“Bateman’s scintillating first Bow Street Bachelors Regency is full of intense emotions and dramatic twists. Intelligent, affable characters make this fast-paced novel shine, especially for fans of clever women and the men who sincerely admire them. Future installments will be eagerly anticipated by Regency readers.” — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)Introducing the Bow Street Bachelors—men … Bow Street Bachelors—men who work undercover for London’s first official police force—and the women they serve to protect. . .and wed?
WILL A FALSE MARRIAGE
Shipping heiress Georgiana Caversteed is done with men who covet her purse more than her person. Even worse than the ton’s lecherous fortune hunters, however, is the cruel cousin determined to force Georgie into marriage. If only she could find a way to be . . . widowed? Georgie hatches a madcap scheme to wed a condemned criminal before he’s set to be executed. All she has to do is find an eligible bachelor in prison to marry her, and she’ll be free. What could possibly go wrong?
LEAD TO TRUE AND LASTING LOVE?
Benedict William Henry Wylde, scapegrace second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street. Georgie doesn’t realize who he is when she marries him—and she most certainly never expects to bump into her very-much-alive, and very handsome, husband of convenience at a society gathering weeks later. Soon Wylde finds himself courting his own wife, hoping to win her heart since he already has her hand. But how can this seductive rogue convince brazen, beautiful Georgie that he wants to be together…until actual death do they part?
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This Earl of Mine is the first book in Kate Bateman’s Bow Street Bachelors series. Ms. Bowman is a new author to me; this was the perfect book to introduce me to her work. It’s got some of my favorite romance elements: strong heroine, hero who was a military man, Bow Street Runners, witty dialogue, outstanding supporting characters and lots of steam. This book was, in a word, FUN.
Georgiana Caversteed is a shipping heiress who is constantly being sought out by fortune hunters, the most notorious being her horrible cousin Josiah. After he tries to compromise her to force her hand in marriage, she decides she needs an easily disposable husband to protect herself and her fortune. She goes to Newgate to marry a convict who will be hanged, thus leaving herself alone and free. Only problem is, they seem to be fresh out of condemned prisoners. Her only option was a man who would be transported, never to be seen again. Ben Wylde is the attractive and roguish man forced to marry her. And then…she sees him at a ball. Apparently he’s not a convict after all, but a Bow Street Runner on a mission! Oops.
I adored the romance between Benedict and Georgie. They both wanted to remain independent, but could not fight their attraction to each other. Their banter was witty and truly brought a smile to my face. There was actually much humor throughout the entire book. The supporting characters were marvelous. I can’t wait to see more of Benedict’s friends Alex and Seb. They too were brothers-in-arms and Bow Street Runners. My favorite supporting characters, however, were Georgie’s beautiful drama queen sister Juliet and her beloved Simeon, who is possibly the worst poet ever. Their relationship led Georgie to believe that not only was love blind, it was also deaf and dumb. There wasn’t anything really new here, but my main goal in reading is to be entertained, and greatly entertained I was! Bring in the next Bow Street Bachelor!
I received this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
A wealthy single woman, a penniless but proud rogue, and a marriage of convenience combine in this lusty, passionate Regency Romance! Georgie and Benedict are married in name only, but sparks fly from the instant they meet. I loved the characters; Georgie is independent and smart; Benedict is loyal and determined; the two of them together are an impenetrable pair! I look forward to the rest of the books in this series!
ARC of This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman, provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
This is the first book of The Bow Street Bachelors series featuring three veterans and best friends, returning from Waterloo working as investigators for Bow Street, London’s first official police force.
Benedict Wylde was the second son of the late Earl of Morcott, who left behind a mountain of debts for his sons. He was working for Bow Street in parts to make extra income to help his older brother relieve some of their father’s debts. While working as undercover in Newgate prison, he met Georgiana Caversteed in a most unexpected circumstance imaginable.
