spinsterhood until she decides to take the leap and ask the only man she believes her true self, her anonymous pamphlet correspondent, the Earl of Strathrannoch to marry her. He needs an error and she’d like to have a husband and family- a great deal! Except for when she arrives at his castle, she finds that the Earl, her erstwhile husband to be was not her correspondent, but his brother… and he might also be on the lamb and an act of attempting domestic terrorism…

I had a lot of fun seeing Lydia and Arthur get to know each other and fall in love as they stand together to save England! He wasn’t the Earl she was looking for, but he turned out to be the Earl she needed!

Both of these characters were such sweethearts and so deserving of love that it was a real treat, watching them find it right before their eyes!

As the second book in the series, I really enjoyed seeing the characters who met in the first book, especially Selena and Peter and of course Peter’s half siblings!

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mhairi Morrison and found her style of speech to be halting, which did not sound very natural.

Alexandra Vasti has a fun way of bringing her characters together and unique circumstances. It really makes her book stand apart!

♡ Thank you for the free audiobook, Dreamscape Media, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley.

I enjoyed Vasti’s Ne’er Duke Well a few months ago, so I had to come back for another Regency romance fix. This was a lovely romcom. With a little mental health rep, mystery, and politics included, this romance story had enough dimension to keep it interesting. I enjoyed Lydia and Arthur’s HEA. And the delightful cover deserves a mention, too!

☊ Listening to this via audiobook was wonderful. Narrator Mhairi Morrison did a beautiful job.

This book is perfection! Way better than the previous one of the series, that I found quite entertaining despite not being my favorite of all the things I read by Vasti. This is finally a full-length book with all the best Vasti has to offer: gorgeously developed characters, a solid plot, humor in spades and some angst like the icing on a perfect cake.
I ADORED Arthur, a big cinnamon roll of a man, so kind, so generous, so in love!
No words except… WONDERFUL!
As for the narrator, unfortunately she's not one of my favorite, but I think she did a good job with this book.

I’m officially an Alexandra Vasti fan ready to auto-buy every new release. Fun, great pacing, emotional, sexy, fantastic plot layers, and overall bingeable. Lydia and Arthur are just the perfect amounts of harebrained which makes them perfectly suited for each other. Their friendship, compatibility, and connection grows with each page, really selling their romance and happily ever after by the end.

There are a lot of wild moments too; chases, sleuthing, and subterfuge. A few moments felt a little OTT but I loved being on the move with these characters. The locales and interactions with secondary characters were the perfect backdrop for the romance and adventure.

Highly recommend and definitely loved the audiobook, nothing good things to say about the narrator and production.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, Dreamscape Media, and Libro.FM for an advance copy.

The narrator Mhairi Morrison was a huge selling point on this one. She adds to every story I've listened to of hers.

The story itself lost me a few times. I put it down a handful of times and only finished it out because I had an ARC copy. The first half was so slow but it picked up around the halfway point.

This was such a lovely historical romance with a bit of suspense thrown in making you want to keep reading to find out what the mystery of all the things are.

Lydia Hope-Wallace has been penning letters to the Earl of Strathrannoch for years. She makes the bold decision to go visit him and ask for his hand in marriage because she thinks they could be a decent match. The sunrise comes when Arthur Baird, the Earl of Strathrannoch, tells her he has no clue who she is. Turns out that his brother has been writing her for years pretending to be him.

In an attempt to find his brother, Arthur asks Lydia to help him by continuing to write to him. The journey doesn't stop there. Lydia with her amazing intelligence helps to find a lead and the two are off chasing after Arthur's brother. In some quick thinking, Lydia lies and says her and Arthur are married in order to dig deeper into the mystery of where Arthur's brother is.

I loved the depiction of these two more quite characters who find themselves wrapped up in suspenseful chase. Lydia suffers from social anxiety, but Arthur never once judges her. He sees her for the strong, intelligent, bold woman she is, and he gives her the care and space she needs to be able to put herself out there.

