The Dark Earl [Paperback]

The Dark Earl by Virginia Henley
Historical Romance -Sept. 6th, 2011
3 stars

Thanks to his father, the Earl of Lichfield, Thomas Anson watches as everything in Shugborough is auctioned off and the family's hunting lodge nearby burned to the ground for insurance money. Angry and bitter, he vows to restore Shugborough back to its former glory no matter the cost. When he meets the precocious and willful Harry (Harriet's nickname) daughter of the Duke of Abercorn, he realized that she is his solution. Harry comes with a considerable dowry and is extremely beautiful as well. But Harry will not marry for anything less than love. She wants what her parents have - a loving marriage. Can Thomas give her his heart?

This book reminds me a lot of Whitney My Love and other romance novels from the late 80's. The writing style is definitely sparser and much more straightforward than the current style, which I prefer. Also, the heroine reminds me of Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind - she's drop-dead beautiful, very headstrong, very stubborn, and very proud. As much as I admire how she deals with her sister's and former suitor's betrayal, I find it hard to relate or like Harry. She's too different, too out there, and too perfect. The only way I can describe her is that she is the ideal heroine from the last decade. Thomas Anson is very detached and focused. He just wants Shugborough back and Harry is the means to an end. It takes him a long time to realize that he loves Harry very much, which cause problems between Harry and Thomas. The main conflict between the two characters is very soap-operatic. You can definitely see trouble coming from far away.

Formulaic and with a different writing style, this book is recommended for those who love the sweeping romances of the 80's.

Reviewed by Pauline from the Bookaholics Romance Club

there is no way this book was written by MRS VIRGINIA HENLEY i have read all her books this is not her style at all this book has a juvenile style of writing not at all how this talented author writes!!!!!!
the dialogue responses are so weak it makes you wonder <<come again????>> eg dark earl asks H please wait for me i want to play in the stream too and it is just playing???the sex scenes are non existent which is not henleys style if youve read her other books apart from one case the rest are and they went up stairs. now the story line and wait for it causes a mind blowing juvenile experience ,
starts with miss harriet who is me me me dont care what my sisters want or care they should thank their lucky stars im turning everyone down so they can have my scraps attitude.then she gets more action from her future brother in law than she does the actual dark earl meaning future brother in law fondles her ass kisses her more than the earl does id like to see that family dinner in the future???seriously well in the meantime she knows her sister wants him and she teases the earl at the same time then forces brother in law to marry sister only stressing that he wouldnt have had he not been forced.then the earl disappears from the story line for a good part of the book you almost forget he was ever in it.following is endless female prattle about nothing at all .we are forced to believe she is kind hearted when she does absolutely nothing but run to daddy for a one time loan to give to the poor.worse still we are continuously reminded of <SHUGBOROUGH HALL> as the only purpose the h/h exist live or fall in live ?how nice? after they marry she says we will restore SHUGBOROUGH he answers thats why i married you and there is absolutely no reaction to that statement at the end after endless does he love me? i want him to love me does he? does he ?she decides to question if thats why he married her .as for him though throughout the book he is sick too his stomach about the gambeling and drives us up the wall with his proper ways even telling on another person to the duke while all the time he lands up having an establishment such as this ,come again? and when she discovers it and gets all mad and decides to leave what does he say to her shocker of all shocker <well to hell with you> thats when i really laughed out loud!!!as for THE SEX ACTION which henley is known for ,there is none in this book, all you get is the wedding night which i couldnt get into at all knowing he knew his dead father, who had just died was lying on a bed at home keeping it all quiet by his mom till the next morning so he wouldnt lose <shug > bloody sth again??? i mean seriously even if you hate your father how do you perform sexually knowing there is a dead body back home ???and thats all you get you do ofcourse get repetition of she felt his hard cock against her bum when ridding about ten times but you get nothing else that is all in this book!!you do however get endless food descriptions and i mean page after page of detailed food description you want to go to the kitchen and cook!!the repetition is horrendous too i mean why do i have to read< i smell honeysuckle > over a million times throughout the book show me one henley book thats done this????and the worst is they are h/h, especially her, continuously speaking in there heads which is nerve grinding as most of it is juvenile prattel .my final belief is that mrs henley must have past this one on to one of her 16 year old grand children to write there is no talent here, this is not a book written by an adult and it is sth 14 to 16 year olds would enjoy without shocking any sensibility as henleys books always did!!!I REMAIN A HENLEY FAN THIS IS NOT HER THOUGH WITHOUT A DOUBT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm going to get straight to the point: I did not enjoy reading this book. In fact, I couldn't even bear to finish it, which is surprising because I always force myself to do so. I love V. Henley's earlier books but it was as if this book was written by a ghost writer (and an amateur ghost writer at that). I do enjoy plots that include the hero and heroine meeting as children and then later on they fall in love as adults. However, this plot just wasn't doing it for me. There were a variety of reasons that really turned me off.

One, there was too many italicized first person introspections -- which I believe is the reason the book has such an amateurish voice to it. I'm smart enough to understand what the heroine is thinking and don't need her to state the obvious. For example, Harriet thinks for us to see: "He is treating me with great formality. His features are stern because he doesn't smile. He looks at least thirty. . . . I wonder why he isn't married." Or another one: "He's as tall as my husband, but much darker. I wonder if the rumors about his mother are true." Here's another one: "A voice inside her head warned, 'Stop it, Harry!' She opened her eyes quickly. 'D'Arcy Lambton is far better husband material than Anson. Thomas is dominant and demanding, and if I became his wife, I would be so enamored, I would allow him to rule the roost. D'Arcy has such a pleasant, easygoing nature, he will allow me to have my own way and make my own decisions.'" Do you see what I mean? This telling rather than showing is what you would commonly see in a beginner writer. It can get rather annoying...especially when it's italicized as well.

Second, I was turned off even more so by the main heroine. I find her snobby, vulgar, obnoxious, and trying too hard to be unique...I don't even want to go through and find examples to prove her brattiness. Please take my word for it, she's not a likeable character. The hero is not much to speak of either. I can't say anything about the rest of the book since I couldn't finish it. It seems that I didn't miss out much anyway, based on other reviews. Someone on here brought up the possibility of a ghostwriter as the author of this book and I wouldn't be surprised if it were true. Sorry for the bluntness, V. Henley. However, I will always enjoy rereading your earlier books.

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