Justin Earl of Kempthorn or Thorn as he was called by his family and friends. His nine year old cousin Muriel appeared as he found a young boy who wet his pants Thorn gave the boy to a servant and asked his cousin if she knew the boy’s mother. Muriel said she did know the mother and would go get her Then Muriel said his brother was missing and Lady Felstead left it to Thorn to find his brother  Forty minutes later and Thorn still hadn’t found his brother, Gideon and Thorn were twins Gideon and Thorn were hard to tell apart.  Gideon had left but now he was back.Gideon had announced  that he was leaving England to seek his fortune and did not require Lord Filstead’s heir to accompany him on his travels. For the first time his brothers abandonment left Thorn alone in the world. Then he found Gideon with a lady. Thorn then yelled at Gideon that he had been sent to remind Gideon that he was the guest of honor. Perhaps Gideon should think more of his mother and less of himself.

I just didn’t enjoy this story. It just seemed to drag for me. It didn’t hold my interest and I didn’t force myself to finish the story But I am sure there are readers out there that will love this it just wasn’t for me.

Mathias was the Marquess of Fairlamb and his hands were  pinned behind his back by an unknown enemy. Oliver was the Earl of Marcroft who had burning hatred in his eyes for Mathias. Mathias was the blame for the situation he was in as it was Mathias who suggested he and his companions stop at the    tavern The Black Goat Tavern. . Also he was the one that sent his friends to their horses as he stayed behind to pay the bill. Mathias had insulted the Earl’s choice of a mistress.Mathias then got punched by Oliver in the face. He had heard stories of Oliver’s father all his life like how he goaded unskilled opponents into duels for amusement. Mathias’s friends and family call him Chance as he usually seemed to have luck on his side. As he did when he bashed the Earl into a wooden post . then the Earl’s helper stepped to Mathias but then his cousin- Lord Kempthorn and his good friend Lord Bastrell were there. Mathias truly despised Marcroft His parents and Marcroft,s parents had some unpleasant history between them that happened before Mathias’s birth, which made the Brent family- Marcroft- his enemy. Marcroft and Mathias had been trading physical and verbal blows since they were boys at their first meeting. Nothing but death would stop Marcroft from meddling in Mathias’s affairs. Mathias could have continued on to London but but stooped home even though he was twenty two Mathias missed his family as he had not seen them in a month. Chance, St. Lyon and his cousin Thorn were skinny dipping when Lady Tempest happened upon them. This is Chance’s first meeting with Tempest as did Tempest’s younger sister but they returned to their chaperone acting as though nothing had happened. Eventually Chance and his friends came around and are introduced. There is an instant attraction between Chance and Tempest and neither Chance nor Tempest knew the other's last name. Then Chance discovers who Tempest is and leaves. Chance is determined to stay away from Tempest but he couldn’t seem to.  Than Tempest ran into Marcroft at home and told to stay away from Chance. But then chance and Tempest find they are running into each other a lot when they didn’t before. Chance and Tempest both begin to question the hatred between their two families. They start to get acquainted with each other and realize the attraction is too strong just to forget. They meet in secret and fall in love. Chance and Tempest marry in secret and are determined to stay that way.

I liked this story, it was funny at times which always helps. Although there were a few things I didn’t  care for. I felt the story ended too soon and rather quickly. Also things didn’t always seem to fit the time period like long hair when at a ball all hair would have been up. But I still wanted to read the story until the end and see how Chance and Tempest worked things out. This had a Romeo and Juliet type theme to it but I still enjoyed. So the plot was familiar but still good as far as I was concerned.I thought it was a great plot twist when it was revealed why the families hated each other and then there was a lot of drama. But all and all this was a good read.I enjoyed the ins and outs of this story and I recommend.

~ARC was given by the publisher.~

Finally! After reading it slowly for three weeks, I am done with it.

I actually had a hard time reading this. Mainly because it is the 3rd book of a series. Plus, the way the thoughts of the men in the book was a bit vulgar. I do love a good vulgar book, not like the one in this book. It left a sour taste in my mouth.

The story however, was simple and sweet. I love how the twins tired to prank the people around them. Since the are almost the same. The same machination brought Olivia and Thorn together. The concept is really nice, but it was really a bummer, since she was unaware who is she kissing...

It was funny and really frustrating. The twist in the story was something else too. Now, that was really unexpected.

All in all, Waiting For an Earl Like You, is somewhat likable for me. I look forward to read the next book. Will it be about Gideon? or one of Thorn's bachelor's friends? Or maybe Lord Marcroft?

