Intentions of the Earl

Intentions of the Earl by Rose Gordon

Finally close to being debt free for the first time since inheriting his title from his rogue of a father, Andrew Black, Earl of Townson, has the chance to reclaim a valuable piece of property from the man he lost it to on a bad investment.  All he has to do is bring shame to a certain visiting family and send them scurrying back to America.  Unwilling to take the opportunity at first, he finds himself trapped into agreeing, hoping to find the quickest resolution that won't end up destroying what few friendships he does have left.

Brooke Banks, daughter of a New York minister visiting family in London, is tired of every man assuming that just because she flirts and laughs with him that she is willing to ruin herself for him.  The day after spurning the powerful Duke of Gateway for such an assumption she finds herself the object of a new suitor's attention.  Can the Earl really be interested in her, or are his intentions less than honorable?

This one took a bit for me to get in to.  I'll freely admit that I had distractions around me at the time, but there are some books that can grab your attention at these times.  Unfortunately, this book did not start that way for me.  However (and thankfully), it did not stay that way.

Once the momentum got going I found this book highly enjoyable.  It played quite a bit with the concept of honor vs. pride, and also gave a great deal of time to the dangers of gossip and the importance of reputation during the Regency period in England.  I particularly liked the comparisons to Regency England and Post-Revolution America in terms of reputation and societal importance.

There was one element, in the end, that both thrilled and annoyed me.  The plot twist toward the end of the book completely floored me.  I actually had to put the book down and consider the foreshadowing earlier to see if I missed anything.  I didn't, she is just that good.  However, the plot twist did not finish playing out.  I am assuming this was to leave it open for development in the future books, but I did find it a tad bit annoying.

Overall, after the slow start, it was a great read, especially for a first novel.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 3

Sex – 4 

Language – 5

Storyline – 4

Overall – 4