Georgie was a wealthy and smart businesswoman who owned and ran a shipping empire after her father passed away. Being one of the richest people in the ton, Georgie was often approached by fortune hunters, one of which was her very own cousin. To avoid his advance, she came up with a scheme to marry a condemned fellow in hope to become a widow. Fate had it that she ended up marrying the undercover Benedict. Their marriage had turned from convenience to real passion through series of adventures and unexpected events.
A 4- read. It starts off a bit slow, sometimes dragging, but gets more exciting toward the end. The story plot is decent, but I’d love to see more chemistry between the main characters. Kate’s writing is pleasant with easy flow.
This Earl of Mine (Bow Street Bachelors #1) by Kate Bateman…What a great start to a new series by Kate Bateman ..thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for letting me preview this book. Georgiana Caversteed ( Georgie…Shipping heiress..needs to be married to escape her cruel cousin) Benedict William Henry Wylde, ( second son of the late Earl of Morcott and well-known rake, is in Newgate prison undercover, working for Bow Street.) She marries him thinking he is being transported and she will never see him again…well we all know the best laid plans and all… There is action from the beginning of this til the end. Laughter, tears, danger, adventure, intrigue, wonderful friendships and loyalty and some steamy stuff… all getting us to a very HEA. I can’t wait for Alex and Seb’s books…
“This Earl of Mine” by Kate Bateman
Yes, I loved this story… It is loaded with romance and suspenseful adventures, too. You really do not want to miss this read. I was lucky enough to be gifted an ARC of this story by the publisher with the hope of a review from me. And, honestly, I truly enjoyed my time spent within these pages. If the blurb for this story caught your eye, I am sure you will be Happy Reading this story. Oh, there are a few pages that might be considered steamy, if they are not your cup of tea… you can easily skip those pages and still have a great time spent with Georgie and the rest of the cast of characters. Live dangerously and enjoy this story!!
So this book has been on my to-be-read list and after I started reading I wished I had left it there. I always read the reviews to gage the opinions and this one was a see-saw so I said let me find out for myself. Well I was bored, yup bored I liked that the idea was new an heiress wanting to thwart her cousins machinations and stop all the fortune hunters interested in only her money so she goes to a jail to get married to someone on death row, however that did not end up to be the case. But that was the only interesting part in the book to me anyway. Once they got into all the spy stuff I was bored, I tried to keep interested but I couldn’t I start swiping as fast as I could because it was again I am going to say boring.. I was sad because I have other books to read and wasted, yes wasted my time on this one. All in all I feel that I should not give it a 2 star due to my interest but due to the idea will give it a 3 but I doubt I will follow this author..
rcvd an ARc at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
4.5 rounded to 5* Quite an entertaining story – plausible or not.
Heiress Miss Georgiana Caversteed is being pestered by her odious, debt-ridden cousin to marry him. Money talks and so she bribes a Newgate guard so she can marry a condemned man. Only he isn’t.
I especially liked the interaction and dialog between Georgie and Ben when they meet in society.
An engaging read that kept my interest throughout.
I read a free advance copy I received via Netgalley; the thoughts expressed are my own.
Three and a half
This had a fairly simple plot with Georgie needing a husband who wouldn’t really have any impact on her life so she’s decided to marry a condemned man ! Ok that’s not sounding particularly sane but her idea strangely has merit given the circumstances but it doesn’t exactly go to plan and Georgie ends up wed to a convict bound for the colonies or is he ? Ben is under cover in prison and decides to humour Georgie given he does actually need some cash to help his brother but he has absolutely no idea of disappearing and pretty soon makes quite an impression on his reluctant bride !
This was a total romp and very funny at times. There’s a little suspense included to show that Ben really is a good guy and of course an odious bad guy who deserves to get his comeuppance. I applaud the author on her research as it made it feel very much of its period with numerous references to books, songs, places and indeed historical characters. The dual points of view were seamless and extremely well done but for me the way these characters constantly thought about sex was totally overkill. I could almost excuse Georgie although sadly she actually felt too independent and contemporary. Plus in the Georgian period she would have had a guardian so I couldn’t truly buy into the whole setup . As for Ben he is written as an experienced man of the world so unfortunately I wasn’t impressed by his juvenile thoughts. I did enjoy the action packed ending and as I’ve stated this was most definitely a fun , light hearted read .
