Here's the summary from Goodreads:
When Lady Imogen falls upon the idea of using the London Season as a means of raising funds for a charitable scheme, she thinks it will be the simplest of things. With her friend, Lady Redmond at her side, the two embark upon a mission to attend as many social events as possible with the intention of opening every wealthy purse in sight. But it is all for a good cause; and a heartbreaking one as Imogen discovers when she and Lady Redmond find themselves wandering the dismal corridors of a workhouse for the poor of Lambeth.
Heath Montgomery, the young and arrogant Earl of Reddington had always enjoyed a life of privilege, free from cares and conscience. Looking forward to the London Season as always, he allows his determined mother a little latitude in searching for a wife for him; one with wealth of her own to swell the coffers of the Reddington Estate. Miss Jemima Ravenswood, daughter of a rich and ambitious Baron, seems to fit the bill. She is beautiful and as keen to secure herself a title as her father is.
But when the Earl finds himself crossing conversational swords with the caring and tenacious Lady Imogen, he wonders if beauty and fortune are enough for him anymore. When he finally falls for the curious Lady Imogen, will the Earl find he has gone too far and been too arrogant to ever win her heart?
As the second book of Bridget Barton I've read, (the first being The Honorable Rosalind's Heart) I at least expected a bit of a difference between this book and the other. Up to halfway through the book things started to vary. The characters, the members in their families, how the main characters meet, the unwanted love rival... Eerily similar between both books. Even the drawing room of the heroine's house in London is the same mint green, the difference is Rosalind hates it and Imogen likes it.
As for Imogen herself, I found her character very lacking. She is very involved with charity and helping people, but there's little else to her without the charity work, outside of a loose comment that says she likes to dance, something that was mentioned but never really demonstrated. Take the charity work away from her and there's nothing to her character. It gives very little to endear yourself to, and thus there's little emotion when she's faced with troubles. Her characters also develops very little through the book, which I find to be a little annoying.
Heath is a little flat as well, having nothing to do but fret about Imogen, his mother and his relationship with his sister Prudence (whom I consider the most well rounded character in this book). Lords are supposed to manage their estate and the lands that belong to them (that's where part of their money comes from), and to do politics in the House of Lords, but based on this book alone one would think money came to them from providence and the gentry did nothing but stare at the ceiling and amuse themselves in parties and luncheons all day and night. As his character is also a bit lacking, there's not much to fall in love with, other than the (very frequently mentioned) broad shoulders and dark hair that Imogen so likes. In Rosalind's case, at least there's several layers to her character, in the form of wishes, likes, dislikes, virtues, faults, aspirations... That is something this particular book lacks, as the only character with some depth is Prudence, whom is not as explored, being a secondary character to the tale.
As a seasoned romance reader, this book didn't do the cut for me, and I'm sure I would be kinder to it if I hadn't read The Honorable Rosalind's Heart before A Lady for the Brazen Earl. If you've never read from Bridget Barton before, I'd recommend Rosalind's story, as this book isn't necessarily the best introduction to this author you can get.
I was supposed to receive the book for free as part of the Advanced Reader Copy team in exchange of an honest review, but Amazon charged the book in the end so there's no need for the disclaimer, as I ended up paying for it.
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