BOOK REVIEW: Blame it on the Earl by Jane Ashford

 I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Blame it on the Earl is the next book in Jane Ashford’s Regency Romance series, The Duke’s Estates. It reads well as a standalone. Nevertheless, as always, I recommend reading book one first (The Duke Who Loved Me.)

The Duke (who owns the estates) is the Duke of Tereford from book one. He and Cecelia, the duchess, make an important appearance in this book. In a way, I found the continued progress of their relationship more interesting than the romance highlighted in this book. As for the Earl of the book’s title, it seems it must be the protagonist’s father and I’m not really sure what we’re supposed to blame on him or why. It’s really just a catchy title with a peer in it.

The heroine is Sarah Moran, one of Cecelia’s four young friends. Sarah was not a success in her one London Season. She’s pretty but not beautiful. Her parents are comfortable, but she’s no heiress. And her personality is bookish, not sparkling. Sarah is an interesting, kind, and rather dreamy young woman, whose extensive reading has left her full of information that may seem random to others but is actually all part of a whole. She’s fascinated by the past and a constructed world filled with chivalry and a touch of magic. In her own way, she is charming. She lives near the ruins of Tintagel castle and spends free hours wandering among its cliffs.

It is there that she meets the hero, Kenver Pendrennon, heir to the earldom. He is also exploring the cliffs. There is a moment of inattention and they both topple over the edge to the sand below. The tide is coming in. Sarah saves both their lives. They are forced to spend the night sheltering in a cave. The following morning, they are found by Sarah’s worried parents and gossipy townspeople. Naturally, Sarah is ruined, even though “nothing happened.” Kenver, who has already grown fond of her and who is deeply honorable, proposes. Shortly, they are wed.

The two are well matched in interests and temperament. The problem is Kenver’s parents, both of them, but more particularly his mother. The earl and countess had higher hopes for Kenver, expecting him to wed a titled heiress. (No one in particular. Just someone better than Sarah, sometime in the distant future.) When Kenver moves his new bride into the family home, his parents are frankly insulting, bullying, and also set up obstacles to the consummation of the marriage in order to have it annulled.

The plot of the novel centers around Sarah and Kenver getting to know one another better and dealing with his parents. They are aided in the latter by the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Tereford.

The protagonists are sweet. Sarah is definitely the strong one in the relationship, though Kenver grows in strength in order to support his new wife. Sarah’s goodness wins out over her mother-in-law’s maliciousness. The happily-ever-after ending is a little too pat, with evilness just fizzling out. The countess’ malevolence, manipulativeness, and complete lack of affection for her husband or son seemed to indicate that she was truly mentally unbalanced. It seemed more intervention was needed than just standing up to the bully. However, the romance aspect of the story, the relationship between Sarah and Kenver, was rewarding.