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair.
Enjoyed it
This is my first book by Kate Bateman.
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
Part of a series: Bow Street Bachelors
Standalone
HEA
I look forward to reading the next book in this series
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC from NetGalley.
loved, loVED, LOVED!!!!! I’ve been seeing Kate pop up so much in my fb groups and on top of learning about her awesome work background, I’m especially intrigued! This is my first full length read of hers and I can’t say enough of how awesome this read was. The imagery Kate painted was perfect, especially the first chapters and the first meeting of Ben and Georgiana! I suggest going in blind because with the way how the story flowed, its a book you don’t want to put down.
I would put this as if you loved The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne, then you’ll love this one too. It just had a similar feel for both of them in my opinion. I can’t wait for the next one in this series!
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Georgiana Caversteed goes to Newgate to find a husband. Yes, that’s right. She’s looking to avoid the advances of her overeager, penniless cousin. She thinks if she marries someone who is about to be hanged, she can live out her days as a widow, continue to run the very lucrative shipping company her father taught her to run and not be bothered by societal conventions. Newgate is fresh out of men about to be hanged, though, so she has to settle for a prisoner destined for the next ship to Australia. However, he’s not really a prisoner, he’s Benedict Wylde, a spy working for the crown.
As soon as he is able after his release, Ben meets with Georgie and tries to get out of the marriage, but it turns out to be harder than he thought. So, they hatch a plan to have a fake courtship and part ways to live separate lives after the wedding. Somewhere along the way, though, they fall in love!
I haven’t read a historical romance that was this much fun in a long time. There are swords, pistols, knives, an escape in a submarine and a kidnapping! Georgie continues to be her practical self through all of it. Her expectations to be included in all of Ben’s adventures made this book very enjoyable!
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from the author for my reading enjoyment!
4.5 Stars
“He craved her when he’d never craved anyone or anything before…”
Shipping heiress Georgiana “Georgie” Caversteed was raised by her father to be strong, independent, and to not settle for anything less than marry for love. After the tragic passing of her father, Georgiana knows that when a suiter looks at her, he sees nothing beyond the wealth she brings, but flees the second he sees that her father has a marriage contract clause that allows her the bulk of control of her finances. If that wasn’t enough, Georgiana has a devious cousin that will stop at nothing to gain control of her fortune. Taking matters into her own hands, Georgiana heads to Newgate prison with a plan to thwart her cousin and any other would be fortune hunter…marry a man sentenced to hang and become a widow. What could possibly go wrong?
Benedict Wylde, second son of the late Earl of Morcott, is part of the Bow Street investigators and currently undercover as a prisoner at Newgate. When brought before a beautiful woman with an offer he can’t refuse, Wylde finds himself newly married to one of the richest women in the ton…and her left thinking he is one of the soon to be exiled prisoners.
When a lie to protect becomes a lie to possess, Georgie and Wylde find themselves partners in a cat and mouse game of seduction…one where the winner gets something far greater than gold.
This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman is a delightful historical romance I devoured! Look forward to reading more of this series and highly recommend!
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **
Loved the story of Benedict and Georgie! She thinks she’s marrying a convicted felon who’s about to be shipped off, when actually she’s married a spy! Benedict loves teasing Georgie as others think they’re courting, when they’re actually married. The whole book was entertaining watching their “courtship” dance! A wonderful start to a new series! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!
I was impressed by this new to me author. Her heroine, Georgie, is an heiress who would rather marry a condemned criminal then her nefarious cousin. The hero, Benedict, is an ex-soldier who helps investigate crime. Together they find in each other someone who wants them for themselves. Can’t wait for the next in the series! I received an ARC for my honest review.