Gabriel Holmes-Fitzgerald, the Earl of Langdale, is in a battle against a bitter relative to keep an old family secret hidden. This battle has sent him to the Continent where he meets Miss Arabella Jardine, a bluestocking that would rather read than be on a forced holiday with her family. When she and Gabriel meet, she is compromised and they are forced to wed but each continues to try and keep their secrets hidden.

I absolutely adore the forced-to-wed trope and enjoyed it here for the most part. I always think it’s fun to watch a couple navigate being forced to be together as they fall in love, rather than falling in love before getting married. This did bring about the typical “no sex” rule that is seen in a lot of titles with this trope, but I don’t personally dislike that. It helps to ramp up the tension, IMO.

Another trope that was present here and has been seen in countless other historical romances (because we love them) was that of a reformed rake. I had an issue with Gabriel from the outset because he was sleeping with a married woman. Yes, he ended if before he and Bella got married, but I already have issues thinking the heroes in these novels can stay faithful so that certainly didn’t help. Bella was ultimately able to tame him, so I guess she really did know HOW TO CATCH AN ERRANT EARL.

The pacing of the story was slow at first with a lot of stuff happening at the end. This didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story, however, once I was able to fully get into it.

HOW TO CATCH AN ERRANT EARL was a decent title and I will more than likely read the next title in this series.