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Who's That Earl
(Love and Let Spy #1)
by
From rising star Susanna Craig comes a fresh new series filled with high-stakes intrigue and thrilling historical romance that is perfect for readers looking for a fun new twist on their favorite love stories…
Will scandalous secrets stand in the way of a second chance at love?
Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentlema ...more
Will scandalous secrets stand in the way of a second chance at love?
Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentlema ...more
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Kindle Edition, 384 pages
Published
August 18th 2020
by Lyrical Press
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WHO’S THAT EARL by Susanna Craig is the first book in the Love and Let Spy historical romance series and the first book that I have read by this author. The story is largely set in Scotland. At seventeen, Jane Quayle met a young British army officer, Thomas Sutherland and had a short romance. However, he was called away to duty and she was soon cast out of her family home by her parents. Seven years have now passed and they happen to meet again.
Susanna and Thomas were both characters that you co ...more
Susanna and Thomas were both characters that you co ...more

STRONG FEMALE LEAD IN A PLOT-LESS WISHY WASHY HISTORICAL ROMANCE
When I read Historical Romance I like a bit of heartfelt (maybe even sizzling) romance. I also like a plot that goes beyond the romance and maybe has some drama, mystery or horror. And I like strong female characters who stand up for themselves. With this book I got only one of those things...
👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍
Jane: Our female lead Jane is a selfmade woman - she is a published author, writing under a male pseudonym. She writes horror ...more
When I read Historical Romance I like a bit of heartfelt (maybe even sizzling) romance. I also like a plot that goes beyond the romance and maybe has some drama, mystery or horror. And I like strong female characters who stand up for themselves. With this book I got only one of those things...
👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍
Jane: Our female lead Jane is a selfmade woman - she is a published author, writing under a male pseudonym. She writes horror ...more

3.5 stars-- There's a lot of elements in this book I really enjoyed! The characters & their banter were great. I loved the snippets of the gothic novel (honestly could have done with more of that), and I loved the rugged Scottish castle setting! Overall, I think this book would have benefitted from having a stronger mystery element in the plotting, because I thought that pacing and plot were the weakest points of the story. Still, this was quite a charming historical, and it felt like something
...more

Series: Love and Let Spy #1
Publication Date: 8/18/20
Number of Pages: 384
*** 3.5 Stars Rounded Up ***
This second-chance romance was a fun read. It has a little bit of everything – snippets from a gothic novel, a mystery, a villain, a crumbling castle, and two really cute spaniels. I really liked both lead characters – and – of course, I loved the epilogue.
At seventeen Miss Jane Quayle met a handsome young military officer, Thomas Sutherland. They spent the following weeks keeping as much company ...more
Publication Date: 8/18/20
Number of Pages: 384
*** 3.5 Stars Rounded Up ***
This second-chance romance was a fun read. It has a little bit of everything – snippets from a gothic novel, a mystery, a villain, a crumbling castle, and two really cute spaniels. I really liked both lead characters – and – of course, I loved the epilogue.
At seventeen Miss Jane Quayle met a handsome young military officer, Thomas Sutherland. They spent the following weeks keeping as much company ...more

Who's That Earl is a historical romantic suspense (more romance than suspense) with an independent, plus-size heroine and a hero reluctant to become an earl with a career in military intelligence. I had such a good time with this one and I'm excited to read more from the author!
Jayne Quayle is secretly the author of pulpy novels, written under a male nome de plume. She is renting a castle in the remote Scottish Highlands as she pens her very successful novels and hides her identity by pretendin ...more
Jayne Quayle is secretly the author of pulpy novels, written under a male nome de plume. She is renting a castle in the remote Scottish Highlands as she pens her very successful novels and hides her identity by pretendin ...more

'Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, first by assuming a pen name, and second, by taking up residence at remote Dunnock Castle, surrounded by rugged scenery that might have been ripped from the pages of one of her books. Her true identity remains a secret, until one dark and stormy night...
After y ...more
After y ...more

