Katie the Book Reporter

Happy publication week to Earl Crush! Lydia Hope-Wallace and Arthur Baird, the Earl of Strathronnach – you have my heart!

“I am built for you, Lydia-Hope Wallace. My body and my heart were formed for the loving of you.” – From the unsent papers of Arthur Baird

“Today is the twenty-second of November in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and eighteen. Yesterday in front of several witnesses, I vowed to love you reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and soberly. And this morning, for you alone, I vow this: I will love you indiscreetly and unadvisedly, fearlessly and without reservation, with all my body and all my heart, today and tomorrow and until the end of time.” – From the papers of the Countess of Strathrannoach, left upon her husband’s pillow

Alexandra Vasti’s second entry into her Belvoir’s universe is romantic, sexy, adventurous and funny, with great balance between character moments and plot. The first book, Ne’er Duke Well, was only enjoyable for me, but Earl Crush hit it out of the park. 

The book isn’t hurting for action; Lydia first meets Arthur when she appears on his doorstep to propose a marriage of convenience, after what she thinks is a yearslong correspondence with him about political ideas. It turns out it was Arthur’s brother sending the letters; the younger Baird was masquerading as Arthur as part of a larger plot. From there endless twists and turns unfold – a carriage run off the road by a herd of zebras! Hijinks! Spies! An assassination plot! A fake marriage as investigative cover! With plenty of sexy moments in between. 

Lydia is a wallflower with a secret life as a political writer; she pukes when overwhelmed by social anxiety, but on the page she knows how to challenge political and social norms without holding back. She is kind, intelligent, principled, brave and a loyal friend. As Arthur describes her, she possesses a “bewitching combination of timidity and raw courage.” 

Arthur is a gruff but caring Scottish earl who is creative and tender. He is a skilled blacksmith and inventor committed to his home and his tenants. His family estate is in a difficult financial place and he’s passionate about improving conditions for everyone under his care and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He has a sweet and scheming found family of staff members. 

Both Arthur and Lydia struggle with self doubt. Lydia believes that her social anxiety will make her a deficient countess, while Arthur struggles with feelings of not being good enough, specifically in comparison to his brother. Those feelings stem from a troubled relationship with his late father, who attempted to pit his sons against each other. Lydia and Arthur’s doubts do get in the way of their relationship, but over the course of the novel they help each other grow into stronger and more assured people. 

Lydia and Arthur have great chemistry. Their romantic moments are full of yearning, passion and connection. A faked hookup in a stairwell to cover up espionage? Hot! Hooking up against doors at a house party – twice? Hot! Hooking up on the forest floor after escaping spies? Hot! 

“The muscles of his arms flexed beside her head, as though all the power in his body was held in check by the barest thread of his control. She had done that. Power of a different sort mounted inside her, and it made her dizzy and reckless. When would she have this chance again? When would she have this man – this man, whom she wanted beyond anything she’d imagined possible – trembling with desire before her?” 

In addition to the romance, I loved the inclusion of Lydia’s four brothers (Theo, Jasper, Gabe and Ned) who provided comic relief and a different perspective into Lydia’s personality and background. The scenes with Lydia’s brothers, multiple of whom try to fight Arthur (bless them, lol), were some of the funniest of the book. 

“…I’ve four separate letters from Lydia in Sussex assuring me that she is well. Does that strike you as…ominous?” – From Theo Hope-Wallace to Jasper Hope-Wallace

“Arthur wrestled himself out from underneath the shortish blond fellow who was doubtless one of Lydia’s ten thousand brothers. Despite his significant disadvantage in both height and reach, this particular Hope-Wallace fought like a deranged tiger. Arthur had felt teeth, for God’s sake.”

Expanding on the family idea – without giving too much away – I appreciated that the central mystery/conspiracy involved both Lydia and Arthur’s families because it gave the situation real tension and stakes. It made me even more invested in the action. 

For those who love it, there is an epilogue that shows glimpses into Lydia and Arthur’s married life down the line, and it is very sweet.

As with Vasti’s first book set in this world, Ne’er Duke Well, side character Georgiana remains a standout. We get to see more of her talent for acting/subterfuge and investigation in this book. It’s made me even more excited for her starring turn in September, when her MMC moment comes with Ladies in Hating – a WLW romance described by Vasti as a “rivals-to-lovers, funny, sexy Gothic-ish romance.”

On the looks front, I love this cover! I love that it’s an action moment, capturing the tone of the plot and some emotional color between the characters. Something about the combination of colors just scratches my brain in the best way. 

A special shoutout to Vasti, a south Louisiana-based author! I love seeing hometown authors achieve success and I’m so excited to get my signed physical copy in the mail from Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans.  

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC of this book.

Some other favorite moments: 

“There was something in her voice at odds with the crisp words. A kind of – wistfulness, perhaps? A ribbon of yearning that wound itself round and round his chest. That pulled tight with a tension that felt like heartache.” 

“She felt revealed, every eye in the room fixed upon her. And yet, strangely, there was none of the squirming discomfort that usually filled her in such a moment. Somehow, she felt not pinned to a wall, examined like a trapped and wriggling thing, but recognized. Seen.”

“Theo, Jasper, Gabe, Ned: all four of her brothers accepted her exactly as she was … She was grateful to them – always and endlessly. But some part of her was resentful too, a creeping dissatisfaction that made her feel guilty and a little ashamed. It had always been the same: Lydia did not need to speak for herself because someone was always there to speak for her. She had let them build a wall around her life, thinking it protection, and somehow that shield had become a cell.” 

“She’d had in mind a marriage of convenience, a financial and political partnership with a man she’d considered a friend. Her heart had not been involved. Her pride would have been stung, to be sure, if her proposal had been rejected, but she also would have understood. She would have been disappointed. She would not have been crushed. But now – as she sat across from Arthur, her gaze flickering to him and then away again as though the sight of him burned her eyes – she felt a new and present danger. A risk she had not anticipated. A consequence incalculably great.”

“Do you know when it started for me, love of mine? It was that first moment. The very first instant that I saw you on the doorstep, in your green dress and your green shoes and your hair the color Nature uses for things so sublime you cannot hold them in your hand. Autumn. Sunset. A flame.” – From the papers of Arthur Baird, written upon the back of an envelope, never sent

“He thought about her all day: her bravery and wit and fortitude, her nervous, busy fingers. And then he thought about her all night as well. He could sense her in the bed – God, he could not have been more aware of her if they were mid-coitus. He could feel every time she shifted or turned; he knew the weight of her body on the mattress. He could smell the warm vanilla scent that clung to her, and he wanted to taste it. Lick it. Lick her.” 

“He scarcely knew what he wanted. Ridiculous things. He wanted to march into her family home with her on his arm and declare her his wife. But he did not know how to speak to her now, here in this beautiful house. He didn’t know how to tell her that he’d gone about everything backward, that his heart was hers to keep or trod upon, that he wanted her, in every possible way, forever.” 

“‘Your smile is my light,’ he murmured. ‘Your laugh is my shelter. If you’ll’ – he hesitated, then steeled himself, looking for all the world like a man facing the gallows – ‘if you’ll allow it, Lydia Hope-Wallace, I will spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of you. I will never leave you again. I will stand at your side when you need a partner and I will shield you when you need a place to rest.’”