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A review by paula_s
An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler by Vanessa Riley
3.0
The rate is actually 3.5 out of 5 stars
I read this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review
When I was offered and advanced e-ARC of Vanessa Riley’s “An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler” I was so excited that I said “yes, please” I had high hopes for it because I read her first book of the series “A Duke, the Baby, and a Lady” and it was fun, and refreshing because the topics it included were refreshing. Well, having high hopes was my mistake, that’s why I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous one. Still I’ve enjoyed it quite a lot.
At the beginning of this book there is a shipwreck near the coast of England. It should have arrived in Portsmouth that day and many people were waiting at the docks only to learn that their relatives, their colleagues or their dreams had drowned. There were only two survivors to that wreck; an amnesiac young girl who was identified as Jenima St. Maur, and a blackamoor one-year-old baby whose mother was drowned. At the docks there was Daniel Thackery, a young barrister who was waiting for his Jamaican proxy wife who was supposed to come to him “with a surprise”. Someone puts that baby in his arms, being a blackamoor himself, Daniel knows that this baby will end up in a brothel, so he accepts the possibility that the surprise his proxy wife meant was that she had a daughter.
At the same time Jenima claims that there was a baby in her arms but no one believes her. She’s taken for a mentally unstable girl and so she’s put into Bedlam. Two years later she and Patience, the heroine of the first book, are rescued by Lady Shrewsbury’s organization ‘The Widows’ Grace’. Daniel, now an earl and a barrister, is Lady Shrewsbury’s nephew and unwilling supporter.
Now a member of the ‘Widows’ Grace’ herself Jenima goes on a mission with her best friend Patience. The mission is to break into a Lincoln’s Inn, where several lawyers share an office. They’re looking for proof to help a fellow widow get custody of her children. Daniel’s desk is there too, and in that desk Jenima finds some papers that prove that Daniel has a lot of information on her past. A past she can’t remember, a past that makes her doubt of her own identity.
Here starts a story of lies, deception, love and mistrust. Of course Daniel and Jenima find love in their story and eventually they will get their happily ever after. But the in between felt like going in circles, and you can’t help wanting to punch Daniel all the time, because he has the key. He is so utterly scared that he doesn’t let the story flow, and that was frustrating. All that mess could have been solved in a minute if only he spoke the truth at least to Jenima. Because Jenima wouldn’t do anything to hurt him or the little girl Hope. She loves them, but he can’t trust her or share his concerns with her.
The chapters can be classified in two. Those that are written from Daniel’s perspective and those that are written from Jenima’s perspective. That is the common thing in romance, but Jenima’s side is written in the first person, and that kind of manipulates the reader into becoming her supporter. Daniel’s side of the story is written in the third person. Vanessa Riley used this trick in the first book too.
One of the things I loved about this story is that Patience and her husband the duke are there. They’re not in the background like most former and future main characters, they’re there all the time supporting Jenima. The young widow lives with them and Patience sees a sister in her. The sisterly love and loyalty in the novel is moving. There’s a lot of talk of sorority, but of course not all women are that generous.
There’s also talk about racism, hypocrisy about racism, slaverism, innocence by amnesia (you’ll understand when you read the book, spoilers), identity and honesty. The main subject being ‘the end justifies the means?’.
In conclusion: I’ve loved this book, but it was not a page-turner, it lacked the excitement I usually look for in a romance novel. It’s a somewhat clean romance and I’m not a huge fan of that, but that’s just my taste so it didn’t lower points. It didn’t add either. It’s a good story and I loved Jenima as a character. Daniel could have been better, he’s likable as a person and a great father, but his choices were wrong and even though he knew, he didn’t do anything about it.
I read this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review
When I was offered and advanced e-ARC of Vanessa Riley’s “An Earl, the Girl, and a Toddler” I was so excited that I said “yes, please” I had high hopes for it because I read her first book of the series “A Duke, the Baby, and a Lady” and it was fun, and refreshing because the topics it included were refreshing. Well, having high hopes was my mistake, that’s why I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the previous one. Still I’ve enjoyed it quite a lot.
At the beginning of this book there is a shipwreck near the coast of England. It should have arrived in Portsmouth that day and many people were waiting at the docks only to learn that their relatives, their colleagues or their dreams had drowned. There were only two survivors to that wreck; an amnesiac young girl who was identified as Jenima St. Maur, and a blackamoor one-year-old baby whose mother was drowned. At the docks there was Daniel Thackery, a young barrister who was waiting for his Jamaican proxy wife who was supposed to come to him “with a surprise”. Someone puts that baby in his arms, being a blackamoor himself, Daniel knows that this baby will end up in a brothel, so he accepts the possibility that the surprise his proxy wife meant was that she had a daughter.
At the same time Jenima claims that there was a baby in her arms but no one believes her. She’s taken for a mentally unstable girl and so she’s put into Bedlam. Two years later she and Patience, the heroine of the first book, are rescued by Lady Shrewsbury’s organization ‘The Widows’ Grace’. Daniel, now an earl and a barrister, is Lady Shrewsbury’s nephew and unwilling supporter.
Now a member of the ‘Widows’ Grace’ herself Jenima goes on a mission with her best friend Patience. The mission is to break into a Lincoln’s Inn, where several lawyers share an office. They’re looking for proof to help a fellow widow get custody of her children. Daniel’s desk is there too, and in that desk Jenima finds some papers that prove that Daniel has a lot of information on her past. A past she can’t remember, a past that makes her doubt of her own identity.
Here starts a story of lies, deception, love and mistrust. Of course Daniel and Jenima find love in their story and eventually they will get their happily ever after. But the in between felt like going in circles, and you can’t help wanting to punch Daniel all the time, because he has the key. He is so utterly scared that he doesn’t let the story flow, and that was frustrating. All that mess could have been solved in a minute if only he spoke the truth at least to Jenima. Because Jenima wouldn’t do anything to hurt him or the little girl Hope. She loves them, but he can’t trust her or share his concerns with her.
The chapters can be classified in two. Those that are written from Daniel’s perspective and those that are written from Jenima’s perspective. That is the common thing in romance, but Jenima’s side is written in the first person, and that kind of manipulates the reader into becoming her supporter. Daniel’s side of the story is written in the third person. Vanessa Riley used this trick in the first book too.
One of the things I loved about this story is that Patience and her husband the duke are there. They’re not in the background like most former and future main characters, they’re there all the time supporting Jenima. The young widow lives with them and Patience sees a sister in her. The sisterly love and loyalty in the novel is moving. There’s a lot of talk of sorority, but of course not all women are that generous.
There’s also talk about racism, hypocrisy about racism, slaverism, innocence by amnesia (you’ll understand when you read the book, spoilers), identity and honesty. The main subject being ‘the end justifies the means?’.
In conclusion: I’ve loved this book, but it was not a page-turner, it lacked the excitement I usually look for in a romance novel. It’s a somewhat clean romance and I’m not a huge fan of that, but that’s just my taste so it didn’t lower points. It didn’t add either. It’s a good story and I loved Jenima as a character. Daniel could have been better, he’s likable as a person and a great father, but his choices were wrong and even though he knew, he didn’t do anything about it.