Such a sweet romance. I really enjoyed Lizbeth’s character. And I really enjoyed Sebastian’s backstory it was well developed and what a great ending!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review ( )

While fiercely independent Lizbeth Trethow is moving steadily towards spinsterhood, she is totally unprepared for what happened when she meets traumatized recluse Sebastian, Earl of Roddam. Inspite of herself she is drawn to him and helps him deal with his past.

The Earl and The Enchantress (The Enchantresses #1) by Paullett Golden is set in London and Northumberland 1790, and is the first installment in The Enchantress Series of 4 books. The story is about Lizbeth Trethow who wants to avoid being trapped in a marriage of convenience. She is very surprised to find a kindred spirit in Sebastian Earl of Roddam. He has no interest in getting married because he tries to hide traumatic experiences in his past.

Main character Lizbeth, Liz, Trethow is the bookish and self-proclaimed spinster material that refuses to be told what to do by a man. It’s nice to see she goes through a positive character development throughout the story as she takes some of Sebastian’s values to heart. She seems a strong and well rounded lead character who carries the story well.

Supporting character Sebastian, Earl of Roddam is the slightly paranoid recluse who is being weighed down by traumatic events of his past. I felt sorry for him and think he might have needed professional help and therapy if such health care system had been available at the time. I found him to be a realistic character whose life experiences provided food for thought.

The Earl and The Enchantress is set in the opulent life of titled families in London in late 1700s. In The Earl and The Enchantress Liz takes enormous risks to her own and her entire family’s reputation. I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed environments and lifestyle descriptions of their extreme opulence. Plenty of room was given to fascinating descriptions of interiors. It felt like a pretend trip to a museum.

The Earl and The Enchantress (The Enchantresses #1) by Paullett Golden was not what I expected at all. The plot was different in that it had a mix of historical romance and mystery which I found new and interesting. The mystery part was enjoyable and entertaining and was my favorite part of the story. The progress of the plot was unusual as the romance part seemed to get resolved earlier than I expected for a historical romance, while the mystery part got room to develop in the second half.

I am a reader who prefers Sweet/Clean Romance historical fiction. As this story contains some rather graphic scenes, these parts were my least favorite.

Anyone who enjoys romance stories with a mystery element would enjoy The Earl and The Enchantress (The Enchantresses #1) by Paullett Golden. Fans of Paulett Golden would love The Earl and The Enchantress it too. Other authors to explore might be Erica Ridley or Tracy Sumner.

Thank you to author Paullett Golden and Book Sirens for this eARC which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

My rating:
3 start / 5
Main reasons: Good plot, mystery part, good writing ( )

The Earl and the Enchantress is a great romance! Both Sebastian and Lizbeth are well thought out and complex characters and I enjoyed uncovering their secrets.

Lisbeth and Sebastian meet the night of a ball in the library. They were both hiding from tradition of meeting your spouse. They found each other enchanting from the start. This is a great and entertaining love story. It kept my attention and the author wrote amazing detail. I could picture the castles and the characters. I also like the mystery in the book. Sebastian has a secret and it follows throughout the book. ( )

I received a review copy of The Earl and the Enchantress through Member Giveaway on LibraryThing. The following is my unbiased, honest review.
I enjoyed reading this story featuring Lizbeth and Sebastian. The two meet in a library during a ball and despite a tense initial interaction, they bond over their mutual distaste for marriage and love of books.
The banter between Lizbeth and Sebastian was wonderfully written. I found myself smiling as they teased and joked. I enjoyed Lizbeth. I love how she sticks to her belief that communication is key in all relationships. I don’t blame her for being wary of marriage, though I was surprised that she dropped her convictions and couldn’t be without him so quickly. There were a healthy couple chapters towards the end where she drove me insane though, especially when disregarding a specific requests and then defending herself by deliberately twisting the person’s words. Also, if you seek out advice from someone you don’t get to discount it and say “Oh well she doesn’t know anything, do you see how messed up her marriage is?” You sought her out, you nincompoop! You were very aware of what that person is like. And guess what? It ends up being the best advice for your situation!
There were big portions of the book where I could not stand Sebastian and as a result my reading significantly slowed down. I understand he was written to be a man with a dark past that has scarred him and shaped the way he views the world and others but his waffling and “executive decisions” drove me insane. Good ol’ Bassie’s “Oh I have this dark past and no one will understand me or it but oh lordy I can’t live without my book loving enchantress! But wait she will come to hate and leave me too so it’s for the best that I ignore her and brood like a child rather than communicate like she has requested so many times.” Don’t get me wrong, there were times when Sebastian redeemed himself acted like a confident, charismatic suitor rather than a whiney, tortured lad and in these moments I enjoyed his character. I think if some of his agonizing could have been cut from the story and I would have had an easier time sticking with our couple.
The smutty scenes were filled with interesting imagery. Lots of sea references complete with an overabundance of waves. After the first one, they were too repetitive and lengthy for my tastes.
Aunt Hazel was a saving grace, distracting me from the violent thoughts I entertained about our brooding hero. I thought Aunt Hazel would be a typical marriage hunting, stern matron after the first chapter but she quickly became my favorite character after Charlotte gets married off. Least favorite? Probably Charlotte. I have little patience for vain characters that show no personal growth throughout the book. I know she wasn’t a main character and will get her own book so I can’t really gripe too much.
I saw that Charlotte gets the next book. I wish it was a different character, which I can’t introduce without spoilers, but alas I will have to wait for that one. Also, I feel like Aunt Hazel needs a novella so I can enjoy her not so subtle matchmaking again. ( )