Earl's Well That Ends Well

October 5, 2020
Ashford concludes her The Way to a Lord’s Heart series (after A Duke Too Far) with this sweet romance set in Regency London’s theater world. Arthur Shelton, the widowed Earl of Macklin, meets set painter Señora Teresa Alvarez de Granada while in London visiting his friend Tom, an aspiring actor. Arthur is immediately drawn to the stunning, independent Spanish woman, but she resists his charms. When several of the theater’s dancers mysteriously disappear, Arthur, Tom, and Teresa join forces to search for the missing women. Teresa and Arthur grow closer, but she has resolved never again to let any man dictate her life after being coerced into a traumatizing relationship by a friend of her father’s. She reveals her painful backstory to Arthur, thinking it will make him want to keep his distance—but it only leaves Arthur determined to protect her. Ashford’s chaste, emotional romance highlights the inequities faced by 19th-century women of all classes. This series finale will satisfy Regency fans with its quick-witted characters and engaging love story. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary.

November 1, 2020
After his beloved wife died, Arthur Shelton, Earl of Macklin, thought he was done with romance. Then he meets Teresa Alvarez de Granada, who works at a theater in London. After escaping a life of strife and hardship in war-torn Spain, Teresa now wants nothing more than a peaceful life in her new adopted home. The last thing she wants to do is become involved with a man, especially an English nobleman like Arthur. However, when several opera dancers go missing from the theater, Teresa reluctantly agrees to help Arthur investigate, all the while hoping she can keep her own heart safe in the process. Ashford (A Duke Too Far, 2020) wraps up her stellar The Way to a Lord's Heart series with another sweetly romantic Regency romance expertly spiked with danger. Among this tale's many riches is its intriguingly complex cast of characters, which includes a refreshingly older hero and heroine, the latter of whom has first-hand knowledge of the external and internal scars caused by war and borne by survivors.

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November 15, 2020
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make yourself a match. Arthur Shelton, Earl of Macklin, is known for his heavy hand in other people's love lives--a widower himself, he's helped many young men heal their broken hearts by finding true love. And when he realizes he's ready to find love again, he heads to London to visit old friends--"and who knew what else might turn up?" But it's not in a ballroom where he finds his match; instead, while walking down the street with a friend, he meets Teresa Alvarez de Granada and feels an instant attraction though he knows little about her--and she intends to keep it that way. Teresa, having escaped a difficult life in Spain, wants nothing to do with Arthur or any other man, especially a nobleman--she only wants to paint for the theater and enjoy her quiet apartment. But when several dancers at Teresa's theater go missing and Arthur offers to use his standing to help find them, the investigation brings the two closer together. Despite Teresa's attempts to keep Arthur at a distance, she finds herself starting to believe he really is the man he seems to be, but just as they start to connect, pieces of her past reappear and may keep them apart. The finale to Ashford's The Way to a Lord's Heart series will satisfy readers who have wondered about the mysterious nobleman from the previous entries. Ashford explores the ideas of privilege and nobility with the help of Lord Macklin as well as cameos from characters from earlier books, which is satisfying. Though there are awkward moments, particularly with Teresa's inconsistent use of Spanish, the story is quite sweet despite some dark moments in the discovery of the missing dancers. As with earlier entries, Ashford's greatest strength is in depicting moments of true connection in relationships, both friendly and romantic, and readers more interested in those moments than steamy love scenes will find much to enjoy here. A sweet Regency romance with a healthy dose of mystery and resolution.

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