Sep 08, 2020
Victoria (Eve's Alexandria)
added it
I'm afraid this didn't work for me and I DNF'd at 18%, for a combination of reasons.
Alarm bells rang right at the start when we meet the hero on the island of Dominica in the West Indies, where he has been stationed for some years as a British intelligence officer. We're not told exactly when the book is set, but references to Napoleon would suggest it's between 1804 and 1815. At that time Dominica was a British colony (established 1805), and was an important staging point for the 'triangular t ...more
Alarm bells rang right at the start when we meet the hero on the island of Dominica in the West Indies, where he has been stationed for some years as a British intelligence officer. We're not told exactly when the book is set, but references to Napoleon would suggest it's between 1804 and 1815. At that time Dominica was a British colony (established 1805), and was an important staging point for the 'triangular t ...more

4.5 stars rounded up.
After being stationed on the island of Dominica for seven long, lonely years, Lt. Thomas Sutherland is finally going back to England. He returns and briefly considers looking up the girl he fell in love with just before he left, the girl he didn’t get to say goodbye to, but never forgot, but then convinces himself that she is no longer his Miss Quayle and that the past is best forgotten. He reports to his commanding officer, General Zebadiah Scott and learns that he has inhe ...more
After being stationed on the island of Dominica for seven long, lonely years, Lt. Thomas Sutherland is finally going back to England. He returns and briefly considers looking up the girl he fell in love with just before he left, the girl he didn’t get to say goodbye to, but never forgot, but then convinces himself that she is no longer his Miss Quayle and that the past is best forgotten. He reports to his commanding officer, General Zebadiah Scott and learns that he has inhe ...more

(2.5 stars) I've read several but not all of Susanna Craig's HRs since her first one was released maybe five years ago. One of them, from 2018, I even gave five stars to, but most fall into the 3-star category. Craig actually writes well and has relatively good starts to her books, but she doesn't have adequate follow-through. By the halfway point, most of her plots and romantic relationships fall into trope traps and can't get themselves out. This one is no exception.
I saw this book when it was ...more
I saw this book when it was ...more

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.
Seven years ago, Jane Quayle and Thomas Sutherland met and fell in love. Fate intervened and they were both separated but hadn't stopped thinking of each other. Now in very different places, they could never expect to meet again, but in the remote Scottish Highlands, at Dunnock Castle, they do. Jane has reinvented herself as the widowed Mrs Higginbotham, and secretary for the allusive Robin Rat ...more
Seven years ago, Jane Quayle and Thomas Sutherland met and fell in love. Fate intervened and they were both separated but hadn't stopped thinking of each other. Now in very different places, they could never expect to meet again, but in the remote Scottish Highlands, at Dunnock Castle, they do. Jane has reinvented herself as the widowed Mrs Higginbotham, and secretary for the allusive Robin Rat ...more

Who's That Earl: An Exciting & Witty Regency Love Story
Love and Let Spy Series #1
Susanna Craig
https://www.facebook.com/susannacraig...
Release date 08/18/2020
Publisher Kensington Lyrica
Blurb :
Will scandalous secrets stand in the way of a second chance at love?
Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, ...more
Love and Let Spy Series #1
Susanna Craig
https://www.facebook.com/susannacraig...
Release date 08/18/2020
Publisher Kensington Lyrica
Blurb :
Will scandalous secrets stand in the way of a second chance at love?
Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, ...more

I really enjoyed this book, it was so well-paced, the characters were interesting and the story itself was interesting.
Jane is a single woman pretending to be a widow because that is the only way she can live her life in seclusion peacefully. One thing people don't know about her other than she is single is that she writes lurid gothic novels. And by that I mean she writes dirty books, basically books that people have sex. Then we have Thomas Sutherland who is a spy for the British army and he j ...more
Jane is a single woman pretending to be a widow because that is the only way she can live her life in seclusion peacefully. One thing people don't know about her other than she is single is that she writes lurid gothic novels. And by that I mean she writes dirty books, basically books that people have sex. Then we have Thomas Sutherland who is a spy for the British army and he j ...more

