I Read With Audra - The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch (Review, Interview, Giveaway)

Can Captain Wyvern keep his new marriage of convenience all business--
​or will it turn into something more?

​Captain Charles Wyvern owes a great debt to the man who saved his life--especially since Major Richardson lost his own life in the process. The best way to honor that hero's dying wish is for Wyvern to escort the man's grieving fiance and mother safely to a new cottage home by the sea. But along the way, he learns of another obligation that has fallen on his shoulders: his uncle has died and the captain is now the Earl of Rothwell.

When he and the ladies arrive at his new manor house in Devon, they discover an estate in need of a leader and a gaggle of girls, all wards of the former earl. War the new earl knows; young ladies and properties he does not. Still wishing to provide for the bereaved Lady Sophia Haverly, Charles proposes a marriage of convenience.

Sophie is surprised to find she isn't opposed to the idea. It will help her care for her betrothed's elderly mother, and she's already fallen in love with the wayward girls on the Rothwell estate. This alliance is a chance to repay the captain who has done so much for her care, as well as divert her attention from her grief. When Wyvern returns to his sea commission, she'll stay behind to oversee his property and wards.

It sounds so simple. Until the stalwart captain is arrested on suspicion of smuggling, and Sophie realizes how much he's come to mean to her. Now she'll have to learn to fight, not only for his freedom but also for his love.

Click here to read an excerpt.

My Review

​Can they both find a new dream...together?

I have to admit that the title of this book really made me curious. Why would they choose to call it The Indebted Earl? What did he owe and to whom? But, as Spencer Tracy said in the movie Desk Set, “Never assume!” And my initial guesses were quite charmingly proven wrong.

I've now read all of the stories, 3 novels and a Christmas novella, in the Serendipity & Secrets series. I've enjoyed them all, how can you not love an Erica Vetsch story, but I think The Indebted Earl might just be one of my two favorites. It's fun, it's romantic, it's entertaining, and it even has a delightful dash of mystery. What secrets will come to light when the new, and unwilling, earl takes up residence, hmmm?
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One thing I'd like to touch on was Erica Vetsch's gentle portrayal of one of my favorite characters, Mamie. If you've ever had a parent or grandparent with age-related memory problems you'll know the pain and joy that can come with it. That's Mamie in this book, but she never lets it stop her and it certainly doesn't prevent those around her from falling for her sweet charm. I know that the hero and heroine are supposed to be your favorite characters but I will confess that Mamie, as well as little Thea, quite stole my heart away.

I loved this third novel in the Serendipity & Secrets series and I was a bit sorry to say goodbye when I turned that last page. This entire Regency era series from Erica Vetsch is well worth reading so don't miss out on The Indebted Earl!
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Tell Tale Book Reviews gives The Indebted Earl by Erica Vetsch a 4.5 Bark rating.

An Interview with Erica Vetsch,
​Author of The Indebted Earl

Erica Vetsch brings her much beloved Serendipity & Secrets series to a close with the highly anticipated release of The Indebted Earl (Kregel Publications). This latest installment tells the story of Lady Sophia Haverly, the free-spirited and energetic younger sister of Marcus Haverly readers will remember from The Gentleman Spy, and Captain Charles Wyvern, a longtime naval officer trying to find his footing on dry land.  
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​​​Q: Both Lady Sophia Haverly and Captain Charles Wyvern feel a responsibility to care for someone that is left behind. From where does that sense of duty come?

​Lady Sophia’s care of her fiancé’s mother is born out of her love for him. She was also instilled from birth with the social customs of noblesse oblige. As a woman of noble birth, she has an obligation to live up to that nobility by behaving nobly. While her fiancé is at war, he has entrusted her with the care and companionship of his mother, Lady Richardson. Sophie is delighted with the responsibility, because it allows her to demonstrate her love, and it gives her a bit of freedom that living in her older brother’s household would not afford.

Captain Wyvern naturally shoulders responsibility for his ship and his crew. As the leader, everyone under his command is also under his care. This responsibility extends to the dependents of his crew, including the fiancée of his late best friend. Charles feels he bears the blame for his friend’s death, and he must attempt to make some sort of amends. His natural leadership abilities cause him to throw his mantel of responsibility over Lady Sophia, Lady Richardson, the three waifs who wash up on his shore, and the estate and community he’s inherited.
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​​Q: Marcus tries to get Sophie to come back to Haverly Manor with him after her fiancé dies. Would a single woman in her situation during the Regency period have the choice to live on her own?

