Courting the Countess

Lady Elizabeth has suffered the abuse of her mother and appears to be keen to leave the family home. All she wants is to be loved, so when Tristan Barrett, a notorious rake shows her some attention, she is instantly smitten. However, when they are found in a compromising situation, her father, the Duke of Pemberton, will only allow Tristan’s older brother, Richard, the Earl of Averston as a suitable husband.
Richard finds himself in a difficult situation as he has ‘almost’ promised himself to another woman, a childhood friend. However, in trying to avoid a duel between his brother and Elizabeth’s brother, he feels that there is no other way around the marriage. So they eventually marry but find themselves avoiding any romantic entanglement as Richard fears his wife still loves Tristan whilst Elizabeth believes her husband, loves another. Yet, could they eventually come to love each other.
This was a sweet clean romance and whilst enjoyable, I found myself in constant disbelief about the situation between Richard and Elizabeth. At times, I couldn’t quite understand why Richard admired Elizabeth when she seemed a bit spineless. However, she did blossom in her marriage and the intricacies of their marriage was interesting.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

"Courting the Countess" is the sweet story of the Duke of Pemberton's daughter, Lady Elizabeth, embarking on a forced marriage with Richard Barrett, Lord Averston.

While one originally wonders how Elizabeth becomes enamored with Tristan Barrett, a known libertine, it quickly becomes apparent she's merely looking for love and happiness in the face of her stepmother's physical and emotional abuse. However, Lady Elizabeth is a truly lovely person.

Likewise, Lord Averston adopted a stern and serious demeanor in response to his mother's faithlessness. Predictably, misunderstandings abound. Thankfully, there is a HEA, albeit hard-earned.

Elizabeth's insistence on hiring servants from the petty criminal and now REFORMED population is refreshing. I do wish, however, that Elizabeth's lifelong tormentor was punished.

As always, Hatch's prose is lovely and the book is clean. The Regency period is faithfully adhered to.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for a copy of this charming novel.

When charming rake Tristan Barrett sweeps Lady Elizabeth off her feet, stealing both her heart and a kiss in a secluded garden, her brother challenges Tristan to a duel. When I started reading I couldn't put it downDonna Hatch is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.

This was a slow simmer, angst filled, sweet romance between Richard, the Earl of Averston, and Elizabeth. For me, unfortunately, it didn’t get past the slow simmer. These two characters were forced into marriage to escape a possible scandal and duel because Elizabeth was caught in a compromising position with Richard’s brother, Tristan, a known rake. Both Richard and Elizabeth were filled with uncertainty and self-doubt because of childhood experiences. Even though Elizabeth was insecure in her relationship with Richard, I liked her confidence as Countess. I felt the story dragged in the middle while the H and h waffled over their feelings. The little bit of mystery picked up the pace enough to get me to the end.

A tryst in a garden between a noted rake and an innocent girl goes wrong when they are discovered - and, to avoid a duel, the former's older brother is forced to abandon the girl he loves and had planned to marry, and marry the girl who is either as unfaithful as his brother or in love with the man and too innocent to know how to behave. When the two are thrown together in such a way, is there any hope for love between them when each enters the relationship in love with another? Though an attraction does grow, the difficulties of their situation make such a hope far-fetched...

Clean and well-written, this tale of growing love held my attention from start to finish. Some might find the ups and downs of their relationship a bit annoying or boring, but I enjoyed it, and in particular the way that Elizabeth grew in confidence once she had escaped her stepmother. Overall - highly recommended.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

After five days. Really?

At least Duchess is not her real mother.

I would have fired the housekeeper.

Poor Janey.

All this for a vote.

Lady Elisabeth, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Pemberton is caught by her half-brother Martindale in the embrace of Tristan Barrett, a known libertine and second son, during a house party at her home. Her brother Martindale challenges Tristan to a duel. The Duke will only call off the duel if Tristan’s older brother, Richard Barrett, the Earl of Averston, with an impeccable reputation, agrees to marry Elisabeth! The only problem is though not officially engaged, he has an understanding with Leticia Wentworth. Is Elisabeth a tempting seductress or an innocent?

