About the Book

Title: The Indebted Earl

Series: #3 Serendipity and Secrets

Author: Erica Vetch

Publisher: Kregel

Released: March 2021

Can Captain Wyvern keep his new marriage of convenience all business–or will it turn into something more?

Captain Charles Wyvern owes a great debt to the man who saved his life–especially since Major Richardson lost his own life in the process. The best way to honor that hero’s dying wish is for Wyvern to escort the man’s grieving fiance and mother safely to a new cottage home by the sea. But along the way, he learns of another obligation that has fallen on his shoulders: his uncle has died and the captain is now the Earl of Rothwell.

When he and the ladies arrive at his new manor house in Devon, they discover an estate in need of a leader and a gaggle of girls, all wards of the former earl. War the new earl knows; young ladies and properties he does not. Still wishing to provide for the bereaved Lady Sophia Haverly, Charles proposes a marriage of convenience.

Sophie is surprised to find she isn’t opposed to the idea. It will help her care for her betrothed’s elderly mother, and she’s already fallen in love with the wayward girls on the Rothwell estate. This alliance is a chance to repay the captain who has done so much for her care, as well as divert her attention from her grief. When Wyvern returns to his sea commission, she’ll stay behind to oversee his property and wards.

It sounds so simple. Until the stalwart captain is arrested on suspicion of smuggling, and Sophie realizes how much he’s come to mean to her. Now she’ll have to learn to fight, not only for his freedom but also for his love.

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My Impressions

Erica Vetch is one of those authors whose name has been publicized in my reading groups as a Christian Regency author not to miss.
I finally got the opportunity to taste Ms. Vetch’s ability in this last book of the series, The Indebted Earl, #3 Serendipity and Secrets.
I loved Sophie from the moment I met her. Sweet, strong, and determined to take care of her almost-mother-in-law who is settling into dementia, Sophie has a loveable, calming influence on those around her. She is also fiercely loyal.

The captain was not quite so easy to love, but Vetch doesn’t set out to make him super loveable. He’s rigid, unbending, operating with military-like precision, and not good at showing affection. So, Vetch pulls off a coup as she convinces the reader to love him and root for this marriage of convenience between Sophie and Charles.
Both Sophie and Charles are realistic individuals. They struggle with God’s will going against their own carefully constructed plans. Vetch allows both Charles and Sophie to question God, to cry out to Him, to wonder where He is in the valley of suffering. “Why, God? Why did You allow this to happen? How can this possibly be Your will?”
Eventually they will stretch and grow through their trials.
For those who have read previous books, characters from former novels put in appearances, but I enjoyed the book as a standalone. (However, I do plan to rectify that situation.)
Several twists move the storyline along in surprising directions and a bit of suspense kept me eagerly reading.

My attention was especially captured by the young children, all three with unique personalities. I adored each of them. Will Sophie and Charles attach themselves to these orphans or wash their hands of them?
Vetch touches on the subject of suicide (briefly), and deals tenderly with dementia.
For me, The Indebted Earl lived up to its hype. Highly recommended.
I received a copy from the author and publisher through Read with Audra. I am voluntarily leaving my thoughts, which are solely my own.

My Rating:

Magnificent!!

About the Author:

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About the Book

Book: The Elusive Miss Ellison

Author: Carolyn Miller

Genre: Historical, Regency Fiction

Release Date: February 28, 2017

Pride, Presumption, and forgiveness…

Hampton Hall’s new owner has the villagers of St. Hampton Heath all aflutter—all except Lavinia Ellison. The reverend’s daughter cares for those who are poor and sick, and the seventh Earl of Hawkesbury definitely does not meet that criteria. His refusal to take his responsibilities seriously, or even darken the door of the church, leave her convinced he is as arrogant and reckless as his brother—his brother who stole the most important person in Lavinia’s world.Nicholas Stamford is shadowed by guilt: his own, his brother’s, the legacy of war. A perfunctory visit to this dreary part of Gloucestershire wasn’t supposed to engage his heart, or his mind. Challenged by Miss Ellison’s fascinating blend of Bluestocking opinions, hoydenish behavior, and angelic singing voice, he finds the impossible becoming possible—he begins to care. But Lavinia’s aloof manner, society’s opposition and his ancestral obligations prove most frustrating, until scandal forces them to get along.Can Lavinia and Nicholas look beyond painful pasts and present prejudice to see their future? And what happens when Lavinia learns a family secret that alters everything she’s ever known?

