Review – Waltzing With The Earl by Catherine Tinley

A wallflower’s time to shine…

The Earl of Shalford needs to marry for money to save his estate. Wealthy and beautiful Henrietta Buxted should be the perfect candidate. So why does his eye keep wandering to her quiet cousin, Charlotte Wyncroft?

Charlotte watches Henrietta’s games of courtship with wry amusement. That is until a stolen dance reveals a hidden side to the earl. Penniless Charlotte knows she’s far from a suitable match, yet, in Adam’s arms, she can dream of the happily-ever-after she’s always wanted!

My View

This debut novel of Tinley is rich in details for the era, what makes Tinley exciting new to me the author is how she builds up her characters, their history and personalities they are extremely likeable even the irritating and snobbish Mrs Buxton and Henrietta.

Adam after gaining the title after his father’s death finds out that to keep his ancestral estate running he must find some money and fast, the only way he is going to find the money he needs he must marry a rich woman. He had his eyes set on Henrietta Buxton for a while or more accurately he has had his eyes on her large dowry for a while so it is obviously the next step, to marry her.

They are both the darlings of the ton, both beautiful and both titled and in society that means everything is all moving In the right direction, all he has to do is pluck up the courage and ask. that is until he meets Henrietta’s cousin, Charlotte.

He bent his head towards hers. ‘And we will waltz together whenever we choose.’
‘Yes, we will,’ she whispered as their lips met.

After living her life travelling around following the drum of the army with her colonel father Sir Arthur, Charlotte is sent back to London to stay with her aunt, uncle and cousins while her father is in France doing his last mission for the crown.

Sir Arthur thinks that while she is there she may pick up some lady-like manners and graces from her aristocratic cousins. The only problem with that is that her family, especially Henrietta don’t want her there they belittle her at every opportunity and she is thoroughly miserable there. Until she meets the dashing Captain Fanton and his stiff and uptight brother Adam.

Apart from the constant moaning and whining, she has to put up with her cousins and aunt she is having a brilliant time until she gets word that her father is missing and what more she has no money to support herself and as much as she has fallen for the Earl why on earth would he want a penniless orphan?

Adam is a complex man who for me, took some warming to. He did at first come across as very pompous and a too starched man who was a bit callous with how he was going about things with getting the money he needed. But as you get to know him as the man instead of the Earl his stiff and guarded exterior melts away, and you see just how caring, passionate and hugely protective he is.

‘Are you well today, Miss Wyncroft?’
Unexpectedly he lifted her hand, bent over it, and kissed it. Charlotte was acutely conscious of the sensation of his lips on her bare hand, and the fact that her heart was beating rapidly.
‘I am well, my lo rd,’ she said, trying to keep her voice steady. ‘As you see, I am cutting some of your flowers. Are they not beautiful?’Still holding her hand, he looked intently up at her.
‘Beautiful.’

The chemistry between Charlotte and Adam is at fi is strained, she thinks him to be too arrogant too stiff and too set in his ways But all that changes as his quick witted-ness, intelligence and kind nature soon win her over and she realises that he isn’t what she thought him to be. Adam was drawn to Charlotte more or less soon as he saw her, her intelligent mind and conversation mixed with her flirtatious natural manner caught his eye.

I love the fact that Charlotte is very normal, she has been following the drum since childhood, due to her father being a Colonel who in my view he has raised an independent, intelligent woman who knows how to look afterherselff. She has grown a thick skin, she is sassy and opinionated andit’ss been an absolute joy getting to know this spunky woman throughout the book.

Fo,r me the star of the show is Harry, oh my word! I absolutely adore Captain Harry Fanton he is a chipper, witty and highly sensual man who oozes sex appeal and he definitely has the bestone-linerss. He is cheeky, sarcastic and loyal and such a great character and one that I am definitely looking forward to getting to know, he is fabulous!

‘Well, only time will show. But to the purpose of my visit today—’
‘Yes, do get on with it, Adam.’ The Captain made a childish face at Charlotte, whose eyes danced in mischievous response.

I found Henrietta and her mother to be a complete and utter pain the arse, they are spoilt,vainn and self-centred madams. I do have to say that spoilt little brat Henrietta really got under my skin, the way she flings herself around and acts the poor little miss at every opportunity, the way she humiliates and ridicules not just Charlotte but her own sister is irritating. I have never come across a character that I love to hate, as much as I did her. This shows what extraordinary talent Tinley has.

Henrietta was now lying down on the expensive carpet, drumming her feet on the floor. She was also becoming louder in her cries. Charlotte had never seen a display quite like it.

I really like how Tinley mixed the Romance story with Sir Arthur’s mission in France, it’s a really pleasant change to see what the supporting characters are doing and I do really like Sir Arthur. He is blunt, straight to the point and practical he loves his daughter dearly, more than that, there is a true friendship between father and daughter. A friendship that has been born from first losing Charlotte’s mother too soon and secondly with Arthur keeping her with him to follow the drum, and I really like seeing that parent, child relationship.

This is an absolute success and a great introduction to this charming and talented author, I am really looking forward to reading more of Tinley’s work.

Waltzing with the Earl is out now and can be found on Amazon.

This was a complimentary copy via the author in exchange for an honest review.

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