I enjoy clean romances, or books with very little sex. I am not familiar with the author but the summary and the presentation of the book seemed to be something that was up my alley. Gothic writer ; threat of harm ; male who was once a spy (?) ; location ... I can go on.
Unfortunately, this book did deliver everything that I hoped it would. It fell short in what I find the biggest things -
- character development and plot
You are immediately introduced to our male. He seems to be someone who is s ...more
Unfortunately, this book did deliver everything that I hoped it would. It fell short in what I find the biggest things -
- character development and plot
You are immediately introduced to our male. He seems to be someone who is s ...more

They both had something to hide, and those secrets could jeopardize their last chance of happiness.
Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig is a lovely historical romance featuring a well-curved and independent heroine, and a lieutenant recently returned from the West Indies.
Jane Quayle once knew Lieutenant Thomas Sutherland, or thought she knew him. They had a strong connection, but the timing was all wrong, and they did not see one another for years.
They met again, but they were not who they used t ...more
Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig is a lovely historical romance featuring a well-curved and independent heroine, and a lieutenant recently returned from the West Indies.
Jane Quayle once knew Lieutenant Thomas Sutherland, or thought she knew him. They had a strong connection, but the timing was all wrong, and they did not see one another for years.
They met again, but they were not who they used t ...more

Who's That Earl by Susanna Craig
Love and Let Spy #1
Jane has been leasing a remote castle, as the current Earl has been content to let it sit empty. She's really a novelist but is posing as “his” amanuensis (NOT his secretary) so she won't face the problems of being a woman and trying to get her work published. It also provides her a measure of safety, being a woman alone.
Thomas has been spying for British army for years but is pulled back to Scotland through a matter of Scottish inheritance. Th ...more
Love and Let Spy #1
Jane has been leasing a remote castle, as the current Earl has been content to let it sit empty. She's really a novelist but is posing as “his” amanuensis (NOT his secretary) so she won't face the problems of being a woman and trying to get her work published. It also provides her a measure of safety, being a woman alone.
Thomas has been spying for British army for years but is pulled back to Scotland through a matter of Scottish inheritance. Th ...more

My goodness, this one caught me by surprise! I was immediately entranced by the descriptive writing here. And the main characters were both enormously likeable.
Jane is a famous writer of scandalous Gothic novels, secretly published under a pen name, and she has made a home in a rented Scottish castle for six years. Thomas, an army spy stationed in the West Indies, receives news that he has surprisingly inherited said castle and returns to Scotland to find it's occupied by his long lost love, Jan ...more
Jane is a famous writer of scandalous Gothic novels, secretly published under a pen name, and she has made a home in a rented Scottish castle for six years. Thomas, an army spy stationed in the West Indies, receives news that he has surprisingly inherited said castle and returns to Scotland to find it's occupied by his long lost love, Jan ...more

***3.5 stars***
I enjoyed this book and found it well written, amusing and sweet at the same time ... however, plot seemed a bit slow, dragged in a few places. Overall, a good summer read for a light historical romance.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for an opportunity to receive this arc in exchange of an honest review.
I enjoyed this book and found it well written, amusing and sweet at the same time ... however, plot seemed a bit slow, dragged in a few places. Overall, a good summer read for a light historical romance.
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for an opportunity to receive this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Wow! This book is entertaining, romantic, witty, fun, quite steamy at times, and so much more! There are also many gothic romance elements to the book as well! Whenever I picked up "Who's That Earl", I was whisked back in time, and truly went on an amazing journey with these characters.
This is the first book in Susanna Craig's "Love and Let Spy" series, and I hope there are many more! She truly knows how to bring the world and atmosphere of her novel to life, and her characters jump right off of ...more
This is the first book in Susanna Craig's "Love and Let Spy" series, and I hope there are many more! She truly knows how to bring the world and atmosphere of her novel to life, and her characters jump right off of ...more

