Hot Earl Summer by Erica Ridley - Book Review

Series: The Wild Wynchesters #5 (Standalone)

Publication Date: 06th August 2024 

Genre: Historical Romance 

3.7 Stars 

One Liner: A bit silly and OTT but entertaining 

Elizabeth Wynchester loves nothing more than an opportunity to stab the guilty with her sword. She is bold, beautiful, smart, and competent despite the unknown reason for her joints to jam at random. When Elizabeth’s mission takes her to the castle of Earl of Densmore, she realizes she needs more than a sword to complete the mission. 

Stephen Lennox loves tinkering with machinations. He has invented too many of them and continues to do so. After all, machines are more reliable than humans. However, when he agrees to take the place of his cousin, the Earl of Densmore, for a while, Stephen comes face to face with a woman who truly understands him. 

Elizabeth and Stephen are similar yet different. However, before they explore their feelings, they need to sort out the case of the hidden/ missing will and put a criminal in his place. 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Elizabeth and Stephen. 

My Thoughts: 

After enjoying the previous book in the series and loving Elizabeth in that one, I knew I had to read this. I understand her urge to stab anything/ anyone that annoys her. Naturally, people don’t let us act on it, but one can dream! 

The dual POV does what it should and gives us the backstories of the main characters. Both of them present a façade to the public to hide their vulnerabilities. While Elizabeth is kinda sunshine, she is also grumpy (with loads of delightful bloodlust). She loves that the MMC builds murder machines (even if not all are meant to… you know… pop off a person). 

There is insta-lust (obv) but there is also some friendship, banter, and the case, which keeps things interesting. I enjoyed the puzzle parts. 

The villain is pretty much a 2D cartoonish man though we can see glimpses of his cunningness and evilness. Not sure if he’ll appear again but in this one, he is more like a comic villain than a real one. 

The FMC is curvy and has Fibromyalgia. This is my second book where the FMC has this condition. However, this book is historical, so no one knows what her condition is called and why it affects people. I like how the whole aspect is incorporated into the plot and her character arc. 

Stephen is well-written, and there were instances when I liked him more than Elizabeth. Somehow, his vulnerability comes out more clearly. I empathized with his loneliness and sense of wanting to belong. 

There’s some filler which at times results in uneven pacing. There’s a 3rd act breakup, but no miscommunication. This one was bound to happen, so I was okay with it. 

The battle scenes are nice but lighthearted. This aligns with the book’s overall tone but it may not work for everyone. 

The Wynchester family scenes are always fun to read. I missed Tickletums, the hedgehog. He barely got any space. Ugh! So not fair as I was hoping to meet the cutie again. The book ends with a teeny lead to the next one. I know Jacob’s book will be lovely with all those animals and… Tickletums! 

To summarize, Hot Earl Summer is a lighthearted and fun read that also deals with some important themes like acceptance, found family, loneliness, finding love, etc. It is moderately paced and enjoyable if you like historical romances with a modern touch. 

Thank you, NetGalley, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #HotEarlSummer