Series: Rebellious Desires, Book 2
Publisher: Entangled: Scandalous
Genre: Historical Romance
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N
Stacy Reid Reading Order
For years, Daphne Wentworth, Countess Carrington has loved her powerful, enigmatic husband, despite the fact that they married under less than ideal circumstances. But no more. Finally at her breaking point, Daphne intends to create a scandal so big, her austere husband will have no choice but to divorce her. Except everything goes awry when he surprises her with the last thing she expected.
Sylvester Wentworth, Earl of Carrington, has returned to London for one reason—to seduce his wife. After a near-death experience, he is in need of an heir and means to make his marriage a real one. To his shock, though, his wicked, beautiful countess wants the exact opposite, and he must now do everything possible to entice his countess to stay forever.
Sylvester and Daphne haven’t had an easy marriage. Six years ago they met and had an instant connection; one that was spoiled when Daphne’s father threatened to ruin Sylvester’s sister unless the earl came to heel. Since their fateful wedding, Sylvester has pretty much ignored Daphne, and the love she had for him has given way to a desperation to break free from the holding pattern she’s been in for years. Daphne is determined to court a scandal so big her husband will be forced to divorce her. There’s just one hitch in her plan: her husband doesn’t want a divorce.
Having recently escaped an assassination attempt, Sylvester believes it’s time to do his duty and beget an heir. Only Daphne isn’t exactly prepared to welcome him with open arms. For the first time, Sylvester is seeing past his own anger to truly look at Daphne. And he’ll have to do some heavy wooing if he wants to keep the wife he’s only just realizing is his perfect match.
I love good second chance romance and The Earl in My Bed fits that favored trope fairly well. Daphne and Sylvester have been in a strange freeze for the past six years – married, yet not. Sylvester is the only man Daphne has ever craved, but I loved that she didn’t just fall into his arms when he decided he wanted to be her husband in truth. Sylvester has his reasons for having been cold toward Daphne for years. Her father’s machinations nearly cost his sister her life and that’s not something a sibling can look past. Did I want to shake Sylvester for placing blame on Daphne? Of course. But Stacy Reid does a good job of balancing his flaws with strengths. Sylvester is fighting hard to abolish slavery in all British territories, risking his life in the process. He’s not a good husband at the beginning of this story, but he is a good man which means you want to see him succeed. I enjoyed the fact that Sylvester is self-aware enough to realize that he has royally screwed up with Daphne. She’s a kind, patient woman who has reached her breaking point because of him. Their romance in is slow to build, mostly because there’s so much distrust and hurt. I liked that the love story unfolded organically, that Daphne and Sylvester got to truly know one another before things heated up.
The Earl in My Bed is the second book in the Rebellious Desires series, but it can easily be read as a standalone (though it was lovely to get to see Georgiana and Rhys again). I always get caught up in Ms. Reid’s writing and this story was no exception. I finished this book looking forward to what scandals the next Rebellious Desires book has in store for readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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