Chasing the Earl (The Arrogant Earls Book 2)

HISTORICAL: Henry Eldrick, the Earl of Huntley, was ignored his whole life. He had a ‘perfect’ older brother who was given all of the love his parents had to give. Henry was raised by others, and told often that he was useless. Emmagene Stitch, 28, is a spinster. When she was 18, she gave her innocence to a man she thought loved her, but he was just using her, and married someone else shortly thereafter. Since then, she hasn’t trusted in love, and she has become a negative stick-in-the-mud. These two protagonists are forced to share a carriage to a house party and a wedding out in the country for Emmie’s cousin. They are both defensive and prickly, and their banter toward each other is rude and offensive at times, but understandable because of their respective backstories. Once they arrive, they are each treated abysmally by the hostess, and this serves to unite them in a sense, which contributes credibility to the final outcome.

Despite the fact that this is a novella, Ms. Ayers does a fine job of imparting pertinent information. Readers learn about Henry’s unfortunate childhood and the reasons he behaves the way he does and about Emmie’s reasons for spinsterhood and why she is so uptight. The evocative and heartbreaking background details give readers a deeper connection to each protagonist. The pace is engaging and includes witty repartee at times and inane frivolity at other times. There are occasional references to the preceding book in this series, but this story stands alone. The pace and tension are perfect for this story, giving readers a delightful reading experience.

Carey Sullivan