The Untouchable Earl by Amy Sandas Pages: 416
Series: Fallen Ladies #2
Genres: Historical Romance
Also in this series: Luck Is No Lady, Lord of Lies
Also by this author: Luck Is No Lady, Lord of Lies
Goodreads
"Are you afraid?""Yes," she replied in a soft voice. "But I love the way you frighten me."
Lily Chadwick has spent her life playing by society's rules. But when an unscrupulous moneylender snatches her off the street and puts her up for auction at a pleasure house, she finds herself in the possession of a man who makes her breathless with terror and impossible yearning...
Though the reclusive Earl of Harte claimed Lily with the highest bid, he hides a painful secret-one that has kept him from knowing the pleasure of a lover's touch. Even the barest brush of skin brings him physical pain, and he's spent his life keeping the world at arms' length. But there's something about Lily that maddens him, bewitches him, compels him...and drives him toward the one woman brave and kind enough to seek to heal his troubled heart.
I was super excited for The Untouchable Earl since I finished Luck is no Lady a while back. I adored the story and wanted desperately to know what the heck had happened to Lily!
Avenell, the untouchable earl, has a nerve condition that causes pain when touched. Obviously, he struggles to even go out in public much less woo a lady to marry. But, he has been visiting Madam Pendragon to learn how to manage his facial expressions and control his body when touched so that he may at least be seen in public as normal. One evening at Madam Pendragon’s brothel, he finds a drugged Lily up for auction. He can’t ignore this and buys her. While he has no intention of making her give up her virtue to him, she propositions him and asks to become his mistress.
So, the story is mostly about Avenell and Lily’s secret meetings and the building of the relationship as he attempts to determine if he will even be able to have sex at all. He is constantly putting up walls to keep Lily at a distance, but she is so patient. The conflict of the book revolves around the will they/won’t they push pull and the ‘will anyone discover their relationship’ fear. While enjoyable, I didn’t love it as much as book 1. Lily is a wonderful character and I only loved her more as the book went on. Avenell is fascinating. His condition is so different and it really added a bit of mystery to the story. But, in the end, I felt like there just wasn’t much going on in the book. I enjoyed it, but perhaps not as much as I could have if there had just been something…more…different…I’m not sure.
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: virgins, regency
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within a series
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas, The Virgin and the Viscount by Charis Michaels, A Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLean…then you will probably like The Untouchable Earl!
The Untouchable Earl
You know i really loved this one, more than book one. The chemistry between them was superb.
The chemistry was good but I still think I liked book 1 better. Maybe because I am not entirely sure I liked the Earl that much.