This book has an airy feel to it. Effie and Julianna have their differences; Julianna's overwhelmingly practical nature and Effie's tendency towards absentmindedness. What is so cool about this pairing, however, is how willing both Julianna and Effie are to learn from each other.

.Julianna and Effie are both artistic. Both are comfortable with their individuality; their interactions are infused with this softness and wonder. This series explores complex topics such as sexuality and women's rights in a thoughtful and authentic way. Effie, in particular, is a unique protagonist for the historical romance genre. His openness to romance, the way he embraces his identity, and his great emotional depth and vulnerability were refreshing. It is exciting to see a romantic hero who breaks from the mold. Julianna is unique as well. Characters like her are more common in this genre - independent, ambitious, and capable. Something I have not often come across in this genre, however, is a woman who is older than her partner as well as more experienced. The way Julianna interacted with the world was intriguing, and I connected with her so deeply as she was navigating through times of uncertainty.

There are a lot of similarities between this story and Archie/Clementine's story. There is depth to the characters that I really admire. The strong sense of friendship is central to everything (I am especially looking forward to Simon's story). Archie and Simon are such good friends, and they care so much about Effie; it is a beautiful portrayal of friendship.

This will not be for everyone. It is slow-paced, and everything unfolds very languidly. Effie and Julianna are not typical protagonists - they are oddballs. They are creatives in every sense of the word. I did feel my interest start to wane about halfway, but the last third of the book was remarkable. There was a moment where Effie really comes into his own, and it's heartwrenching, but I was so invested and proud of him

Harry Frost did an outstanding job narrating - he portrayed Effie's temperament brilliantly.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

I have enjoyed several of this author's previous books, including the first book in this series, Earl's Trip, so I was really looking forward to reading this one! I love how each book is focusing on one friend in the group, as they try to figure out what they want in life from careers, family, friends and also loves. This story focuses on Effie, who is sometimes a bit of a flamboyant mystery, but he reveals his heart, hopes, dreams, as well as nightmares to his friends and his true love, Julianna, on this newest Earl's Trip. The story is funny, sweet, twisty, a bit spicy, but also heart warming. I couldn't put it down and I look forward to the next installment in this series! I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator had a pleasant, rich voice, complete with posh accents and distinct tones/inflections for each character.

Jenny Holiday’s Manic Pixie Dream Earl is a charming and emotionally satisfying Regency romance that improves on the first book in the series. Edward Astley, a poet hiding behind a female pseudonym, and Julianna Evans, a bold magazine editor, find themselves entangled in a delightful mix of mistaken identity, witty banter, and unexpected vulnerability. The story balances humor and heart, with strong character arcs that make both leads feel fully realized and relatable.

What stood out most to me was the character development—both Edward and Julianna grow in meaningful ways, and their emotional journeys felt authentic. The bromance among the earls adds a fun dynamic, and the romantic tension builds nicely without overshadowing the personal stakes. While the setup leans into classic rom-com tropes, the payoff is heartfelt and satisfying. A solid 3.5-star read that left me more invested in the series than I expected!

05/30/2025 || Earl's Trip #2 - Manic Pixie Dream Earl by Jenny Holiday and Narrated by Harry Frost || #ManicPixieDreamEarl #NetGalley #HistoricalFiction

Thank you NetGalley, Jenny Holiday, and Tantor Audio | Tantor Media for making this ALC available!


Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.
All of my thoughts are my own~

5 Stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


What worked for me:
Jenny Holiday has done it again!

For this second installment of the Earl's Trip series/trilogy? Holiday is focused on (my personal favorite) Effie!

Effie, or Edward Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, is a poet, writer, artist, and over all gentle soul who HAS to be gender non-conforming to a degree (in my opinion). He is also described on page as to be both demisexual and pansexual, although those terms are not exclusively used, their definitions were. Effie has been corresponding with a Miss Julianna "Jules" Evans, a magazine owner and writer, for some time now and if you've read the first book, is the primary subject of a specific topic held by Effie and another character. Miss Evans is either pansexual or bisexual herself, which makes this book officially queer!!! And as a queer person who loves their queer stories, I feel this one was very well done and really spoke to those who are in the closet and/or not sure how to exactly come out. I felt their queerness was handled well and while I am not a historian by any means, I felt Manic Pixie Dream Earl showed how queerness was handled by the different sexes and classes alike.

