Jane Wilkinson is an independent lady living in the Spinster House in the village . Her two friends have recently married and at the wedding, she became aware of the handsome Earl of Evans, Alex. They meet in the village on several occasions and in the Spinster House. Jane has no interest in getting married as she is enjoying her peace and quiet away from her brother. Alex knows he has to marry, to provide and heir, but has no intention of marrying Miss Wilkinson. They just wouldn't suit, he wants a quiet, biddable bride, the complete antithesis is Jane. However, the interference of family and Poppy ( who Poppy is will be revealed during the story!) lead them to reconsider their ideas. This was a very engaging story and one I would recommend.
I received a copy from NetGalley, which I have voluntarily reviewed. This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Nice & easy read, enjoyed the story and the characters.

*ARC received from NetGalley for an honest review*

*Review also posted to my GoodReads page*

'When to Engage an Earl' by Sally MacKenzie is book Three in the "Spinster House" series. This is the story of Jane and Alex, Earl of Evans. I have read the other books in this series but feel this can be a standalone book
Alex is very envious of his two best friends that just married after finding the women for them. Although Alex was the one that wanted to get married and his two friends were the ones that were running from it now it seem he is the one left unmarried. Alex almost married once but the future bride broke it off. Now he is determined to be married by next year. Alex thinks he just needs to woo the right Lady on the 'Marriage Mart'. But he has one Lady he can't seem to get out of this mine...Jane. She is friends with the friends that married his best friends. But he knows Jane is firmly on the shelf and even might have had a hand in getting her friends married to get to live in the "Spinster House"
The Spinster House is set aside for a Lady wishing to be a Spinster who can live their free and not be forced to marry. One lady is chosen to be the new owner, once the present lady is leaves the home and new lady is chosen. Now Jane is that lady and wants to live her life as she wishes.
This has been a really great series. I have enjoyed the ladies and men that have fallen victim to this house that seems to just set in motion a marriage instead of what the name says.
Spinster House Series:
In the Spinster's Bed Book 0.5
What to Do with a Duke Book 1
How to Manage a Marquess Book 2
When to Engage an Earl Book 3
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
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When to Engage an Earl, by Sally MacKenzie is an fascinating historical romance set in England in 1817.

Jane Wilkinson is the new lady living at the Spinster House, and her focus on independence and anti-marriage viewpoint is constantly unraveling due to Alex, the Earl of Evans, who is searching for a wife.

As the story unfolds, Alex and Jane are forced to deal with his jilted fiance and her spinster declaration, meddling friends and family complications, as well as legendary curses and an almost supernaturally odd cat.

When to Engage an Earl is geared towards those who enjoy reading unusual historical romances. Since it's the third book in the Spinster House series, it's recommended to start with the first book to fully comprehend the frequently mentioned characters from previous books.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The story of Spinster House and the last spinster, Jane is a good read. Jane, at age 28, as decided she loves her independence and will never marry. Unfortunately, those plans had not met Alex yet. His family has decided he needs to marry and Jane would make a good wife. There are a lot of twists and turns but it does have a HEA ending. I would recommend this book. It could be spiced up a bit but that is just my preference.

This is book four in The Spinster House Series. I have enjoyed all the Spinster House books, this is my favorite. A truly lovely story that has wonderful characters and a really unique plot.

Alex, the Earl of Evans has just been jilted. A love match or so he thought. Now his two best friends are married to woman they love and he is still a bachelor. Now he has to go to London and enter the Marriage Mart to find a wife. His self esteem has suffered a blow and he is doubting his judgment. He decides to go home to gather his thoughts and consider his future, only he doesn't count on his meddling older sister would be visiting. He just can't handle her kind of help right now so he decides to keep riding and finds himself in Loves Bridge at the door of the Spinster House. He met the current Spinster when he attended the wedding of his friend Marcus, The Duke of Hart.

Miss Jane Wilkinson is the Spinster House Spinster. Jane is a young lady who has no interest in Marriage and plotted and schemed to get her two friends married and out of the Spinster house so she could move in and get away from her brother. Now she finally has what she wanted but for some reason she is not enjoying life like she thought she would. Being independent is a little dull and lonely.

This story is heartwarming, sexy and laugh out loud funny. Alex's nieces are precocious and the things that they say are hysterical. Add a supernatural cat named Poppy, and Jane's and Alex's family and friends and you have a marvelous romance that you will love till the last word. Sally is an awesome author and I adore her books.

Received a complimentary copy for an honest review.

Miss Jane Wilkinson finally has what she's yearned for--to be mistress of the Spinster House. She wanted to get away from her brother's influence and have a life with the only one she had to appease was herself. Alex, Earl of Evans, is looking for a wife. However, after being jilted last year, he wanted to tread lightly, especially since he wasn't so sure of his appeal to the opposite sex anymore.

