USA Today bestselling author Vivienne Lorret continues her charming new trilogy with a bluestocking whose search for information on the mating habits of scoundrels has her stumbling upon the missing heir to an earldom… in the London underworld.
Jane Pickerington never intended to start a brawl in a brothel. She only wanted to research her book. Yet when her simple study of scoundrels goes … book. Yet when her simple study of scoundrels goes awry, she finds herself coming to the rescue of a dark, enigmatic stranger… who turns out to be far more than an average rake out for a night of pleasure. He’s positively wild!
Only the most feral and cunning could have survived foundling homes and work houses. Orphaned as an infant, Raven never had another name. At least… not until he meets her. Now he’s face-to-face with the one person who recognizes the strange birthmark on his arm and can reinstate him to his blue-blooded birthright.
All at once, Raven’s life takes a turn. His knowledge of dark alleys and gaming hells never prepared him for gilded ballrooms. So Jane becomes his tutor. Yet, the more lessons in decorum she offers, the more this untamed scoundrel wants to teach her all the ways to be wicked.
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What a wonderful, emotional, humorous and sexy romance! I loved, loved, loved Raven, even though he broke my heart several times with the tragedy of his past and how hard he worked to overcome and make himself a better life. He was so witty and FUN with his reactions to Jane.
And Jane… oh my, Jane. Such a delightful character who was genuinely quirky, adorably sincere, so intelligent and admirably dedicated to her siblings. Together she and Raven were perfect and it was wonderful to see their story unfold.
I’ve already ordered 4 other books by the author, and I looking forward to reading them all. Highly recommend if you enjoy historical romance!
I really like it.
One of my favorite regency romance reads. Turned me on to Vivienne Lorret as a writer. Don’t pass up this book!
Raven and Jane’s story. Second in the series. First was Lord Holt takes a Bride. Both are enjoyable reads.
This was a glorious romp, and I am now a permanent Vivienne Lorret fan. My Kind of Earl was so much fun to read that I couldn’t wait to finish, and I kept sneaking in a chapter here and there when I should have been doing something else. Raven enchanted me from the first page, and Jane’s delightfully intense vocabulary sent me diving for the dictionary more times than I could count—almost embarrassing for someone who works with words for a living. Their conversations made me snort with laughter and weep in the most unexpected moments. The secondary characters were skillfully drawn—intriguing and unique but never overpowering of the main characters’ story arc. The Mating Habits of Scoundrels is a delightful series, and I’m truly looking forward to book 3.
I really enjoyed this historical romance. It had humor, mystery, and great characters. The plot was good and well-written and the characters were perfect for it. Jane was a great character and I enjoyed her personality. Both Raven and Jane had great personalities and explosive chemistry; and their love was steamy and swoonworthy but still sweet. Overall, I was impressed by this book, and I would definitely recommend this book and can’t wait for the next book from this author.
4.5 stars, as reviewed at Roses Are Blue: https://wp.me/p3QRh4-1nF
Jane Pickering, the daughter of Viscount Hollybrook, is not your typical society miss. Thanks to her parents’ lack of interest in their own children, and their absorption with each other and the ton, Jane has fallen into being the main caretaker for her ten younger siblings. While Jane loves them and her time spent with them, she also possesses a keen intellect and a desire for knowledge. This has led to some interesting experiments and scenarios, the latest involves Jane sneaking into a brothel for the purpose of observing the behavior there for a book she’s writing. Little does she know that she’s being observed.
Raven is an orphan with a rough upbringing, and a very seedy young adulthood. He’s finally found a decent position at a gaming club, one that has helped him to gain some self respect. When he observes a young woman sneaking into a brothel through a window, his curiosity gets the better of him. Though the young lady attempts to stay hidden, she’s soon accosted and propositioned. When Raven comes to the rescue, he soon learns that Jane had a plan to take care of herself. She looses one of her experiments, which results in Raven being turned pink. Yes. Pink.
