I wasn't overly impressed with this book but thought the author did a credible job of writing a blind character. I also admired the heroine but I felt the relationship between her and Robert was missing something.

Audrey is used to overcoming challenges in her life. Blinded at a young age she's accepted that her life will not be normal but the luxurious prison of her childhood home is still a prison. She had thought she had finally found a way out when she married but when her husband was killed in action she was again left in dire straights. Robert does not know much about Audrey except his own guilt for the death of her husband. He was surprised not only by her blindness but by her poise and beauty. When she asks for his help in accessing her inheritance he welcomes the chance to be a fake fiancé and help her achieve her independence. But when he starts to fall for her Robert needs to change his strategy and help Audrey realize that marriage is not a new prison, but a chance at a new life. Another great read in the Brides of Redemption series, excited for the conclusion!

• Robert’s gentleness, I just loved his character so much. He had some inconsistencies, but overall I loved how gentle and kind he was. 
• The cast of characters were really well written. It made the story more interesting and three dimensional. 

• Ending conflict, I could see it coming from a mile away and it still pissed me off. Audrey seemed willing to forgive actual offenses against her but not Robert even when he didn’t really do anything wrong. 
• SUPER abrupt ending, which was so frustrating because they just resolved a conflict and then a few sentences later the book’s over. 

Audrey Blake almost died from scarlet fever as a child. As a result of her illness, she has been blind since she was 7 years old. Robert Henslow, the Earl of Knightsbridge, visits her family to tell her about her husband's death. Audrey asks Robert to help her escape her father's house. He treats her like an invalid, and she wants to live in the comfort of her late husband's estate.

The first quarter of the book started out okay, but I really struggled with the rest of the book. Audrey acts like a martyr and thinks that Robert is only interested in her because he feels pity for her. I didn't understand Robert's attraction to Audrey. The resolution at the end of the book felt rushed and unrealistic.

After coming home from India, Robert has come to Audrey Blake's home, out of duty and obligation to her husband, with whom he worked with as a fellow soldier. What he finds is a confidant young woman, but blind. Audrey once suffered a severe fever, and she lost her sight at six years old. Now she is a pretty much a prisoner in her father's home, and feels smothered. She married her husband, desperate to have freedom. However after she finds herself married, her husband is not what she expected, he used her as well. After he leaves for India, she loses her baby, and then later finds out her husband has been killed. Now back in her father's home, she is desperate to find a way to leave. When Robert Henslow comes for a visit, and offers her a chance to get free once more. Only she will have to have a pretend engagement with the Earl. At first Robert is more than willing to help Audrey, but as their pretend engagement brings them even more intimately closer than he ever would have imagined. Now he desires to make their fake engagement much more real and keep Audrey as his own.

I was given a ARC by Edelweiss and Avon books to give a honest review. It has been quite some time since I have read anything from this author. I have loved all of her other books, and I don't know if I was just distracted with this one, or what, but I had a hard time getting fully into the story, when I have never have had any problems before. I would describe it as an enjoyable read but not the type that gets the blood thumping with excitement. I did enjoy the type of circumstances that this couple is faced with. And once I got about halfway into it, then it started to get really good.

With Audrey, blind, and a virtual prisoner in her father's country estate, she is more than eager to leave. Her father sees her as a invalid, to be put aside and practically forgotten. All the glory and attention should go to her younger sister of course. So when Robert, the Earl of Knightsbridge, returns home to pay his respects to the widow of one of the soldiers he feels guilty over his recent death. When he arrives he is very surprised to find that she is blind, but no where close to invalid status. She is determined to have a life, despite being blind. He finds her courage and tenacity, only makes her even more attractive in his eyes. When they agree to a mutual fake engagement, he is all for it. He feels like he owes her something, and this is the least that he can do. Audrey, is no where ready to take on another husband. But for the first time she feels a fierce desire for Robert, the kind she has never felt before.