Reviewed for
Wit and Sin
Susanna Craig starts her Love and Let Spy series on a high note. Who’s That Earl is a lot of fun to read and Jane and Thomas were easy characters to root for.
After being cast out by her family, Jane has become a famous and wealthy author of gothic novels. Only she writes under a pen name Robin Ratliff and rents a remote Scottish castle, all the better to protect her true identity. That doesn’t stop danger from appearing on her doorstep in the form of threats from ...more
Susanna Craig starts her Love and Let Spy series on a high note. Who’s That Earl is a lot of fun to read and Jane and Thomas were easy characters to root for.
After being cast out by her family, Jane has become a famous and wealthy author of gothic novels. Only she writes under a pen name Robin Ratliff and rents a remote Scottish castle, all the better to protect her true identity. That doesn’t stop danger from appearing on her doorstep in the form of threats from ...more

Great new Regency spy romance series!
Now this is something different! An unlikely combination but it works. A lady writer of scandalous gothic novels, a government intelligence officer and a castle in the Scottish highlands hiding secrets.
When Lieutenant Thomas Sutherland comes back to England after seven years in Jamaica he doesn't expect his spy master, General Zebadiah Scott, to send him off to check out an inheritance that seems to have come his way. That inheritance is a title, castle and l ...more
Now this is something different! An unlikely combination but it works. A lady writer of scandalous gothic novels, a government intelligence officer and a castle in the Scottish highlands hiding secrets.
When Lieutenant Thomas Sutherland comes back to England after seven years in Jamaica he doesn't expect his spy master, General Zebadiah Scott, to send him off to check out an inheritance that seems to have come his way. That inheritance is a title, castle and l ...more

Miss Jane Quayle is living her life under 2 aliases: Robin Ratliff, the famous gothic novelist and Mrs. Higginbottom, the authors’ amanuensis. While working in her leased Scottish castle, it appears her ruse is going well... that is until her lost love from 7 years ago, Lieutenant Thomas Sutherland shows up to investigate the threatening letters recently received by Robin Ratliff.
I loved a good second chance romance! It was fun watching both these characters uncover each other’s secrets and re-k ...more
I loved a good second chance romance! It was fun watching both these characters uncover each other’s secrets and re-k ...more

Who's That Earl by Susanna Craig is a historical second chance romance with a very small touch of mystery.
Ms. Craig's descriptive provided a vivid backdrop of Dunnock Castle and the Scottish highlands for this story. However, I found the mystery to be easily solved as I knew who it was just based on a character description early in the book. Jane and Thomas's relationship seemed to be based more on their past rather than their current knowledge of each other. Ms. Craig did develop them well at t ...more
Ms. Craig's descriptive provided a vivid backdrop of Dunnock Castle and the Scottish highlands for this story. However, I found the mystery to be easily solved as I knew who it was just based on a character description early in the book. Jane and Thomas's relationship seemed to be based more on their past rather than their current knowledge of each other. Ms. Craig did develop them well at t ...more

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This was a fun second chance love story. I thought that the mystery would be the focus of this story, and it was lighter than I normally like. However, I loved Jane and Thomas. She was a strong woman who built a life (and a successful career) for herself in a society that frowned upon independence in a woman. Thomas was charming and the kind of man any woman would want by her side. The characters made the story for me.
This was a fun second chance love story. I thought that the mystery would be the focus of this story, and it was lighter than I normally like. However, I loved Jane and Thomas. She was a strong woman who built a life (and a successful career) for herself in a society that frowned upon independence in a woman. Thomas was charming and the kind of man any woman would want by her side. The characters made the story for me.

