The Formidable Earl

I loved this book! The characters were strong especially Ida and I loved their personalities and spirit. The romance is sweet and steamy and wonderful. The plot was well-written and included betrayal and mystery and some action. I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend this for anyone who loves historical romance with strong female characters and mystery.

Ida Strong has been hiding at her aunt’s brothel for the past four years since her father was hanged for treason and someone was trying to kill her. It was reported she was killed so when Simon Nugent, Earl of Fielding saw her and recognized her, it was found out that she was alive. He is now trying to help her find the guilty party that set her father up and also to try to keep her safe. There is certainly betrayal involved but by whom. Can Ida trust Simon and can Simon choose love over title. I received a free copy of this book thru Booksprout and this is my honest review.

The Formidable Earl
Diamonds In The Rough Book 6
Sophie Barnes
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSophieBarnes/
Release date 11/17/2020
Publisher Sophie Barnes

He’s breaking the rules for one woman, and coming dangerously close to falling in love…

Simon Nugent, Earl of Fielding, knows he’s flawed. He’s arrogant, possessive, and haunted by a terrible choice he made long ago. So when a former friend’s daughter gives him the chance to do a good deed, he grabs it. Except he’d like to grab her as well and teach her a thing or two about kissing. If only she weren’t so damn stubborn.

Ida Strong wants one thing – justice on behalf of her father. She has no room for anything else, in spite of her growing and (at times) inexplicable attraction toward a certain earl. But for a woman who knows what betrayal tastes like, placing her trust in others is hard. Risking her heart, would be downright foolish. Until it’s the only thing that seems to make sense.

Will a woman the total opposite of all his expectations move his heart …

Simon Nugent Is a man who always followed the framed path sets for him, never straying from it.
Until once to challenge his reputation of a bore, he goes somewhere he would never have usually gone.
There, he meets the woman who will shake is life, disturbing it until she destroys everything he believes to let him rebuilt it from its fondations. Yet to reach it, he must forgone everything he was held to, a slow process as while he quickly knows he can not let Ida go, he is only ready to give her the place Society would solely allow, as his mistress, never as wife.
And while Ida thought she had found a man who stands by her side, and hopes for more. Will she have to corrupt her dreams for a temporary affair.
Their chemistry is off the chart from their first encounter but the prim and proper Earl sees only one fonction to keep her in his life.
And while he confirms to the ton’s judgmental rules, Ida refuses to cover and kisses goodbye to a different less shameful future.
She does not mind being disgraced if it would bring in her life a man who will hold her hand, lend his shoulder, share his heart with her. But she would never accept to be seen lacking or not enough.

« He was, after all, willing to give her the sun and the moon. Just not the stars. »

This novel is the narrative of a man who lets go of every shred holding him back to his past life, who discovers the freedom of acting without thought of the others’ opinion. Simon goes from an aloof dandy to a man ready to risk everything for the woman who has come to mean more than life.
5 stars as I enjoyed watching Simon evolves from a man who prized his peers’ gaze to one seeking only his loved one acceptance, he went running to the ruination of his longly embedded education to rise to a new self determined to choose love over duty.

I was granted an advance copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

https://www.facebook.com/429830134272830/posts/746408102615030/?d=n

Simon Garrison, Earl of Fielding, had been jilted three years ago by Gabriella Harding. She ended up married to the Duke of Huntley. He could not seem to find a wife, that he liked. He was thirty- three and was not getting any younger.
Ida Veronica Strong was in hiding. Her father had been branded a traitor and hung. But anyone who knew her father knew better. She had stood below him while he died and threatened that she would get the man who did this to her father. Soon after she was shot and left for dead. Now she had been found by Simon in a brothel. Her aunt, Philipa Harding had been hiding her for the last four years. When Simon came the first time to visit, he saw her, then saw her bracelet. The one her father bought her just after getting back from France and the war.
He tried to speak to her but was stopped by this huge guy. Ida had left by the back door and was attacked again but Simon having just been thrown out was walking toward home. He just wanted to help. He heard her scream and saved her.
So much happens in this story. Simon meets a crime lord who has become a Duke. A Scot who is his second in command and various other people. He also gets to know the Duke of Huntley. It gets very exciting. She is unsure of Simon for a while, trust can be a hard thing to give. The tale is easy to read and moves smoothly. The characters are cute and their chemistry is something else. They don’t even realize they are falling in love, which can be tough to do while trying to outrun someone, trying to kill her. It is very entertaining and engages you.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

3.5 stars rounded up!

Simon Nugent, the Earl of Fielding, lives to preserve his pristine reputation. He was never able to earn his parents’ approval, despite his best efforts, and lives with the guilt of his past mistakes. When he discovers the daughter of the man who saved his life during the war alive, he sees his chance to make amends. Too bad he’s also fiercely attracted to the woman.

