The Hunt for Mr. October
Tabetha Waite
Historical Romance
It had been the moment Elwood Tyburne, the Earl of Belmont, was dreading for months. Ever since that Brazen Belle and her dastardly, Rake Review had started wreaking havoc upon all of his friends and acquaintances—some of which were wrongly accused—he had been in a state of panic. While Elwood would admit that he was a scoundrel, he didn’t care to have the finger of justice pointing directly at him, turning him into some kind of twisted man of prominence, where he couldn’t walk down the street without being heckled. He despised the attention, especially when he hadn’t done anything—lately. In truth, he’d been doing his best to lay low. He hadn’t gone to his favorite gaming hells for weeks, and he had gone so far as to dare to give up his favorite mistress. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem that the intrigue was going to die down anytime soon, and it appeared he was about to have additional trouble in one tenacious lady…
Meliah Newton is on the search for the elusive Earl of Belmont. She has a dream to become a respected journalist, just like the Brazen Belle. She’s convinced that if she could prove that Lord Belmont is a complete ne’er-do-well, she would finally get the recognition she has been longing to obtain. To her dismay, the man seems to be more of a challenge than she expected, but she has never been the sort to give up easily, and she perseveres, finally cornering the rat in his hole. What she hadn’t expected from all this was her flaming attraction to him, nor the way her body melts under his expert touch. She knows he’s only trying to seduce her away from him, but it’s only drawing her closer.
Uncaged Review: What a truly fun and fanciful tale! In this story, Elwood Tyburne, Earl of Belmont was not happy. The gossip rag “The Rake Review” has declared him an un-marriageable rake that must be avoided. Elwood was in truth that, but he didn’t want to be declared as one. So, Elwood’s only way not to be judged so harshly by the ton is to hide away from London in his father’s hunting box. Unfortunately, Miss Meliah Newton, the weaver’s daughter and aspiring writer, laughed at his escape costume and wanted to know if the outlandish stories of his behavior are true? Elwood will give Meliah exactly what she wants as long as she goes with him to the hunting box. As Meliah stays with Elwood, she finds out his true nature and falls for him, but knows in her heart that they can never be together. Of course, when Elwood finds out who Meliah really is, will he still want to be with her anyway?
This novella was just utterly delightful! Okay, the improbability of the classes between these characters was not likely, but if you could get past that and suspend some belief, then this could totally happen. Besides the truly excellent writing, the plot twists and the wonderful characters are really what makes me believe anything can happen, even a rags-to-riches story that will just make me laugh and smile. Sure, the book is part of a series, but Ms. Tabetha Waite pulled me into the novel, and I was sad to see it end. Elwood might have been a rake, but I didn’t mind and if rakes were this ultimately nice, then they could be as rakish as they want. Meliah was also a charming, feisty heroine that I would love to be friends with as well. I can’t wait to read another tale from Ms. Waite and eagerly look forward to more of her stories too! Reviewed by Roslynn Ernst
4.5 Stars
