Elley the Book Otter: Blog Tour: Counting on a Countess by Eva Leigh (Review, Teaser, Tour Wide Giveaway)

For a shameless libertine and a wily smuggler in the London Underground, marriage is more than convenience—it’s strategy . . .

Christopher “Kit” Ellingsworth, war veteran and newly minted Earl of Blakemere, buries his demons under every sort of pleasure and vice. His scandalous ways have all but emptied his coffers . . . until a wealthy mentor leaves him a sizeable fortune. The only stipulation? He must marry within one monthto inherit the money. Kit needs a bride and the bold, mysterious Miss Tamsyn Pearce seems perfect.

Husband hunting isn’t Tamsyn’s top priority—she’s in London to sell her new shipment of illicit goods—but she’s desperate for funds to keep her smuggling operation afloat. When a handsome earl offers to wed her and send her back to Cornwall with a hefty allowance, Tamsyn agrees. After all, her secrets could land her in prison and an attentive, love-struck spouse could destroy everything.

But when an unexpected proviso in the will grants Tamsyn control of the inheritance, their arrangement becomes anything but convenient. Now, Kit’s counting on his countess to make his wildest dreams a reality and he plans to convince her, one pleasurable seduction at a time.

About the Book

Counting on a Countess
by Eva Leigh
Series
The London Underground #2
Genre
Adult
Historical Romance
Publisher
Avon Books
Publication Date
March 27, 2018
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My Review

The main plotline is supposed to be on the marriage of convenience between Tamsyn, a lady smuggler from Cornwall, and her rakehell but law-abiding war veteran husband Kit. Probably an equal amount of time and effort is dedicated to their relationship as it relates to his status as a very experienced rake and hers as a virgin. As a reader of Regency romances, most books of this genre I read involve a virgin leading lady and so I never both with the "virgin heroine" tag in my reviews. Her virgin status was made such a big deal out of in this book that I almost feel like I need to tag it as a "virgin heroine" romance because of it. It's definitely a large focus for at least a third of the book, I assume partially to introduce the reader to the Orchid Club, which one presumes will feature heavily in the third book in this series. I also appreciated the heavy focus on consent in this book, which is something you don't see much in historical romance (but does seem to be becoming more prevalent in the genre).

I do love a romance where the leads are married for the sake of convenience, and fall madly in love despite fighting it tooth and nail. Kit and Tamsyn both have ulterior motives for entering into their whirlwind marriage, so when they begin to develop genuine affection for each other those ulterior motives (which they were both so forthright about having even though they didn't really reveal precisely what said motives really were) of course come back to haunt them. And bit them in their rear ends. HA! Tamsyn is bold and fiery, and I love her country spirit, and that Kit doesn't try to change that about her. Kit is a bit of an enigma to me, being a war veteran who cares very much about the law, which would make you think he'd be a straight-laced stick in the mud but you would be wrong, because he's the veriest rakehell trying to drown out his demons by chasing pleasure. Both leading characters have their flaws and foibles, which just makes them that much more genuine and lovable (both to each other and to the reader). I really loved their witty banter, and look forward to hopefully seeing more of them in the next book in this series.

This is the second book in The London Underground series, but it can (as in most Regency romance series) be read as a stand alone. There is interaction with the couple from the first book, From Duke Till Dawn but no real spoilers for the first book. The author does sort of assume a familiarity with these side characters, who are Kit's friends, so I felt like I should know more about them than I did and was a bit lost as to some of their conversation. That being said, while this can be read as a stand alone, if you want the full experience it may be better to read From Duke Till Dawn first.

Tour Wide Giveaway

To celebrate the release of COUNTING ON A COUNTESS, we’re giving away three paperback copies of FROM DUKE TILL DAWN by Eva Leigh!

GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. Three winners will each receive a paperback copy of From Duke Till Dawn by Eva Leigh. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 4/6/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

About Eva Leigh

EVA LEIGH is the pen name of a RITA® Award-nominated romance author who writes novels chock-full of smart women and sexy men. She enjoys baking, Tweeting about boots, and listening to music from the ‘80s. Eva and her husband live in Central California.