Manic Pixie Dream Earl felt like the best installment yet, and will probably remain my favorite forever. I really enjoyed getting to know Effie better and really wished the book had spent even more time focusing on Jules, as I truly fell in love with her too! I wanted to know more about her, her magazine, her family life, more and more and more! Although I fully understand these are the Earl's Trip books, and the focus of the story really remains and focuses in on the men, I need Holiday to make some little novellas about the female main and side characters STAT, along with some more detailed happily ever afters for our beloveds? Hint hint wink wink Jenny Holiday!

I digress - I really enjoyed this book a lot. Trauma and emotional health and emotional intelligence being the main focus for this book was the perfect timing for me personally. I really liked how the book explored both sides for both Effie and Jules and how childhood trauma shapes who we grow up into being (for better or for worse) but that is not who and what you have to stay as neither. Exploring childhood trauma and emotional/mental health in this book was a knock out and there was very important messages to be read from this book. I really appreciate Holiday holding this conversation and so artfully wrapping a story with beloved characters around it.

I truly look forward to Simon's book next!

Harry Frost is a very talented narrator and does such a superb job bringing the cast and world of Earl's Trip #2 Manic Pixie Dream Earl to life. Frost is perfect for this series and I hope to hear him again in the next book.

The audio book was crisp and clear and I had no issues with the narration, his voice or how he pronounced words or phrases, and over-all was a delightful listening experience.

I truly loved this installment so much! It took me 8 days to complete, but I probably would have finished it up faster if I did not have, yanno, life obligations and sleep. Silly things in the way of a good read if you asked me! (joking of course)


What did not work for me:

I honestly don't have many issues. My main issue and concern is I feel like I don't know enough about Simon anymore than I did while reading the first
Earl's Trip installment. I love a good surprise and all, but I rather liked the build up of getting to know Effie so well in book 1 then anticipating his book that I feel a little anxious of what to expect for Simon's installment.

My other issue was I felt like the book/story needed to be longer. I needed more information, more backstory on both Julianna and Effie (and of course needed more on all the other characters as well).
I believe this installment could have easily been double in size to fully explore more of their childhood trauma, emotional health, and even though I HATE 3rd act break ups and I was so happy when it ended, I feel like their breakup could have been a tad longer to get more emotional and mental health focus going for the both of them. I am NOT complaining that they "didn't suffer" enough, but realistically speaking, it would have been more preferred to see a bit more emotional and mental growth and AHA moments for them on page. I also would have loved to have seen more of that growth together on page after their make-up was official.

I also wanted more of Effie and his family and their interactions and healing to be on page. There is a lot left up to the reader to glean and imagine and I really would have love to see Holiday cover all of those subjects! Maybe one day she will create some novellas or additional content to be read and enjoyed! (Again, hint hint wink wink!)

Overall, these are personal "what did not work for me" tid-bits and are in no way hindering my rating and are personal complaints and desires for more content to be made by Holiday of my now beloved series!

Manic Pixie Dream Earl is my fourth and favorite read from Jenny Holiday.
I love how Holiday plays with well-known tropes and genre stereotypes to bring something new and fresh to each of the Earl's Trip books. And I will always appreciate representation of queerness and neurodivergence in the romance genre, particularly when they're historical romance.
I 100% agree with Julianna; "Effie-ness is infectious" and I was so delighted to get to listen to Effie's romance. He was, and I'm certain he will remain, the best character in this universe.
And yet another gem of a narration from Harry Frost. Although I do think this book could've benefited from duel narration.

The mmc was very endearing. It was a refreshingly sweet take on a historical romance. Great lead up to the next book as well.

The narration was great however this book seemed a bit slower and more melancholy than the first book. More so in vibes than actual plot. But it was nice to see a MMC break out of more traditional gender stereotypes. I do appreciate the friendship the characters have and look forward to the next iteration of this series.

This is a fun historical romance. Please take the historical part with a grain of salt. In this, we have our earl whose best friend thinks he’s a woman. Because they have never met in person. They’ve only met in letters and poetry. The Earl is in every sense a “manic pixie dream” earl. He is kind of flighty and a little all over the place. I pictured friends I know well while listening to this book. The female main character is an independent woman who is ten years older than the earl. She runs a magazine that was started and ran by her father. After years of working together, she decides she absolutely must meet this best friend and it’s going to surprise them on vacation. The annual “Earl’s trip”. When they meet up, it’s like they should never have been apart. It’s as if their friendship was destined, and becomes more than friendship over this week spent at the sea. This is a very progressive look at a historical society. At one point the Earl‘s friends think he preferred the company of men and is surprised when he says he’s in love and has never been with a woman, etc. Altogether this was fabulous fun, and it made me want to read the other books in the series. This is book two but it can be read as a standalone.

