[ARC Review] An Earl to Remember by Stacy Reid

Publisher's synopsis: Miss Georgianna Eleanor Heyford may be naught but a gentleman’s daughter, but even she’s heard the rumors about the Earl of Stannis’s exceptional charm and good looks. Surely she can cater his luxurious yacht party without getting swept away. But a terrible misunderstanding leaves Georgianna fired, furious, and with little recompense. Which is precisely when her opportunity for vengeance washes ashore…

Daniel Rutherford, the Earl of Stannis, has absolutely no memory of who he is. They tell him he must have fallen overboard, and the only person he seems to recognize is the lovely Georgianna—who strikes a chord of familiarity…and the faintest memory of heating his blood. Only now this inelegant, poorly dressed woman claims to be his wife!

But the truth is, Georgianna is finally getting her revenge. The dashing earl will work off the money he owes her and no one will be the wiser. Except the longer he stays with her and her younger sisters, the more it feels like he belongs there. And that perhaps he’d find a forever place in Georgianna’s heart…at least, until his memory returns...  

My thoughts: I honestly don't remember the last time a historical romance leading man made me feel this strongly about him - and not in a good way. Overall, I loved An Earl to Remember; I loved the premise, I loved Georgianna and her sisters, I loved that little insight into what's currently going on with our main characters from the first book in the series. But Daniel? When he wasn't talking dirty, I didn't find him all that lovable. I'm glad Georgianna did, and I'm glad their chemistry was evident, but - without going into any details that might spoil part of the plot - Daniel actually did something about halfway through that I generally find deplorable and inexcusable in a historical romance hero that I'm supposed to be routing for. 

All that being said, Georgianna, her sisters, and the overall plot and premise definitely get a 4.5 stars from me. But Daniel, whose only redeeming trait for the first half of the book is the fact that he can't remember who he is, gets a 3.5 stars and brings my overall book rating down to a solid four out of five. 

I truly enjoyed the plot of this book. Georgianna did what she had to in order to get what was owed to her, and I loved that tenacity. And Georgianna's sisters were just the sort of found family that Daniel really needed to give him some sort of redeemable storyline. Reid's writing is fun and easy to lose yourself in, so even when Daniel was going about being his rakish self, the book was a quick read and it didn't take long to reach that happy ending for both main characters. 

An Earl to Remember can easily be enjoyed as a standalone; the brief character interlude from the previous book's main characters add to Daniel's story, but doesn't detract if you haven't met them yet. I adored the passion and tenacity of Georgianna, and can't wait to see what female empowerment we get in Stacy Reid's next historical romance. 

[A huge thank you to Entangled Publishing for sending me both an eARC and a finished copy of An Earl to Remember ahead of its release date. All opinions are my own.]

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Release date: 8/22/23

Format: eARC/paperback

eARC provided via: NetGalley widget

Paperback provided via publisher