Forever Your Earl

The Wicked Quills of London

By: Eva Leigh

Narrated by: Carmen Rose

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Eva Leigh's irresistible new series introduces the Wicked Quills of London: a group of bold, brilliant female writers whose spirited allure is beyond seductive....

Eleanor Hawke loves a good scandal. And readers of her successful gossip rag live for the exploits of her favorite subject: Daniel Balfour, the notorious earl of Ashford. So when the earl himself marches into her office and invites her to experience his illicit pursuits firsthand, Eleanor is stunned. Gambling hells, phaeton races, masquerades.... What more could a scandal writer want than a secret look into the life of this devilishly handsome rake?

Daniel has secrets, and if The Hawk's Eye gets wind of them, a man's life could be at stake. And what better way to distract a gossip than by feeding her the scandal she desperately craves? But Daniel never expected the sharp mind and biting wit of the beautiful writer, and their desire for each other threatens even his best-laid plans.

But when Eleanor learns the truth of his deception, Daniel will do anything to prove a romance between a commoner and an earl could really last forever.

©2015 Eva Leigh (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Great Leading Lady

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.25
Character Rating: 4.50
Story Rating: 4.00

Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)

Read It Rate It Review: Oh how I love a clever unusual leading lady and Forever Your Earl delivers on that in spades! Eleanor was a downright delight to read. She was unusual for her time but I truly believe that women like her existed. Even if just out of necessity. Daniel was a great match for her in every way and I enjoyed his journey to accepting the strong woman that she was. This was just a really good story that made me swoon!

Audio Thoughts:
Narrated By Carmen Rose/Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Carmen nailed the narration of Eleanor and Daniel. She really brought out the slight differences in class and station. This was a really great listen!

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It DONE! Reviews

Great start to a new series

What a great start to this new series! Very enjoyable.

Eleanor is a great heroine. A woman with a career who isn't afraid to buck the tide. Her sparring with the Earl is fun. The mystery in the story gives another dimension to the romance. Quite good. The secondary characters have depth on their own and I hope we read more about them in subsequent books.

A few minor glitches in an otherwise good book - I found some annoying repetitions. If they were done for emphasis it didn't work for me. Also, there were many words mispronounced on the audiobook. I know that's not the author's fault but it does detract from the book overall.

I look forward to the rest of this series.

I love her work

I have yet to be disappointed and I have listened to all but 2 of her books

Fun story

This was a really enjoyable story, but for the narrator. I have listened to one other book narrated by Carmen Rose and other than everyone sounding the same age, her narration was okay. In this book though it was really a struggle to get through and I had to speed the book up to 1.25 just to get through it. Simply because of the narration. She tried, it's just that her voice is so... I don't even know how to describe it, stilted? Monotone? Each character had virtually the same voice, and everyone had the same inflections, when there was one.
Other than that, it was great. The chemistry between the characters as they actually spent weeks building a relationship and falling in love, instead of over the period of a week like in a lot of books, was nice. I also appreciated that the conflict in stations and how we can't be together because of them, was short lived and not drawn out and painful. I hate that in a book. The secondary characters are lovely and I look forward to more in the series. But, only because it's not the same narrator. If it was Carmen Rose again, I would probably avoid it. Maybe not. I might give her another chance somewhere down the road but it sure would have to be a heck of a deal.

I got this book on a 2/1 sale and because of the story it was worth it. But definitely not worth a whole credit.

It's really a shame...

What disappointed you about Forever Your Earl?

It was a good story, but the narration killed it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Forever Your Earl?

The declarations of love.

What didn’t you like about Carmen Rose’s performance?

I think she tried really hard, but just could not avoid sounding stilted. The worst parts were the narrative sections, where the phasing and the intonations were so stiff and awkward that it was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. I kept listening, thinking that she would loosen up and get more natural as she got into the book more, but it didn't happen. It's such a shame because it colored the whole experience, negatively.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The story was interesting, although the heroine was so modern in her sensibilities that it seemed unrealistic, but still.... it was of interest.

Any additional comments?

If this book and this series is to have a chance, it needs to be re-released with a really good and spunky narration.