Romancing the Stacks: Deception With An Unlikely Earl
Welcome to Romancing the Stacks. This is a series of reviews featuring one of my favorite genres: Romance Novels! Nothing is better than curling up with a good romance. This review will explore The Lady Travelers Guide to Deception with an Unlikely Earl by Victoria Alexander.
I choose this book based on the cover. I liked how the heroine looked like Cinderella so I thought it might be fairy tale based which are some of my favorite romances. Unfortunately it is not fairy tale based, but it does have a heroine who wants to be archeologist. I was sold. The last book that I read that featured a female archeologist in the Victorian time era was wonderful so I had high hopes that this one would be good as well. I thought the summary was interesting. It should be noted like in the past this is the third in a series as if you have read my previous blogs you will know that I tend to pick the third in a series. I wasn’t really into the summaries of the first two and you can usually read a romance series out of order.
Summary:
Harry Armstrong has spent years in Egypt, recovering relics and disregarding rules. Now he’s back in England with a new title and a new purpose: penning his exploits. But his efforts are overshadowed by London’s favorite writer about Egypt—a woman they call The Queen of the Desert, of all things. Worse, her stories—serialized in newspapers and reprinted in books—are complete rubbish.
Miss Sidney Honeywell didn’t set out to deceive anyone. It’s not her fault readers assumed her Tales of a Lady Adventurer in Egypt were real! Admitting her inadvertent deception now would destroy her reputation and her livelihood. But when the Earl of Brenton challenges her to travel to Egypt to prove her expertise, accompanied by his dashing, arrogant nephew, what choice does she have but to pack her bags?
With the matchmaking founders of the Lady Travelers Society in tow, Harry is determined to expose Sidney’s secret. But the truth might not be as great a revelation as discovering that love can strike even the most stubborn of hearts.
Book Review:
I enjoyed this book. I loved the group of old ladies who traveled with our heroine causing her trouble and helping get her in and out of certain situations. I am now interested in reading the first two books in the series as I have a feeling they were part of those novels as well. These experienced women formed a traveling company that gave advice to ladies who wish to travel and accompanied those who did not have chaperones. There was mention in this book how the Lady Travelers lost their first lady who went on tour. They are great at giving advice, not great on planning trips. Sidney was a fun heroine. She knew she was a fake, but she loved spreading her love of Egypt even if she could never go herself. She only participated in the charade as it meant to fulfill her life long dream. Sidney actually did know a lot through studying and gaining knowledge. I didn’t like at some points how Sidney was treated as helpless like how she accidentally got lost in a bazaar. I understand why the author did it, as Harry needed clues to confirm she was a fake. Harry was okay, but not a great hero. When he and Sidney were bantering he was fun. When he was brooding, it was funny. But he did the typical hero mistakes in which he said he was obligated to marry Sidney even though he did love her. The plot of this book is ridiculous. There is a twist bad guy that comes out of now where and makes little to no sense, but it was such a funny situation with funny results that I forgive the nonsense. I enjoyed this book. I think I should find more books in the Victoria Era with Female Archeologists. They just never seem to disappoint me.
The Lady Travelers Society:
- The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen
- The Lady Travelers Guide to Larceny with a Dashing Stranger
- The Lady Travelers Guide to Deception with an Unlikely Earl
- The Lady Travelers Guide to Happily Ever After
Rating:
Out Of
