The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

No. of pages: 333
Rating: 7/10
Series: Tudor Historical Romance (Book 1)

Synopsis: It's 1582 and eighteen-year-old Will Lacey's family is in trouble. After years of wasteful spending, his late father has run Lacey Hall to near ruin. ...more It's 1582 and eighteen-year-old Will Lacey's family is in trouble. After years of wasteful spending, his late father has run Lacey Hall to near ruin. Tasked with marrying his family back into fortune, the new Earl of Dorset is all set for a season at court to woo not just the Queen but potential brides with his jousting skills. But when Ellie – a strong-willed girl with nothing to her name but a worthless Spanish title – catches Will's eye, he faces a bigger battle than he could ever have anticipated.

Review: Will Lacey's father drove the family to the brink of poverty before his death, so now it lies upon Will's shoulders to bring his family back to wealth by marrying a rich lady. So Will goes to the Queen's court, where he sets about trying to find a wife, but there he bumps into Ellie, a gorgeous witty girl that he's instantly attracted to. But Ellie has nothing but her title, being that her father has spent every penny of their fortune, so it's impossible for them to be together, isn't it...?

Historical fiction is not a genre I tend to read that often as I'm not a huge fan of the 'olden days' way of talking. So that coupled with a slow beginning of The Other Countess meant it took me a little while to get into the book, but once it got past the Queen and court section, I was pretty much gripped by the story of Will and Ellie. They were both great characters to read, and I was rooting for them all along, even though I also loved Jane, and was kind of torn about who I wanted Will to end up with. The story flicks between the perspectives of Will, Ellie and Jane, so you get to see all different levels of living within that time which I found really interesting, and I thought it was all so fantastically written. I'm really looking forward to the second book in the series The Queen's Lady, which will be about Jane, so I will definitely be picking a copy up! Definitely recommended to fans of period books, or just a good old romance story.