REVIEW: West End Earl (Misfits of Mayfair Book 2) by Bethany Bennett
While most young ladies attend balls and hunt for husbands, Ophelia Hardwick has spent the last ten years in disguise. As the land steward for the Earl of Carlyle, she’s found safety from the uncle determined to kill her and freedoms a lady could only dream of. Ophelia’s situation would be perfect—if only she wasn’t hopelessly attracted to her employer.
Calvin, Earl of Carlyle, is determined to see his sister married this season. And he’ll do it with the help of his trusted right-hand man. But when he finds out Ophelia’s secret, and that her life is in danger, his priorities change. Their attraction is passionate, all-consuming, and if they aren’t careful, it could turn downright deadly—for both of them.
Dear Bethany Bennett,
I picked up your book West End Earl, having no idea what it was about and never having read any of your other books. I was into the really bright and beautiful cover which featured a gorgeous yellow gown. The scene depicted was romantic, tender and lovely. Your book is all those things too.
West End Earl tells the story of Ophelia Hardwick, an orphan escaping a villainous uncle (a familiar trope). Disguising herself as a boy, she makes her own way in the world eventually ending up in the employ of the Earl of Carlyle. Going by the name of Adam, she is both Carlyle’s land steward and his friend. The book opens with a scene of Calvin and Adam at a ball, and Calvin is alternately confiding in his friend about his troubles and jokingly considering him as a match for his sister. This sets the tone for the easy camaraderie between the characters. You lay the foundation for their romance in a strong friendship. For reasons I won’t disclose, Ophelia’s secret is revealed very early on and the rest of the book revolves around three conflicts—one surrounding the hero’s sister, one surrounding Ophelia’s evil uncle and one internal conflict between Ophelia and Calvin.
Ophelia or Fee dresses as a man for protection. Her toughness, resilience and independence are hard won and you show in a very nuanced and serious way, the dangers and difficulties for an unprotected woman in 19th century England. You also show how Fee has achieved security but not love. She is profoundly alone.
Spoiler: Show
When Ophelia’s uncle discovers her existence and begins to pursue her, putting her life in danger, she and Calvin flee to his country estate. There they share a steamy two weeks before the arrival of guests for a house party (there is a whole subplot around this that I cant say more about for fear of more spoilers!) Something happens at the house party that tears Calvin and Fee apart, and the way that story moves forward was a total shock to me. I did not see it coming but I sort of loved it!!!
Spoiler: Show
The story has shades of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Like Viola, Fee dresses as a boy for protection. Like her, she also falls in love with an aristocrat. And like Twelfth Night, the tone is more comedic than tragic. Fee is an unusual heroine for Regency Romance. I loved her—she was independent, clever, self-sufficient, sexy, in touch with her feelings and her body, but also vulnerable and soft. She is attracted to her employer, but she is never stupid. She acts in line with her life experience—and her life experience was both unusual and compelling. The backstory of how she comes to live her life in disguise was tragic and compelling, and what I loved most of all in this book was seeing her get her much deserved happy ending.
The hero, The Earl of Carlyle, is also an unusual and refreshing hero. He was sensitive, in touch with his feelings, open with his affection and so tender it melted my heart. I love stories with heroines in disguise, and I loved reading about a sensitive protective and not A-hole Regency hero. He wasn’t a rake or a libertine. Bennet finds a way to make responsibility and stability sexy.
This book isn’t without faults—there are a lot of anachronisms, and if you are a stickler for historical accuracy well then, this book isn’t for you. The Big Misunderstanding might have been avoided with some communication. The book is light on angst and sexual politics.
This is a delightful romp with some super steamy scenes and a very unusual couple. I highly recommend this book for its humor, tenderness and sweet love story and for its brave and compelling heroine.
My grade: A
This sounds like the kind of book I would love if it weren’t for this.
Thanks for your review, Layla. I look forward to reading this.
I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this book. I was trying to figure out a solution to the characters’ various problems and when Spoiler #2 occurred, I was impressed by the author’s creativity.
@Janine, fortunately (?), I know so little history that an anachronism has to jump out and hit me on the head before I notice. Recently I read a Regency with a child messenger referred to as a “street kid.” That shot my attention out of the book. I looked it up later and learned the word kid has been used for hundreds of years.
@Janine: @LML: If I go into a book knowing that it’s filled with anachronisms, sometimes I can just let go and enjoy it. But the rest of the book then really has to be fantastic.