​It would be difficult for an unmarried woman in the Regency era to live on her own. Though Sophie had the financial means to live independently, it would have been considered improper for her to live alone. However, for her to continue to live with Lady Richardson, as her companion and friend, was entirely proper.

Though Marcus is acting out of an abundance of compassion and brotherly concern, Sophie is reluctant to return to his home. She’s reluctant to give up the freedom she’s gained, as well as reluctant to live in a house where everyone will be watching her grieve. She wants to remain at Primrose Cottage with Lady Richardson.

​Q: Can you give us a quick lesson in peerage and the hierarchy of society during this time period?

There are five ranks of nonroyal peerage in Britain: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron, in descending order of rank. Most titles were entailed, meaning they passed from father to son, or to the next closest male in the lineage. Often a peer would also hold subsidiary titles at the same time, and his heir would be given use of one of the lesser titles as a courtesy. For example, an earl may also hold the subsidiary title of viscount, and while the earl is alive, his son would use the lesser title of viscount until he came into his inheritance.

​The British aristocracy during the Regency period was quite small compared to the entire population of England. The government was divided into the House of Lords (where one must be a member of the peerage to have a seat) and the House of Commons, which was open to any elected official. Land was most often owned by members of the peerage. As the Industrial Revolution gained momentum, more and more commoners became wealthy, which caused some friction. As the wealth of a member of the peerage declined, they might look outside their exclusive set to marry some of that new money.
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​​Q: All of your leading men in the series end up with titles and responsibilities they weren’t expecting. Within moments of arriving at his new home, Charles’s new responsibilities multiply. Can you tell us about the surprise he receives?

Charles finds himself as the guardian to three young girls, sisters who were born on the estate. His uncle, the previous earl, had, for reasons of his own, taken on the orphaned girls as his wards and paid for them to go to boarding school. But at his death, the girls were returned to the estate.

The eldest is nearing womanhood and is a romantic, eager to fall in love and bewildering to Charles. The second is a daredevil, tomboy, and adventuress in whom Charles sees glimpses of his younger self. And the third is a girl barely six summers old, who is fascinated by Charles and imitates him at every turn. He’s not certain which of the girls scares him most, and as a collective, they have that crusty old sea captain shaking in his boots.
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​​Q: Charles is comfortable leading a ship full of men but finds himself in a house full of women. Does the very stern military officer become a softy?

As a captain in the Royal Navy, Charles has been trained to show no softness, no weakness. Conditions were harsh aboard ship, discipline strict, and the dangers of nonconformity very real. In addition, he’s not spent much time around women in general and none at all around girls. He mistrusts their giggling, crying, emotion, and, above all, what he sees as their lack of discipline.

But as he is exposed to them and their bewildering array of emotions, they each in their own way begin to break down those walls of sternness and discipline, teaching him that kindness and love will not make him vulnerable but, instead, make him stronger than he’s ever been.
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Q: Will you be sad to let this trilogy—your first Regency series—go? What can readers look forward to next?

​There’s such a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in seeing this series completed, but to answer your question . . . YES! I am so reluctant to let these stories and characters go that I’m bringing some of them back in my new series, the Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries!

The first book, The Debutante’s Code, should arrive in the fall of 2021 and features Lady Juliette Thorndike and Bow Street Runner Daniel Swann in a fast-paced tale of intrigue, espionage, and art thievery! ​

​Erica Vetsch

​Erica Vetsch is a New York Times best-selling and ACFW Carol Award–winning author. She is a transplanted Kansan now living in Minnesota with her husband, who she claims is both her total opposite and soul mate.

Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum and cheering on her Kansas Jayhawks and New Zealand All Blacks.

A self-described history geek, she has been planning her first research trip to England.

Learn more about Erica Vetsch and her books at www.ericavetsch.com. She can also be found
​on Facebook (@EricaVetschAuthor), Instagram (@EricaVetsch) and Pinterest (Erica Vetsch).

​It's Time For A Giveaway!

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