2.5 stars
I requested this book from NetGalley but it wasn’t marked as the second book in a series. I didn’t realize until I came to Goodreads to review/mark the book as complete. This makes a lot more sense now as I was confused about this being a standalone book. I didn’t read the first book and was fairly confused at the beginning. And then continued to be confused along the way as the storyline didn’t connect for me. The narration was very old fashioned, which I guess worked for the stuffy nature of the main male character. It definitely didn’t work for the female POV sections though. I did enjoy the author’s previous books that I’ve read so will read future books even though this one didn’t work for me.

<b>3.5 stars</b>
Thanks to Jenny Holiday, Netgalley and Tantor Audio for this ARC. My opinion is my own.

Edward "Effie" Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, is a poet and a terrible disappointment to his father. Thankfully, he's about to set off on the annual "Earl's trip" with his two best friends, who support him come what may. So they don't ask any questions when Effie asks them to help him store a broken printing press, nor why he's so preoccupied with letters from a Miss Evans. Effie doesn't really want to confess to having become infatuated with a non-aristocratic lady, who coincidentally thinks he's a woman too, called Euphemia.

Miss Julianna Evans loves the magazine she publishes, but hates that her odious brother insists on weekly editorial meetings and keeps questioning every decision she makes, constantly cutting her budget. Normally, she's far too busy to ever consider taking a brief holiday, but when there is a delay at her printers, and the alternative is waiting impatiently at her sister's house, generally just being in the way, she impulsively decides that she's going to spend some of her hard-earned savings to go to Brighton to meet her best friend Euphemia, who she knows will be staying there with her friends.

Brighton isn't a big enough place for Effie and Julianna to avoid each other for very long (nor would this be a particularly effective romance novel if they did). Considering Effie has been lying about his identity to Julianna for the past five years, she gets over the deceit remarkably quickly. Effie's two best buds also take it in their stride that their slightly unorthodox bestie is in love with a magazine publisher who is quite a few years his elder.

The publisher claims that this book is <i>Ted Lasso</i> meets <I>Bridgerton</i> meets <I>The Hangover.</i> I have complained in the past that absolutely everything set in the Regency era is now marketed towards "fans of <i>Bridgerton"</i>, and I can only surmise that the <i>Ted Lasso</i> comparison is made because this book features non-toxic male friendships and guys who support each other in wholesome ways, while <i>The Hangover</i> is thrown in there because it's the most famous dudes on a road trip story out there, even now, sixteen years later. I despair at these sales pitches.

There is a lot to like here. Effie is bisexual and has no problem admitting this to his friends, although his friends seem to have suspected him to be gay and/or asexual before he reveals his feelings for Julianna. There's the aforementioned non-toxic male friendships. We have an age gap, where the heroine is about a decade older than the hero (Effie is in his late twenties, Julianna is in her late thirties). Most of the book takes place in Brighton rather than London, and the more unusual location made for a nice change.

Harry Frost does a good job with the narration of the book, but I find that about a month after finishing the story, I don't remember too much of the overall plot. While I've liked several of Jenny Holiday's contemporary romances, I'm not sure I liked her rather unusual take on the historical genre. Nevertheless, I already own <i>Earls Trip</i>, the first book in the series, so I'll probably get round to reading it at some point. I also hope she gets round to writing about Effie's friend Olive in some future instalment, she was the most interesting supporting character here.

<b>Judging a book by its cover: </b>This cover is rather busy, and features a number of people in various situations, not all of which take place in the actual story, unless my memory entirely fails me. I think there are too many things going on here.

i love a male narrator. while i will always prefer dual narration, i do appreciate that if there was only going to be one narrator, it was a man, since the main character is the male character
ARCHIE MY BELOVED i missed him so much
I’m so fucking obsessed with these boys, they are so dear to me
Effie was so so precious and i loved the dynamic he had with Jules!!!
I’m so so excited for Simon's story 😭😭

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for this ALC. Book 2 of the Earls Trip series follows Edward and Julianna and they go from unlikely pen pals and colleagues to real life friends. They’re from different classes but doesn’t true friendship conquer all barriers? This sequel was a little slow for me and I had trouble getting into it, but it was still cute.

I really enjoyed this! This veered more into heavier topics than book one did, but I think it was balanced nicely with outside character support. Book one felt to balance with humor, and I didn't quite get that here, but I think I prefer it that way. It felt more genuine that the topics weren't laughed off, so to speak, but were met with support.

I enjoyed Effie's character a lot in book one and am so glad we were able to see more in to what was plaguing him book one. Jules really does feel like a perfect fit for him as her personality compliments his in so many ways. I also appreciated that Jules is an older FMC.

