MystGrrl Reviews

The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Based in England in 1582 this is story of Lady Eleanor "Ellie" Rodriguez of San Jaime. Thanks to her "Alchemist" father's endless pursuit of turning base metal into gold, all Ellie has is a worthless title and herself to offer in marriage. As the daughter of a failed Alchemist and a Spaniard mother, her chances of making a match, let alone a good match, are slim to none.

As her feisty spirit captivates the elite in Queen Elizabeth's Court, she finds unlikely friends in unexpected places but among the courtiers there are some that despise her father for the trail of financial ruin that he leaves in his wake. One of which is the Earl of Dorset, William Lacey. Ellie's father financially ruined the Lacey Estate when William's father caught the "gold" fever. Now it is up to William to make a good match at Court and restore the family fortune.

But his eye has been caught by a beautiful yet elusive countess at court. Unknownst to him that same mysterious countess is the same beggar brat daughter of Sir Arthur Hutton that he had banished from his lands after his father's death years before. If William discovers the truth it will be the beginning of Ellie's downfall and William will find more than one dilemma on his hands as he questions his motives and beliefs.

Although it was an ok read the story seemed one massive cliche and you get the feeling that it all has been done before. I got the feeling that maybe, with a few twicks here and there the story would have better suited as an adult romance novel but ended up as romance "light" for a younger reading auidience.

The synopsis was intriguing and was what had originally sucked me in but the story was somewhat of a let down as you could pretty much tell how things were going to work out and what was going to happen as it happened. Ellie goes through trial after trial because her father's misguided pursuits and self centered nature, which after a while does get a bit irritating so you end up wishing he would just blow himself up and free poor Ellie from being continually dragged down with him. But for all it faults, it was an Ok read. Who knows, maybe the sequel The Queen's Lady will redeem the series?





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