I enjoyed the first of the Misfits of Mayfair series, Any Rogue Will Do. It helps when my sense of humor and the author’s align, and the book had depth and some poignant moments as well. I’ve got this book on my nightstand, just need to complete the books I need to read for book club, the books due back at the library, and the books I borrowed before I get around to it.
As for anachronisms, it depends. If the writing and characterization are good enough, I can overlook or forgive most anachronisms, but some are too egregious to be ignored. Wasn’t there a medieval romance where the characters ate potatoes?
@LML: I know what you mean. Anachronisms didn’t trouble me nearly as much when I was younger, but then I took up writing manuscripts that are set in the 1890s, and now I’m much more familiar with 19th C Britain and anachronisms jump out at me all the time. :-/
The OED says “street kid” is from 1910–what period was the book set in?
I notice anachronisms most with language. I know a lot of readers mistake period words and terms for anachronisms, but in my case I look it up a lot and at least 95% of the time I am correct. I have a good ear for period language. Sometimes it’s not the vocabulary but the phrasings. For example if in a 19th century historical someone said “How’s that working for you?” in a sarcastic way, it would jar me a lot even though the words themselves are all old enough to be within the period. It’s the expression that isn’t.
@Jayne and @Susan/DC: I can let go some anachronisms within reason also, if I enjoy the book. I vaguely remember the medieval potatoes–if I’m correct, that generated a discussion on the AAR boards a couple of decades ago. I’m not sure as many readers would care about something like that now. In most genres, not just romance, books have shifted more toward the fantastical end of the spectrum since those days.
@Susan/DC:
“The Wolf and the Dove” by Kathleen Woodiwiss!
@Janine: I agree with you Janine— contemporary language or expressions jar me also and I can’t keep reading. I also don’t know how to explain this but when with role playing or character behaviour— I’ll give an example. I like Tessa Dare’s books but her heroes and heroines don’t feel authentically historical to me. The way they behave and the general tone of her writing feels very 21st century to me. I still enjoy her books but almost as a fantasy Rom com than a historical. Contrast this with Balogh , Meredith Duran, or Jo Beverly, or Evie Dunmore —their writing but also the way the characters behave feels more historically authentic.
There was an element of modernness to West End Earl—the heroine’s independence, her lack of shyness about engaging in an affair, her frankness with her sexuality . But in the world of the book it worked and I liked it. She was that that way because of how she was forced to live her life ( in disguise) and that made more sense to me than a heroine who behaves that way and doesn’t care for society at all but with a traditional upbringing .
@LML: ditto!!! I too thought her solution was inventive and I sort of loved that it shocked me. I had expected a different resolution— like the heroine running away and having to be rescued.
@Layla, oh, I had all manner of inventive, unworkable solutions in mind. The author’s was perfect and I was annoyed with myself for not thinking of it.
@Janine, uh oh. Your source beats my source. From Online Etymology Dictionary: “kid (n.) c. 1200, “the young of a goat, … Extended meaning “child” is first recorded as slang 1590s, established in informal usage by 1840s. Applied to skillful young thieves and pugilists at least since 1812.”
@LML: I think it’s that “Kid” is quite old (Per the OED 1175 for “the young of a goat, “1690 for “child,” and as and “In low sporting or criminal circles: A term of admiration for an expert young thief, pugilist,” from 1819, so very close to your source) but the phrase “street kid” (meaning “street child” in U.S. slang) is from 1910. So you were correct when you thought it was an anachronism if that’s how the author meant it. And even if she meant it differently, sticking the modifier “street” in front of “kid” gives it a contemporary ring.
BTW, a lot of public libraries now make the OED database available online to their patrons for free, so it’s possible that you may have access.
@Janine, street kid is definitely the author’s meaning.
As a side note, there was a time – early 1990s, I think – when the OED was available as a computer disk for $1000.00 including updates for one year.
@LML: My grandfather had a huge multi-volume set of the OED in his house bought at least as early as the 1970s. I remember my disbelief as a child that one dictionary could take up that much shelf space.
Nowadays the OED is available to individuals on a subscription basis for only $100 a year–a huge bargain relative to what it once cost. If your library subscribes and you want to go through that instead, I advise looking at the databases linked to on your library’s website.
I believe the Historical Thesaurus of English is a relatively new addition to the OED online database–from the last decade or two, I think.