librarianryan 's review for:

Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday

4.0

lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This is a fun historical romance. Please take the historical part with a grain of salt. In this, we have our earl whose best friend thinks he’s a woman. Because they have never met in person. They’ve only met in letters and poetry. The Earl is in every sense a “manic pixie dream” earl. He is kind of flighty and a little all over the place. I pictured friends I know well while listening to this book. The female main character is an independent woman who is ten years older than the earl. She runs a magazine that was started and ran by her father. After years of working together, she decides she absolutely must meet this best friend and it’s going to surprise them on vacation. The annual “Earl’s trip”. When they meet up, it’s like they should never have been apart. It’s as if their friendship was destined, and becomes more than friendship over this week spent at the sea. This is a very progressive look at a historical society. At one point the Earl‘s friends think he preferred the company of men and is surprised when he says he’s in love and has never been with a woman, etc.  Altogether this was fabulous fun, and it made me want to read the other books in the series. This is book two but it can be read as a standalone.