Colin & Emily have a contentious relationship due to events from their past. Their adventure through Scotland causes both of them to change but also know each other better.
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I'm emerging from a sick cocoon that lasted 5 days, I wanted to write a solid review for this book because I had thoughts and feelings reading it but I barely had the energy to leave the bed to lay on the couch.

I see a lot of people had a problem with the heroine but I thought she was the better flushed out character of the two (hero). Yes, her grudge against the hero for "abandoning" her was forced and not quite up to snuff but I thought her brusque hard exterior and attitude towards the hero wasn't anything we haven't seen many anti-heroes or broody heroes pull on heroines in other stories before.

I think my main problem with this was the utter lack of chemistry between the two that came from the characters themselves not feeling fully sketched out or deep. For two characters I have been reading sassy corresponding over several books, I was shocked at how they felt like two stiff boards interacting.

This felt like the author was trying to recreate the magic of How a Lady Weds A Rogue, an adventurous road romance but yeah, the whole two stiff boards thing. I'm going to keep trying with this series because Ashe has given some of a my favorite books/characters/romance but these last few have been a bit disappointing. ( )

5 "Opposite Ends of the Political Spectrum Share A Common Love" Stars for the story and narration!

What an incredibly complex and well developed story! Seemingly diametrically opposed ends of the political spectrum turn out to have common roots and motivations. What can a revolutionary thinker like pamphleteer, Lady Justice (Lady Emily Vane), who champions the cause of the masses and poor as well as women rights possibly have in common with an Earl (Colin Gray, the new Earl of Egremoor) and former secretary ("Peregrine") of the Falcon Club--her public nemesis as thoroughly aired through their public letters in response to one another? Turns out a lot! What a marvelous journey--from the romance, espionage/adventure, and even political diatribes between the hero and heroine, everything in this historical romance worked for me. I loved the tension between wants and desires as well as the need to abide by one's own sense of moral compass while at the same time the inevitable challenge of evolution and changing circumstances. Moreover, Saskia Maarleveld's narration was simply divine making this a story best experienced in audiobook format.

As this is book 2 of the Devil's Dukes Series, I feel compelled to mention that while this book can work as a standalone, there is clearly a lot of history that feeds into the background of the relationship between the hero and heroine. Moreover, this background does not just take place in the prior book, The Rogue, but also Ms. Ashe's prior series The Falcon Club. All that said, this was my first read or listen by Ms. Ashe, and I felt that while I might have felt the animosity and yet sarcastic flirtation between the hero's and heroine's public battle of wits more strongly had I read the prior series, Ms. Ashe still nonetheless gives us enough of the backstory to appreciate its significance. Therefore this story still worked for me as a standalone.

Emily and Colin were the best of friends as children despite two potentially big barriers. First, Emily was 5 years younger than Colin. Second, Colin never spoke a word. Emily, however, functioned as Colin's mouthpiece throughout these early years until the one fateful day when Colin saves her from a threatening situation and uses his voice for the first time. Their lives following that eventful day were completely changed and on different courses for the next 18 years--other than their occasional and very public letters as Lady Justice and Peregrine (though of course they had no idea of the others identity at the time).

However, when Colin's father dies and he succeeds to the Earldom, one of the stipulations of the will is that Colin offer for Emily's hand in marriage (a union that both their fathers had wanted to orchestrate since before Emily and Colin were born and their fathers' became close friends in the war). Emily, however, not only is saddened by Colin's abandonment all those years ago once he regained his voice, but also as a political matter never wants to relinquish her freedom and self autonomy (given the oppressive laws of the day--something she tries to fight against as Lady Justice). So its no surprise that she turns Colin down. However, when circumstances bring them together on an adventure to try to locate her sister, their wills as to their moral ideals as well as their true desires and wants and needs will be tested. Can there possibly a HEA under the circumstances?

Saskia Maarleveld does a fantastic job with the narration. This was also my first experience with Ms. Maarleveld but I will now definitely be looking for her narrations in future books. Ms. Maarleveld excels at all of the characteristics I look for in a good romance narrator. First and foremost, she has great range and produced distinguishable voices for all of the characters. Moreover, her voice for Colin sounded genuinely masculine a feat which sometimes is difficult for female narrators to accomplish. Ms. Maarleveld also produced a number of genuine sounding accents.

Ms. Maarleveld also does an excellent job with her pacing which complements the emotion of the scene. From the fast paced, action filled scenes where to the romantic ones, I loved that she made me feel not just hear the scene being enacted.

All in all, I highly recommend The Earl to historical romance lovers. Moreover, if you enjoy audiobooks, the 5-star narration by Saskia Maarleveld makes this a must listen to title.

Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ( )