Title: In Debt to the Earl
Author: Elizabeth Rolls
Published: 2016
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency

Blurb:

"If you wish, I can take you out of all this."

In his quest for revenge against a disreputable card sharp, James, Earl of Cambourne, discovers the man's innocent daughter. While her surroundings are impoverished, her dignity and refinement are unmistakable, and James faces an unsettling question—what will be her fate if he brings her father to justice?
Although yearning for love and comfort, Lucy resists the earl's surprising offer of protection. That is until a price is made on her virginity, and James is the only man who can save her.

 

My Review:

Never have I imagined that I would be fascinated by this book. What made me attracted is the heroine who is, albeit delicate, innocent and impoverished, strong, independent and respectable. The first encounter between the hero, James, Lord Cambourne and the heroine, Lucy Heinsleighs a disguised name that her father has been using, is in the filthy lodging where Lucy settles in. James urges Lucy to tell where Hensleighs’ whereabouts but Lucy has no notion where so she tells him to leave and return when her father does too. However James wrongly presumes that Lucy is Hensleighs’ mistress and insults her as well. Lucy counters the insult by proclaiming that she is his daughter and irritably demands James to leave because whatever her father owes, she can’t afford to pay back. Feeling bewildered, James lies to Lucy that he is the one who owes to her father and will be back again.

Since the encounter, James cannot forget Lucy, he even seems intensely possessive and irritated to know that she disguises herself as a lad to play violin on the crowded narrow street so that she could feed and pay the lodging herself. To protect Lucy, James offers his hand by telling Lucy that she could be his mistress yet Lucy’s response neither approves nor disapproves.

The story line is immeasurably delightful, especially when James is informed by Fitch, a little pickpocket whom Lucy associates with that Lucy has been abducted and is going to be auctioned by Kilby, the villain within this book then the ending is what I expect. After having read this, I might contemplate reading others Elizabeth Rolls’ books.

Rate: 4 of 5

Reviewed by Sabilla