Queer representation here as well, folks! We always love to see that!

I am hoping for some more books in this series. I find their premise lovely and the friendships within are charming. Harry Frost has done an excellent job narrating both of these novels so far. I would love to see him return in any future novels!

The thing I love most about this series is how the author incorporates issues and characteristics we tend to think of as modern but she weaves them so seamlessly into the story that you can see this is likely what it was like for people in the era to live with. I am sure many readers can see a parallel through themselves in the characters. I have personally only read a few books that feature a demisexual main character and I (as a cis hetero female) felt that the author did a lovely job with describing his attraction or lack there of throughout the book. I also love romances that feature older (*cries in 40 years old*) female characters and having Julianna be 38 and not a decrepit spinster off in the countryside in a historical romance was a delight! I am gleefully awaiting Simon’s story!

While I wanted to love this book (I adored Earl's Trip!), I just couldn't get lost into the story itself. There were elements I loved: pen pals/mistaken identity, quirky MCs who go against societal norms, witty banter. I just didn't feel like it had enough to go off of for as long as it did. I will still recommend the series to those interested in the genre, and am still looking forward to future books by this author!

Manic Pixie Dream Earl is the delightful second book in the Earls Trip Regency romance series by Jenny Holiday.

I ate this book up. I had a ball with the first book and was so pleasantly pleased by the second in the series! I don't think you need to read this series in order; it holds up as a standalone. There are some references to the first book, but not knowing the specifics shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of this one.

I followed along in my physical review copy while listening to the ALC. The audiobook narrator does a *phenomenal* job. All character voices are distinct, and he even did a bang-up job with all of the femme characters throughout the book. I *loved* how he read the lines for Effie's new pet bird. That bird steals the scene so many times, I was chuffed.

The chapters are all titled and some of them made me laugh out loud. I am so charmed by Holiday's prose, and I really need to try a contemporary romance from her. I'm also such a fan of the bromance between our three earls. Like the publisher blurb mentions, they are truly ride-or-die for one another. The beach setting of this installment was also lovely, and the cover artist did a fantastic job.

Representation is great: both of our main characters are bi- or pansexual, and in discussion with his besties Effie also mentions that he's demisexual. Obviously none of those terms are actually used, but it's practically spelled out in his own words. There's also a reverse age gap--Julianna is 38 while Effie is 28.

I loved the pairing of Effie and Julianna. I really bought their chemistry and they seemed to have similar outlooks on life.

I can't wait for the next book in the series! Simon is due for love and he truly deserves it. The hints about him turning into a bit of a book nerd have been lovely.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I was really excited about this one but it was a DNF. I am not interested in the main character being bisexual. This is a period piece and the synopsis did not mention anythjng like that in the description. I was enjoying the characters banter here and there but this was just a hard pass. Sorry

Manic Pixie Dream Earl is an interesting combination of modern concepts and traditionally historical backstories. I enjoyed this book a lot but I think I might be hesitant to recommend it to someone who doesn't read both contemporary and historical romance. Effie's struggles with his identity feel very modern as do the themes of found family and the concept of a manic pixie dream girl (or earl). Julianna the heroine is not the typical heroine for a historical romance. She doesn't want to get married and has a job though her struggles are very rooted in the limitations of her time.

On the other hand, Effie's backstory of having an abusive father is about the most common backstory for a historical romance hero. The descriptions of abuse are somewhat graphic and I think might be jarring to a mostly contemporary reader who was expecting a romcom. I truly think this book blends a romcom with a historical romance in a really interesting way but I think it is best understood with the context of both genres.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it!

The narrator was great but my attention kept slipping. Book one was SO fun and balanced heavier topics really well with some absurd scenarios and dynamic main characters. Book two, however, was slower and unfocused with main characters who were just too nice. There wasn’t a lot of plot happening between the MCs and I think that’s very reflected by the cover. Literally WHO are the main characters on that cover?? Is this a romance cover?? Because I just really think the couple should be easily distinguishable by a prospective reader.

Overall, it was cute and sometimes pulled at my heartstrings, but I was bored for a lot of it. It also felt like I’ve kinda read it before?? I will tune in for book three in hopes more do the charm from book one is back.

I received an ALC from the publisher. All opinions are honest and my own.