The way each sees the other as such an amazing catch is so sweet because neither of them think the other would want them. They are forced together into so many situations, but they also give one another the respect and trust they deserve so they begin to see how they count on one another.

I listened to this one and thought the narrator did a great job in keeping the audience engaged with her narrations. It was sweet, fun, and adventurous ride that I truly enjoyed!

Thank to Dreamscape Media for the ALC and SMP for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the ALC and St. Martins Press for the eARC.

I had such a fun time listening to this one. Lydia is so relatable. She has social anxiety and hates talking in front of people, but give her a pen and she’s in her element.

With a mix of humorous antics, witty banter, a mysterious plot, and plenty of chemistry, Earl Crush is my favorite kind of historical romance. Arthur was a wonderful MMC, and he was down bad for Lydia. The protectiveness and devotion he showed was exceptionally swoony.

While this is a single narrator, I honestly didn’t notice. Mhairi Morrison did such a great job on Arthur’s Scottish accent and I had to force myself to take a break and stop listening.

My first from Alexandra Vasti but not my last.

I’m not a huge reader of historical romance - actually this is the only series I’ve read recently, and I love it!

📖 Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti
📚 book 2 • Belvoir's Library series
🎙 Mhairi Morrison

⭐️: 4.5/5
🌶️: open door, a few scenes

💭 overall thoughts:
Alexandra Vasti’s writing is so fun 😍
This story was captivating from the first pages.

Lydia & Arthur don’t expect to want one another, and spend a lot of time fighting it, but ultimately, they’re a perfect match.
I love how neither wants to change the other, and they accept & love one another for who they truly are.

I adored the little bits of letter writing we got at the start of each chapter, showing a bit more depth of each character.

I also love the strong women & their partners who support them, and I can’t wait for Georgiana’s sapphic love story up next!

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Mhairi Morrison has such a lovely voice, and I love her accents!

read if you love:
💜 historical romance
💍 fake marriage
🛏 only one bed
🥹 mutual pining
🔗 forced proximity
🔎 mystery + adventure
🫶🏼 family + found family
💞 dual 3rd person pov

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Dreamscape Media, Libro.fm & NetGalley for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.

This was really fun! I love a historical road trip romance, because it gives so much time for our characters to be together and to be in scrapes that push them together and pull them apart. I was less interested in the intrigue plotline that ran alongside the romance, but that's mostly my personal reading tastes. Vasti writes well-drawn characters who are also really hot for each other, which I love to see!

This was so freaking good. I cannot wait for others to read it and to text me at the point that I had to reach out to TWO of my friends that had read the book. I will truly never be over that way she had me GASPING!

Here is what you need to know: Lydia has been writing political pamphlets through Belvoir's library ran by her bestie (see Ne'er Duke Well) and has become pen pals with a Scottish earl. She sets out on a journey to take control of her life as a woman to propose marriage to said earl and it just gets better and better from there! *cue the zebras*

Alexandra Vasti (or should I say professor?) is a gem and her writing is truly such a good time. The historical care she takes to weave true events into her writing is magnificent- this is a plug to read/listen to the authors note! Her writing feels like if a Tessa Dare book and a Beverly Jenkins book had a baby!

Arthur is DOWN BAD, Lydia is fierce, demure, and all around a badass, and together, my goodness, they are precious. I am probably more of an extrovert than Lydia, but I found myself relating to her need to reassurance. Arthur MUST BE PROTECTED.

If you are a fan of spicy historical romance you need to add this to your ever growing pile of books to be read! 3-4 open door scenes.

Audiobook review: The audio was phenomenal. It was narrated by Mhairi Morrison and was fantastic. I loved all the accents that were used and I thought the flow was perfect. You could clearly tell the differences between all the characters in how Morrison narrated and I would for sure recommend listening. I know that some people have a hard time with female narrators doing male voices, but I didn't even notice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Cute and fun regency, historical romance with some shenanigans! We get a road trip, only one bed, found family, fake marriage, queer rep, and pining!