Robert, didn't have the best childhood. For the most part he felt isolated but yet he grew up to be a man of honorable intentions. He joined the army, and ended up in India. I found Robert to be the type of hero you want for yourself. He isn't much of a rake, he is bound by duty and obligation. I found him to be very refreshing and I liked the way he treated Audrey. He never sees her blindness as a negative characteristic, but admires her for what she has done despite of it. There is such a passionate connection between the two. I also liked how the heroine was far from perfect. She suffers from being blind, and I just loved this aspect of the story. It added a certain unique aspect that only added to the story even more.

I found Surrender to the Earl a pleasant and steady read. It wasn't the type where you are flipping through the pages, but it wasn't so slow it would take a turtle to keep ahead. I didn't find it to be very significant enough to blow my mind in any form. Although there were certain aspects of the story that I did enjoy. I liked the slow escalation of the love story that develops between this couple. Overall I found it to be a enjoyable romance that leads you into a light read, that is good for any time of the year.

Orginally Posted on my site at http://addictofromance.blogspot.com/

2020 got off to a rough start for me, so low conflict, comfort reads are really hitting the spot. I stumbled upon [b:The Arrangement|15797358|The Arrangement (The Survivors' Club, #2)|Mary Balogh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364250976l/15797358._SY75_.jpg|19754340] by [a:Mary Balogh|9759|Mary Balogh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267712180p2/9759.jpg] which lead me to [b:The Captive|18487090|The Captive (Captive Hearts, #1)|Grace Burrowes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387513698l/18487090._SY75_.jpg|42447642] and now this. Like the others, Surrender to the Earl is a sweet historical romance between two genuinely good people that takes place in the English countryside. It includes a small but obvious mystery.

Audrey Blake, our heroine, is a blind widow who longs for nothing more than to escape her family home, where she is both carefully controlled and neglected. Robert Henslow, Earl of Knightsbridge, served with Audrey's late husband in India and, feeling some guilt over his death, offers her his assistance upon his return to England. Audrey leaps at the opportunity and so the couple fake an engagement to get Audrey away from her domineering family. Troubles at Rose Cottage, Audrey's inherited estate, keep Robert close to her side and soon h/H are questioning whether this fake relationship might turn real.

Both leading characters are admirable, have overcome tough situations in life, and generally treat one another well. I enjoyed Audrey's determination to live an independent life despite her disability and it was even better to see this through Robert's eyes and observe his feelings grow from friendship to perhaps something more. I never actually took that love language test, but have to think I'd be an "acts of service" kinda gal. 'Cause I was swooning over Robert's steadfast support as Audrey settled into her estate and, unlike the heroine, cheering along when he stood up for her.

The issues with the Rose Cottage staff and Audrey's relationship with her sister provided welcome subplots (even though I immediately guessed the "mystery"). As in many novels that use past traumas to delay a couple from a happy future together, the conflict felt contrived at times. It probably didn't help that the relationship is not settled until the very last pages.

I had such high hopes for this book as the premise was very interesting and the beginning was good enough to grab my attention.

The hero was the heroine’s late husband’s comrades in war and went to visit the heroine to offer his condolences. The heroine was blind and was treated negligently by her family. She wanted to stay at her late husband’s place and was prevented by the family to do so. She sought the hero’s help in order to achieve independence and the hero came up with the idea of a fake betrothal so that he can whisk her away under the pretense of getting to know each other better as the hero’s place is only a few miles away from the late husband’s place.

I do love the main character with the physical disability trope. This book, however, is bogged down by stilted dialogues and mundane events. The writing style isn’t my cup of tea as well. I just felt emotionally detached from the story. I hate to say this, but the book is just plain boring to me. She is a new to me author and if this book is an indication of her style, I’m going to have to give her other books a miss.

Much better than I had initially thought it would be. Although the heroine got progressively more annoying and the ending felt a little too truncated, the story was fine enough.

A random pick and it turned out to part of a series of which I had read another book recently. I was thinking I have read the same somewhere when I realized it is a 3-part series.It was a good read with the heroine being blind adding the much needed difference to the story.