Earl of Keyworth by Collette Cameron

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Seductive Scoundrels, #12 AND Wicked Earls’ Club
When business at Tolman Tomes – Scrivener and Stationer begins to dwindle, Celestia Tolman knows exactly who to blame – Landry Audsley, the Earl of Keyworth. She knows Keyworth fired her father after he made a mistake and apparently he has been bad-mouthing their business ever since and if that is not bad enough, he refuses to see her or reply to any of her requests to meet. She believes if she could just talk to him and explain, he might be willing to give them another chance, so with no other option, she stoops to deception to get the chance to say her piece.

Landry Audsley is an honorable man, he helps street children and is trying to find his half-sister, he is a very nice man, but he did fire Celestia’s father, however, it was with good reason. When Celestia sneaks into his house and pleads her case, he wants to help her but knows if he accepts her offer to do his transcriptions, she will be ruined. He needs someone to do his work and days later comes up with a plan, he offers to come to the shop and have Celestia do his work – an offer she readily agrees to.

Celestia cannot believe how wrong she was about Landry, and the more time she spends with him the more she likes him. She admires his dedication to helping children and to fulfilling a promise made to his dying mother to find his sister, and when he stands up to an odious man on her behalf, she falls headlong into love with him – but when he says they are to be married, she how she will be able to escape the backlash of his lie without ruining her reputation or her family’s business.

This was a well-written, very sweet novella with a lot going on. Celestia and Landry are incredibly likable characters and they have a believable connection from their first meeting. The book is a quick read, but it is well fleshed-out and the ending is satisfying. This is part of two series – but it can easily be a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*