When a Girl Loves an Earl (Rescued from Ruin) Paperback – August 30, 2016

Elisa Braden is my favorite new Historical Romance author. I first read her a few months ago when I reviewed The Devil is a Marquess. Over the past weekend I caught up on the entire Rescued from Ruin series and I loved it. Braden’s latest book in the series, When a Girl Loves an Earl, is her best yet.I was a little hesitant about When a Girl Loves an Earl because I usually hate romance novels where the heroine chases the hero. But because I loved all of the other books in the series I decided to give this one a try. Viola Darling is a great beauty of the ton. While not from a wealthy family, Viola has suitors lining up to ask for her hand. But Viola hasn’t found the love match that she so desperately seeks, so while she charms the mob of men around her, Viola isn’t truly interested in any of them.Enter James Kilbrenner, Earl of Tannenbrook. Not traditionally handsome, James was initially a stonemason and was unaware of his aristocratic heritage until her became an earl in his late teens. Due to a tragedy in his youth, James has sworn never to marry and especially never to have children. Viola doesn’t care about James’ assertions and knows instantly that they are meant to be together. Without a thought to his wishes, Viola launches the Tannebrook Hunt and is determined to bring James up to scratch, ethically or not.At first Viola irritated me. I think she’s meant to be somewhat naive. After all she’s been adored and chased her entire life, it would be strange to suddenly be rejected by the one person she wants to love her. But soon Viola’s sincerity wins out and I found myself embarrassed but cheering at her continued antics.James is just the kind of hero that I love. A little rough around the edges, not traditionally handsome, and larger than life. A small complaint here; I don’t think the cover does James justice, the model is far too pretty. James’ attempts to dissuade Viola are heart-wrenching but once he realizes how much he loves her, he is the most romantic of heroes.The scenes in Scotland are my favorite part of When a Girl Loves an Earl, Viola’s wonderful personality and innocence shines through during her visit to James’ family. Even when her heart is broken, Viola is still trying to make everything right and the reader loves her for it. I found the last part of the book particularly beautiful and I’ll admit I teared up.Elisa Braden is an author to watch. Her novels are every bit as good as many of the well-established names and honestly, I enjoyed this book more than I have a lot of bestsellers. When a Girl Loves an Earl is beautifully written and stunningly romantic.

A satisfying read with familiar characters from the other books in the series. Tannenbrook's past is revealed, and Viola is shown to be a more complex character when she was mentioned in the previous storylines. The story of Viola's pursuit of James is funny and heart breaking at other times. I like the different perspectives of the two main characters. Their thought processes, motives and mistakes drive the story forward and keep the reader interested. I've enjoyed the series, the characters and storylines. Elisa Braden has done a good job with continuity between books and providing the perspectives of the characters where the events intersect. When Viola and James visit their friend, Charlotte, aka Lady Rutherford, at her home, the reader learns what each thought and felt from their viewpoint. In Book 4, (Charlotte and Benedict's story), Charlotte's observations of her friends' behaviors foreshadows the same encounter in this book. Although this technique is used by other authors very well, Ms. Braden's use of it is worth mentioning.

I don't usually write reviews, but I fell in love with Elisa Bradens writing style some time last year and read all her books in one weekend sitting. Then I was left to....wait. Dreaded waiting. LOL.First, Ill mention you can read this as a stand alone, but then you would be missing out on IMO one of the best romances ever written which is the book before this The Devil is a Marquess. Total rake, that book was thrilling, very different from this book. This book runs the same timeline as Charlottes and Rutherfords, so I think youd enjoy it and understand it better, but if you read this first, do yourself a favor and go back and read that book. Plus if my hints correct it involves a character that was at the beginning of that book.If you've read the series Tannenbrook reminds me more of Harrison, the Duke from book 2 The truth about Cads and Dukes. Stoic and a man of few words. Reserved. Man of few words. But I enjoyed his backstory, that's completely different. Obviously later on in drove me batty, for reasons I shant tell, but the set ups important.This is a sweet love story. Lots of angst, mostly the heros and the heroines, Violas determined pursuit of him. Shes a chatty cathy, anything to wear him down, she could be downright hilarious. Also very naïve, in anadorable way though but, ah thank god I'm a woman of this world, present day. I wont give much away, other reviews already have mapped it out quite well. I will say I enjoyed the angst. She seems to be the driving force of this love story, every time he comes up with something new to throw her off, there she is. She was determined Ill give her that.Other little things that I liked were her relationship with her stepmother, you will have to read to see. I loved getting insight into Charles Wallingham, and Tannenbrooks friendship with him even though his mother wasn't basically running the show, lol. Humphrey the dog. Ha. Seeing some of my favorite characters again was nice. I will say, it was a slow go for me up until 40% I was tearing my hair out then all of a sudden the book took off for me in a way that at the end it was amazing. Mostly her writing style is amazing and although I have favorites in the series, every book feels fresh and new. The characters introduced always staying true later on to their original personas.Please let the next book be Reavers. (fingers crossed) Ive wanted his story since Chatham sat there and asked him to extend his loan. :)