Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Lara Temple offers you a taste of the forbidden in this sexy Regency romance.
This very handsome earl…Is the one man she cannot fall for…
War widow Lily Walsh has left her aristocratic family behind, but she can’t deny her younger sister’s request to come to London to meet her fiancé. Though not a love match, Lord Sherbourne is kind, amusing and ideal for her sister on paper. But as Lily gets to know him, she’s finding him alarmingly attractive! And the forbidden look in the earl’s eye shows the feeling is mutual…
Attention, fans of Bridgerton Season 2! If you love the oh-no-I-am-marrying-the-wrong-sister trope, here is a great example for you. Wonderful characters, a complex plot, and deftly written descriptions and dialogue make The Earl She Should Never Desire by Lara Temple a terrific Regency romance.
Widowed Lily Walsh travels to London to help her younger sister, Anne, prepare for her wedding to Marcus, Lord Sherbourne. The marriage is not a love match, but Anne and Marcus like each other well enough and feel that marrying is a good idea. The complications begin when Lily and Marcus discover a forbidden attraction. In spite of Anne’s beauty and innocence, Marcus finds he prefers Lily’s intelligence and determination. How do two ethical people fight a love that will hurt everyone?
Lily and Marcus were solid characters, and I admired their witty banter and mature thinking. Marcus’s friend, Lord Wexham, was an intriguing character that I would love to see in his own story. I loved everything about this excellent book.
The Earl She Should Never Desire is the first book I have read by Lara Temple. Apparently, I have been missing out. It is a compelling, lovely story, cleverly written. I normally read at a steady pace, but occasionally a book drives me to read much faster. This is that kind of book. 
When I was fifteen I found a very grubby copy of Georgette Heyer’s Faro’s Daughter in an equally grubby book store. Several blissful hours later I emerged, blinking, into the light of day completely in love with Max Ravenscar and with Regency Romance.
But the love remained one-sided as I progressed through various fascinating but completely unrelated careers in finance and high tech until my mother gave me a firm shove by entering one my many drawer-directed novels into Harlequin’s annual writing contest. To my shocked surprise, I not only made it to the top ten but Harlequin commissioned me to write five Regency romances.
I write strong, sexy, and suspenseful regency romances about complex individuals who give no quarter but deliver plenty of passion.
Like every (or most) writers, I would love to hear from you about books (not only mine) and history and whatever you find that makes you love this period and genre.
I live with my husband and two children who are very good about my taking over the kitchen table for my writing (so I can look out over the garden and dream). I love to travel (especially to places steeped in history) and hike and read as many books as possible (which just about sums up my dream vacation).
I recently went back to look for that grubby crowded little bookstore but couldn’t quite remember around what corner it was…hopefully, it is still there and another girl is in the corner by the window, reading and dreaming…