I loved Jane's independence, but I thought there could have been less internal dialogue about being independent, then wanting Alex, then being independent, etc. With both characters unsure what exactly they wanted, the story line lagged just a bit. I did love Alex's niece. She was quite funny and added another dimension to Alex's backstory.

I thought the epilogue wrapped up a continuing thread throughout the books. Fans of regency romance will definitely enjoy this one.

Publisher's Description:
If love is a malady, the Spinster House ladies have caught it, one by one.

Miss Jane Wilkinson couldn’t be more delighted when her two best friends marry, creating a much-desired vacancy at the Spinster House. For the first time in her twenty-eight years, Jane can be free of her annoying older brother and enjoy complete solitude—with the exception of the Spinster House cat, Poppy. If only Jane’s unruly thoughts didn’t keep drifting to handsome Alex, Earl of Evans, in the most
un-spinster like ways…

Though jilted once, Alex has always intended to marry and raise a family. Now that his two closest friends have tied the knot, he is more determined than ever to find a wife. If only it wasn’t the intriguing Miss Jane Wilkinson that his heart—as well as the rest of him—desired. Not only does she appear uninterested in marriage, it’s clear she’s the managing sort. And yet, despite Alex’s fiercely independent spirit, the idea of being managed by her is quite appealing. Now if he can only convince her to give up her beloved Spinster House in favor of a far more pleasurable home—in his arms…

My Thoughts:
This is book #3 of this heartwarming and hilarious series. I hate to see it coming to an end.
We have previously been introduced to all of the characters involved so I would advise reading this entire series in order. You would not exactly be lost but it is important that you know what has happened in the other books to enjoy this one to the fullest.
Jane is the current Spinster House spinster. The others who have preceded her have given up that honor by becoming married women instead.
Alex is the best friend of the grooms of the ladies who previously presided in the spinster house.
Although they have met before they have not allowed their attraction to each other show, or at least they think they haven't.
Will the last Spinster House spinster give in to love?
I know you can not help but be entertained by this final book in this series. Be sure to reads them all in order so that you get the full impact of the series.
I gave this book 4.75 of 5 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 3.75 of 5 flames.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I reviewed voluntarily.

This is my honest review in exchange for this ARC. I have read the earlier books in the Spinster House series and this one did not disappoint. They are all very well written with exceptional characters and splendidly written. I think you will enjoy them all as much as I did.

Sweetly sexy addition to the Spinster House series in which spinster Jane Wilkinson falls hard for the Earl of Evans,Alec.
Alec is soured on love after being jilted practically on the altar, and only plans to marry to get an heir....until he falls under Jane's spell.
Jane is independent and forthright...two things he would never believe he could abide, but that becomes part of her attraction...and also a virgin.
Both fight against the pull, but circumstances continually throw them together seemingly aided by Poppy, the Spinster House cat.
The vivid descriptions of the characters, their quirks and the setting along with bits of humor brings the tale alive.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to my delight. This is simply my opinion, but I am sure others will agree.

This book was a fun read! McKenzie's characters are likable and well-drawn. The primary conflict in this novel was an inner conflict - frankly, I found it much more believable and "human" than many of the other romance novels I've read (and I've read thousands). I hope this isn't the end of the series - I'd like to know what happens to some of the side characters!

2.5 stars rounded up

I'm on the fence with this book. On the one hand, the third installment to the Spinster House series is quite a romp. It filled with amusing characters from Poppy the cat to Alex's sister and nieces. Alex and Jane's brangles were quite smile-induced, too. Only after a while, I lost patience with the main characters.

For an eligible noble - he's young, wealthy, an Earl too - Alex strike me as too fussy and whiny. Granted, he's been jilted once and so now treaded more carefully. But the constant inner talking of how he envied his friends, how he wanted to be married, how he longed for babies... Initially I thought his conduct rather cute, but too many exposure of those got me eye-rolling so hard while yelling: enough already!

On the romance side, Alex and Jane's chemistry was not very convincing either. The bulk of what throw them together were either coincidence or other's machinations (from Poppy or Alex's family). And when their coming together was the combine result of over-imbibed and Poppy's ruses? Gah, that's just wrong! This not-courting on top of Alex's pensive mood became exhausting to read.

Which is why - even though it felt rushed indeed - I applauded them taking matters into their own hands in the end (I just wanted the book to finish by that time). As a conclusion to the series, the book tied some loose-ends and showed everyone's happy ever after. But I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would.


Advanced copy of this book is kindly provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I usually find Sally Mackenzie’s Regency romances fun and entertaining, but I just couldn’t get into this one at all. I haven’t read the earlier books in this series or, if I have, they totally slipped my mind. This one will also. The connecting thread is that the heroines live the Spinster House in a small community, but somehow they meet up and have romances with high-ranking, rich, hunky aristocrats. Sure.

