ABOUT THE BOOK

His heart is a fortress… And she’s trespassing!
After losing all he holds dear in a horrific fire, Max Aldersley, Earl of Rivenhall, shuns the world—until he catches Effie Nithercott digging holes on his estate! He banishes the intrepid archaeologist and the unsettled feelings she rouses within him. But she returns even more determined and infuriatingly desirable than before! He wonders just how deep she’s prepared to dig—so far she’ll reach the man beneath his scars?

MY REVIEW

Happy Publication Day to Ms. Virginia Heath for her wonderfully charming and funny Regency romance Redeeming the Reclusive Earl.  This is my fifth Virginia Heath book and I have to say it is one of my favorites. She truly knows how to combine interesting historical facts with superb characters and wildly hilarious situations with witty banter.

Maxmillian Aldersley, Earl of Rivenhall, prefers his privacy due to both his internal and external scars from a horrific and sorrowful past. The last thing he wants to do is deal with his odd spinster neighbor, Ms. Euphemia “Effie” Nithercott, who prefers digging in the mud for ancient artifacts on his land rather than doing whatever else normal women do. She was the bane of his existence. He just wants to wallow in his grief and self-pity. However, this incredibly intelligent, blunt, exasperating, spirited, and beguiling anomaly of a woman makes him feel off-kilter. 

Effie Nithercott deserves to be honored in the field of archaeology, but The Society of Antiquaries of London refuses to even read her papers because she is a woman. A very intelligent woman who can recite anything she reads and intimidates every man who shows an interest in her. So at the ripe old age of 29, Effie resigns herself to live alone in her home, Hill House, with no relatives to speak of and hunting for artifacts in her neighbor’s land, to his chagrin. Her neighbor is Lord Rivenhall, a rude and brooding man who is contradicting at best. One minute he is telling her to stay away, and the next he is helping her dig holes at the site. Why doesn’t she loathe this man? She enjoys his company, and he doesn’t mind all of her questions. He only wants to be friends, but she wants something more.

I absolutely love Effie’s forthrightness and bluntness which is what Max needs to get out of his moods and self-pity. Her quirks are such a sweet part of her including being so consumed with a task she forgets small things such as putting on two different colored earrings or wearing two different types of boots. And Max’s hilarious nicknames for Effie are contagious. They begin as insults (Miss Nodcock and Miss Nincompoop) and become playful (Miss Nosy and Miss No-common-sense-whatsoever). 

The enemies-to-lovers plot is one of my favorites and Ms. Heath does it so well with her extraordinary way of grabbing this reader from the beginning and finishing the book at 2 in the morning.  You will laugh, cry, and cheer for these two lonely people who choose to love each other for just who they are.  Recommend highly!

Thank you to Ms. Heath for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When Virginia Heath was a little girl it took her ages to fall asleep, so she made up stories in her head to help pass the time while she was staring at the ceiling. As she got older, the stories became more complicated, sometimes taking weeks to get to the happy ending. Then one day, she decided to embrace the insomnia and start writing them down. Despite that, it still takes her forever to fall asleep.

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