The Elusive Earl

Written by Maddison Michaels

Narrated by Justine Eyre

Brianna Penderley has a knack for getting into precarious situations, especially when it comes to her love for archaeology. In the heart of Naples, her terrible Italian has her accidentally becoming engaged to two men at the same time. Of course, Daniel Wolcott-the Earl of Thornton and the only man ever able to vex her-shows up to rescue her.

Daniel has spent the majority of his life exercising rigid control over his emotions, determined never to become the rake his father was. But when he goes to aid his mentor's danger-prone niece once again, he finds himself struggling to control his attraction to a woman who is his complete opposite.

When their situation goes from bad to worse, Daniel and Brianna find themselves swept up into a perilous adventure, and they must work together to set things right. Now, if they can just avoid killing each other in the process.

Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Mar 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977335289

Maddison Michaels

Maddison Michaels writes sexy history with a dash of mystery. She is the bestselling author of over seven novels, including her debut novel THE DEVILISH DUKE which won the 2019 Australian RWA RUBY award for best historical romance! Maddison’s novels are her way of time traveling back to Victorian London to experience a cornucopia of intrigue, romance and debauchery all from the comfort of her living room! She lives in NSW, Australia, with her own handsome hero, her beautiful but cheeky daughter, and her fur babies. Each morning she begins her day with a cup of liquid gold…coffee, of course!

Reviews for The Elusive Earl

[sarinhamac48 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

OMG... it had been a few months since I'd listened to the previous instalment & I'd completely forgotten how irritating the narrator's affected accent is...

Who in God's green earth, pronounces rear as rare & WHY does she always have that ridiculous inflection whenever she pronounces a word that ends in 'er... Lordy!

I hope she's not the narrator of the 3rd book... as I don't think I'll be able to hack her intonation & pronunciations....

I really struggled to like the heroine, she's willfully ignorant, ungracious & ungrateful!

Basically, all the problems stem from her wilfully ignorant choice to refuse to learn Italian & the author came up with the most moronic reason for it as well... In those days, most people learned other languages & knowing that someone speaks another language is not something that is immediately apparent.

So, unless she chose to speak the language, no one would be none the wiser.

& her making disparaging comments about Italian people in ITALY, not speaking English was beyond disrespectful & IGNORANT, even worse considering that she's half-Italian!

& the fact that she keeps getting into scrapes where the hero needs to save her & she's not only ungrateful & petulant but is obnoxiously unwilling to give him any credit for it... is ungracious to say the least!

This book is a pass from me...

[Mary Hofmann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The historical detail and the building tension made this a spell binding read. Even though the foreshadowing made it somewhat predictable I still enjoyed this tale. I also appreciated the comments regarding the truth v. Fictional parts of the story at the end.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A bit fantastical, and there's not a strong reason for them to *not* just be a couple already, so it ends up just being the two of them getting in their own way, mostly by stubbornly insisting that they *couldn't possibly* BE together (despite a stronger and stronger case that they should), on repeat past the point of all reason. The main characters were not that bright in general, and sometimes went into definite 'utter fools' territory (making terrible decisions and needing things explained to them like children before they catch on), which made it a little harder for me to like them. And the story was definitely on the 'predictable' side. But I did enjoy the road trip aspect and the archaeology (though that was definitely part of the fantastical quality I mentioned, think Indiana Jones but without his problem solving skills and prior experience =D ). Italy was a fun location, and I did chuckle several times, so I didn't hate it. But overall, I definitely can't rate it higher than a 3. It might interest you if you're looking for sort of a whimsical adventure story (but with a darker villain, so it's not all fluffiness), (slight) enemies to (just barely) lovers, lol, and characters generally attracted to each other but trying to resist it.

[eyes92c · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An engaging read!High adventure with a spitfire and a controlled Englishman who's an accomplished spy despite his appearance of never having gone beyond the ballroom. Villains abound, some more wicked than others. Legends out from history, a blighted past, murder and treasure hunting all played out in Cosenza, Italy.Daniel Wolcott, the Earl of Thornton, has spent a lifetime rescuing his mentor's niece Brianna Penderley. Her latest escapade leaves him scrambling for Naples where Brianna has apparently managed to get herself engaged to not one, but two Italians, whilst looking for the lost treasure of King Aleric. (Michaels' author's discussion is a fascinating footnote to the action). However, the danger ramps up when her cousin Travis is kidnapped. Daniel finds himself thrust into the maelstrom that is Brianna, as he battles to try to stay one step ahead of his frustrating charge who consistently battens on the hatches of his holed up heart.I must admit, that near the end, in a quite enchanting scene, I felt Daniel was channeling Colin Firth a là Bridget Jones. I kid you not! It was quite eerie hearing Firth's voice speaking some of Daniel's lines.An appealing read with some delightful twists.A NetGalley ARC