Maggie Dallen

I first met Claire Cleveland in the Earl of Davenport (Wicked Earl’s series) and I just knew those still waters must run deep – and they surely do. This is Dallen’s second Regency novel and she’s coming along nicely in the genre. There were still some timeline issues, but other than that I think she pretty much nailed it. It is a sweet and very short read that is well written and well plotted. There is little if any conflict in this book and that is perfectly fine with me.
Claire was show more raised to be the savior of her family. She was the pretty one, the one who was going to marry well and save her family from financial ruin and give them a connection to the aristocracy. She is the one who got the pretty dresses, the latest hairstyles, and the most attention while her siblings got her hand-me-downs. You might think that would make her self-centered, arrogant and condescending, but it didn’t. What it made her was – numb. She shut down all feelings and desires to become the perfect simpering, biddable ton miss. Nothing ever rattled her at an event – she always acted with complete decorum – almost as if she felt nothing.
When Claire’s sister Anne married the Earl of Davenport, the family was saved. Now, Claire isn’t sure what her role is or even who she is. Anne keeps telling Claire that she is now free to marry when and where she wants or not marry at all, but the message hadn’t really sunk in – until the night of Anne’s first ball. Then, it suddenly hits her – she’s free and she is giddy with that realization. She can actually be something other than perfect – and she giggles and she smiles… She even considers saying something impolite. Then, she sees her brother Jed and heads toward him only to overhear him talking with his best friend about leaving the ball. She asks where he’s going, but he won’t tell her. The old Claire would have docilely stayed where she was and just worried about what he was going to do. However, the new and improved Claire had to know where he was going – so she does what any other young lady would do – she follows him, right to a gaming hell in a seedy part of London.
Lord Nicholas Galwin, the best friend of Jed, notices that a coach has followed them to the gaming hell. While Jed goes inside, Galwin goes to confront whoever followed them. Shock, amazement, and awe await him as the coach door opens and Claire steps out. What! Demure and biddable Claire has followed them, unaccompanied, to a gaming hell. He’d always sort of suspected that there was more to Claire than she let the world see, but the spitfire who greeted him was awesome. They had themselves quite a row and a mind-blowing kiss – and the story is off and running.
One thing that would have made it better for me would have been mending the rift between Jed and Galwin. They had been best friends since childhood and to leave them in a strained relationship just wasn’t right. It would have been an easy fix and the book had plenty of room to add that to the story. The perfect time would have been the afternoon before the wedding, just after she had spoken with her sisters.
This was a lovely read and I’ll definitely be looking forward to Georgie’s story.
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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher." show less

This was a lovely sweet addition to the Wicked Earl’s Club – Christmas edition. It was well-written and the story was lovely and uplifting. I loved the characters and can’t wait to read more about them in the spinoff series – The School of Charm. It was also lovely to have a brief visit with a former Wicked Earl, the Earl of Davenport, and his lovely wife.

Alexander (Alex) Gordon admired his older brother, Frederick, – well adored is more like it. Alex thought that his father was a show more wonderful earl and that Frederick was even better. Frederick was handsome, charming, full of vitality, wise – all of the things that made up an excellent earl. There is no way shy, studious, tongue-tied, quiet, honest, and brusque Alex can ever hope to fill his shoes. Except, that is exactly what has to happen thanks to Frederick's tragic death in a hunting accident. While the former Earl’s of Charmain took delight in being called the Earl of Charm, Alex knew it would devolve into a derisive term during his tenure because charming is one thing he definitely was not.

Lady Clara Lovelace is the daughter of a disgraced line. None of it is her fault, her father the Marquess of Tarlow, had bankrupted the estate and then killed himself leaving Clara and her sister Edith with nothing and totally dependent on the charity of family members. She is now the companion of Gertrude Trumbolt, Dowager Duchess of Redmayne – also affectionately known as Aunt Gertie to Alex and his sister.

As Christmas nears, Clara and Aunt Gertie visit with Alex and his sister. Clara is charming and lovely and she quickly agrees to help Alex become more charming. Her best advice is for him to actually listen to the speaker rather than thinking of what his next comment should be – or even worse – instead of woolgathering. As they work together, he is more and more smitten and so is she, but they can never be. Because of her family scandal, she would only bring his family down, and he is expected to fulfill his brother’s obligation to his fiancée.

Will they get a Christmas miracle? Will his brother’s fiancée insist on marriage between herself and Alex? You’ll just have to read this delightful tale to find out for yourself. show less

My Review:

So this book was a bit mediocre. The setup of the story was pretty good and I really liked the beginning of it, but then it goes downhill after the first third of the story. I really was curious about this one because I had found some neat trailers on Instagram for this author's books but to be honest I kinda felt a bit burned by this author. When I noticed how short this book was and on Amazon for a novella its like $6, that is WAY too much for a novella in my opinion. (so if you show more buy the series buy it in bulk otherwise its robbery *shrugs* I did have high hopes for this story but I was going into it expecting a full length story and it just felt flat for me. I will probably try her again, knowing what to expect but mostly because I bought the books in bulk and don't want to waste the money on it. But if you want to read this author, check your library first! show less

A short piece setting up a multi-author historical romance series. But the premise is so awkward, on multiple levels, that having read this I am pleased to know I can skip the entire series. A lord (I forget his rank - higher than earl, I guess) has set up a club for the bored and privileged younger nobles (of earl rank), indulging their various whims and providing them with drink and girls and other enjoyments. But his real plan is to teach each of them the glories of marrying the right show more woman and living Happily Ever After, just like him. Uh-huh. Yawn. All done. show less