Who’s That Earl
⭐⭐⭐⭐
We all know how a romance book will end, but sometimes authors will pull out all the stops on the plot and emotions to make sure we still can’t put it down. Who’s That Earl is not a nail biter. It’s stress relief in book form - likable characters with the absolute minimum required plot. Jane and Thomas had a short-lived affair years before the book begins, but life circumstances drove them apart. As they come back into each other’s orbit now, both are hiding secrets. Jane is a successful author publishing under a male pseudonym (scandalous), and Thomas is a spy! But somehow more distressingly, he’s also the Earl. I haven’t gotten to read a second-chance lovers trope before, and I really enjoyed it. It spread a lot of the ‘we can’t be together’ angst out over the first part of the book rather than concentrating it at the end, and made for a very fun re-introduction.
The other great twist was that while most romance books have people keeping secrets, Craig let both characters catch the other out early on enough that they both knew the other was lying - they just had to figure out why/about what. The challenge accepted mentality was a lot more fun to read than the usual secret keeping angst.
I wish I could remember why I read this - I thought a friend recommended it but they all said they haven’t read it. I may have gotten it from the Hot and Bothered romance podcast, and if so cheers to them! (Super fun podcast, check it out when you have a chance.) Either way, it was the perfect palette cleanser to read in between other stressful books, and I’m looking forward to getting the rest of the series from the library.
I paired it with an earl grey gin and tonic for a twist on a classic. I can’t link the book and the taste this time - while I enjoyed the book from the get-go, I did not like the first taste of the cocktail at all. Luckily it did grow on me, although drinking it in the evening was a mistake. This is a tea-time cocktail if you want to be able to sleep!
Earl Grey Gin and Tonic
1 oz gin
1 oz chilled earl grey (brewed strong)
2 oz tonic water
Twist of lime to garnish (lavender might have been better)
Steps:
Shake the ingredients with ice to chill and combine, then pour over fresh ice in a lowball to serve.
