Review: Her Errant Earl (Wicked Husbands #1) by Scarlett Scott

        

Print Length: 192 pages

Publisher:  Scarlett Scott (October 31, 2017)

From Goodreads.com:  An American heiress married for her dowry

When Victoria fell in love with the Earl of Pembroke, she never imagined he'd heartlessly wed, bed, and abandon her in the countryside. After he suddenly returns, determined to prove to her he's a changed man, she's not about to forgive him, trust him, or succumb to his scorching kisses.

A future duke trapped by obligation
Will has devoted his life to enraging his loathsome father by creating one scandal after the next. Duty forces him back to the wife he resents, but he isn't prepared for the raw desire she makes him feel. Seducing her will hardly be a tedious task. Guarding his heart, however, is another matter entirely.

A marriage of convenience no more
What begins in deception and necessity turns into an attraction neither can deny. Can their newfound passion keep them together forever, or will the truth tear them apart?

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My Rating: 1 star out of 5

This book was an absolute trainwreck. I should have known to DNF it the moment the hero (then a child) woke up to the puppy he had asked to keep dead on his bed in the prologue. 

Now I get it. He was raised by two horrible people and due to their neglect and abuse has issues now as an adult. I also get that his father is an overbearing tyrant who would keep his son under his thumb forever just to ensure he continues to do his bidding. 

But here is what I don't get. 

To begin with, why did Victora's dowry go to Will's FATHER and not Will himself? That was not how settlements worked back then, so there is no reason why her money should have gone to the father other than it served the author's purpose of a means to keep Will obedient to his father's whims and wishes. 

Will marries Victoria against his will (because his father told him to or he would be cut off although apparently, Will NEEDED to marry someone wealthy because they were in danger of having their creditors come after them or some such nonsense), takes her home to the country, beds her and then leaves. For almost a year. 

Yet somehow he thinks that he can just swoop back into her life and her bed (surprising her in the middle of the night nonetheless) and be welcomed with open arms? In what fantasy world does he live in? To her credit, Victoria starts off strong, whacking her husband in the nose with a Charles Dickens book... and then she realizes who he is. The two trade some barbs, he claims to have come back for her (which anyone with a bit of common sense would know off the bat was a lie) and she finally convinces him to go to his own bed chambers and go to sleep. 

After that becomes a series of instances where Will corners her, pulls her to him, traps her hands with his (or at her sides) etc etc, and kisses her and Victoria finds herself unable to deny him because she enjoys the physical aspect too much. They sleep together, because of course they do, and then she finds his mistress in their home. And instead of confronting him, she locks herself in her room. They manage to move on from that little piece of drama, only to have his father come to visit and SURPRISE springs on her the fact that he told his son to return to her for the sole purpose of getting an heir on her or he would be cut off (from his wife's dowry money which again why did it go to his father and not him)? 

Too much drama, too much time spent in the bedroom (as well as other places) and not enough time actually resolving any of their issues. Sure they dance around them a time or two, but not enough in my opinion to make their sudden declarations of love believable. 

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                                         Her Errant Earl is available from Amazon.com 

                                          (for free if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited)