The Earl Takes a Fancy: A Sins for All Seasons Novel

Written by Lorraine Heath

Narrated by Kate Reading

New York Times bestselling author Lorraine Heath pens another richly satisfying romance in her Sins for all Seasons series.

She’s looking for a nobleman to wed…

Though born out of wedlock, Fancy Trewlove is determined to fulfill her mother’s wish that she marry into nobility. Fancy’s keen intellect and finishing school manners make her the perfect wife for any gentleman—if he’s willing to overlook her scandalous lineage. But Fancy’s plans are thrown into chaos when an intriguing commoner begins visiting her bookshop—and she finds herself unable to stop thinking about him.

He’s looking to escape his title…

Widowed just a year ago, the reclusive Matthew Sommersby, Earl of Rosemont, has been besieged by women hoping to become his next wife. Desperate for anonymity, he sheds Society life to search for the peace that eludes him. Fancy’s shop is his one refuge, until the night their passion erupts into a kiss that nearly leads to her ruin—and leaves both longing for much more. 

Together, they discover an unlikely love…

As Fancy finds herself torn between her family’s expectations and her growing feelings for Matthew, secrets are exposed—secrets that force Fancy to question if she can trust her heart’s desire...

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062951892

Lorraine Heath

Lorraine Heath always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals, press releases, articles, and computer code, but something was always missing. When she read a romance novel, she not only became hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She’s been writing about them ever since. Her novels have been recognized with numerous industry awards and have appeared on the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists.

Reviews for The Earl Takes a Fancy

[Jo Gina Mwaka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sweet story....Happy ending! Very touching, loved the build up of the romance!

[addictofromance · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Earl Takes A Fancy is the newest release of the latest series by Lorraine Heath. And next in the sibling line we have Fancy's book. Fancy is the baby of the family, the only one born and always well-loved and protected by her family. I have to say that out of all the books in the series so far, this installment might be my favorite or at least competition for book one. But this book is charming, delectable and endearing. There is some conflict as you find with every romance, especially by Lorraine Heath however this book was lighter in feeling and was the most heartfelt out of them all.In this book we have our heroine, Fancy, who runs her own business a bookshop which has always been her dream. She has always adored reading and loves books but she has such a kind heart in helping others. She seeks out adult and children to help teach how to write and read. But soon there is a time for Fancy to start a new chapter in her life, one she doesn't truly want for herself, but her family wants for her. The moment she was born, her mother wanted her to have a fancy life, with a fancy husband and a fancy home and that means marrying into the nobility. But all she really wants is a man to truly love her, to have the type of match that her siblings have with their spouses. She does wonder if she will ever find it or be stuck in a loveless match to appease her family and be who they want her to be.Matthew Sommersby, Earl of Rosemont is a widower but when a letter from his dead wife claiming "her love for him" comes into the newspaper for everyone in London to read he wonders what his late wife's motive could truly have been here. She never loved him and neither did he, he was betrayed by her lies and deceit into gaining a marriage with a member of the peerage. She never cared about Matthew the man and more about the Earl of Rosemont. So with his house overcome with young ladies and their mamas wanting a match with him, he runs away and gets a little home close to Fancy's bookshop. When he comes into her shop looking for a book, chemistry sparks between them and as they keep running into each other, friendship and desire slowly builds between them. But Matthew is keeping a secret from her and Fancy's new chapter is about to begin, but will she choose Matthew and love or duty to her family?What a fabulous read we have here and I truly loved everything about it here. I truly love books like this, now I love all romance don't get me wrong but this was the best book to kick off my read a thon with and I truly loved everything about this book. Even the "secret" and the conflict that builds between them at the end wasn't drawn out throughout the whole book and was more soft-toned but fit just right with the feel of the story and didn't get overplayed in the plot which I truly applaud to Lorraine Heath for doing here. The romance between Matthew and Fancy was adorable and sweet. There was such a calm passion that builds slowly between them that was truly adorable yet sexy. Its the type of romance that felt so real and relatable....felt almost normal. Wild passions are good in romance, but its those realistic love stories that I am drawn to the most and Heath did a great job in showing the sensuality, the realism and the true work of art this story is in the most monumental of ways.Overall I found The Earl Takes A Fancy to be a romance packed with charm, delicious delights, and savory passions that will sweep you off your feet into a love story that soars in the majestic escape...

[UchennaEzeh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really loved Fancy's story. I expected the hot balloon at the end lol

[Stephanie Johnson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Totally Awesome!! Lorraine Heath is officially my favorite historical romance author.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars. The premise is pretty good, they each have reasons for the outlook they have and the things they do. I quite enjoyed the writing for how they were drawn to each other anyway and how their relationship developed. They spend a lot of time together and have a good courtship even though mentally they each have other plans for themselves. I like when heroine's have a business, and when both are generous to the less fortunate. I started to tire of them not wisening up a bit faster though. the hero *definitely* should have confessed his true position before taking her to bed! And the heroine had *every reason* to believe that her family valued her happiness more than their social aspirations for her! They really didn't have all that much of a hurdle to their happily ever after at a certain point, just them dragging their feet about coming to their senses. By the time something happens that threatens to tear them apart I was kind of over it, and it felt so drawn out, like I was being beaten over the head while the author kept saying 'isn't this sad? don't you really worry about this super tough choice??' No, I didn't. It just felt terribly contrived. Sometimes that point in a story genuinely *is* sad, but only when it looks like their hands are genuinely tied, not just when they're just being dolts. So ultimately I'm rounding down from 3.5 and not up. Otherwise it was enjoyable and well written, it just got a little flimsy toward the end.