This felt fresh and fun! I received an audio ALC from the publisher, all thoughts in this review are my own!

I loved this fake marriage of convenience Regency romance between Lydia, a socially anxious wallflower and secret feminist and Arthur, the Scottish Earl she thought she'd been writing to for the last three years. A wealthy widow, Lydia, proposes marriage to Arthur so her money can help his crumbling estate and he can help revive her social life. There was excellent mental health (anxiety + panic attack rep), lots of action, mistaken identity, forced proximity, hilarious hijinks, exotic animals, and spicy open door scenes to keep readers enthralled from start to finish. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Evie Dunmore! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I am SUPER excited for Vasti's upcoming Sapphic Regency romance!

Really enjoyed this one!

This was fun and sweet and silly and I was here for all of it. I really enjoy Vasti’s writing style and found myself reaching for this. I love a fake engagement trope, and the characters had really great chemistry.

I made this my first read of 2025 for a reason. Alexandra Vasti has done it again, and this book is absolute perfection. The pining, the shenanigans, just everything.

And as she did with Ne'er Duke Well, Mhairi Morrison has done a fantastic job narrating. The earl's accent - just swoon!

I will read anything and everything that Vasti writes and I cannot wait for Georgiana's book later this year!

This review is for the ALC (audio version) I received from NetGalley.

First of all this is a really cute historical romance. It's got so much to love. I went back and forth many times on whether or not I would give this 3 or 4 stars but ultimately the several times I bumped up the speed to 3x just to get through the parts that lagged made me go with 3. I think it's just the case of a book being a tad too long and dragging quite a bit in some parts.

That said, it was really enjoyable. Lydia is a shy introverted but extremely bright and progressive and Arthur is a sweet cinnamon roll of an Earl and they come to meet because his brother has been writing her letters for years, and now he's missing. There is mistaken identity and fake marriage and a chase, and lots of really beautifully written spice.

The narration was very good and I enjoyed the performance.

I loved the epilogue of letters despite the children. :P

In Earl Crush, Lydia Hope-Wallace heads off to Scotland for a surprise marriage of convenience to her penpal, the Earl of Strathrannoch. They’ve been corresponding through letters passed through Belvoir’s Library, the lending library that distributes Lydia’s political pamphlets, and Lydia has decided that a marriage to the Earl will be beneficial to them both.

He needs money; she has money; and her crippling shyness hasn’t done her any favors on the marriage mart.

Here’s the rub, though: when Lydia arrives on the doorstep of the Earl’s crumbling home, he doesn’t know who she is. It appears she has not been corresponding with Arthur, the actual Earl of Strathrannoch. In fact, he’s far from the charming and polished lord she was expecting.

It appears that his brother is the true author of those missives, and that brother is currently in a spot of trouble.

So, as these things go, Lydia and Arthur go on a journey to save Arthur’s brother from the political scheme in which he has become embroiled.

At a glance:
- Dual POV
- Epistolary elements
- Road trip
- Fake marriage
- A mountain of a Scottish man who is a bit rough around the edges but has a cinnamon roll heart of gold
- An FMC who is bold in her writing but socially anxious in person (but she feels comfortable around him 👀)
- Pining and tension (of the chemistry variety)
- Seriously, y’all, the longing (Oh my heart!)
- Heat
- Politics
- Espionage and intrigue
- Mental health rep

I really enjoyed it! There’s just something playful about Alexandra Vasti’s writing that always pulls me in.

I especially liked the epistolary elements of the unsent letters from Arthur and enjoyed the mystery/espionage element, too.

I loved how Arthur and Lydia fit together, and I do so love a fake marriage scenario in historical romance.

As with Vasti's other audiobooks, Mhairi Morrison's narration here is delightful, capturing the British, Scottish, and French accents of the various characters.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Dreamscape Media. All review opinions are my own.

4.5⭐️

Alexandra Vasti is one of my favorite historical romance authors and even though Earl Crush is only her second novel, she's already doing incredibly well in the genre. Lydia and Arthur have the absolutely best chemistry and I'm so in love with their love. I can't wait to see what Vasti does next!

