{Steamy Historical Romance Review} The Earl’s Wager by @Rebecca_Thomas3

The Earl's Wager by Rebecca Thomas
Published by Macmillan on July 25th 2016
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Regency, General
Pages: 220
Buy on Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, Available with KU Subscription, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Goodreads

When straight laced earl, Will Sutton, is challenged to turn the obstinate American ward of his friend into a biddable lady suitable for the Marriage Mart, he gladly takes the wager. Then has to decide whether the prize--a prime racing stud horse--is worth changing the impudent beauty's temperament he's come to enjoy. Greatly.

One headstrong miss. One stuffy lord. One friendly wager. What could go wrong?

Will Sutton, the Earl of Grandleigh, believes he can save the family’s impoverished estate by investing in a racehorse, but the price is too steep. His brother-in-law offers him a deal: tutor his American ward in proper English customs, so she’ll be marriage material, and Will can have one of his horses. Maybe Miss Georgia Duvall prefers being a jockey, is obstinate and high spirited, but once she’s cleaned up and presentable, he’ll have no trouble finding her a quality suitor. She might even be quite pretty beneath the racetrack dust.

The last thing Georgia Duvall wants is to be married off to an English peer. But she won’t defy her father’s wishes, and sets her cap for the oldest lord she can find—a man who’ll die quickly and leave her alone to manage her inheritance. The Earl of Grandleigh might think he’ll teach her manners and marry her off to someone younger than eighty, but there hasn’t been an obstacle yet Georgia can’t overcome. Including a stuffy, overbearing English lord.

I received The Earl's Wager for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A young Earl still paying for the sins of his father. A spirited American Miss granting her father’s dying wish. Georgia and Will have nothing in common on paper, but Rebecca Thomas takes the most unlikely couple and makes them a perfect fit.

Will was a bit too stuffy at first, but I completely understood why. He was desperate to be accepted by society after all the dishonor his late father brought to the family name. Will was elevated tremendously by the match between his sister, Arabella, and his friend, Oliver Westwyck, the Earl of Marsdale. Even with Oliver’s help, Will feels he needs to present himself perfectly to the ton.

Enter Oliver’s hellion of a cousin, Georgia. Georgia is a genius when it comes to horseflesh and a better rider than most jockeys on the track. The catch to her father’s will is the marriage part. She only wants to marry an old, titled Englishman who will die soon to be able to control her own inheritance from her father and build her own racing stable.

Oliver needs Will to help launch Georgia on society since he won’t leave Arabella in the end of her difficult pregnancy. Will agrees to tutor Georgia on English customs in exchange for a race horse from Oliver’s stable. I enjoyed immensely the bickering between our fated couple from the onset. Their words sprung forth with wit and determination while their minds and bodies became overwhelmed with lust. I believed Thomas would have Will breaking his calm exterior at many times throughout the novel and ravish Georgia, but I was delightfully surprised by how it actually happened. Sparks flew, words became actions, and the never-meant-to-be became inevitable.

Though there were more than a few bumps on the journey to the happily ever after, I was thrilled with the ride! I can’t wait to read more from Rebecca Thomas and will put Oliver and Arabella’s story, The Earl’s Christmas Colt, at the top of my reading list.