One of the things I love best about Holiday is how, with every series, she tries something different: setting, character, country, and I enjoy reading what she does with it. What doesn’t change is her commitment to the genre’s coeur (pun intended 😉 ) themes: transformation is possible; love, findable; and, life can be fulfilling, filled with love, friendship, and more often than not, found family. This is as true of my recent fave, Canadian Boyfriend, as it is of this Regency romance series. Boy, is Regency romance tired after Bridgerton…and this isn’t. I enjoyed Manic Pixie Dream Earl even more than the series first, Earls Trip. To the publisher’s blurb to give us the what-all before further commentary:

When not writing, poet Edward Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, spends his time fending off the young ladies of the ton—and some of its young men—and avoiding his cruel father. As heir to the earldom, Edward knows he must marry someday. Alas, he is already hopelessly in love with someone. Hopeless because not only is Miss Julianna Evans not a member of the aristocracy, she is employed. She is a magazine editor—the only one to publish his work. Also, in all their years of increasingly personal correspondence, they’ve never met.

Also, she thinks he’s a woman. Named Euphemia.

Julianna is baffled. How can her soul mate not want to meet? Could it be that Euphemia is not the simple country girl she claims to be? Perhaps she’s wealthy. After all, she’s never cashed any of the bank drafts Julianna has sent. Perhaps Euphemia simply doesn’t want rank to come between them. Well, no more. Having extracted the details of a trip Euphemia is planning, Julianna squanders her meager savings and surprises her at the scene.

He is very, very surprised. As is she.

Now the two will have to decide what is true, what is not, and whether the truest thing of all—love—just might be worth an earldom . . .

If there is one criticism reviewers may lob at Manic Pixie Dream Earl, it’s that it’s ahistorical, which most would deem “wallpaper”. I think there’s a difference. “Wallpaper” is negative criticism: it points to a romance author who’s writing a contemporary rom-com with the appearance of historical “content”, minimal, slap-dash research, as a means of attracting an audience. Tried and true, but ho-hum. Holiday’s “choice,” ahistorical, at least for this reviewer, is purposeful because it serves a message she wishes to convey and, in this case again, with this particular novel, a playfulness with the “manic pixie dream girl” image and a nice ironic gender-reversal. Holiday brings everything we’d, that is, romance readers, like to believe about the world, at least those of us who lean left, liberal, and to loose proprieties. And her characters, who embody this message, are sympathetic, likeable, and humbly idealized.

In this case, I especially loved hero “Effie” (hence, Julianna’s confusion over her writer’s gender), but Effie’s subterfuge is because he’s in service to social expectations and proprieties. How Effie frees himself, though with a bit of deus ex machina, makes for the best part of the novel. In a way, we’ve read these scenes before: in romance’s good-girl heroines obedient to familial and social expectations and striving to fulfil them with good cheer and warm-heartedly. Effie remains affectionate to his friends, loving and respectful to Julianna, but divests himself of social and familial constraints to fashion a life which suits his calling, purpose, and temperament. In this journey, accompanied by his wonderful “earl” friends, Archie and Simon, Effie falls in love with Julianna, isn’t hesitant to love and commit to her, and takes an inner journey to his father’s cruelty and abuse, which makes for the crux of what has made him who he is, his father’s opposite, while still obedient to his father’s wishes. Effie’s inner and outer journeys see our hero make decisions about how he wants to live his life and why he’ll no longer comply with anything that hinders his self-integrity…

Even Julianna. Which is where Holiday locates the romance’s conflict: Julianna’s dedication to her magazine, which she puts above all else and has for many years. Leaving her, at 38, purposeful, determined, but…well, lonely. Which she isn’t willing to admit until she and Effie become lovers (not such a spoiler, given this is a romance). While Effie’s journey is the more fully developped of the two, (does this weaken the novel? not sure?), Julianna’s way to love and commitment have an easier road to pound: unlike Effie’s childhood, she had her father’s love and support, which is why she misses him so much and attaches herself, to the detriment of all other relationships, to his magazine. Holiday’s end result is a lovely HEA, where characters grow and the genre’s “coeur” themes are served: love, fulfilment, supportive family, found in this case, commitment, fun!, affection, banter, and friendship are to be had.

A final word about the narration, which I enjoyed more than usual. I often tolerate narration because I’m curious about the author’s romance. In this case, I genuinely enjoyed Harry Frost’s voice. It was, well, charming, and his execution of the two protagonists, as well as the friend group, was never over-wrought. More importantly, I didn’t even notice I was listening to a love scene, normally the cringiest part of a romance audiobook. This is what makes an audiobook a listening pleasure: good writing, Holiday’s, and a charming, understated narration, especially important for a romance novel. I hope there’s an “earls trip” for Simon and his to-be-revealed lady love (given he was “caught” reading Persuasion by Archie and Effie, this bodes well) and Simon’s story is also Frost-narrated.