… and read her new e-novella, THE MAD EARL’S BRIDE
It’s been a while since I’ve read a new Loretta Chase romance. Well, about exactly as long as since the last one was published (2012). It pretty much goes without saying for this historical romance junkie that LC is on my DIK, must-read, auto-buy, and every other tip-top book list I’ve got.
So I was pretty excited to get my hands on the new re-issue of The Mad Earl’s Bride (originally anthologized in Three Weddings and a Kiss, 1995). Something to hold me over until the next Dressmakers book is out!
While it’s not Lord Perfect, which was, for me, well…. perfect, this fun and funny novella is reminding me of all the reasons LC remains at the pinnacle of the genre for me.
Five fast reasons…
- There will be banter. And delicious long conversations. This one has steamy dialogue in a deliciously long steambath!
- The hero will somehow be both maddeningly and hilariously juvenile, and devastatingly badass.
- The heroine will be a self-directed, managing sort of female with the ability to deflate the hero’s ridiculousness at all the appropriate moments.
- The emotional connection will be potent, and forged from moments where H/h reveal layers of self-awareness which they usually mask beneath the trademark LC banter.
- If you are lucky enough to meet her in person at a book signing, she is gracious and charming and lovely and may not even mind if you are clutching a dog-eared, vintage copy of a treasured title from her backlist….
In May at the NECRWA annual conference she signed my copy of Mr. Impossible and even told me it’s one of her favorite covers!!! Love. That.
As an aside, I realized last night that the title of LC’s new novella fits a certain category of title that might be called a “Possessive Hero Title” — there’s been a very interesting twitter conversation on this topic over the last couple of days. Is it significant that there are literally hundreds of similar romance titles where a word representing the hero is used in its possessive form, and so few titles where the heroine receives this kind of titular signifier of ownership?
Disclosure: As a newly-minted Avon Addict, I received The Mad Earl’s Bride as a free download via Edelweiss, in exchange for honest review and/or commentary. I would have been purchasing this book regardless!
Badass Romance 
Miss Bates loves Loretta Chase. And MR. IMPOSSIBLE is her favourite. She has the exact same copy, but not the joy of having it signed by Her Romance Idol. Lucky, lucky Pamela!
I think I may have to re-read Mr. Impossible this summer! There is just something brilliant about how she crafted this hero who acts like an idiot and yet is so incredibly charismatic. So happy to have another shared favorite with Miss Bates.
Exactly, it’s the gap between what he says he is (an idiot) & how he acts (shrewdly!!!) that makes the whole thing so hilarious … & the mongoose, of course. Gotta love the mongoose! It’s just a sheer delight.
OMG, I can’t believe I forgot to work the mongoose in to my post!
Totally forgivable! 🙂 You’ll work the critter in eventually. There’s just so much to love about that book. I often give it as a gift to friends & have made many romance converts because of it.
I thought it was lovely that she said how much she always liked this cover. I usually give Lord of Scoundrels in my conversion package, only because people have heard of it, but this is in many ways much more fun for the purpose!
BET ME too is a great converter. And for those pesky resistant ones, I nab them with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, nice smorgasbord of romance, mystery, a little chick lit, history, spies …. win-win!
Congratulations on being selected as an Avon Addict. May many other blogger recognitions come your way! I have to ask: what is DIK? I know about TBR.
Truthfully, I don’t know who actually started the DIK appellation, but I first encountered it years ago at All About Romance — it stands for Desert Isle Keeper. Seems to be in use in other places now, too. A book you’d be willing to read over and over. 😉
I loved meeting her at NECRWA in April. She was really gracious, very nice, and humble, too. She flew to the top of my must-read book list, and I’m reading this novella tonight. I can’t wait to review it!
Be sure and try Lord Perfect or Mr. Impossible too! Can’t wait to read your review. Congratulations, fellow Avon Addict! 🙂
The mongoose definitely counts as badass! I love this talk of ‘conversion packages’ too. I’ve given Lord Perfect several times to friends who turn their noses up at romance – its such a happy antidote for the daily woes of life. Someone needs to ask Loretta Chase what inspired her to use a mongoose as a character.
Hmmm, I think she talked about the mongoose inspiration in an interview somewhere… I will have to try and find it!
At first I was a little unsure about whether or not I wanted to read a Loretta Chase novel/novella – since she’s not to my taste. But then I saw your tag, “possessive hero,” and immediately added the story to my must-read pile. What can I say, I’m a sucker for alpha males! 😉
This is a nice one to try for a taste — her heroes are alpha, and possessive, but they don’t always come across as big bad alphas because they frequently make use of disarming tactics including charm, feigned helplessness (can be hilarious), feigned idiocy, and other forms of ridiculousness. Lord of Scoundrels is the classic Chase with a really brooding and impossible hero. But her heroes do challenge our rigid use of the terms ‘alpha’ and ‘beta’ because they are possessive and shrewd, but not 100% controlling all the time, and willing to look foolish at times. They’re certainly badass in my book, whatever else we call them!
Oops, and thank you so much for checking out my post – be sure and let me know what you think when you read The Mad Earl’s Bride or another LC book!
Arrgh, not you as well. As if Dabney’s review over at DA hadn’t already got me adding this to my ludicrous tbr pile. Damn you! Damn you! *rails*
Ahem.
As for Possessive Hero Title, it makes you want play mad-libs doesn’t it? (Or is that just me?)
Absolutely with you on the mad libs. As for adding to your TBR, all I can say is at least this one is short…. but if I had my druthers, and you haven’t already read it, I’d have you slap Mr. Impossible right on the top of the pile!