Thank you, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley, for this advanced audio copy!
Instantly charming and funny with a narration that gives you butterflies and leaves you smiling 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭 𝘊𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩, is everything you want from a regency romance and then some!
We reunite with Lydia Hope Wallace (a friend of Selina in Ne’er Duke Well) as she travels to the Scottish highlands to seek out the Arthur Baird Earl of Strathrannoch, whom she believed to be her esteemed correspondence. Only the giant bearded man standing out the door has no idea who she is, and she is so anxious she ends up hurling her guts at him. (It's quite the meet-cute.)
When she agrees to help him track down who has been impersonating him, an adventure full of calamity, mutual pining, and tender moments ensues.
The dual POV here was delightful. Arthur was a goner from the moment Lydia fainted on his doorstep. Meanwhile, Lydia experiences such astounding growth with her social anxiety I could not help but fall for a little myself.
Mhairi narrates this book so perfectly! Her voice captures the Scottish burr wonderfully, allowing the listener to be instantly charmed by the grumpy earl. She made him come to life, and I was swooning over Arthur from the beginning! Meanwhile, Lydia’s inner monologue is made clear. The audio also allows for plenty of laughs and a few blushes.
Listening to both this and Ne’er Duke Well on audio, I think this performance and writing are somehow more engaging! I loved that the performances were unique and that I could distinguish each character; audio is a perfect way to read this series.
True to form, Vasti has her regency characters living out of their expected roles and engaging in “progressive” politics. Arthur has the tenacity to work alongside his tenets, while Lydia, author of controversial pamphlets, rejects propriety and wants to participate equally in the investigation with Arthur.
Lydia and Arthur have a dreamy love that begins with tiny sparks and erupts into something beautiful. The snippets of epistolary exchanges mark the beginning of each chapter, and they are so lovely. The romance stands out here and is only enhanced by the mystery subplot.
And the epilogue!! It is captivating, tender, and everything you didn’t know you wanted. The audio rendered it so wonderfully. I cried through the whole thing.
Vasti knocked it out of the park, and I am so excited to read her next book, Ladies in Hating (a sapphic romance), launching in September.

This is not part of a series, however, there are characters featured here that also appeared in Ne'er Duke Well.
Heiress, Lydia Hope-Stanton has been writing seditious pamphlets for over 3 years. She uses Belvoir's Library (run by the Duchess of Stanhope, Selina Kent, to publish these papers. However, Lydia, herself, is painfully shy and has trouble speaking her mind in public. She has, however, been corresponding with the Earl of Strathrannoch, Arthur Baird, regarding all her political leanings and she believes they would suit in marriage. She shows up at his front door to offer herself. (Quite out of character for our Lydia.) However, when the earl answers the door, he has no clue who she is.
It seems his brother, Davis, has been using Arthur's persona to gather espionage, but for who? Lydia and Arthur get dragged into a madcap adventure to find Davis and stop a possible assassination. Falling in love was not part of this plan.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this digital audio e-arc.*

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the free audiobook.

I was unaware that this was the second book in a series as the books are not linked on Goodreads, nor is it specifically mentioned in the synopsis of the book. This is a significant oversight on the publisher's part. That said, it can be read as a standalone, which is what I originally did.

Ya'll, I just loved this smart, funny, and oh-so-steamy regency romance. The audiobook narrator does such a great job bringing the story to life. I also love the literary nature of the series. If you want a sexy, silly, and sweet regency romance I highly recommend this one!

This book was so good that I looked up the author to find one of her backlist titles to read only to discover this book follows <i>Ne'er Duke Well</i> (of which I had received a free audiobook from Libro.fm [thank you!] and had it sitting in my library waiting to be read). Read it I did. I will write a separate review for that book but I will mention here that I think <i>Earl Crush</i> is a slightly better book. I only say that in case readers decide to read the new series in order: just know that it goes from good to great! I already can't wait for the next one!