Raven soon learns Jane’s identity, as he’s acquainted with her cousin, Duncan, who was waiting for her as she left the brothel. Duncan insists on dropping Raven off at his home, and Jane attempts to de-pink him and attend to the injuries he received at the brothel during the chaos. Jane notices what appears to be a birthmark on Raven’s arm, one that looks like its namesake, and is the reason for Raven’s name. Only, Jane, with her photographic memory, realizes that she’s seen that exact image before. She just has to remember where. When Jane remembers that the raven image was from a family crest, and that Raven’s birthmark may actually be a scar, she’s determined to find the answer. Raven, himself, has always longed to know his origin, and so he and Jane continue to have contact with each other as she researches.
Raven is more than a little intrigued with Jane, as she is with him. He likes her quirkiness, her oddness, and her love for her siblings. He gets to meet them, as he regularly visits, with her parents being too uninvolved to even notice. When the investigation finally appears to show that Raven may indeed be linked to a prominent family, Jane begins to tutor Raven on the fine art of being a gentleman. Raven is torn between wanting to have a family, and wanting to stay safe in the life he’s created for himself. This also sheds light on several mysterious attacks which have happened to Raven. Can it be that someone is determined that he never claim his birthright?
MY KIND OF EARL is a light and engaging read, with plenty of amusing moments to go along with the emotional ones. Jane’s character is odd, but not so much so that she doesn’t desire love and a family of her own. She’s truly selfless with her siblings, and not a bit snobbish. I love her interactions with Raven, how she encourages him, and eventually loves him. Raven, for all his strength and toughness, has a vulnerability that is genuinely touching. He never desired wealth or a title, just a family, and finding out why he was abandoned as an infant. Together Raven and Jane are perfect, as they understand and accept each other, as well as having a steamy chemistry. I loved reading this book, which I just seemed to speed through in no time, and I recommend it for readers who prefer a lighter read, but still one with plenty of heart.
MY KIND OF EARL by Vivienne Lorret is book two of the Mating Habits of Scoundrels series that has a Tarzan-meets-Jane vibe. Jane Pickerington never intended to start a brawl in a brothel. She only wanted to research her book, but she found herself coming to the rescue of a dark, enigmatic stranger who turns out to be far more than an average rake out for a night of pleasure. He is positively wild! Orphaned as an infant, Raven never had another name. At least . . . not until he’s face-to-face with one person who recognizes the strange birthmark on his arm and can reinstate him to his blue-blooded birthright. His knowledge of dark alleys and gaming halls never prepared him for gilded ballrooms. So, Jane becomes his tutor, but this wild Tarzan prefers to teach her all the ways to be wicked instead. Vivienne Lorret writes a Tarzan theme in MY KIND OF EARL where Raven is all male and wild like Tarzan except you won’t find him swinging through the trees or wearing a loincloth. Jane is not a typical absentminded professor but a woman with a knack of getting into trouble in her quest to restore Raven’s birthright. MY KIND OF EARL is a fun read filled with jungle heat and adventure in the wild, wild streets of London.
My Kind of Earl by Vivienne Lorret is book Two in The Mating Habits of Scoundrels Series. This is the story of Jane and Raven. I have read the previous book but did feel this can be a standalone book if you wish to do so. Raven is the mysterious man who was a orphan that had to struggle for everything but now in their preset day find his home the dark world of the Dials. Jane is the bluestocking we love with her mind wanting to be more than what is expected always wanting to learn. This is how she ends up meeting Raven when she is doing research for a book she is working on. Jane recognizes the birthmark he has which leads him to find out who he really is. But Raven doesn’t feel that society is his place but has the help of Jane to guide him. Loved their story.
She had me laughing through most of this book. I loved these characters and the plot of this tale. What a perfect pair! I really can’t wait to read the next installment of this series.
Jane Pickerington encounters a Raven handsome rogue on one of nightly explorations for insight for her book for debutante book. She immediately recognizes a raven scar, but she can’t quite remember where she’s seen it. Raven was left abandoned at an orphanage when he was very little with no memory of his past, he’s always just felt abandoned and unloved by his family. The two peruse every avenue to uncover where she’s seen it and possible uncover who Raven’s parents could be. A good book with a little mystery and romance as these two unravel the puzzle to discover the hidden secrets of Raven’s past with the only clue his tattoo or birthmark. I have voluntarily read and reviewed the excellent book.
