Counting on a Countess
Series: The London Underground #2
Author: Eva Leigh
Published January 24th 2019 by Mills & Boon

Goodreads Synopsis
For a shameless libertine and a wily smuggler in the London Underground, marriage is more than convenience—it's strategy...

Christopher "Kit" Ellingsworth, war veteran and newly minted Earl of Blakemere, buries his demons under every sort of pleasure and vice. His scandalous ways have all but emptied his coffers...until a wealthy mentor leaves him a sizeable fortune. The only stipulation? He must marry within one month to inherit the money. Kit needs a bride and the bold, mysterious Miss Tamsyn Pearce seems perfect.

Husband hunting isn't Tamsyn's top priority—she's in London to sell her new shipment of illicit goods—but she's desperate for funds to keep her smuggling operation afloat. When a handsome earl offers to wed her and send her back to Cornwall with a hefty allowance, Tamsyn agrees. After all, her secrets could land her in prison and an attentive, love-struck spouse could destroy everything.

But when an unexpected proviso in the will grants Tamsyn control of the inheritance, their arrangement becomes anything but convenient. Now, Kit's counting on his countess to make his wildest dreams a reality, and he plans to convince her, one pleasurable seduction at a time.
Goodreads

Review
After fighting at Waterloo, and returning home a hero, Kit Ellingsworth never expected anything but to return to life as a third son. However, his commanding officer, Lord Somerby, petitioned for him to be made Earl of Blakemoor, and following Somerby's death he's in line for a rather substantial inheritance. The only problem? He has to marry within the month to be able to claim the inheritance. Miss Tamsyn Pearce is new to London society, more used to her small Cornish town, but when her uncle announces he's going to marry the family home - and the one she runs her smuggling business out of - she knows she needs to find a wealthy husband to buy her house. It's a match made in heaven, but when the will reveals that Tamsyn is in sole control of the money, and Kit has to ask for an allowance, all their plans start falling apart. Can Tamsyn keep her smuggling a secret from her law abiding husband, and will Kit be able to convince Tamsyn to fund his dreamed for pleasure gardens?

I was intrigued by Kit in the first book, From Duke Till Dawn, especially with how mysterious he was. I loved reading his POV, as we really saw him as the man who was broken by Waterloo, and had fixated on a goal so long that nothing else seemed to do. He had layers upon layers, but with Tamsyn, these fell back to reveal the real Kit, and help him grow. Tamsyn reminded me so much of a sort of mix of Demelza and Ross Poldark, with her smuggling at night, and playing the lady by day. She loved her town, and would do anything for them after her parents died, and I just fell in love with her - she might be my favourite of Eva's heroines so far! Even though both went into the marriage as one of convenience, and with many secrets, the way they fell in love was perfect. It wasn't forced at all, and came so naturally, that they didn't even fully understand they were gone until it was too late. The ending was everything I could've dreamed of, and hopefully we'll see more of them in Dare to Love a Duke.

Dates Read:
August 6-7, 2020

Rating
4 Stars