Waiting For an Earl Like You (Masters of Seduction #3) by Alexandra Hawkins

  Waiting For an Earl Like You by Alexandra Hawkins

Blurb: 

LOVE ISN’T ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS.
Justin Reeve Netherwood, Earl of Kempthorn—a.k.a. Thorn—has never cared much for his neighbor’s daughter. But his twin brother, Gideon, befriended the wild, reckless, and wholly inappropriate Miss Olivia Lydall in youth, and two have been close ever since. So when Olivia finds herself in a state of romantic conflict and seeks out Gideon for advice, he’s only too pleased to oblige. Only problem: The man Olivia is speaking to is Thorn. And now it’s too late for him to tell Olivia the truth…

Thorn always believed that Olivia was too smitten with Gideon for her own good. So what’s the harm in steering her away from him? But Thorn’s charade turns out to be anything but harmless once he begins to see Olivia for who she really is: A woman full of spirit and passion…and someone he can’t live without. But how can Thorn claim Olivia’s heart when their deepening connection—and burning desire—is built on lies and deceit?


I enjoyed reading this book even though Thorn, our hero and his attidude turned out to be indeed a (teeny tiny) thorn in my side. In the end, when I got the much-anticipated and much-needed HEA, I forgave him a lot but seriously, you can't always forgive everything just because people are in love and tend to do stupid things to get what they want, can you?
But let's get back to the beginning, when Thorn finds his (identical) twin Gideon and their neighbour Olivia out on the water in a boat together. Again. The two of them always shared a special bond that left him at the outside. Of course he doesn't need them because, well, he is the heir and he is important and...you get it, right?
Somehow it matters, despite all his attemps to convince himself of the opposite.
A kind of tug o' war starts with Thorn on the one side and Gideon on the other, when they all go to London for the Season where Olivia is supposed to find a husband - as soon as possible, acccording to her father and his almost betrothed who want to have the house to themselves when they marry.

Thorn does everything to seduce Olivia and I must admit that I was really upset because I hate when the hero thinks that it is alright to risk their beloved's ruin in order to get what they want. Soon they find themselves betrothed, albeit temporarily according to Olivia's father but Thorn is very willing to turn it into a more permanent option. Gideon wants to protect Olivia, even if he has to protect her from his own brother, Thorn wants to protect her from some other rather unsavory people and while all this protecting goes around, well, things get really tight and dangerous.

Sometimes I felt like everything was a bit too complicated, too many people were involved and things were a bit too obscure but on the whole I liked the book and would read it again.

★★★