Ever since her father was wrongfully executed for treason Ida Strong has been determined to prove his innocence and see justice served. She’s done hiding away, especially now that a certain bothersome earl has blown her cover and she can’t afford distractions, no matter how handsome. The earl claims to want to help but Ida understandably doesn’t trust easily, and she certainly has no intention of risking her heart, although that seems inevitable.

I really liked this premise of the wronged heroine seeking justice and the hero operating as more or less her sidekick. However, many of the decisions they made in an effort to investigate didn’t make much sense given the clear attempts being made on her life. I also was not a big fan of this hero. He spent much of the book enumerating the myriad reasons why Ida could never be his wife and being puzzled as to why she wasn’t leaping at the chance to be his mistress. His epiphany came a bit too late and this watered down some of the romance for me. The mystery element was enjoyable, and I loved Ida as a heroine. She was strong, knew her own mind, and stood up for herself without coming off as shrewish, which is so rare in recent reads. Despite the danger she faced, she never seemed helpless. The ending was very dramatic, maybe a little too much so, but it did have me feverishly turning pages. I do wish we’d gotten a bit more information regarding the villain’s comeuppance and more of a chance for Ida’s vindication to be shown on the page after it was so hard-won. Overall, this was a solid story and I look forward to Blayne’s HEA next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Series: Diamonds In The Rough #6
Publication Date: 11/17/20
Number of Pages: 320

Wow! This was an exciting, page-turner of a book! I couldn’t put it down. Not only did we finally get to see Simon and Ida get their stories, but we also got wonderful visits with several former ‘rough diamonds’ as well. The writing is excellent, the story is well-plotted and well presented, and the characters – well – OMGoodness, the characters are wonderful. We originally met Simon in the first book of the series, A Most Unlikely Duke, and he definitely did not make a good impression. Then, we met the sweet and lovely Ida in the fifth book, The Forgotten Duke. You don’t have to have read those books to enjoy this one, but – goodness, they were GREAT books.

Simon Garrison Nugent, Earl of Fielding, is … boring, strait-laced, proper, judgmental, prideful, and has a sterling reputation among the ton. He’s never set a foot wrong – never done anything out of bounds. He’s definitely NOT a rogue – he doesn’t even visit brothels. Well, he hasn’t before, but after a visit with a couple of friends at White’s – when they told him he was boring – he decided he’d do something really daring and go to a brothel – just to show them. The brothel he chooses is Amourette’s and goodness is he in for a shock at just how non-boring his life is going to become. As he walks in, there is no one there to greet him, so he gets arrogant when he notices a woman standing, partially hidden, on the landing. He demands she come down and when she does, he thinks he recognizes her – and makes a loud, unmistakable utterance about her being Matthew’s daughter. GROAN…

Ida Veronica Strong’s father was convicted and hung for treason four years prior and Ida has been living in hiding at Amourette’s since then – she doesn’t work there, she just lives there with the owner who is her aunt. She’s been hidden away because attempts have been made on her life. She knows her father was innocent and she loudly vowed to find and punish the real traitor – and he took her seriously because attempts have been made on her life. Now, a boorish oaf has announced to all of the patrons just who she is and she has to flee – again.

Simon served with Ida’s father in the wars and he liked him very much. Matthew actually saved Simon’s life, and Simon deeply regrets that he didn’t speak up when Matthew was accused of treason – but it all happened so very fast. Now, it seems he’s failed Matthew’s daughter as well. It seems he just keeps failing people – but he’ll do whatever he can to make things right for Ida.

The book is action-packed, fast-paced, and exciting. You’ll enjoy solving the mystery and finding the real traitor, and you’ll absolutely love the romance. It takes Simon a while to work through all of his feelings and watching him get it is entertaining indeed.

I hope you will read and enjoy this book as much as I did.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Formidable Earl mixed mystery and romance and did it well, as well as bringing back Simon Nugent, an earl with an arrogant edge who is hard to like — at first. He’s too full of his position, unable to have fun and kind of a stick in the mud. Ida Strong, whose father died a traitor, is a strong heroine who took a bad hand and kept her head held high, even if she is living in a brothel..
From the first, they are an unlikely couple — but, oh, do the sparks fly. Ida is determined to clear her father’s name, and Simon — almost against his own wishes — helps her, freeing his best self as he does so. Ida makes him a better, more likable man. It’s a short story but one with lovely character growth. That’s not easy to do as a writer, and it makes us care about these people and their lives. When the mystery is solved and love wins, the victory is all the sweeter. (I received an ARC from NetGalley; opinions mine!)