WHEN THE EARL MET HIS MATCH is the fourth book in Stacy Reid’s “Wedded by Scandal” series. There is an element of kismet in this romance. Lady Phoebe Maitland stumbles upon a dog in need of some serious TLC. She finds out later that Wolf was owned by the man she ends up marrying. Phoebe has a common problem for a woman of her time – not much in the way of autonomy. Her duke and duchess parents are trying to marry her off to a man she doesn’t care for, while the boy-next-door she does have feelings for disappoints her in the worst way. Enter Hugh Winthrop, the future Earl of Albury. The romance between this hero and heroine begins in an unconventional way, but it delivers big time in the end.

When Phoebe initially sees Hugh’s advertisement for a wife, and his subsequent response to her replies, she is alternately outraged and amused. His advertising for a wife is everything that offends her romantic sensibilities. However, when she finds herself pregnant and in a tough situation, he seems like the lifeline she needs. Hugh is not your ordinary viscount. His circumstances and his environment leave him wary of expressing any kind of tender feelings. He has a lot of baggage from his mother’s philandering ways and absence from his life. Rather than a hatred of women, it has left him overly cautious and with a few defense mechanisms. Romantic love is something Hugh eschews and doesn’t entirely believes in. Despite this great divide in their thinking, Phoebe and Hugh marry - with him taking on her unborn child.  The bulk of WHEN THE EARL MET HIS MATCH is about the sizzling attraction and the courtship (after the wedding) between this couple at their home in Scotland. The wooing is delicious and a delightful mix of sweet and sexy. Stacy Reid expertly balances the character development and emotional punch with the red-hot encounters. Eventually, the other shoe drops, and Hugh is forced to come to terms with his deeper feelings for Phoebe. It’s a good thing that this story is told from alternating perspectives, since Hugh keeps most of what he truly feels hidden. I like both characters. They are both flawed but they have a great chemistry together.

WHEN THE EARL MET HIS MATCH is gothic masterpiece and full of passion. This is a book that will make you cry one moment and sigh the next. Stacy Reid’s books are the only ones, other than Lorraine Heath’s books, that bring me to tears but lift me back up and make the emotional payoff worth the angst. I look forward to Stacy Reid’s next book.

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