I've somehow missed out reading Alexandra Hawkins before Waiting For an Earl Like You. I absolutely loved her voice and look forward to reading her extensive backlist and future books.

 

I really enjoyed Waiting For an Earl Like You. I thought both Olivia and Thorn were both really strong characters, although I'm not sure Olivia really saw herself that way in the beginning. I initially thought Thorn was so rude to Olivia because he was jealous that Olivia took his twin Gideon from him. I quickly realized his jealousy had everything to do with he wanted Olivia for himself.

 

I didn't love the fact that Thorn pretended to be Gideon around Olivia several times. I felt it was too much of a childhood prank at first, and really felt like he let it go on a bit too long. However, I thought Olivia would be better at telling the twins apart as well. Honestly, these were my only issue with the book.

 

I love the somewhat slow build of romance between Thorn and Olivia. They really worked as a couple for me in a way that I could never see with Gideon and Olivia. Thorn and Olivia had great chemistry and I could tell how much they loved each other long before either one of them admitted it to themselves or each other.

 

Waiting For an Earl Like You was a very enjoyable read. I love when I find a new-to-me author whose voice I love from the very first page. I look forward to reading many more books from Ms. Hawkins in the future.

 

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)

Review copy provided by publisher 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thorn's twin Gideon has finally come home after abruptly taking off on his own. Finding Gideon and their neighbor Olivia back together as if they never lost a step, annoys Thorn in a way he doesn't fully want to think about.
Olivia has always had a good friendship with Gideon but his twin and the heir Thorn, always seems to find something at fault with her.
When Gideon starts kissing her at clandestine meetings, Olivia doesn't know what to think, especially when it's Thorn who she's starting to feel strange around.
 
Third in the Masters of Seduction series, you could read this as a standalone but there are characters with story lines that will be missed. The author seemed to want to focus on everything but the romance. In the beginning and most of the middle, the focus seemed to be on Thorn and Gideon's relationship. Thorn not understanding why Gideon left and the mystery of what Gideon did when he was gone. This could have been more powerful if the author would have had the brothers discuss more and have a scene where they aired their grievances or resolved issues. Towards the end Gideon disappeared and as a reader, I felt left adrift from a storyline that started off the focus. I also felt like the couple of Thorn's cousin Chance and Tempest (book 2) were focused on too much. Maybe not reading their story hurt me here but I didn't understand what was going on with them and neither did I care. The same can be said of Tempest's father (book 1) and her mother's relationship, obviously I was missing something there. I spent a good portion of this book not sure who the hero, heroine, or main couple was supposed to be.
 
Thorn has been celibate for a while, so calling him a rake wouldn't be quite right but his personality and way he treats Olivia is harsher. I felt this way because of his actions, constantly grabbing Olivia to kiss her and his thoughts; he seems more concerned with keeping her away from his brother than actually having any love for her. His pretending to be his brother to get closer to Olivia also went on too long; would have been cute in one or two scenes. As it dragged on and intimate situations where had, it felt devious and immature. When he is talking to her father, his first thought when they are discussing their betrothal, is how now his twin can't have her. This could be the "I can't admit to myself I want her" but since we're not given great loving thoughts and feelings from Thorn towards Olivia, I felt more of a cold drift than a heat wave from them.
 
Olivia gets kind of the shaft; she's not given much to work with. Thorn constantly says she's too naïve and her actions constantly prove him right; she's a bit TSTL. There were glimpses of her rising to the challenge of going back and forth with Thorn but they never fully materialized. I also question how she was able to traipse around London by herself and leave a ball alone with Thorn; the historical accuracy seemed a bit off.
 
I mentioned some of the focus on the past two main couples but there was also a big focus on characters that were clearly series baiting. There were cousins, brothers, sisters, and exiled princes constantly given the spotlight. I want my secondary characters to add to the story and main couple but the focuses given to them here did nothing but distract and detract. I will say though, the exiled prince may have intrigued me enough to read his story.
 
Quite honestly, I didn't fully know for sure I had the right hero and heroine paired up correctly toward the end of the story, definitely a problem. The sudden villain at the end, with a very 1980s bodice ripping deviance, and the way they info dumped their evil motivations and plans, felt out of nowhere. I appreciated how the author went a little darker with her male characters but wanted more layered heroines too. This story was way more ensemble piece with carnal leanings whispering in the wings, not an average light or sweet bedrooms scenes regency romance, so it did have some difference going for it. However, the lack of romance had me ultimately wondering what the point of the story was.