Earls Just Want to Have Fun

Page turner. Enjoyed. Humor, romance, intrigue.

I love my historic romances that show the clash of class divisions, and all too rarely the upper echelon never deigns to or acknowledges the denizens of the lowest rungs in society’s ladder. While mentions of Whitechapel or the Seven Dials are made as areas ‘too dangerous’ to contemplate, rarely do we see characters that are surviving the various dangers of neighborhoods deemed too deadly and treacherous for any law or order to reach. Shana Galen has brought a taste of the Seven Dials to light in this story. Marlowe is a member of the Covent Garden Cubs, a group of young thieves, pickpockets and others, struggling to survive in the dangerous world: banding together for safety and security. While not in any way an ideal life, Marlowe has managed to become something of a legend to the others, with her skills and talent. Far from the life she could imagine, Marlowe claims to know nothing else, but occasionally she remembers moments of a quiet, cared for life when she was always well fed, warm and comfortable. Brook Derring is a bow street runner, searching out the case of a missing child, the daughter of the Marquess of London. While wanting to keep tabs on this girl, he also has other cases and issues to attend to. And the life of a Bow Street runner, no matter what his origins, are not exactly perfect for keeping the girl. So he turns to his elder brother, Maxwell, Lord Dane to ‘reacquaint’ the chit to the finer things in life while he continues to unearth her true origins. What a fun concept, and an interesting choice of characters. Marlowe is headstrong, independent and utterly self-assured in her current life, but the one being offered her and her trials and errors of navigating society and the affluence that may be in her grasp are wonderfully written. And Maxwell comes to learn and change his long-held beliefs about the ‘poor’ and the people of the Seven Dials, learning that choice isn’t always afforded everyone in London. Their chemistry is fairly bouncing off the pages, from Maxwell’s snobbery to Marlowe’s unwillingness to be seen as less than capable or worthy of notice the animosity slowly changes for a grudging admiration that eventually develops into more. Both are being treated to the slights, prejudices and hastily arrived at opinions of their respective positons in society, and they are both learning to be more open, accepting and aware of difficulties that each group faces. Pacing and development worked beautifully to bring these characters around and allow them to grow and change as their relationship morphed from animosity to more. With world-building and descriptions that capture the areas as well as they contrast and then become more “real’ to each character. A fun, captivating and satisfying read. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.