4 Wine Glass #Review for The Earl I Ruined by Scarlett Peckham

Series: The Secrets of Charlotte Street #2
Author: Scarlett Peckham
Genre: Historical Romance
Format: ebook 314 pages
Published: December 11th, 2018 by NYLA

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Source: NetGalley

Reviewer: Lexi

Rating: 4 out of  5 Wine Glasses

She’s beautiful, rich, and reckless… 

When Lady Constance Stonewell accidentally ruins the Earl of Apthorp’s entire future with her gossip column, she does what any honorable young lady must: offer her hand in marriage. Or, at the very least, stage a whirlwind fake engagement to repair his reputation. Never mind that it means spending a month with the dullest man in England. Or the fact that he disapproves of everything she holds dear.

He’s supposedly the most boring politician in the House of Lords... 

Julian Haywood, the Earl of Apthorp, is on the cusp of finally proving himself to be the man he’s always wanted to be when his future is destroyed in a single afternoon. When the woman he’s secretly in love confesses she’s at fault, it isn’t just his life that is shattered: it’s his heart.

They have a month to clear his name and convince society they are madly in love… 

But when Constance discovers her faux-intended is decidedly more than meets the eye—not to mention adept at shocking forms of wickedness—she finds herself falling for him.

There’s only one problem: he can’t forgive her for breaking his heart. 

Lexi’s Review:

Gossip is a tool and a weapon in the hands of Lady Constance, and wow is it fun to read how she uses it.

The Earl I Ruined was a historical romance delight. Constance is incredibly strong-willed and self centered in the sense she doesn’t immediately see all of the repercussions of her actions. That’s not to say she doesn’t care for others because, very deeply, but she hides it behind her socialite facade. And that’s how she ends up proposing a marriage of convenience once she realizes that a line of gossip she shared brought down the man she nearly loves. 

The plot is done well as Constance and Julian plot and carry out their deceiving plan. Their goal is to fool the ton into believing they are engaged and that Julian’s proper manners are rubbing off on Constance and rehabilitating her wild ways, thus making Julian look like a savior which would polish his tarnished reputation. 

Yes, that sums it up. Nice and neat. But the banter, the chemistry, the hidden hurts, and the steamy chemistry bring the story to life so well you’ll reach the end before you know it. There were some typos and a couple repetitions, small things but they pulled me out of the story enough to be annoying. 

Overall, if you are looking for a historical romance with strong heroines you can’t go wrong picking up books one or two in The Secrets of Charlotte Street series!



Suggested Reading Order:
Book #1 The Duke I Tempted

Book #2 The Earl I Ruined