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The Housekeeper's Forbidden Earl

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Coming soon! The Housekeeper's Forbidden Earl by Laura Martin will be available Apr 25, 2023.

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2023

3 people are currently reading
20 people want to read

About the author

Laura Martin

127 books31 followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Laura Martin was born and bred on the South Coast of England into a family of two loving parents and a spirited older sister. Books were a feature of her life from early on. One of her earliest memories involves sitting with the family on a rainy Sunday afternoon, listening to the exploits of a clumsy but lovable stuffed bear and his assorted cuddly friends. Laura's first ambition was to be a doctor, and in 2006 she went off to Guy's, King's and St Thomas's Medical School in London to study medicine. It was whilst she was earning her degree that she discovered her love of writing. In between ward rounds and lectures Laura would scribble down ideas to work on later that evening and dream of being an author. In 2012 Laura married her high school sweetheart, and together they settled down in Cambridgeshire. It was around this time that Laura started focussing on the Romance genre, and found what she had always suspected to be true: she was a romantic at heart. Laura now spends her time writing Historical Romances when not working as a doctor. In her spare moments Laura loves to lose herself in a book, and has been known to read from cover to cover in a day when the story is particularly gripping. She also loves to travel with her husband, especially enjoying visiting historical sites and far-flung shores.

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Susan.
142 reviews8 followers
April 19, 2023
For six months now, Kate Winters has peacefully worked as an absent Earl's housekeeper at his Crosthwaite estate. The Earl is away in Italy after the tragic death of his second wife in childbirth. But, the Earl has come back in order to sell all his English properties, including the one Kate has found so much peace in after the betrayal she experienced back home.

When the Earl, George Henderson arrives back home, it's to find that he has a new housekeeper and the elderly couple who used to take care of his house have left. He then requests Kate's aid in finding the old deed to the estate so he can put it up for sale. Kate finds the deed and holds it for a short while in the hope that she can persuade the Earl to reconsider selling the estate she has come to love so dearly.

During the course of their time together, Kate and George fall in love, but George has no intention of marrying again, or having another baby on the way. He instead proposes a compromise which Kate refuses. She has no intention of being used by another man.

Can Kate and George come to a real understanding? Will George get over his fears and envision a happier future?

Profile Image for Wowsmeows.
112 reviews
March 29, 2025
"These little things made her remember she was only a small piece of the world, and her worries and woes did not stop the flowers from blooming and the trees from blossoming."


The story follows Kate, a young woman who is escaping her past and trying to forge a new life for herself as housekeeper in a grand house. However, the Earl of house soon returns and is determined to sell up...

I think this is possibly the first historical romance I have read and I really enjoyed it. I definitely want to read more of this genre in the future, especially by this author. It was a sweet and well written story with a lovely slow-burn romance.
Profile Image for Mel.
248 reviews5 followers
Read
October 7, 2023
2⭐️ unromantic and boring.
Profile Image for Lisa.
51 reviews3 followers
December 20, 2024
This was my first Harlequin. Definitely not as racy as I was brought up to believe. I would say it was a slow burn cosy romance. It was cute. Just right for breaking my reading slump.
Profile Image for Katy Booklover.
748 reviews4 followers
July 15, 2023
Adoro Laura Martin, è una tra le mie autrici di romanzi storici preferite e ogni suo libro riesce sempre a regalarmi buon umore e Agli ordini del conte non mi ha delusa, anzi. La storia di George e Kate mi è piaciuta molto, entrambi sono interessanti e insieme formano una bellissima coppia. La loro non è una storia scontata, così come non lo è il loro passato. Penso che l’autrice sia stata molto abile a caratterizzarli entrambi.
Il personaggio di Kate mi è piaciuto tanto, cresciuta seguendo le rigide regole del ton è consapevole che le scelte del passato le hanno rovinato la reputazione, ma il suo amore proprio non le permettono di piegarsi alla volontà del padre e decide di conquistarsi da sola la propria indipendenza. Kate ha un carattere molto dolce, calmo e resiliente, ho adorato il suo modo di affrontare le sfide e la tranquillità con cui cerca di aiutare George ad abbandonare il proprio dolore.
George è un bellissimo personaggio, anche se all’apparenza sembra avere un carattere scontroso e burbero, dimostrerà ben presto di possedere un cuore generoso e giusto.

La storia d’amore tra George e Kate non brucia le tappe, anzi il loro rapporto cresce giorno dopo giorno e anche grazie ad alcune disavventure. Il passato di George, tuttavia, non gli permette di guardare al futuro con serenità e rischia di compromettere anche il suo rapporto con Kate.
La narrazione è in terza persona ma il Pov è comunque alterno e questo particolare aiuta il lettore a entrare in contatto con i personaggi principali e a capire a fondo i sentimenti e pensieri. Quello che ho notato è una crescita emotiva importante sia per George sia per Kate. Entrambi hanno dei demoni personali da combattere e cercheranno di farlo con tutte le loro forze. La trama è interessante e ho apprezzato molto la sua evoluzione e il ritmo con cui questa si snoda tra i vari capitoli. Anche l’ambientazione mi è piaciuta, l’autrice è riuscita a descriverla con grande attenzione e mi sembrava quasi di essere tra le mura di Crosthwaite House e di poter immergere i piedi nel lago che si trova davanti alla tenuta.
Un altro aspetto che mi è piaciuto è stata l’abilità dell’autrice di descrivere i pensieri dei protagonisti ma senza farli diventare troppo pesanti o ridondanti. I dialoghi tra i due personaggi principali sono tanti e molto interessanti, rivelano molto di essi e dei rispettivi sentimenti. Questo non è il primo libro di Laura Martin che leggo ed ero abbastanza sicura che anche questa storia avrebbe incontrato il mio gusto e così è stato. La storia d’amore tra George e Kate è molto dolce e intensa allo stesso tempo. Magari non accadano tanti avvenimenti ma per me è stato impossibile non restare affascinata dalle dinamiche e dal tipo di relazione che i personaggi intrecciano tra loro.

Recensione completa: https://virtualkaty.blogspot.com/2023...
Profile Image for Ashlyn.
25 reviews1 follower
March 24, 2024
Not as angsty as I was expecting, but this is my first HR. I found Lord Henderson incredibly selfish when it came to Kate’s reputation. He never quite redeemed himself for me after that, but overall an average romance.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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