It's not often I come across a hero like this. Half his face normal, the other side filled with scars. He does not want to go out in society, he can't get anyone to marry him.

There is our story, he needs a woman and an heir. Luckily he finds Lydia, a spinster, an artist, a woman who says what she wants. But who needs to save her family. While Edward is a scientist and now a recluse. I liked him. And I sure wanted Lydia to save him, for him to move on, for them to be happy.

Most of the book, and then I mean most takes place in his house. It really is about them getting to know each other. I liked that as when they spent so much time together I believed them falling in love.

A nice romantic tale ( )

Smart, scarred, science-minded hero. Talented, independent heroine. No big villain. Secondary characters I'd love to revisit. There's a lot to like here for fans of romance novels that are, at heart, about the growing love and respect between two equally strong and intelligent protagonists. ( )

MEET THE EARL AT MIDNIGHT by Gina Conkle is a unique Georgian Historical Romance set in 1768 England. #1 in the "Midnight Meetings" series. What a beginning! A new and unique take on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. A beautiful, romantic tale of love, passion, secrets, beastly reputations, scandal, and happiness.
This is the tale of Lydia Montgomery and Earl Edward Greenwich and a meeting at midnight. Edward, is disfigured, Lydia, has such un-lady like behavior, but she is determined to tame the Phantom of London, one way or the other.
Fast paced and filled with intrigue, passion, and romance. Can Lydia and Edward overcome their stubbornness and find their HEA? You must read MEET THE EARL AT MIDNIGHT, you will not be disappointed. Wickedly delicious! Received for an honest review.
RATING: 4.5
HEAT RATING: MILD
REVIEWED BY: AprilR, courtesy of My Book Addiction and More ( )

...surprising!

'If a woman's old enough to wear a corset, she's old enough to know midnight meeting's spell trouble.'
Well that opening salvo certainly grabbed my attention.
Bargained off to meet her stepfather's debts and to keep her mother safe, Lydia Montgomery decides to meet Lord Sandford, the Earl of Greenwich's demands, with her own strings attached!
Edward's passion is for uncovering the secrets of exotic plants. He has decided to set his things in order, get himself a wife and heir, before sailing off, maybe never to return, on a scientific expedition to collect plant samples from the Africa's.
As he is a recluse, badly scarred from an encounter with pirates on a previous voyage, this seems the way to proceed.
In fact he has some interesting observations attached to him by society. There's elusive, eccentric, The Phantom of London, mad, diseased, and The Greenwich Recluse to name a few. The way he has decided to solve his problem certainly fits with some of the monikers.
Both Lydia and Edward, Lord Edward Christopher James Sandford, ninth Earl of Greenwich, that is, are fascinating characters.
Lydia has more than a talent for painting. This talent helps her to enter into her Earl's heart and will later set them at odds with each other.
Edward's mother, the countess, is a piece of work. She is appalled that her son is marrying a commoner! The early interplay between her and Lydia is amusing and difficult, yet she and Lydia form an uneasy alliance in an attempt to keep the Earl at home.
Then there's the mysterious housekeeper, the beautiful Miss Mayhew. I don't feel that the mystery of her is ever resolved. Occasionally, the mysterious Miss Mayhew had me feeling like I'd wandered into the pages of Wuthering Heights, or some other gothic novel.
The middle dragged a tad, as Lydia struggled to be true to herself, but the resolution of the struggle between Lydia and the Earl was handled in an interesting manner with some surprising outcomes.
This beauty and the beast story has some interesting depths and special moments.

A NetGalley ARC ( )

This was definitely a different take on historical romance genre that I grew up reading, which is a good thing, don't get me wrong. It has a scarred earl, who happens to be a brilliant scientist, and a girl who is a commoner and fancies herself an artist. Sure there's the nobleman who takes the daughter to marry instead of turning her family over to debtor's prison, the unapproving mother, the need of an heir, those things are pretty typical, but this book takes place away from London society and has one sex scene in it. I'm use to reading those old painted cover books where the two MCs are usually all hot and heavy by page 100. This was more a slow lead up to their night of passion. Maybe that's why I'm kinda conflicted on whether or not I really liked this book. I'm guessing the next book will be about Claire, the housekeeper/close friend, since she left abruptly in the middle of the book. I'm more interested in Jonas though (I like a mysterious man). Will probably read the next book just to see where it goes.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. ( )