Lady Elisabeth has a secret; can she trust her husband with her secret. Can Richard earn her trust and affection, and forget the affection she has for Tristan? Misunderstandings ensue as the path to love is never straight forward, and through it all love grows. I enjoyed reading this novel very much, and it kept my interest throughout the whole novel as rooted for Richard and Elisabeth to find their happily every after.

Donna Hatch is a talented writer, and this novel does not disappoint, there is mystery and adventure and a truly happy ending.

Content: Kisses and one instance of inappropriate touching, talk of prostitutes and mistresses.

I was given a copy of this novel my Net Galley.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. well written story full of lots a fears and miscommunications. Just goes to show how important trust and talking is.

This book was good though I will say it lost some of its momentum towards the end. I enjoyed the characters, but the love triangle was smothered what felt like far too quickly and easily when we finally had everyone all together. All in all it was a fun read I just felt it could have been even more. I wished there had been more details and plot reveals in the end instead of the drawn out beginning and short end we received.

Richard, the Earl of Averston, is used to getting his brother Tristan out of scrapes. But when Tristan trifles with the daughter of a duke, Richard finds the duke's demands to be a higher price than he's ever been forced to pay. Rather than Tristan marrying the socially compromised Lady Elizabeth, Richard must do the honors.  Although he has an understanding with Leticia, a childhood friend, Richard must wed a woman in love with his brother. Will she prove to be faithful to him, or will she abandon him as his mother did to follow her heart? As he seeks to unlock the mystery of his beautiful new wife, Richard must protect his heart against the inevitable betrayal he knows will occur...

Elizabeth had only known Tristan a week before he swept her off her feet. One kiss in the garden turns into a disaster as her father reacts by betrothing her to Tristan's older--and titled--brother Richard. While the earl is always a perfect gentleman, he vacillates between wooing her and holding her at arm's length. Even if Elizabeth can put the rakish Tristan out of her head, will she ever be able to capture the heart of the man she has sworn to love and obey?

I had previously read the second book in this series, Courting the Country Miss, in which (spoiler!) Tristan and Letitia get their own happily ever after. This book was a great setup for the second book and an intriguing novel in its own right. At first, Richard is goaded by a sense of competition; he must make Elizabeth forget Tristan and fall in love with him instead. But the closer he gets to her, the more it triggers past memories about his own mother's unfaithfulness. His fear of being wounded makes him adopt a hard exterior that Elizabeth assumes to be disgust for her past failings or love for another woman.

Elizabeth's own young life has been no bed of roses. Secrets abound about her birth and upbringing, and while she slowly learns to trust Richard, she doesn't know if she can trust him with the most terrible secret of all. Her sister Mary proves an excellent confidante, sagely exhorting Elizabeth to put duty over infatuation, to forget Tristan and focus on making herself into a good wife and countess. But when Elizabeth witnesses a tender moment between Richard and Leticia, her anger gets the better of her--will she ever be able to secure the love of her husband? Should she even try?

Some of the misunderstandings in this book began to get on my nerves by the end, but all in all, this was a well-done Regency romance rife with interesting characters and high on the melodrama.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This novel was ok to me. The writing style was fine and I even liked the plot do not sure what didn't fully resonate with me. I liked how the main characters Elizabeth and Richard grew personally and together during the book. The love between them seemed genuine and real. I liked the different family elements from the cruel "mom" and the wayward brother. Overall a decent read and will try more by this author.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this historical romance. Elizabeth is caught in a compromising situation with Tristan whom she's developed feelings for. Her family forces her to marry Richard his oldest brother. Their interactions at first seem a bit forced and too formal but eventually he learns to love and admire her. Great writing and good character development.

England 1813 A young lady thought she had found someone to love her and was overjoyed. Stary eyed, Lady Elizabeth was to meet Tristan in the garden by herself that night and she could not wait! He would marry her and take her away from her stepmother", the Duchess's control.
But that dream she had was shattered as they were found in a compromising position and her half brother challenged Tristan to a duel.
But Richard, Tristan's older brother was forced by her father to marry the girl. A duke's daughter no less..
Thus the journey begins and what a tangled one it is to say the least. I could not turn the pages fast enough and my heart really hurt at some of the secrets and suffering that came out. Such a well written story with characters created such that I could feel their emotons.
This is the first book I have read by this author, but it will definately not be the last...