This story was a total delight! It's my first by this author, and I enjoyed it so much!
Miss Jane Quayle, having been forced to leave home at 17 with barely a penny to her name, has created a whole new identity for herself. Well, 2 identities actually! She's now Mrs. Higginbotham, a young widow, and secretary to the famously scandalous Gothic novelist, Robin Ratliff. But, she's actually the author too! She rents an old castle in the Scottish Highlands, and keeps to herself, in order to keep herse ...more
Miss Jane Quayle, having been forced to leave home at 17 with barely a penny to her name, has created a whole new identity for herself. Well, 2 identities actually! She's now Mrs. Higginbotham, a young widow, and secretary to the famously scandalous Gothic novelist, Robin Ratliff. But, she's actually the author too! She rents an old castle in the Scottish Highlands, and keeps to herself, in order to keep herse ...more

Forgot to add to my NetGalley review, but TW/CW that I can remember: Bad parental relationships, Being kicked out of a parent's house, bodily injury
Second chance romance, a Gothic novel writer, a former soldier/spy turned Earl, a crumbly castle, and two adorable spaniels. If any (or all) of these things interest you, definitely pick up Who’s That Earl. Our heroine, Jane, is a quick-witted, creative, strong woman who happens to write scandalous Gothic tales under a pen name while renting out a cr ...more
Second chance romance, a Gothic novel writer, a former soldier/spy turned Earl, a crumbly castle, and two adorable spaniels. If any (or all) of these things interest you, definitely pick up Who’s That Earl. Our heroine, Jane, is a quick-witted, creative, strong woman who happens to write scandalous Gothic tales under a pen name while renting out a cr ...more

Seven years ago Jane and Thomas met and fell for each other, but circumstance had them parting expecting to never see the other again....
Jane is now an accomplished writer secretly working away under the pen name the suggests she’s a man. Nobody knows that there is no Robin Ratliff and Jane is all too bad to play the part of his secretary so that no one is the wiser. She’s found herself a home leasing a castle in Scotland where she’s been living and working in peace until she finds that the earl ...more
Jane is now an accomplished writer secretly working away under the pen name the suggests she’s a man. Nobody knows that there is no Robin Ratliff and Jane is all too bad to play the part of his secretary so that no one is the wiser. She’s found herself a home leasing a castle in Scotland where she’s been living and working in peace until she finds that the earl ...more

I had such high hopes for this book. The premise for this particular historical romance was dazzling. A woman author who has to hide behind a male pseudonym, rusticating away in a Scottish castle, content with life until a dark and handsome stranger arrives at her door. Only he might not be as unknown to her as she thought.
'"I ken you're remembering what happened the last time I had you out for a stroll?"
"Certainly not." The pink in her cheeks deepened.
"Nay?" In the intervening years, he ought t ...more
'"I ken you're remembering what happened the last time I had you out for a stroll?"
"Certainly not." The pink in her cheeks deepened.
"Nay?" In the intervening years, he ought t ...more

DNF 61%
The cover is an attention grabber, a bit different pose than a typical historical. The blurb sounded really good, but its not the story it made out to be. Thomas and Jane unfortunately didn't have the chemistry I thought they would have. This book lost my attention and I read more than I probably should have.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ...more
The cover is an attention grabber, a bit different pose than a typical historical. The blurb sounded really good, but its not the story it made out to be. Thomas and Jane unfortunately didn't have the chemistry I thought they would have. This book lost my attention and I read more than I probably should have.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ...more

Aug 10, 2020
Jen Ryland
added it
I loved the premise of this one. Jane is a George Eliot-style writer who is using a man's pen name and renting a castle on a remote Scottish estate as a place to hide out and write her lurid Gothic thrillers. She's pretending that she is a widow who serves as the secretary and transcriber of this elusive (and imaginary) male author. Then Thomas, who has been spying for the British, becomes the heir of the estate and returns there to take it over.
Jane and Thomas had met before and shared a brief ...more
Jane and Thomas had met before and shared a brief ...more
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Almost as soon as she could hold a pencil, Susanna Craig began writing stories. Today, she pens award-winning Regency-era romance novels that blend history and heart with a dash of heat. An English professor, wife, and mom, she’s currently finding her happily ever after in Kentucky while holding onto her Midwestern roots. Find her online at http://www.susannacraig.com.
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