Undressed by the Earl

Secrets in Silk, Book 3

By: Michelle Willingham

Narrated by: Sue Pitkin

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

A man shrouded in grief…

David Hartford, the Earl of Castledon, is tormented by the death of his wife. Though everyone expects him to remarry and beget an heir, he is a man living in shadows, unwilling to break out of his prison of sorrow.

A spirited young woman who embraces life…

Impulsive Amelia Andrews befriends Lord Castledon and decides that he would make the perfect match for her prim older sister. Though she tries to bring the pair of them together, Amelia cannot help but see the lonely man behind David’s grim exterior. Even worse, she finds herself caught beneath his piercing stare…and she wonders how to melt his icy heart.

An unlikely match

No woman can ever replace his first wife…but when Amelia is caught in a web of ruin, David cannot stand aside and let her suffer. Can an unexpected marriage bring about a love even greater than the one he lost?

©2014 Michelle Willingham (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Hmmmm, I actually really liked this book :/

Love the tenderness and the understanding the heroine shows to the hero and his daughter. Her character actually seems to mature quickly through the story and her kind nature draws readers in. After reading the first book in the series I thought I would stay away from this series but then I saw the reviews and thought to give this book a shot. Again as with MW’s writing, she tends to repeat the same thoughts a few times, yes completely irritating. For instance I believe she repeated the fact that the hero wore black seven years after his wife died about three times within the first 1/3 of the book. You just want to yell out and say, I GET IT. He needs new cloths. Move on. But then the story gets much better and you tended not to mind as much her mind babbling. The narrator’s performance is not great since all men sound the same and all women have the exact same voice but she did better with this book than with the first book in the series.

Intricately plotted romance

The 5 star ratings are due to the intricately plotted story; the well-integrated subplots and superb character development and growth. The listener and reader is warned that this is a voyeuristic story, though excellent in all other ways.

Amelia's Story

Any additional comments?

So far, this is my favorite book in the series, probably because of Amelia. The baby of the family, Amelia Andrews is true to the reputation of the youngest sibling. She's a bit flighty, precocious, nosy about secret things, and quick to bend or disobey the rules. In the past her cute innocence has probably gotten her out of several punishments, so she isn't concerned with bending the rules.
At the age of 14 two of Amelia's three sisters were attending balls and parties with hopes of finding a suitable husband. Amelia being too young to participate, she was relegated to spend time at her mother's or aunt's side. British custom forbid her to speak to a man without a chaperone present, and preferably not at all. (Try that today!)
In her own resourceful way, Amelia strikes up an ongoing conversation with David Hartford, the Earl of Castledon, a grieving widower. It would be scandalous for a young lady to be speaking to a gentleman without a chaperone present. Ever creative, Amelia positions herself with her back to the Earl, and talks freely. Wow, does she talk freely. Amelia doesn't seem to stop talking. She's not familiar with embarrassment, sharing her thoughts and feelings without filters. The Earl is only attending the events because he has promised his daughter that he would remarry so she would have a mother.
At 33, David Hartford is 13 years Amelia's senior. His wife has been dead for 6 years, leaving him with a 5-year old daughter (now 11).
Skipping a lot of details here, Amelia was drugged and kidnapped from a ball one evening, right under everyone's nose. Her older sister, Margaret, was charged with her care that event. When she couldn't see her, Margaret enlisted the Earl's help locating her. After realizing she had been captured by an unwanted, womanizing suitor, who needed to marry a heiress to pay off his gambling debts.
Margaret took one route to Scotland and David the other, both knowing a woman could be married there without her father's permission. David found her first, beat the kidnapper, and rescued the damsel-in-distress. British societal norms being what they were, a woman was disgraced after spending a night alone with a man, no matter the circumstance. Of course the Earl agrees to marry her. His stipulations were that it would be a marriage of friendship, sans love, providing a mother for his daughter. Amelia will have his name and a title, a daughter, and enough money to buy whatever she wants. Anything but love: that's reserved for his first wife and only love. His grief causes him to often act cold, seem uncaring, and even cruel.
The story has some twists, turns, and surprises, but allows plenty of time for the characters to develop. It's a sweet story, book three of four in the series.

Best of the series so far

I'd rate this 3.5 if I could. My favorite of the series so far. The narration was decent and the author's writing has improved. For example, "couldn't care less" was finally used properly, unlike in the previous book. A personal pet peeve.

Amelia was quite a character in the previous books and she's a great lead in this one. David spent a long time grieving his first wife and wasn't ready to marry so when he brings Amelia back to his country home and she meets his daughter there are issues. Sure, some are stereotypical but it's a very interesting book.

I'm glad I have all four. I'm binge listening to the series.

Lispy narration

Story was okay if you can get past the lisps narration. I doubt I will purchase another book with this narrator

Undressed by the Earl

Enjoyed the book very much. It has humor, romance and intrigue. I would recommend it.

Married to save her reputation

Young and impulsive, Amelia Andrews falls in love with the wrong man. She realizes her mistake, but unfortunately, the rake sees her rejection as a challenge and kidnaps her, intending to win her over in a grand romantic gesture and marry her in Scotland. Amelia's friend, the solid and staid Earl of Castledon, David Hartford, comes to her rescue. Even though he appears to be a better match for her prim and proper elder sister Margaret, David marries Amelia to save her reputation. David promises to be a good husband, but still grieving the loss of his first wife six years earlier, he swears he will never fall in love again. As Amelia breathes life into his sad estate and befriends his lonely daughter, can she also penetrate David's carefully guarded heart, or is she condemned to a loveless marriage?

I enjoyed this installment of the Secrets in Silk series. In order to fully appreciate the story, I think it is important to listen to the first two books first. There is a history with the sewing business the sisters operate and a legacy of hatred between the Andrews family (and their tenants) and the Earl of Strathland that forms the backdrop for this story. Without an understanding of the events prior to this point in the series, the secondary plot elements in this novel will make little sense. In addition, one of the strengths of Undressed by the Earl is the depth of the characters featured in the book. Having read the first two books in the series only adds color and clarity to the characters and their motivations. David's steady nature and grief are a palpable force, and Amelia's bright nature and optimism are the perfect foil to his stolid character. Unfortunately, the narrator chosen to perform the audiobook version of this story often sounds as if she is speaking with her mouth full, particularly when trying to use a lower timbre for male voices. She speaks with little voice inflection, and the changes she does try to invoke to differentiate between male and female and young and old characters are more distracting than helpful. While I usually enjoy audiobooks, I will likely continue on with the series, but I will probably look for the ebook version of the next book, rather than the audiobook version.

masterfully written and narrated

loved the story and different characters. will certainly get more by this author and narrated by Sue Pitkin. wonderful story.

Made for each other

Who was your favorite character and why?

Amelia was so very funny in this listen. All her schemes and plans go so crazy. I loved listening to her best laid plans. Lol

Steamy romantic

This story was very well written and the narration was excellent. Well worth the .99 cent cost plus audible cost.