I. am. in. love! One Good Earl Deserves a Lover was incredible–it had the perfect amount of edge, angst, humor, sexiness, and sweetness. This book was everything I never knew I wanted in a historical romance!

I was fairly impressed with the first book in The Rules of Scoundrels series, but I didn’t LOVE it. And then I read this gem and WOW. Just WOW. I fell head over heels in love, and I couldn’t put the book down! The characters are incredibly written and the storyline hooked me from start to finish. And I’m hoping other historical romances set in England will be this divine!

I love Philippa Marbury, aka Pippa. She’s quirky and cute and lovable. She’s incredibly intelligent–she knows random facts about anything and everything, but this makes her odd in her society. She’s meant for more in life, but she has to settle for marrying boring old Lord Castleton. Okay, so he’s not old, but he’s just not right for Pippa. She doesn’t make her breathless, her heart race, her body flush… but Cross does.

Cross–the enigmatic part owner of the gaming hell The Fallen Angel, who has just as many quirks as Pippa.

Pippa thinks purely in the scientific sense. She believes in cold hard facts, not in frivolous things like love. She’s never experienced passion and lust, and figures she should know what to expect when her wedding night comes. And so this leads to her research, research about passion, about desire. She goes to Cross, because of his scandalous reputation, for help in her “research.” But she never expected to actually feel things for him, to fall in love with him.

“My whole life . . . two and two has made four.”
He nodded, utterly focused on her, and she loved him all over again for paying attention . . . for understanding her.
“But now . . . it’s all gone wrong.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make four anymore. It makes you.”

Pippa is just wonderful. She’s tough and stubborn and honest. She’s relatable and just so freakin’ adorable! Ever since she met Cross, she’s become someone more than just her über scientific self. She experiences passion and love. And yet I love how she retains her quirks. Cross just brings out the best in her, both her intelligent side, and her emotional side.

Oh my, Cross. Cross, Cross, Cross. He makes my heart flutter! This man is beautiful, inside and out. He’s so unusual for a main male lead, but that ended up being so endearing to me. Let’s see–he’s abnormally tall, even taller than what you would expect a hot male alpha to be (and he is such a hot male alpha *swoon!*), and he has a head full of red hair. Yes! He’s a redhead, and he makes having red hair sound hot! Personally, I think he could make anything look and sound sexy. There was one scene where Cross’s shirt was unbuttoned a little at the top, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up, baring those delicious forearms… *sigh* The forearms, they just do me in. Can you tell I’m in love with him? And not just with his physical traits either. This man, when he wants to be, is the sweetest man on earth. It may seem as if he’s a scoundrel and a selfish man, but in reality, everything he’s done, he’s done for those he loves. His remaining family has always been his number one priority ever since an incident years ago. But ever since Pippa came into his life, he’s never been the same.

She was everything he’d never known he wanted.
And he did want her. Enough to make him wish he were someone else. Enough to make him wish he were more. Different. Better.

Oh, this man made my heart swoon madly.

The angst! Oh gosh, it was perfect. Cross doesn’t believe he’s good enough for Pippa because of his past and what he’s done. So he pushes her away, doesn’t allow himself to be happy with her. And this just raises the tension off the charts!

I loved every single interaction between Cross and Pippa. There were the funny parts, where Cross would deny himself about feeling anything for Pippa and make an absolute fool out of himself. There were the parts that were so intense and filled with tension between Pippa and Cross. It made my heart flip flop and go crazy!

The secondary characters are so well written too. I became even more intrigued with the other owners of The Fallen Angel, Temple and Chase.

“No toast?”
“Not to love,” Temple said wryly. “Women may be warm and welcome . . . but they’re not to be trusted.”
“Now that you’ve said it, you know what that means.” Temple raised a black row as Chase toasted him with a grin. “You’re next.”

When I read this, it made me laugh so hard. Because yes, Temple will be next!

The book was perfect. Perfect characters, perfect story, perfect ending. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled as hard as I did at that scene right before the epilogue. SAH-WOOON!

I’m not usually a reader of historical romances, at least those that are set in England during the Regency era, but this book was wonderful. If you love historical romances, you should read this book. If you don’t read historical romances, you should read this book. If you don’t like historical romances, you should read this book. You don’t even have to read this first book before diving into this one, it’s that good. (And I’m a stickler for reading books in order!)

*Sigh* I just loved everything about One Good Earl Deserves a Lover. And I cannot WAIT for the next book in the series. TEMPLE!!

Reading Order: The Rules of Scoundrels series

#1 ~ A Rogue by Any Other Name: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ One Good Earl Deserves a Lover: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ No Good Duke Goes Unpunished: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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