This was a very good book to read. It had a plot which kept me wanting to read on. The characters were interesting and quite easy to relate to . I was pleased it had a happy ending. Recommend this book to be read.

It's a happy day when I get to read and enjoy a book by Donna Hatch. She's a regency genius in my book. I'm signed up on her website to receive an email with her updated blogposts. I love it! She is always sharing so many fun and amazing historical tidbits. I've learned a lot from her between her blog posts and her books.

My first encounter with her books was an anthology where she had a novella included in it and her book, The Stranger She Married. They were both freebies on Kindle years ago. I was instantly hooked and she had gained a new reading fan!

I saw this book available for review on NetGalley and was super excited. I'd seen many friends reading and enjoying it back when it first was published. But life was busy and I didn't read it then. So you can bet that I jumped at the chance to read it when I saw it available. It had been a rough and busy week so I downloaded my copy and devoured it! I finished the book and wanted to turn around and reread it and The Stranger She Married.

Elizabeth is caught kissing Tristan. Her family life is kind of a mess and she truly cares for Tristan and feels like this will save her from her family. Yet circumstances with her family turn the "scandal" into an arranged marriage with Tristan's older brother Richard. Will Elizabeth ever be free to know her own heart or will she be forced into this marriage with the wrong brother?

All is not as it seems in each of the characters' lives, and the further I read, the more I was able to catch all the reveals that added more depth and understanding for their lives. Richard and Elizabeth are trying to make the most of their new relationship. Yet the further into the story we get, Elizabeth starts to realize the far reaching effects of her actions.

I loved Richard and his courting of Elizabeth. It was a sweet love story. I can't wait to see what other characters in this story have their own book so I can keep reading about them.

Content: Clean. Some moments of peril but nothing overly graphic.

I received a copy from the publisher, The Wild Rose Press, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

I enjoyed this book. This book was unique and fun. Because most of the time if a girl is seen kissing a guy. That guy is asked to marry her. But in this book it is different. Thoughout the story Elizabeth and Richard learn to trust and love each other.

I was given a complimentary copy from the author. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

I liked this story, but I was very frustrated through most of the book. There was so much miscommunication between the main characters that it became repetitious and boring. I wanted the story to move along at a quicker pace. It seemed to be going in circles most of the time.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

At a ball, Lady Elizabeth is caught kissing Tristan Barrett, brother to Richard, Earl of Averston. Upon discovery she thinks that she and Tristan will be forced to wed. Believing she's in love, this would be her desired outcome. Unfortunately her father has loftier ideas for her future and, to save his brother from a duel, Richard is forced to ask for her hand instead.
Neither is happy with this outcome as Elizabeth believes that she is in love with Tristan and Richard believes he is in love with another as well as believing his wife to be in love with his brother. Both will do their duty and vow to themselves to make the best of the situation. Unfortunately the past has a way of influencing the present which makes for some interesting outcomes. There will be many misunderstandings and subsequent erroneous deductions before this pair realizes that they are exactly where they are meant to be.
I enjoyed the story and it's characters. I will highly recommend this book to my fellow Regency Romance lovers.
Thank you Donna Hatch, The Wild Rose Press and NetGalley for allowing me this advance copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC. I must say this book went with the phrase "taking it slow". The main characters sure did just that ! I did enjoy it. I love a good scandal

Clean and sweet romance. Not my favorite type of story. The angst and the misunderstanding really bog down the story. I get that people bring baggage but sometimes the portrayal of it all is just a lot to bear when you are looking for an upbeat clean romance.

Courting the Countess begins Donna Hatch's Courting series. I enjoyed this book. I loved Richard and Elizabeth's learning to grow throughout the story.
Four and a half stars.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was okay but the constant misunderstanding because the couldn't have an honest conversation became tedious.
When Elizabeth is caught in an compromising situation she is forced to marry Tristian's brother because he father demands a title not a 2nd son.
Richard marries her even though there was a unspoken promise to a woman he had known his entire life.
I dont understand Tristan dallying with a dukes daughter when he had no intention of marrying her and then the way he behaved after the marriage.