This guest review is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project.
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CM/TW
Character suffering with Alzheimer’s
This is your sign: If you’re not partaking in your local library’s digital offerings, now is the time. For the last few months, Earls Trip has popped up on my Hoopla home page as part of their book club offerings. Like many, I’ve been swept up in Bridgerton fever and often seek Regency romances to recapture the feeling of first watching the series.
Earls Trip initially looked and sounded a little too “soft” for me. Cinnamon rolls and himbos are fine, but I like my heroes with a bit of an edge. I enjoy fraught storylines. In the words of Marie Kondo, I like mess. But after finishing yet another book focused on forensic science…I needed “soft.” Like, “wrap me up in a cashmere blanket and lay me to rest on a marshmallow inside a cloud” soft.
Archibald Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, spends his year looking forward to the two weeks he spends with his friends Featherfinch and Marsen on their annual “Earl’s Trip.” Nevermind they’re not all earls (yet). A fortnight with the boys, no hunting, no politics, no poetry. And this year, after heavy emotional strain, Archie needs this island of solace.
But before the men have even pulled out of Mayfair, an urgent message from an old family friend sidetracks the Earl’s Trip. Archie is summoned to rescue his childhood friend Clementine, who is in pursuit of her younger sister, Olive. Having just broken off an engagement, Clementine had anticipated battling an irate father for the next few weeks, not chasing after a sister who’d eloped with Mr. Bull, Clementine’s former finance. Clem’s father begs Archie to track down his daughters and bring them back home before they’ve both been ruined. Archie cannot refuse — he dislikes Andrew Morgan, but holds a special place in his heart for Clem. He and his friends delay the start of their vacay to rescue the ladies from the clutches of the villainous Mr. Bull.
And it is indeed a rescue! Clementine’s ex is a real piece of work, proving to be just as controlling towards Olive as he was towards Clem. She swiftly realizes that Olive has accompanied Mr. Bull for wholly altruistic reasons — he has threatened to blackmail the family and Olive agreed to marry him to prevent his treachery.
It’s not Archie and Co. who end up bursting in on the villainous Mr. Bull, but Clem herself, who has disguised herself as a man and hopped aboard a mail coach to follow the couple to Gretna Green. When Archie does arrive on the scene, he’s immediately shot — by a startled Clem! Which is truly hilarious, once it’s clear it’s a glancing blow and not a mortal wound. Not all of the humor here is so slapstick, but I found the accidental shooting to be fairly lighthearted (as lighthearted as a bullet wound can be) and it really served to prove Archie’s compassionate nature.
Thus, Earl’s Trip becomes earls + girls. Instead of returning the ladies to London, it is decided that they’ll let the girls’ father Sir Albert cool off a little before going home. It’s decided their country retreat is so isolated and the staff discreet enough that no one’s reputation is at risk. After agreeing to the stipulation that they’ll stay out of the men’s way, Clem and Olive are relieved to retire to the crumbling Quintrell Castle in the country. This is the primary setting of the book — a somewhat-derelict, cozy countryside estate. Both Archie and Clem thrive in the outdoors, so when the stage is set with an idyllic wooded landscape, the pair are utterly content to spend their time among the songbirds and old oaks.
Once they’re out of immediate danger, everyone starts mulling: Clem is uncertain as to why her sister ran off with Mr. Bull and still stung from the betrayal, even though she’s also anxious of Olive’s well-being. Archie is struggling to understand why Clem’s declaration that she’ll never wed bothers him so much. And Olive tries to find a way of achieving her dreams while running from her past.
The character development is what really makes Earls Trip come to life. Everyone has some traits that at first play out on page like caricatures However, these traits don’t limit the cast. Clem is the practical spinster who quickly proves to be more of a spitfire than wallflower. Olive, who could easily be the vapid pretty sister, is given much more depth and reveals she’s got bigger dreams than doing what’s expected of her. Featherfinch is the dramatic one, who’s introduced as a foppish poet who theatrically insists his household goes into full mourning for his deceased parrot. For all of his silliness, Featherfinch is deeply empathetic towards all those around him. I’ve seen these stereotypes in Regency romance again and again, and I love how in this book, the pretty sister, the spinster, and the dramatic poet are made much more dimensional.
The development of the sister’s relationship in particular was so satisfying to watch. Clem has always felt like the oddball in the family, the black sheep, and she’s contentedly resigned to that role. She’s stunned when Olive repeatedly makes her feel seen during their stay in Cumberia. It’s unfathomable that someone in her family understands her. Over and over, Olive proves she’s been watching Clem, knows and loves her. She demands they find a local cook who can cater to Clem’s vegetarian diet (this is treated as such a novelty by all the other characters). She offers to exchange pastimes, showing Clem how embroidery is so much more than stitching flowers and is indeed a legitimate art form.
Then there are Olive’s secrets — when Mr. Bull threatened to expose Clem’s ruin, why did Olive give into his blackmail demands to run away? Why has she been secreting her pin money away? Clementine ultimately feels understandably guilty, flummoxed by the knowledge that the dramatic, materialistic sister whose antics have induced many eye rolls contains more depth than she’d realized.
In contrast, Archie’s bond with his found family just made my chest ache. An only child, Archie is very much alone in the world. His father was vocal about his disappointment in Archie’s gentleness, his athletic interests, his difficulty in school. But his bros, his old school friends, are the exact family Archie needs. For all their masculine brooding (Marsen) and whimsical bluster (Featherfinch), they have so much heart for one another. They regularly lift one another up and call attention to the best traits within each other. I love to see male relationships depicted like this. Bros can be tender towards one another, and I want to see more of it in media.
Archie and Clem’s connection was immediate from the first page. As childhood friends, they already have a rapport but also require a bit of a reintroduction. It’s heart-wrenching to see how careful they are with one another from the start. Archie is shot by Clem within milliseconds of their first on-page encounter and he’s hardly miffed, more focused on protecting his old friend. When they have a chance to catch their breath, it’s clear how much they feel for one another in their easy-going conversations.
That connection only grows as they each seek to better know one another after so much time apart. Clem, who holds passionate animal rights beliefs, agrees to join Archie on a hunt even though the thought of taking a creature’s life agonizes her. And when she’s distraught after Archie fells a bird, Archie immediately pivots to comfort her. He soon reflects on his friend’s beliefs and becomes deeply ashamed of having pushed her to accompany him, almost within seconds of Clem’s distress!
Despite their obvious regard for one another, this is a wonderfully plotted “idiots-in-love” story, so we observe both of them feeling pangs of longing or jealousy or pain when confronted with the other in various situations. And naturally neither can fathom where these mysterious feelings sprouted from. They live in silent anguish believing their love is unrequited, while their affection for one another just envelops every second they spend on page together. The sense of mutual respect and affection they share is an excellent foundation for what is to come.
It should be noted this book features a character who is in the late stages of Alzheimers and exhibiting the symptoms of memory loss. Having a family member who has recently been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers, I got a bit of a lump in my throat when that character appeared in scenes. It’s handled well, with great gentleness and respect, but still made my heart ache.
There’s a sheer gentleness to this book that was just so appealing to me. The main cast is so caring, not only of one another but of the world at large. Reading Earls Trip was like sinking into a warm bath after a strenuous day — just wholesome and good and precisely what I needed when I picked it up. The stakes were never brushed away or came across as trifling, but they were not so horribly looming as to constantly be on the forefront of my mind. The humor was balanced as well, giving everyone just enough ridiculousness so as not to appear sappy.
I hope when you have hard moments in life, no matter what they be, you can reach out and find a book that offers a brief respite. Earls Trip was just that respite for me. Maybe it can be for you, too.
