I’m so pleased to be a part of the blog tour for Catherine Tinley’s new novel Captivating the Cynical Earl. This is a wonderful historical romance, and I loved the characters and the love story! Let’s check it out:
About the Book:
Title: Captivating the Cynical Earl
Author: Catherine Tinley
Page Length: 288
Publication Date: July 27, 2021
Publisher: Harlequin Historical
Synopsis: The cool, aloof earl
And the enchanting lady
For Jack Beresford, Earl of Hawkenden, emotional entanglements are the path to pain. But when his brother brings his new wife and her best friend to his country home, everything changes. Lady Cecily Thornhill is both vibrant and beautiful, and Jack finds himself increasingly captivated by her sunny nature. Yet he must resist her charms, for in a month she’ll be gone—unless his frozen heart thaws before then…
Purchase Link – https://books2read.com/captivatingearl
About the Author:
Catherine Tinley is an award winning author of historical romance. She writes witty, heartwarming Regency love stories for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Her first book, Waltzing with the Earl, won the Rita Award for Best Historical Romance 2018, while Rags-to-Riches Wife won the RoNA Award for Best Historical Romance 2021.
She has loved reading and writing since childhood, and has a particular fondness for love, romance, and happy endings. After a career encompassing speech & language therapy, Sure Start, maternity campaigning and being President of a charity, she now manages a maternity hospital. She lives in Ireland with her husband, children, cats, and dog and can be reached at catherinetinley.com on facebook, twitter, and instagram.
My Review:
When Jack Beresford, Earl of Hawkenden’s brother announces that he has married, Jack is stunned. Tom and Nell married so quickly, and Jack is sure there are nefarious reasons for the nuptials. He can’t imagine that his brother would succumb to love, especially after their tumultuous childhood that was filled with hurt, abandonment, and rejection. Jack determines to help rid his brother of this entanglement. When Tom brings Nell and her best friend Cecily to Jack’s country home for an extended stay, Jack must reconsider his assumptions about marriage and love, especially as his feelings for Cecily grow. Will Jack give in to his feelings for the beautiful and charming Cecily? Will he accept his brother’s marriage and reconcile with him? Can love reach this emotionally withdrawn man? Will Cecily admit to her feelings for the cold and empty earl?
Jack is arrogant and aloof and presents himself as a cold and emotionally vacuous man. Though an extremely successful businessman, he is unsuccessful in maintaining deep and meaningful relationships with the exception of his brother. And Jack even fractures his relationship with Tom because of his harsh feelings about love and marriage. Jack keeps people at a distance, and fear of abandonment compels him to squelch his feelings. Jack had a terrible childhood, and as Cecily gets to know Jack, she begins to see the deep scars and how the past has defined him. She begins to understand his actions and reactions and feels sympathy for this wounded and deeply layered man. I love that Cecily sees past Jack’s defenses! She is one of the few that takes the time to see the wonderful man underneath the cool and composed earl.
Cecily is a wonderful character, and her story is equally interesting. Cecily is a strong and intelligent woman who is frustrated by the limitations put on her because of her gender. She has a great mind for business and tons of potential, but, as the daughter of a duke, she is not allowed to fulfill her dreams. She is so different from what Jack expected, and he can’t help but feel drawn to her intellect, compassion, and kindhearted and fiery spirit. Cecily is also very intuitive, and she always seems to find ways to help others. She understands people and uses this wisdom to help others with sage advice and unlimited support. This goes a long way in helping Jack to heal and learn to open himself up to feeling again.
The slow-building romance between Cecily and Jack is a complicated mix of love and loathe at first sight and contrasts the overly affectionate and loving relationship between Tom and Nell. Jack and Cecily butt heads on several occasions, and they spend much of the story dancing around one another, reluctant to reveal their budding romantic feelings for each other. However, the more time they spend together, the more irrefutable and irresistible their connection becomes. I love the angst and romantic tension throughout the story, as this stubborn and strong-willed pair slowly comes to realize and admit their feelings for each other.
I also love the relationship between Cecily and Tom’s wife Nell. They are both kind, compassionate, and entertaining women, and they have a strong and long-lasting friendship. They are so supportive of each other, and even when they don’t agree, they value each other’s opinions. They are also really honest with each other, even if it makes for a difficult conversation. I think this says a lot about their friendship and how much they like and respect each other. They have such a strong connection, and I adore their unwavering support of one another. They are a bit like Jack and Tom in that they love each other unequivocally. However, the men often let emotions cloud their judgment.
A fun and entertaining story that includes miscommunication, mistaken identity, and more, Catherine Tinley’s Captivating the Cynical Earl is a great historical romance. I think it will appeal to readers who enjoy enemies-to-lovers romance with well-developed characters and strong messages about love, healing, and redemption. Thanks so much to Catherine Tinley and Rachel’s Random Resources for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Rating:
Favorite Parts:
- The romance!
- The lovely friendships.
- The messages about opening oneself up to love, healing, friendship, and accepting others.
Favorite Lines:
At the end of everything, money is the only certainty. There is no place for softness.
Strange how the most capable of men could revert to childhood patterns, given the right circumstances.
There was safety in separateness, peril in passion.
Recommendations:
Want to read more by Catherine Tinley? Check out my review of A Waltz with the Outspoken Governess!
This sounds like a fun story. I like the loathe part, and I am sure there were some great verbal sparring matches. Great review Julie.
Thanks, Carla! You’re right – the verbal sparring is excellent.