I read the first book in this series and really enjoyed it. This one I think kinda fell flat for me in a few areas. Some of them I won’t mention just because I do not spoil books for people, and the rest are pretty simple. The first one is that it fell flat around the 60% mark for me. I just lost interest so much it made it harder to want to finish. Then the next is that around the 90% mark something happens that made me just completely stop caring about them as a couple. I had hoped to really enjoy this one but that is not the case here.
Who couldn’t love a heroine like Jane? She is intelligent, caring and protective of her eccentric family. Raven, the hero, loves her originality. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I can’t wait to read Ellie’s story next! I received an ARC from NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for my honest review.
I requested an ARC of this book, and all opinions are my own.
This is the second in the ‘Mating Habits of Scoundrels’ series, and could definitely stand alone (although I did love the first one, too).
I enjoyed this book very much as it’s one of my favorite tropes – orphan who turns out to be something other than what they originally thought. In this case, Raven, thinks he was abandoned as a baby to a life of the workhouse and other less than savory pursuits. He manages to pull himself up, and make a life that he is comfortable with – until Jane Pickerington literally bursts into his life.
Together they discover the truth of Raven’s past, and fight for a future of their own.
I enjoyed this book very much, from the lovely characters to the witty dialogue it was a total win for me.
Raven is an orphan, sold to a workhouse, twenty-eight, and lives by four rules. He is handsome and loyal to his friends but has very few. He has a problem with trust. He works at a gambling hell and is only responsible to the owner. As he arrived at a brothel he heard the ruffling of underskirts and a female speaking. She was climbing into the window to get some research for a book. He could tell by the way she spoke she was a blue blood. He goes to get her out and saves her sort of from a customer grabbing her and wanting his hour. She slips out of the same window and her cousin is waiting for her. As they are leaving the cousin stops, she wants to know why and he tells her he has to stop for Raven and he is pink. She starts to stick her head out, Ravens are always black. They are off to a good start. Jane Pickerington is a bluestocking, intelligent with a big heart, and one of eleven siblings. She takes care of them and makes sure they are cared for. Two siblings ended up with the same name because their parents were oblivious to their children.
This also a mystery. Jane sees a birthmark on Raven’s arm and she has seen it before but she has a hard time remembering where. So she starts looking into it, she wants him to have a family be part of something. There are some interesting surprises in store. There is always something happening in the book either with the children or between them or an outside influence. It is entertaining, witty, and fun. The characters are well developed and the tale is written with a well-planned out direction. It does keep your attention and makes you hunger for more.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it
When her book research on the difference between gentlemen and scoundrels leads her to a brothel, Jane Pickerington doesn’t expect the excursion to end in an all-out brawl. She winds up coming to the aid of the man who attempted to rescue her and soon discovers he’s far more than a garden variety rake.
Raven has a strict set of rules he lives by, rules that helped him survive as an orphan abandoned on the steps of a foundling home. He’s never had any other names or known anything about his true origins, nor has he tried to find out, but that all changes when he meets the insatiably curious Jane. She recognizes a scar on his arm and the fact that he’s entitled to an aristocratic position based on the truth of his birth.
Raven has always despite the aristocracy. He manages a gaming hell and is comfortable in the slightly seedier parts of London. He has no preparation for high society and doesn’t know that he wishes to, but he agrees to allow Jane to teach him some social graces. In exchange, Raven teaches Jane all about the wicked topics which spur her curiosity, leaving them both wanting more at the end of each lesson.
I have so many mixed feelings about this one. [Potential spoilers ahead.] I loved the concept of Raven and his mysterious past and the revelation of his true identity, but I felt he deserved more of a true recognition than he got in the end. We’re left with him still in disgrace and I wanted him to be vindicated, perhaps an epilogue or another chapter would’ve left me feeling more satisfied. I wound up liking Jane in the end, but she really had to do a lot of growing on me. At first, I pretty much hated her because of her arrogance, entitlement, and naivete given her meddling in Raven’s life for what were originally purely selfish reasons to satisfy her own curiosity and with no thought to the effects that could have on him. Her know-it-all attitude and constant corrections of Raven, not to mention her judgmental attitudes and blatantly using him as research for her book, got on my nerves. Fortunately, her behavior improved as she came to love Raven and her condescension turned into more of a witty banter and became a bit charming. For his part, Raven took this mostly in stride and produced some of the best innuendo I’ve read. His complexity as a character and his fear of letting anyone close was rather moving, especially when the truth of his origins and background is revealed and considering the fact that he’s never been loved. In some ways I feel like Jane pushed Raven entirely too hard and in others not at all hard enough, which left me unsure of how to feel about this book. Another complaint I had is the fact that the sexual abuse Raven endured as a young man is totally glossed over; he rationalizes the behavior of his abused when Jane points out how wrong this was, despite the fact that his inner monologues have revealed that this experience was damaging to him. I would’ve liked to have seen even just an extra page or two of him coming to terms with what happened to him as he realizes that intimacy with Jane is totally different from anything he’s ever known. No, this wasn’t strictly vital to the plot, I just think it would’ve rounded out his character a bit more.
