I found this to be a perfectly fine historical romance, if a bit formulaic - I think the elements here (incorrigible ward, bluestocking teachers trying to give their students a taste of their potential, a Proper Aristocrat looking for a very boring wife, everyone with a Very Tragic Background™️) have all been done before and in more interesting ways. Some character names drove me absolutely up a wall, too: we've a hero literally called Blade, which is far too interesting a nickname for him, and the local society matron is Lady Rufflebum. A little too much for my taste. Still, there's nothing bad about this book, and depending on who the next woman is to get the Rogue to Lover treatment, I may pick it up.

What's not to love about a bookish heroine getting her HEA?

Hazel is the headmistress of a new academy for young girls, The Bellehaven Academy of Deportment, and she is focusing all of her attention on getting it off the ground. She wants to give girls who have no one the chance to better themselves, and to do that she has to have some students from wealthy families to have the financial security to do that.

Enter the Earl of Bladenton -- Blade for short -- and his ne'er-do-well niece Kitty. Kitty has recently been orphaned and Blade is not willing to care for her. He has plans to marry by the end of the year and taking care of his grieving 15-year-old niece could get in the way of his plans to woo wealthy widow (and serious piece of work) Lady Penelope.

To be honest, Blade's introduction did not endear him to me. His lack of affection for his plainly grieving and acting-out niece really put me off. He's very adamant that he cannot have a family and he has no time for something as inconvenient as love, and his interactions with Lady Penelope really showcase a coldness and calculatedness that just left me pretty meh on his in general.

Hazel is pretty much my ideal heroine -- bookish and very caring, also very focused on her goals and dreams. She wants her school to succeed so much, and she wants very badly to care for the girls enrolled there. There is a pretty large number of secondary characters that she connects with, namely her students Lucy, Clara, and Prue, her assistant Jane, and her friend Poppy from town who borrow her books.

As a condition of Kitty being enrolled in her academy, Hazel makes Blade return once a fortnight to spend time with Kitty. She can tell right away that Kitty has been acting out to get Blade's attention, and she wants to make sure Blade doesn't completely abandon her at Bellehaven. Blade reluctantly agrees, and over time we get to see him open up to Kitty and come to really care for her as her uncle.

We also get to see Hazel and Blade interact each time he comes to visit Kitty, and how they slowly open up to one another about their pasts and their hang-ups around love and family. I loved watching them come together, and the more Blade is with Hazel the softer he becomes, which did a lot to redeem him for me.

There are some cute scenes where everyone around them is clearly scheming to get them together, and some very sweet moments where the women and girls bond over their losses, which felt very wholesome and nice. The sex scenes were well-written and didn't have any of that cringey virginity talk that comes in a lot of these historical romances. I appreciated the absence of the seemingly obligatory "this will hurt but only for a moment" scene. I cannot stand seeing that in nearly every historical. Man, if you were doing your job right it wouldn't hurt. Clearly, Blade was doing his job here.

A solid historical romance! I'm interested to see who else gets a book in this series. There are so many great secondary characters in this book, and I want to know how they all fare

4.5 stars

This was such an enjoyable read: an engaging romance, interesting characters and cozy setting.

Hazel Lively and Gabriel Beckett, the Earl of Bladenton, meet when he tries to enroll his niece at her school. Off to a rocky start their relationship slowly turns to a friendship with a lot of sizzling tension between them. The chemistry these two had really sold me on this book.

I really enjoyed the port-town setting of this book, as it was not just window dressing but an integral part of the story. Additionally the story had an interesting supporting cast of characters, who felt like fleshed out individuals without them taking over parts of the story.

Altogether a very engaging, if predictable, story I read grinning from ear to ear.

What a fun read! Blade (the Earl) has a troublesome orphaned niece, Kitty, who he needs to put into a boarding school and Hazel's will fill the bill. She's worked hard for this school- it's been a long haul to get to this place- and she's devoted not only to her paying students but also to the less fortunate girls she educates for free. Her deal with Blade, that she will take Kitty if he comes to visit the girl, is meant to help Kitty but what happens is, well, you know what happens! Blade has his own issues to deal with and he's slow to realize that a relationship with a good woman like Hazel is what he needs. And then he does. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fun read where you will root for the characters.

I loved everything about this delightful story!

I adored the way Hazel was able to reach Kitty, especially since they both had so much in common. I loved her patience with Blade, and how she gently helped heal his heart. I thoroughly enjoyed my virtual time in the charming community of Bellehaven, with all its various events and assorted citizenry. I especially appreciated how the community itself contributed to Kitty's healing journey.