[pearlbaguette · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sweet romance, except for the hero's insistence that women are manipulative creatures. Some parts really had me rolling my eyes at the "not like other girls" narration.

[whiskeyinthejar-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.7 starsI received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.After widowed Matthew's, Earl of Rosemont, wife posthumously has a letter printed in the Times about what a great husband he was, ladies have been clamoring for his attention. He decides to rent rooms in a more middle class area of London to escape for awhile. There he walks into a bookshop and feels his world tilt when he meets the owner.Fancy Trewlove loves her family but feels pressure to marry an aristocrat because of her mother's dreams for her and all that her brothers and sister have provided her. The more she gets to know Matthew, the more she wants to simply marry for love.Fancy can't get Mr. Matthew Sommersby out of her mind but Matthew is going to have to see beyond his trust issues.When she was done, she licked her lips before lifting her gaze back to his, and he couldn’t help but believe he’d never been so enthralled by a person in his entire life, nor would he.Fifth in the Sins for All Seasons series, The Earl Takes a Fancy stars the youngest Trewlove. If you've been reading the series, you'll know that Fancy is the only biological child of Ettie Trewlove. Ettie took in the other children because of the money aristocrats were willing to pay her to take care of their born on the wrong side of the blanket children. You could feasibly enter the series here as Fancy's siblings pop in and out but no real prior knowledge is needed that isn't provided in her book.He accepted her as she was. Her past didn’t matter. With him she didn’t have to pretend or put on airs or strive to meet expectations. It was what she’d always wanted, an honesty with a gentleman. And here she had it. As his hands skimmed over her, she thought, yours, yours, yours.Fancy was a very sweet heroine, borderline angelic. It was nice to read about a character that came from humble beginnings but an extremely loving family and never take for granted or advantage of her siblings largess they found themselves in as adults and shared with her. She was not meek or a pushover, she took a stand against what she thought her mother and family wanted for her in the end, but it was also pretty clear that they just wanted her to be happy. I would have loved more scenes with Fancy and her mother as I thought that relationship could have provided a big chunk of the heart of the story. There were some scenes with her siblings but showcasing them all together or individually more with Fancy could have added extra emotion.He’d fallen in love with her, damn it. Felled without realizing it. Wanted her as his wife.Matthew also had his sweet side but I felt like I knew him less. The reader learns that he was trapped into marriage by his former wife and therefore has trust issues and he has a sister that briefly makes appearances but no real friends to help show sides of his personality. I felt like some background and layers were missing from his identity makeup, he still felt pretty static as a character at the end. Matthew shone the most when he was with Fancy and they did spend a good amount of time together, bolstering the romance feel in the story. These two didn't necessarily spark and burn but they did have a gentle quietness loving.“I love you so much that I can barely remember a time when I didn’t.”When Fancy enters society, she becomes friends with three woman who are obvious set-ups for a series of their own and I wish they could have spent more time with Fancy to flesh them out more. I also thought the premise of Matthew being able to sneak in and out of Fancy's bookstore without getting caught by Mick a little unbelievable; the way Heath has written Mick it seems like he would have someone watching the bookstore for Fancy's protection. Except for a few secrets to be revealed and an ending distrust issue, this was overall a gentle and low angst read, I can see some readers really appreciating that right now.

[barbararogers-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*** 3.5 Stars Rounded Up To 4 ***At the moment Fancy was born, her mother looked at her, loved her, and named her Fancy because someday she knew Fancy would marry a fancy gentleman and live in a fancy house. As her mother gazed at her with great, abiding love, her brothers, Mick, Aiden, Finn, and Beast along with her sister Gilly were smitten as well, and their mother’s goals for Fancy became their own. Fancy was protected and spoiled, yet she somehow managed to get through all of that spoiling with a remarkably level-headed, non-demanding, sweet, caring, and very loving personality. All of her life, Fancy has been groomed to meet her family’s goals for her. She’s never questioned the goals and nobody has ever asked her if that is what she wants. You’ll love Fancy when you meet her.Every female Matthew Sommersby, Earl of Rosemont, has ever known is dishonest and deceitful. They stopped at nothing to get what they want – whether the other person wanted to give it or not. It was true of his mother and his sister – and then it was true of his wife when she trapped him into marriage. To say he was mistrustful of women would be a gross understatement. Then, to add insult to injury, a year after her death she had arranged for a letter from her to be delivered to the gossip sheets. That letter sent every unmarried lady of the ton to Matthew’s door. It was so bad that he abandoned his home to escape them. He took up residence in a newly built housing area and became just plain Matthew Sommersby for a while.Fancy and Matthew met when he visited her bookshop. They soon bonded over their shared love of books. As they became friends, Fancy shared her family’s goals for her and when Matthew learned she was just another title hunting female, he tried to draw away. However, the attraction was too strong. I loved that it took them a while to get from meeting to falling in love because they had a chance to get to know each other. Of course, that didn’t do much good because, at the first opportunity, one of them readily believed the worst of the other and walked away.I have enjoyed every book in this series, but if you haven’t read any of them, I do have to tell you that you will have to entirely suspend your disbelief. There are so many improbable and unlikely things that take place that, well – as I said – you’ll just have to suspend those disbeliefs in order to enjoy the story. While I loved Matthew, he annoyed me greatly when he so quickly believed the worst of Fancy – and didn’t come around until he decided to take the word of a woman he didn’t even know. Not well-done Matthew!I really think you’ll enjoy this book. I loved the characters and the romance – and even the villain wasn’t too bad. One lovely thing is that we got nice visits with all of the brothers and sisters and even Beast. I assume Beast will get his own book next – at least I sure hope so. I have been waiting for his story from the beginning. He is such an intriguing character and the one we know the least about.I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.