REVIEW: Never Entice an Earl by Lily Dalton

Never Entice an Earl by Lily Dalton: “Never Entice an Earl” is one of those exciting books where there is always something going on, and no shortage of heroic males and resourceful female characters. It is also the second in the “One Scandalous Season” series from the author.

The beginning starts with a prologue: Cormack Northmore has just arrived back in England from India after six years away, having made his fortune, and he’s looking forward to seeing his family. However he comes back to tragedy: his sister is dying shortly after giving birth to an illegitimate son and the family have no idea who the father is. Cormack makes it his goal to find the person who impregnated sister and to take revenge.

The main part of the book starts in London two years later. The Bevington sisters are in the conservatory, Sophia, the married oldest sister, is telling her two younger sisters, Daphne and Clarissa about the joys of the marriage bed, and they of course are scandalized but very interested. Close in age, their coming-out party is only in a few weeks. Daphne, the middle sister, is a sweet girl who is concerned about others. She counts among her best friends her lady’s maid Kate. Kate is distressed, since her family is in financial bad shape since her father took out loans and the loan shark is calling in his markers Later on that day Kate and many of the other employees of the household come down with food poisoning and are very ill. Daphne goes to Kate and finds out that Kate had made arrangements in order to work off some of her father’s debts, but since she is sick she cannot do the work. Daphne decides to help Kate by pretending to be her for that night. Daphne is shocked to find out that the Blue Swan is a brothel and her job is to be one of four nearly naked dancers. Luckily for Daphne that night Cormack is following a lead in the search of the blackguard who ruined his sister, and this lead is also at the Blue Swan. Cormack sees Daphne on the stage and immediately knows that she does not belong:

His attention lingered on one of the dancers in particular, one with starlight-blond hair and luminous skin.… He felt as if he’d caught sight of an angel masquerading among lesser mortals, who’d become entangled in mankind’s sin and was now helpless to escape.… He maneuvered closer to the stage, fixated. Inexplicably smitten.… He realized instantly that she didn’t belong in this place.

And when someone touches her Cormack impulsively strikes the man and defends her. The police unexpectedly raid the Blue Swan and Daphne is nearly kidnapped however Cormack and his man Jackson rescue her. Of course Daphne says that she is a maid and Cormack says that he is a simple businessman. Cormack is a gentleman and buys her a dress to replace her torn and inappropriate outfit and Daphne also tells him about the debt that Kate owes (all the while pretending to be Kate) and before they part they share a scorching hot kiss.

He exited the carriage, leaving her to darkness and silence and the overwhelming realization she’d likely just had the most thrilling moment of her life. She’d been rescued and kissed senselessly by a handsome stranger.

Cormack pays Kate’s father’s debt and Daphne find this out the next morning when she receives beautiful orange roses and tells Kate. Kate is shocked thinking at Daphne must have done something awful to get her debt paid off but Daphne assures Kate that nothing untoward happened. Not too many days later Cormack sees Daphne in a park in realizes that of course Daphne is not a maid, and Daphne realizes that Cormack is not just a simple businessman and finds out that he’s actually the Earl of Raikes. Cormack, angry at her falsehoods, and still looking for the person who ruined his sister, blackmails Daphne into inviting him to her to her coming-out ball.

So much more happens after this that it cannot be summarized without giving too much away! Suffice to say that Cormack is affectionate and protective, Daphne is brave and forthright, and they make a fantastic couple. This book has everything: unsuitable and creepy suitors, unexpected fiancées, shady Vauxhall gatherings, a mysterious secret society, a kidnapping or two, and much swoon-worthy smooching. I loved it, the characters, the setting, the writing—until the ending, which left me a little disappointed with a deus ex machine moment which ties up more than one loose end. I know that most readers will absolutely love this ending since it pulls everything neatly together, but I found it a tad contrived, and not necessarily in the spirit of the rest of the novel. Nonetheless, a great, fun, roller coaster of a read and I recommend it.

Book Info:

 Publication: April 29th 2014 by Forever

A ONE SCANDALOUS SEASON NOVEL

A Deception Most Reckless

Lady Daphne Bevington would do anything for her maid Kate-including masquerading as Kate and sneaking around the wrong side of London to settle the poor girl’s debt. Yet her innocent ruse takes a scandalous turn when “Kate” runs into a handsome gentleman on a secret quest of his own. A moment of passion could cost Daphne her reputation, but how can she ignore the stranger’s searing kiss?

An Arrangement Most Wicked

Lord Cormack Northmore is determined to find the immoral peer who ruined his sister. So when he learns that the irresistible woman he knows as “Kate” is the Season’s most sought-after debutante, Cormack plans to use her connections to help him set a trap. Now, the closer Cormack gets to uncovering the villain who haunts the ton’s ballrooms, the more he realizes that the lovely lady is in danger herself. Will he abandon his quest for revenge-or risk losing his one chance at love?