This book wasn’t exactly everything I’d hoped it would be, but I did enjoy the coming together of these two quirky, unconventional characters and I’ll continue with the series, but mostly I look forward to Prue’s story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I love when a book grips me and guides you on an heart-stopping journey filled with unexpected twists that holds your full attention to the very end and My Kind of Earl does just that! Vivienne Lorret has given readers a book that is well-written, filled it with head-strong individuals that come to life as you find yourself drawn into their story, witty and fun banter with an excellent plot that bring this read together perfectly! Raven, dark brooding alpha male, has emotional and physical scars from his past wants no involvement with others. Jane, a bluestocking on a mission, totally turns Raven’s life upside down. But out of the darkness that has been his world he finally finds Jane who brings light into his world and realizes just how lucky he is to have the love of Jane. As the conspiracy unfolds beautifully with drama, searing passion, grief, trials and tribulations, turmoil and the uncertainties build and tensions escalate with twist and turns abound that will keep you guessing until the end in this outstanding story!
My Kind of Earl is the second book in the Mating Habits of Scoundrels series. This has been a series of humor and intrigue. The series is based on three bluestocking debutantes on the hunt for husbands who realize they need a book to guide them and they take it upon themselves to write one. I love all the humor and chaos these bluestockings created in their research.
Jane Pickerington was on a mission to research the difference between gentlemen and scoundrels and she sneaks into a brothel to find answers. Her plan goes wild when she is discovered, and Raven is injured trying to help her. While cleaning Raven up, she discovers his birthmark and knows she has seen it before, but where?
Raven was an orphan and was content with his life. He didn’t need a debutante throwing his life into chaos. He didn’t want Jane to keep looking into the birthmark and be disappointed when they find nothing. Proving the connection between his mark and the aristocracy was not something he was interested in.
I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to Ellie’s story and the chaos her research will lead her to.
When a book doesn’t click with me, I’m always saddened. I’ve started and stopped reading this story over several weeks in hopes that I would eventually grow to like the characters. But alas, that was not so. If you’ve gone through the trouble of reading the synopsis of the book and have made it to the reviews, I’ll spare you with yet another blurb. What I will say is that the story is well written, but just wasn’t my cup of tea. So, if you were intrigued by the cover and storyline, then I’d recommend giving My Kind of Earl a read…while not my fav, it could be yours!
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
Jane Pickerington, a full-fledge bookstocking, enters a brothel intending to do research about how to avoid scoundrels. Instead she is helped by a dark and sexy stranger who helps her escape a brawl. Never could she imagine her life was forever changed the night she met Raven. Raven is a self-made man who grew up an orphan and learned many life lessons the hard way. Now he keeps everything close to the vest, letting only a few into his life. The night he saves Jane will send his well-ordered life into chaos and it will upend everything he has accomplished.
I almost stopped reading this book in the first couple of chapters because the author chose such long winded and unusual words to convey simple things. Once I realized she was setting up the character of Jane, I continued the story. I did like Jane and her quirkiness, but I liked Raven much more. His exasperation with Jane was priceless. I loved how their relationship grew over the story and there was a few twists in the book that was surprising. I was beginning to decide on 4 stars until the book just ended. No epilogue, nothing. It was abrupt and left me wanting more especially about Warrister’s nephew. How was he going to undo the damage he inflicted on Raven? Once a rumor starts in the ton, it is near impossible to contain it. Needless to say, the ending was disappointing.
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.