I was a bit surprised to find that Blade is only referred to by the shorted name of his title or his title itself; even after he insists on learning Hazel's first name he doesn't give her his. It's only in the online blurb that one discovers his given name; it is never used anywhere in the book itself.

I was instantly captivated by this story and fell in love with the characters right away. Blade and Hazel really bring out the best in each other, and it's clear that she's the only one who could scale his walls and help him move on from the two worst days in his life.

Anna Bennett is one of my favorite authors of historical romance, and if you haven't read her books yet, you owe it to yourself to start with this one. Every one is a winner, and this one is promising to develop into an exceptional series. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

Thanks so much to the author, St. Martin's, and Netgalley for the gifted advanced e-copy of this book. All opinions are entirely my own. My reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on my blog at tacklingtbr.home.blog.

TW: death, orphaned children, infidelity

Oh my gosh, this book was so much fun! I go through phases in my reading life and I am DEFINITELY in a big regency phase right now, where I just can't get enough of it. So this book was everything that I was wanting, and I enjoyed the heck out of it.

I really loved Hazel as a character - and while it did take me a little while to come around to Blade the girls of Bellehaven Academy really made up for that lost time! The girls were so fun and sweet and I wanted to adopt every one of them, honestly. I thought that the setting of a finishing school was a fun way to differentiate this story from the other enemies-to-lovers regency novels out there (not that I ever seem to get tired of those anyway) by having such fun characters in the girls but also having the school acting as a character in itself. It almost feels like the true third in Hazel and Blade's love triangle, and I really loved it!

Overall I would definitely recommend this book to my friends who are looking for a fairly fast (and quite steamy!) read. But I'm not kidding, if you're picking this one up you need to be prepared for the steam. Do not read at work. Do not read in company. Maybe try reading it in a bubble bath with a large glass of wine and nobody around to ask you why you're still in the bath. You'll thank me later.

Girls Before Earls is the first book in the Rogues to Lovers series by Anna Bennett. A steamy historical romance that is sure to take your breath away with intriguing characters and superb writing. Girls Before Earls is a fun read, and I had a smile on my face when I finished it. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

When Hazel Lively was just nine years old, her life changed forever, gone were her loving parents and the security of her humble home. She is taken by a neighbor to Miss Haywinkle’s School For Girls, where she is enrolled as a charity student and later becomes a teacher. But now after years of hard work, Hazel’s dream is coming true and she has opened her own school - the Bellhaven Academy of Deportment. It is here that she meets the Earl of Bladenton when he tries to enroll his niece in the school. An enrollment that Hazel initially denies and then reconsiders and grants with conditions.

Gabriel Beckett (I only know this because of the blurb – his name is nowhere to be found in the book), “Blade” the Earl of Bladenton has been estranged from his family for years and didn’t even know he had a niece until she became his ward. This realization causes Blade to reevaluate his way and he decides that he needs to marry and secure an heir. But his niece is making it difficult to court his intended bride, Lady Penelope, by being kicked out of school – repeatedly and making Blade have to leave town to attend her. Finally, he tries to enroll her in Bellhaven, but Hazel wants him to be a part of Kitty’s life, something he is not sure he is willing to do and something that will only make it harder to court Lady Penelope. But he agrees and so begins a veritable rollercoaster ride to HEA.

The book is well-written and the characters are likable, but I was not really a fan of this book. First and foremost, while not “technically” betrothed, Blade and Penelope have an understanding, so in my mind, Blade is not available and Hazel is the “other woman”. Secondly, the ending just wrapped everything up way too quickly and much too neatly to be believable. So, for me, this book was a miss, but I did enjoy the writing style and secondary characters, so I will be looking forward to future installments of this series.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

This has a really great premise and started off strong for me, but in the second half it just started to feel repetitive and a little boring.

After being orphaned as a young child, Hazel finally gets to see her dreams accomplished of running a finishing school for girls. Bellhaven Academy will be opened to the less fortunate girls who are intent on not only being introduced to polite society but have a thirst for education. Then one day in walks The Earl of Bladenton with his out of control niece, Kitty in tow. After being kicked out of several schools for her improper behavior and outlandish antics he's looking for anyone who will take her in and get her out of his hair while he woos the talk of the town into marrying him.
Hazel agrees to take Kitty with the conditions that The Earl not abandon her, but instead come and visit her and invest some time with her. After time The Earl begins to change his ways and also his life plans for not only Kitty but also Hazel.

Girls Before Earls was a fun, entertaining and romantic book that I really enjoyed reading. It had everything in it that you look for when reading a Historical Romance novel. A dashing hero, a down on her luck heroine, fun, romance, comedy and more! This was my first book by the author, Anna Bennett, but I hope to enjoy more of her books in the future!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review and honest opinions of the book.

