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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