In this one, Jane Wilkinson has finally been able to move into Spinster House and live an independent life away from her solicitor brother. Alex, the Earl of Evans comes to their small town because he’s trying to escape the matchmaking of his interfering family. Jane and Alex are attracted to each other and he enjoys his time doing non-Earl-type things such as performing in a puppet show for the town fair. His family connive to throw Jane in his path since they like the idea of his marrying to poor, nobody of a 28-year old spinster.

If you can suspend disbelief, you might enjoy the book, but I found Jane’s worries and back-and-forth behavior with Alex rather irritating. She just wasn’t all that likable and seemed convinced that she wanted to remain a spinster even though she doesn’t really enjoy the loneliness of her life. Alex was a much more appealing character and it never seemed at all believable that he was going to fall for her.

I found their conversations rather tedious and her panic over finding entertainment for the fair just wasn’t all that believable or entertaining. She doesn’t think that she deserves Alex, and I found myself agreeing.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the third book in the Spinster House series "When to Engage an Earl", despite not having read the earlier books and will now endeavour to read them. This book tells the story of Miss Jane Wilkinson who is living at Spinster house with her cat, having had two friends leave to marry. However, Jane realises that she is quite lonely but doesn't want to admit it, especially after meeting Alex, the Earl of Evans. Alex has just returned to the ton to find a wife, having been recently jilted. His two friends are recently married, and he wishes to have the same as them. Alex meets up with Jane and begins to notice her romantically.

Jane is insistent that she does not want to marry and despite their friends doing their best to set the pair up together, Jane opposes any matchmaking.

This was a lovely romance and the friends of Alex and Jane play such a pivotal part of the story. The interaction between all the characters makes you want to race back and read the earlier stories.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Miss Jane Wilkinson couldn’t be more delighted when her two best friends Cat & Anne marry, creating a much-desired vacancy at the Spinster House. Jane can be free of her annoying older brother Randolph and enjoy complete solitude with the exception of the Spinster House cat, Poppy. If only Jane’s unruly thoughts didn’t keep drifting to handsome Alex, Earl of Evans, in the most
un-spinster like ways. Alex has always intended to marry and raise a family even though he was jilted a while ago. Now that his two closest friends Marcus & Nate have tied the knot, he is more determined than ever to find a wife. If only it wasn’t the intriguing Miss Jane Wilkinson that his heart, as well as the rest of him desired. Not only does she appear uninterested in marriage, it’s clear she’s the managing sort. Despite Alex’s fiercely independent spirit, the idea of being managed by her is quite appealing.
This is a well written novel that is well paced. The characters are well portrayed & have plenty of depth, Alex & Jane are both really likeable, their attraction is there from the start, however Jane tries to fight it especially as she has wanted to live at the Spinster House but soon questions if it really the existence she truly wants. Alex only realises that he’s falling in love with Jane when his eight year old niece Rachel points it out to him. The verbal sparring between Alex & Jane is witty & entertaining. Rachel is one of the stars of the book but it is Poppy who steals the book. I was loathe to put the book down & read it in under a day which is the true indicator as to how much I’m enjoying a novel. This is the third in the series but could be a stand alone book, I’d not read the earlier two books in the series but I’ll definitely be reading them now.

Rated 3.5!

Definitely entertaining. Glad to see Jane get her turn to leave spinsterhood behind for good!

I liked the first two books in this series, so looked forward to this one, unfortunately the h is not particularly likeable. Her constant ruminating over remaining independent, despite caring so much for the H, who is extremely likable, was annoying. The book is written well enough, just frustrating to follow the others. Enjoyed this f/u to the other couples from the prior books.

Alex, Earl of Evans and Miss Jane Wilkinson have had increasing interactions as their friends have fallen in love and tied the knot. She's a blue stocking spinster and likes it that way. She’s always wanted independence and now she has it. However, it turns out that once your friends marry and get engrossed in their new families, independence more often than not means loneliness. Worse than the loneliness is listening to your former spinster friends talking about wanting babies, being pregnant with babies or the restrictions a husband tries to impose when babies are weeks from arriving.

Alex fancied himself in love once. What followed was an engagement, a jilting and an earl now weary of trusting his own feelings.
Recently surfaced from the funk that followed his jilting, Alex is ready to marry and despite her protests and his desire for an uncomplicated wife, Jane has all his parts on high alert.

With heat, heart and great friends to sweeten the pot, When to Engage an Earl is a satisfying read.

I received an ARC of this book, via Net Galley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The book was fun to read. However it did not really explain deep reasons for Jane wanting to remain a spinster. Some reasons were given but they did not seem deep enough. I would have also thought other women would have pursued Alec as a husband. I would have liked more moments where they get attached instead of the differences of opinion.