A review by labyrinth_witch
First Earl I See Tonight: A Debutante Diaries Novel by Anna Bennett

4.0

Strong female protagonist, a male protagonist that grows into emotional intelligence. The heroine is an artist which I always appreciate. Facing blackmail that will ruin her beloved sister, the heroine proposes marriage out of the blue to a recently jilted earl. Love that the story starts unconventionally with a woman asking for what she wants and needs, and NOT explaining her reasons why. Thinking to deter her by invited her to his dilapidated estate, she instead uses her artist heart to see the beauty in the ruins (in accordance with the naturalist artistic tradition of the time, I might add. This is after all Radcliffe’s time period). I love in the end, the male protagonist decides to trust her despite not knowing all the facts. It was a nice change from the usual plot of “heroine has big secret, couple falls in love and trust, secret is revealed, male protagonist reacts badly because he feels entitled to know everything, female apology fixes everything.” So this was a nice, emotionally intelligent story with some wonderful passion.