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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thanks to Jenny Holiday, Netgalley and Tantor Audio for this ARC. My opinion is my own.
Edward "Effie" Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, is a poet and a terrible disappointment to his father. Thankfully, he's about to set off on the annual "Earl's trip" with his two best friends, who support him come what may. So they don't ask any questions when Effie asks them to help him store a broken printing press, nor why he's so preoccupied with letters from a Miss Evans. Effie doesn't really want to confess to having become infatuated with a non-aristocratic lady, who coincidentally thinks he's a woman too, called Euphemia.
Miss Julianna Evans loves the magazine she publishes, but hates that her odious brother insists on weekly editorial meetings and keeps questioning every decision she makes, constantly cutting her budget. Normally, she's far too busy to ever consider taking a brief holiday, but when there is a delay at her printers, and the alternative is waiting impatiently at her sister's house, generally just being in the way, she impulsively decides that she's going to spend some of her hard-earned savings to go to Brighton to meet her best friend Euphemia, who she knows will be staying there with her friends.
Brighton isn't a big enough place for Effie and Julianna to avoid each other for very long (nor would this be a particularly effective romance novel if they did). Considering Effie has been lying about his identity to Julianna for the past five years, she gets over the deceit remarkably quickly. Effie's two best buds also take it in their stride that their slightly unorthodox bestie is in love with a magazine publisher who is quite a few years his elder.
The publisher claims that this book is Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton meets The Hangover. I have complained in the past that absolutely everything set in the Regency era is now marketed towards "fans of Bridgerton", and I can only surmise that the Ted Lasso comparison is made because this book features non-toxic male friendships and guys who support each other in wholesome ways, while The Hangover is thrown in there because it's the most famous dudes on a road trip story out there, even now, sixteen years later. I despair at these sales pitches.
There is a lot to like here. Effie is bisexual and has no problem admitting this to his friends, although his friends seem to have suspected him to be gay and/or asexual before he reveals his feelings for Julianna. There's the aforementioned non-toxic male friendships. We have an age gap, where the heroine is about a decade older than the hero (Effie is in his late twenties, Julianna is in her late thirties). Most of the book takes place in Brighton rather than London, and the more unusual location made for a nice change.
Harry Frost does a good job with the narration of the book, but I find that about a month after finishing the story, I don't remember too much of the overall plot. While I've liked several of Jenny Holiday's contemporary romances, I'm not sure I liked her rather unusual take on the historical genre. Nevertheless, I already own Earl's Trip, the first book in the series, so I'll probably get round to reading it at some point. I also hope she gets round to writing about Effie's friend Olive in some future instalment, she was the most interesting supporting character here.
Judging a book by its cover: This cover is rather busy, and features a number of people in various situations, not all of which take place in the actual story, unless my memory entirely fails me. I think there are too many things going on here.
Edward "Effie" Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, is a poet and a terrible disappointment to his father. Thankfully, he's about to set off on the annual "Earl's trip" with his two best friends, who support him come what may. So they don't ask any questions when Effie asks them to help him store a broken printing press, nor why he's so preoccupied with letters from a Miss Evans. Effie doesn't really want to confess to having become infatuated with a non-aristocratic lady, who coincidentally thinks he's a woman too, called Euphemia.
Miss Julianna Evans loves the magazine she publishes, but hates that her odious brother insists on weekly editorial meetings and keeps questioning every decision she makes, constantly cutting her budget. Normally, she's far too busy to ever consider taking a brief holiday, but when there is a delay at her printers, and the alternative is waiting impatiently at her sister's house, generally just being in the way, she impulsively decides that she's going to spend some of her hard-earned savings to go to Brighton to meet her best friend Euphemia, who she knows will be staying there with her friends.
Brighton isn't a big enough place for Effie and Julianna to avoid each other for very long (nor would this be a particularly effective romance novel if they did). Considering Effie has been lying about his identity to Julianna for the past five years, she gets over the deceit remarkably quickly. Effie's two best buds also take it in their stride that their slightly unorthodox bestie is in love with a magazine publisher who is quite a few years his elder.
The publisher claims that this book is Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton meets The Hangover. I have complained in the past that absolutely everything set in the Regency era is now marketed towards "fans of Bridgerton", and I can only surmise that the Ted Lasso comparison is made because this book features non-toxic male friendships and guys who support each other in wholesome ways, while The Hangover is thrown in there because it's the most famous dudes on a road trip story out there, even now, sixteen years later. I despair at these sales pitches.
There is a lot to like here. Effie is bisexual and has no problem admitting this to his friends, although his friends seem to have suspected him to be gay and/or asexual before he reveals his feelings for Julianna. There's the aforementioned non-toxic male friendships. We have an age gap, where the heroine is about a decade older than the hero (Effie is in his late twenties, Julianna is in her late thirties). Most of the book takes place in Brighton rather than London, and the more unusual location made for a nice change.
Harry Frost does a good job with the narration of the book, but I find that about a month after finishing the story, I don't remember too much of the overall plot. While I've liked several of Jenny Holiday's contemporary romances, I'm not sure I liked her rather unusual take on the historical genre. Nevertheless, I already own Earl's Trip, the first book in the series, so I'll probably get round to reading it at some point. I also hope she gets round to writing about Effie's friend Olive in some future instalment, she was the most interesting supporting character here.
Judging a book by its cover: This cover is rather busy, and features a number of people in various situations, not all of which take place in the actual story, unless my memory entirely fails me. I think there are too many things going on here.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexism
Minor: Animal death, Death, Death of parent
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Manic Pixie Dream Earl is the delightful second book in the Earls Trip Regency romance series by Jenny Holiday.
I ate this book up. I had a ball with the first book and was so pleasantly pleased by the second in the series! I don't think you need to read this series in order; it holds up as a standalone. There are some references to the first book, but not knowing the specifics shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of this one.
I followed along in my physical review copy while listening to the ALC. The audiobook narrator does a *phenomenal* job. All character voices are distinct, and he even did a bang-up job with all of the femme characters throughout the book. I *loved* how he read the lines for Effie's new pet bird. That bird steals the scene so many times, I was chuffed.
The chapters are all titled and some of them made me laugh out loud. I am so charmed by Holiday's prose, and I really need to try a contemporary romance from her. I'm also such a fan of the bromance between our three earls. Like the publisher blurb mentions, they are truly ride-or-die for one another. The beach setting of this installment was also lovely, and the cover artist did a fantastic job.
Representation is great: both of our main characters are bi- or pansexual, and in discussion with his besties Effie also mentions that he's demisexual. Obviously none of those terms are actually used, but it's practically spelled out in his own words. There's also a reverse age gap--Julianna is 38 while Effie is 28.
I loved the pairing of Effie and Julianna. I really bought their chemistry and they seemed to have similar outlooks on life.
I can't wait for the next book in the series! Simon is due for love and he truly deserves it. The hints about him turning into a bit of a book nerd have been lovely.
Rep: bi/pansexual, demisexual
Tropes: secret identity, epistolary, reverse age gap, class differences, found family
CW: strained relationship with parents
I received a complimentary review copy from Kensington Books, Tantor Audio, and Hambright PR. All opinions contained herein are my own.
If you want to see more from me, check out my blog, Bookstagram, TheStoryGraph, or Bluesky.
I ate this book up. I had a ball with the first book and was so pleasantly pleased by the second in the series! I don't think you need to read this series in order; it holds up as a standalone. There are some references to the first book, but not knowing the specifics shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of this one.
I followed along in my physical review copy while listening to the ALC. The audiobook narrator does a *phenomenal* job. All character voices are distinct, and he even did a bang-up job with all of the femme characters throughout the book. I *loved* how he read the lines for Effie's new pet bird. That bird steals the scene so many times, I was chuffed.
The chapters are all titled and some of them made me laugh out loud. I am so charmed by Holiday's prose, and I really need to try a contemporary romance from her. I'm also such a fan of the bromance between our three earls. Like the publisher blurb mentions, they are truly ride-or-die for one another. The beach setting of this installment was also lovely, and the cover artist did a fantastic job.
Representation is great: both of our main characters are bi- or pansexual, and in discussion with his besties Effie also mentions that he's demisexual. Obviously none of those terms are actually used, but it's practically spelled out in his own words. There's also a reverse age gap--Julianna is 38 while Effie is 28.
I loved the pairing of Effie and Julianna. I really bought their chemistry and they seemed to have similar outlooks on life.
I can't wait for the next book in the series! Simon is due for love and he truly deserves it. The hints about him turning into a bit of a book nerd have been lovely.
Rep: bi/pansexual, demisexual
Tropes: secret identity, epistolary, reverse age gap, class differences, found family
CW: strained relationship with parents
I received a complimentary review copy from Kensington Books, Tantor Audio, and Hambright PR. All opinions contained herein are my own.
If you want to see more from me, check out my blog, Bookstagram, TheStoryGraph, or Bluesky.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
“A woman my age may be a spinster, a wife, or a widow. I wouldn’t mind being a widow, but not at the price of having being a wife first.”
I had a great time with Manic Pixie Dream Earl. It is a very different Historical Romance.
I adored the guys’ friendship, super healthy and supportive, not toxic at all, even though they love to tease each other. That found family is refreshing, that’s not something we are used to, and even less in Historical (I’ll for sure read the other books in this series).
The romance between Effie and Juliana was equally delightful. They talk and communicate a lot, are super open about their emotions and feelings. But they also respect the other’s needs and wants (even if that means they’ll suffer). Again, that’s something I wish I could read more often and the fact that Edward is demi-sexual was a true add-on to the plot. I also loved the Bi+ rep here.
Both characters have “daddy issues” even if it’s for different reasons, and –once again– the “gang support” was super nice. I truly enjoyed that “modern” (but, I’m sure, not so new) vision of the couple, and the “woman’s condition”, as much as the individual aspirations of all the characters, and loved that they had space to make it works outside the romance. As the book kept going, I was worried I would not like the ending (a bit too “providencial”), and once again the author surprised me. The beats are different here, which allows the resolution to have a true space, and the author to take the time to make it work.
If you like a cute –and steamy– romance, both Historical (with a few liberties) and with some feminine empowerment, and a healthy relationship, then this one might be the one for you.
Thank you to the author, Kensington Publishing and Hambright for the eARC via NetGalley. My opinions are my own
I had a great time with Manic Pixie Dream Earl. It is a very different Historical Romance.
I adored the guys’ friendship, super healthy and supportive, not toxic at all, even though they love to tease each other. That found family is refreshing, that’s not something we are used to, and even less in Historical (I’ll for sure read the other books in this series).
The romance between Effie and Juliana was equally delightful. They talk and communicate a lot, are super open about their emotions and feelings. But they also respect the other’s needs and wants (even if that means they’ll suffer). Again, that’s something I wish I could read more often and the fact that Edward is demi-sexual was a true add-on to the plot. I also loved the Bi+ rep here.
Both characters have “daddy issues” even if it’s for different reasons, and –once again– the “gang support” was super nice. I truly enjoyed that “modern” (but, I’m sure, not so new) vision of the couple, and the “woman’s condition”, as much as the individual aspirations of all the characters, and loved that they had space to make it works outside the romance. As the book kept going, I was worried I would not like the ending (a bit too “providencial”), and once again the author surprised me. The beats are different here, which allows the resolution to have a true space, and the author to take the time to make it work.
If you like a cute –and steamy– romance, both Historical (with a few liberties) and with some feminine empowerment, and a healthy relationship, then this one might be the one for you.
Thank you to the author, Kensington Publishing and Hambright for the eARC via NetGalley. My opinions are my own
Not for me, was not a fan of the writing.