Wild Earl Chase (Earls are Wild Book 2)

Griffith Halliwell, Earl of Pendlebury, is a known rake and more recently, a terrible landowner to his starving tenants. When Lady Susan Crompton not only calls him out on his outrageous behavior in court but also buys the very Thoroughbred that Halliwell desires, he decides to trick her into giving him the horse. Under the guise of helping him plead his tenants’ case to the justices, Griff invites her to join him, believing that if he can just get close enough to Susan, he can have her Thoroughbred as well as her maidenhood. But Susan has other ideas, working to glean as much info about horse breeding as she can from Halliwell while on the trip. When an old foe shows up with his own plans for the horse, Griff, Susan, and many more, find themselves involved in a treacherous and dangerous plot.

An interesting read with a slew of odd personalities and plot twists. Right from the gate, the onslaught of characters will have the reader racing to look for the missing pages only to find that they are in the first book. With a reference to enjoying rape by the stories’ villain at various points, this story takes a few random turns throughout. While Griff and Susan were delightful individually and their storyline appealing and fresh, some parts involving their relationship felt off, disjointed, or simply unbelievable. At times it felt as if one was reading three different books with three different storylines. Anna Markland’s imagination has truly run wild with this one.

Marie Sanderson