Miss Hazel Lively is finally realizing her life-long dream of opening a school for girls, and she must maintain a flawless reputation. in order to attract new families. Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, is determined to enroll his troublesome niece at Hazel's Bellehaven Academy. Blade makes an offer that’s impossible for Hazel to refuse, but she has a condition of her own...one that leads to their close proximity and flirtation.

This is the first book in the Rogues to Lovers series. It's a charming story and just what I needed at the time I read it. I absolutely loved Hazel! As an orphaned child herself, she put so much love and care into the school and her girls. I had a few issues with Blade and what was happening with his life away from Hazel and his niece, but the end came together nicely; and I am looking forward to seeing the secondary characters develop through the rest of the series.

Tropes: Working Heroine, Forced Proximity, (not exactly) Enemies to Lovers

* I received an ARC and this is my honest review. #GirlsBeforeEarls #NetGalley

Anna Bennett.

WHAT A GIRL WANTS

To survive her difficult childhood, Miss Hazel Lively relied on two things: a tough exterior and a love of books. Now, she’s realized her life-long dream of opening a school for girls. She’s hoping the wealthy families who summer at the shore will entrust their daughters to Bellehaven Academy—and help pay for less fortunate students. All Hazel must do is maintain a flawless reputation. It’s a foolproof plan…until a handsome earl strides into her office.

WHAT AN EARL NEEDS

Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, has had a monstrous headache since the day his teenaged niece became his ward. She’s already been expelled from two London schools, but Blade is determined to enroll her at Bellehaven Academy, where she’ll be out of his hair. If only he can convince the buttoned-up—and unexpectedly intriguing—headmistress to take a risk.

LEAD TO AN IRRESISTIBLE DEAL

Blade makes an offer that’s impossible for Hazel to refuse, but she has one condition: the earl must visit his niece every other week. Soon, Blade discovers there’s more to Hazel than meticulous lessons. Their sparring leads to flirtation…and something altogether deeper. But the passion that flares between them poses a threat to Hazel’s school and Blade’s battered heart. They say a good thing can’t last forever, but true love? Well, it just might…

Girls Before Earls is the second book by Anna Bennett I have read and the first in her Rogues to Loves series. It tells the story of Hazel who runs a girls school on the coast on England and Blade who has suddenly become the guardian of his niece who keeps getting kicked out of schools. Hazel puts in place the condition that Blade must visit his niece at the school every other week and while he does so the pair become close.
I loved that the book was set on the coast because the shore adds so much to the setting and allows for some fun things like beach scenes and boat races to be a part of the story. I really liked both Hazel and Blade. Both were very complex characters and I really enjoyed that there were still revelations to be made about the characters even towards the end of the book because it kept me reading. The pair were definitely a case of opposites attract but in a way were the perfect foil for one another. I did struggle with the villainous fiancee as well as Blade’s niece at times, but overall I enjoyed the side characters and will happily return to the world for future books.
Thank you too NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trope: different class/second chance at love

I have to say I'm really happy with this book! The characters were well developed, there was emotional connection, angst, and a few hot love scenes. I understand Beck lost people he loved twice but I wished he wasn't so stubborn and same goes for Hazel. It was so satisfying to see them get their happily ever after they both denied eachother several times. Overall this book was well written and held my attention from start to finish. The only thing that would've made it even better is an epilogue.

I look forward to continuing reading A B work, and I also highly recommend this book to everyone.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked this book.
Hazel was orphaned as a child and she was taken by a boarding school. Now she is determined to run her own school.
Blade knows nothing about children, but with the death of his brother and sister in law, he is left to raise his 15 year old niece. Having been expelled from other school, Hazel's school is latest attempt.
I liked Blade and Hazel individually but I loved them together.
I liked this book a lot.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to mevia NetGalley. This book was just amazing. I just lost myself in this story anddidn’t want it to end. It was really well written and just drew in you intothese characters lives. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

I have been provided with a review copy of Girls Before Earls from NetGalley for an impartial review. This is the first book in the brand-new the Rogues to Lovers series and this was just a great way to start off a new series. Oh my gosh this story was just epic. I just couldn’t put this story down and I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. The author truly outdid herself with this story. This story just had my emotions all over the place and I am so sad to see this book end. I just can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

Girls Before Earls is a feel good historical romance that will leave you falling in love with love again. Miss Hazel Lively was orphaned as a child and taken in by a boarding school thanks to the kindness of the school’s headmistress. Now fulfilling her dreams, Hazel runs her own boarding school and is now helping other young girls follow their dreams. Earl Bladeton is guardian to his orphaned niece, