THE EARL TAKES ALL is second book in the The Hellions of
Havisham series by the lovely Lorraine Heath. I adore
this book. It's got great angst and not one, but two,
Happily Ever Afters.
Edward Alcott and his older-by-2 minutes twin brother
Albert Earl of Greyling leave Albert's wife, the Lady
Julia, behind and jaunt off together to travel through the
wildness of Africa. Albert dies in Africa, killed by a
freak attack from a gorilla. Albert wrings a deathbed
promise from Edward to look after Julia. Albert asks that
Edward make sure that she doesn't lose the babe she is
carrying... by pretending to be Julia's husband. So
dutiful Edward returns to the ancestral estate in Yorkshire
and pretends to be his twin so that Julie will not suffer
the shock of losing her husband, which could bring on
premature labor. Edward thinks he just needs to pull this
off for around 6 weeks until Julia has given birth, then he
can make a clean breast of it. What a crazy notion, right?!
Known as a wastrel and a scoundrel, as a second son,
Edward has not needed to do much with himself. He flits
through life, adventuring in exotic lands and consorting
with married women who are free to dally safely with him.
He's actually a quite lovely man that I adore throughout
most of the book, but he and his friends don't see his
goodness shining through the persona that he shows the
world. He fell in love with his brother Albert's fiancé,
but bowed out when he realized that her love for Albert.
He pretended that he didn't like her so that he didn't have
to see her as much when she married his brother. But now
that enforced separation is being reversed, and reversed
strongly! For Edward must pretend to be her husband in all
ways. The concept that my husband's twin (if he actually
had one) would be able to fool me into thinking he is my
spouse seems ridiculous in real life. But I'm good with a
willing suspension of disbelief if the story is good
enough, and boy howdy, Edward and Julia's story is good
enough!
While I am not as quite enamored of Lady Julia as I am
Edward, simply because she does not feel like as engaging a
character, I love Edward enough to throw myself fully into
their romance. Their chemistry is absolutely
scintillating. I cherish how Edward frees up Julia to
behave more as she truly is, rather than how she felt
constrained to be by Albert, who was rather a stick in the
mud of a husband. Around 70% of the way into the tale, it
seems like the conflicts are resolved, and I wondered why
there was so much of the book left. But the soap opera of
Edward and Julia's lives morphs into another challenge, and
there is yet another test that must be met and overcome.
Heath's THE EARL TAKES ALL deserves three cheers for an
utterly diverting tale of disguises and obstacles, with
true love satisfyingly overcoming all barriers.
One summer night, Edward Alcott gives in to temptation and
kisses Lady Julia Kenney in a dark garden. However, the
passion she stirs within him is best left in the shadows as
she weds his twin, the Earl of Greyling. But when tragedy
strikes, to honor the vow he makes to his dying brother,
Edward must pretend to be Greyling until the countess
delivers her babe.
After her husband returns from a
two-month sojourn, Julia finds him changed. Bolder, more
daring, and more wicked—even if he does limit their
encounters to kisses. With each passing day, she falls more
deeply in love.
For Edward the embers of desire
sparked on that long-ago night are quickly rekindled. He
yearns to be her husband in truth. But if she discovers his
ruse, she will despise him—and English law prevents him from
marrying his brother’s widow. Yet he must dare to risk
everything and reveal his secrets if he is to truly take all.
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