Never Envy an Earl

Fortune's Brides, Book 3

By: Regina Scott

Narrated by: Jannie Meisberger

The saucy Yvette de Maupassant is used to danger. She’s spent the last 10 years spying for England in Napoleon’s court. Now that her work has been discovered, she must hide, and what better place than the remote wooded estate of the Earl of Carrolton? Her friend Miss Thorn and that delightful cat Fortune place her in a position where she can pretend to be companion to the earl’s sickly mother. Yet one look at the earl has Yvette rethinking why she wants to stay.

Gregory, Earl of Carrolton, is used to power. So why does one moment in the company of his mother and spinster sister leave him feeling powerless? And why does the look in a certain Frenchwoman’s eyes leave him weak at the knees? As danger draws closer, Gregory and Yvette must work together to protect her, his family, and the future of England, as they discover the greatest danger and delight is falling in love.

This sweet, clean Regency romance is the sequel to Never Borrow a Baronet. Fortune’s Brides: Only a matchmaking cat can hunt true love.

©2018 Regina Lundgren (P)2020 Regina Lundgren

Delightful Regency Romance!

Never Envy an Earl is a wonderful Regency romance in the Fortune’s Brides series by Regina Scott. Each book in the series starts with the mysterious Miss Meredith Thorn and her beloved cat Fortune as they place down on their luck gentlewomen in places of employment. This is the third book in the series wherein former English spy Yvette de Maupassant needs to hideaway after the French learn of her traitorous activities. Miss Thorn offers Yvette the post of companion to the Earl of Carrolton’s sickly mother.

Almost as soon as she arrives at her new job, Yvette makes positive changes to the household. The Earl’s mother soon becomes not so sickly, and the Earl’s unhappy spinster sister becomes not so unhappy. After a few attempts on Yvette’s life, that are at first mistaken for accidents, the Earl becomes over protective of Yvette. And it doesn’t take long before they both become enamored in each other and fall in love. As a bonus, Miss Thorn and her childhood sweetheart become reacquainted and clear the air of misconceptions from over a decade ago.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, narrated by the amazing Jannie Meisberger. I highly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys well written and clean regency romance. I can’t wait to listen to the next audio in this delightful series!

Entertaining and Enjoyable

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and any opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the third book in the Fortune's Brides series. Each book in this series is a standalone and tells a complete story [no cliffhanger ending]. I did not realize when I listened to this book that the main characters in this book come from other books written by this author. So, I did not know the backstory nor any of the relationships of these characters. There were references to events which had occurred prior to this book [and I assume occurred in the other books] and the author provided quick summaries to catch you up. I did not find that I was lost or needed to have read prior books to understand this story or the characters' motivations.

I enjoyed this story but I do have to say that it was a little disappointing how easily and frequently Yvette's cousin [the man who is trying to capture Yvette] gets away. What I liked most of all was how Yvette was able to deal and eventually win over the Earl's mother and sister - some of it was pretty humorous. Overall, it was an entertaining and enjoyable romp.

The narrator, Jannie Meisberger, did a great job, as always.

The series continuous with another good story...

It's the third book in the series and I liked it as much as the first two.

This time we follow Yvette - a French aristocrat who spied for Britain against Napoleon and whose life is now in danger. She must hide - so she pretends to be a lady's companion. George, the Earl of Carrolton, is supposed to protect her, but he soon finds out the task will involve much more than just looking out for a would-be assassin...

What I like about the series is the fact that the main characters are people of great understanding for others and that all of them, besides having their strenghts, have also weaknesses that burden them and make them vulnerable. The gentlemen need as much help from the ladies as the ladies need from them - and the love that grows between them has roots in mutual understanding.

As always, narration by Ms Meisberger is perfect - she really is a master when it comes to reading stories of love and interpreting emotions. She does equally well both female and male voices, and the characters just shine through her...:)

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.