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My Impressions

Looking for a clean, Regency romance with Christian values? The Elusive Miss Ellison by Carolyn Miller is a good choice. This was my second time reading the novel, and I daresay, I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.
Lavinia Ellison is a poor reverend’s daughter who lives with her father and aunt in Gloucester, England in 1813. There is much ado when the newest Earl of Hawkesbury Hall returns to his country estate. Lavinia holds Hawkesbury guilty of many sins, and she is the one young lady unaffected by Nicholas’s wealth and prestige. Somehow, this makes her very interesting to the earl.
I liked the quick wit that we see in Lavinia and Hawkesbury. Sometimes I wanted to shake them into talking to each other more honestly. Miller seems to make the point that pride and prejudice can be a two-way street. Lavinia is certainly quite surprised to discover this shortcoming in herself, while she holds many faults against Nicholas.
“How often do we hold sins against others, whether they be petty, imagined slights, or even grave miscarriages of justice, while allowing our own weaknesses to slip through our fingers of blame?”

Miller’s prose holds dry humor that often caused me to grin, even as I wondered how long Lavinia and the earl could treat each other so poorly. An unexpected twist totally changes the story in a way I had totally forgotten and didn’t see coming.
“A handsome appearance counted for naught unless matched by good character and actions.” So opines our heroine, yet the amount of change required of Nicholas was tremendous. I often forgot this as I got impatient with the earl’s indecisiveness and inability to choose one straight course of action.

Quite a few tidbits of wisdom are included in the novel, many of them spiritual. One that rang especially true:
“All things are forgivable when we realize how much we’ve been forgiven.”
The Elusive Miss Ellison is definitely a recommended read.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author and publisher through Celebrate Lit. I am voluntarily leaving this review. All opinions are my own.

My Rating

Great!

About the Author

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. Together with her husband she has pastored a church for ten years, and worked as a public high school English and Learning and Support teacher.A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English Literature, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. Her Regency novels include The Elusive Miss Ellison, The Captivating Lady Charlotte, The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey, Winning Miss Winthrop, Miss Serena’s Secret, The Making of Mrs. Hale, A Hero for Miss Hatherleigh, Underestimating Miss Cecilia, and Misleading Miss Verity, all available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Koorong, etc Her contemporary novels include Restoring Fairhaven and Regaining Mercy, as part of the Independence Islands series.

More from Carolyn

Mr. Darcy has a lot to answer for, doesn’t he?

I’ve long been a fan of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, and my first historical romance, The Elusive Miss Ellison, was so fun to write as I worked to weave the social commentary of Jane Austen with the wit and romantic dash of Heyer, an unwavering Christian thread, and a dash of Aussie perspective.

I’ve been very fortunate to visit many of the settings used in my Regency Brides series (of series), including the Cotswolds, Brighton, Bath, London, Derbyshire and the gorgeous Scottish castle featured on the cover of Misleading Miss Verity, and have loved seeing readers respond so positively to these stories of hope, redemption, family and love.

I love to share images of my trips and what I envisage concerning these stories at my website (www.carolynmillerauthor.com) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CarolynMillerAuthor) and hope readers will enjoy being swept up into an age of ladies and true gentlemen, when the code of honor was paramount, and Mr. Darcy showed that first impressions can never be fully trusted, and that there is always something deeper to the story.

Happy reading, friends!

Carolyn 🙂