Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday Book Review
Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday is a character-driven historical fiction about finding family and finding love.
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Earls Trip
Author: Jenny Holiday
Pub. Date: Apr. 23, 2024
Genre: Adult Historical Fiction
Pages: 320
Rating: 3.5 stars
Spice: 3 hearts
Content Warnings: animal death, dementia/Alzheimer’s, sexual content, & grief
Synopsis:
Even an earl needs his ride-or-dies, and Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, counts himself lucky to have two. The annual trip that Archie takes with his BFFs Simon and Effie holds a sacred spot in their calendars. This year Archie is especially eager to get away until an urgent letter arrives from an old family friend, begging him to help prevent a ruinous scandal. Suddenly the trip has become earls-plus-girls, as Archie’s childhood pals, Clementine and Olive Morgan, are rescued en route to Gretna Green.
This…complicates matters. The fully grown Clementine, while as frank and refreshing as he remembers, is also different to the wild, windswept girl he knew. This Clem is complex and surprising–and adamantly opposed to marriage. Which, for reasons Archie dare not examine too closely, he finds increasingly vexing.
Then Clem makes him an indecent and quite delightful proposal, asking him to show her the pleasures of the marriage bed before she settles into spinsterhood. And what kind of gentleman would he be to refuse a lady?
Book Review
Thank you to Kensington Books for this ARC of Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday. All opinions are my own.
This was my second time reading a Jenny Holiday book. I discovered her books earlier this year when I read Canadian Boyfriend, and I absolutely loved that book. I had expectations that I was going to love this book as well even though it’s a historical romance and not a contemporary romance.
Thoughts
I do think these expectations affected how I perceived this story because this book was drastically different than Canadian Boyfriend in writing style and pacing.
What I liked best about Earls Trip was the characters and the friendships between them.
Archie, Simon, and Effie were so lovable, and their friendship was just wholesome and so welcoming to read about. They were so supportive of each other’s passions and personalities, and I really appreciated this found family aspect since none of them had close relationships with their biological families.
Clementine was also a very likable character because she had a unique personality and interests unlike her sister Olive, which I didn’t particularly like. When I learned more about Olive’s backstory, she didn’t seem as awful, but she still wasn’t great.
The sexual innuendos were a bit much in this story. While some of them were funny, it seemed like the author was trying too hard to cram them in whenever she could.
Also, the pacing was just off in this book. The beginning of this book started off strong. I enjoyed all of the plot leading up to arriving at their residence for the earls’ trip. However, after they arrived, hardly anything happened for most of the book. The characters mostly just spent time talking. It wasn’t until near the end that the plot picked up a little and then was just wrapped right up.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed the characters and relationships in this book, but the rest of the story fell flat for me. I would however read another book by this author since my first experience with her books was great.
Where to Read & Purchase
You can purchase a copy of this book at the following retailers:
Bookshop.org (supports independent book stores) [affiliate]
Libro.fm (audiobooks that support independent book stores) [affiliate]
→ get a free audiobook when you start a membership
Amazon [affiliate]
Books a Million (BAM) [affiliate]
AbeBooks [affiliate]
Have you read Earls Trip or any other books by Jenny Holiday?
I would love to hear your thoughts! Comment down below.
Other posts you might enjoy:
Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday Book Review
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton Book Review