Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: A Winter’s Earl
AUTHOR: Annabelle Greene
PUBLISHER: Carina
LENGTH: 296 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 9, 2021
BLURB:
Come to me. I need you. It’s a matter of life-and-death.
Infamous poet Sherborne Clarke is a scholar, a lover—but not a father. When he finds a baby abandoned on the steps of his crumbling castle, he knows he must get her to London and an orphanage. It’s the perfect excuse to contact the one person he trusts…the man whose love he stills yearns for, and whose heart he broke years before.
Richard Ashbrook was groomed from birth to become the Earl of Portland, until Sherborne betrayed him, exposing his sexuality to the papers and forcing him into exile. But as much as he hates Sherborne, Richard has never managed to break their link or let his confusing sentiments concerning him subside. When he receives a missive implying that Sherborne’s life is at risk, he knows it is time to return home.
Richard undergoes the perilous journey from Sicily only to find the other man untouched. Furious, he agrees to transport the baby to London—whatever gets him out of Sherborne’s life once and for all. But when a snowstorm leaves them stranded, they’re forced to confront the past—and deal with the love between them that’s all too present.
REVIEW:
Well this is another story I really wanted to like more than I did. Apparently it’s a take on a Shakespeare play, A Winter’s Tale, which I have not heard of or read before. Generally I really enjoy a lot of historicals, but this just really seemed to drag. The two protagonists refused to behave as adults and speak plainly. Is that a function of the time period? Is it a function of a lack of maturity – despite a 16 year gap between the time they were last together? Is it a function of too much “water under the bridge” so to speak or to much anger and bitterness? I never was able to figure it out. Instead of “fight or flight” responses, these two couldn’t decide whether to fight or f*ck. Despite their anger – well more Richard’s anger and Sherborne’s guilt, there was still something there between them. But they just couldn’t seem to clear the air. Their dance around each other and their lack of clarity in their conversations – always skirting, never dealing, with the past grew tiresome. It’s not a good sign when for me, the most engaging characters are a valet, a maid, a cousin and the menagerie of animals in a traveling circus.
It took me quite a while to get through this book, which is not a positive indicator. My overwhelming urge was to knock Richard and Sherborne’s heads together and hopefully knock some sense into them. Or else lock them in a room until they worked it out. Perhaps this back and forth works for others, but I just felt more and more frustrated that they would not address the elephant in the room. Again, perhaps the author was intending this to show that this was a sign of the times that these gentlemen lived in, but I did not enjoy the ride. For those who really like a tale where the protagonists spend a lot of time to get to the truth, this may be the story for you. As usual, YMMV.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Carina