From the Bookshelf of Fans of Eloisa James & Julia Quinn…

Why Earls Fall in Love (Wicked Widows, #2)

Manda Collins

Start date: February 1, 2014

Finish date: February 28, 2014

Discussion: Monthly Read

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 84 topics — 866 comments total

Monthly Read

* March 2021: An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
By Aly is so fri… · 4 posts · 55 views

last updated Apr 29, 2021 04:15AM

* Feb 2021 The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
By Aly is so fri… · 23 posts · 87 views

last updated Apr 27, 2021 08:16PM

showing 4 of 4 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jul 05, 2013 Janga rated it it was amazing

Collins, who promises her readers “romance spiced with mystery,” has upped the stakes and the tension of the mystery element in Why Earls Fall in Love, and she manages to do so without sacrificing the centrality of the romance. In Georgina and Con, Collins creates likeable protagonists whose choices preserve the integrity of their characters. Georgina grew up with her father away with his military duties much of the time, a pattern that was repeated with her husband. She is accustomed to making Collins, who promises her readers “romance spiced with mystery,” has upped the stakes and the tension of the mystery element in Why Earls Fall in Love, and she manages to do so without sacrificing the centrality of the romance. In Georgina and Con, Collins creates likeable protagonists whose choices preserve the integrity of their characters. Georgina grew up with her father away with his military duties much of the time, a pattern that was repeated with her husband. She is accustomed to making decisions unaided, to taking action when necessary, and to taking care of herself. This is the character the reader encounters the evening of the duke’s death, and her character remains consistent through both novels. Even as she takes comfort in Con’s care for her, she insists on her autonomy. I can’t say much about the denouement without including spoilers, so I’ll just say that I was elated that Georgie stayed true to herself all the way.

Con is a charmer, not in the pejorative sense of a shallow person who uses his personal attractiveness to use and manipulate people but in the sense of a person blessed with qualities that effortlessly win the liking and admiration of others. His charm plus his wealth and social position have made him a man conditioned to being in control. Because he is a man of compassion and honesty, his control is benevolent. But it is not easy for him to accept Georgie’s right to make decisions even when he feels they endanger her. The tension that exists between his belief that he knows best and his respect for Georgie as an independent spirit not only made him more real to me but also allowed me to believe fully in his declaration of love for a woman very different from him in social status and in personality.

Sometimes suspending disbelief for the course of a novel is more than I can do, but I found it easy to enter fully into the world of this book. I believed in Georgie and Con as individuals, and I believed in them as a couple who could build a happy life together. I also believed that the threat to Georgie was real, and the killer’s identity caught me by surprise. So did the number of victims.

I loved the big things about this book—characters in whom I was invested, a plot that kept me turning pages (and buying into the red herrings), historical accuracy in setting, action, and the role of women, and an authorial voice in which I delighted. I also loved the little things—Con’s bad art, the nod to the Ugly Ducklings from Collins’s first series, and the affection and loyalty between Georgie and Perdita, and Isabella. I’ve been falling in love with Manda Collins’s stories since before she was published, and I think this one may be her best yet. I highly recommend it.

See full review at Just Janga:
http://justjanga.blogspot.com/2014/01...

See full review at Just Janga:
http://justjanga.blogspot.com/2014/01...
...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 03, 2014 Emily rated it liked it

This book frustrated me with its major - and minor - timeline issues. On the major front, it was one month, then three, then what seemed like six months since Georgina began as Lady Russell's companion. There seemed to be the same confusion over when the events of the previous book took place (one month, three months, "last year"). And Chapter 4 - oh my what a mess. First it was the morning after their trip to the castle (Georgina went to bed early and awoke the next morning feeling refreshed) b ...more

Like · see review

Jul 28, 2013 Alisha rated it it was amazing

Can't wait to read about Perdita ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2014 Ann Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: part-of-a-series, historical-romance, mmc-earl, widow, wicked-widows-series, mystery-throughout-series

I found Why Earls Fall in Love to be more of a mystery than a romance and while I did truly enjoyed the continuation of the mystery from Why Dukes Say I Do, I was looking for a bit more romance between the hero and heroine. If I remember correctly there was only one sex scene. I would've definitely liked to see more between Georgie and Con.

I was also not a fan of Georgina at the beginning. She was a bit of snob. I did grow to like her more by the ending. I think the fresh country air did her a ...more

Like · see review