The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

England, 1582

Ellie—Lady Eleanor Rodriguez, Countess of San Jaime—possesses a worthless title, but her feisty spirit captivates the elite of the Queen's court—especially the dashing new Earl of Dorset.

William Lacey, Earl of Dorset, has inherited his father's title—and his financial ruin. Now Will must seek a wealthy bride and restore his family's fortune. If only he hadn't fallen for the beautiful but penniless Ellie . . .

Sparks fly whenever Ellie and Will are together, but circumstances—and the conniving interference of others—threaten to keep them apart.

A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend of mine was visiting from The Middle of Nowhere, USA, and we--sharing a love of reading--ventured to our local bookstore. I *almost* did what I always do, and bought sequels to books that I already know I love. I'm not very good at leaving my "comfort bubble". However, I was feeling a bit adventurous, so I bought this book. I hadn't ever heard of it, didn't know what people were saying about it....it was a big risk for me. (I'm such a wuss.) Anyway, it must have paid off because I mostly really liked it!

Now, about that mostly.... I loved the story, I loved the time period it was set in, but there was just that one thing.... It's silly I even bring it up, but I have high moral standards, and even though times *were different* back then, there are just some things that I think should be kept within a marriage (and no, betrothed is not the same). Argh. That sounded like a giant, run-on, preach-y sentence in my head, and it translated that way too, huh? That's all I'm going to say about it. Just giving you a heads-up because there is a mature-themed undercurrent to some of the book.

Anyway, on to the good stuff---ALL THE REST OF IT. I loved Ellie, even though my heart was breaking for her for the majority of the book. I really liked Will too-even when I wanted to punch him in the face, which was more than once. I love reading books with a strong family background, and Will had that. They may have actually made it on my list of "favorite literary families". However, I highly doubt I'll ever read about a family that'll knock the Weasleys' (from Harry Potter) out of #1. Love them!

Anyway, I quite enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, The Queen's Lady. This is not a continuing-story series. The books are follow-up stories featuring many of the same characters, but the main story is about a different couple in each book. The whole series has been released (unless more than three books are planned) but this is one I'd recommend getting from the library first, just to make sure it's your "cup of tea".

Happy Reading!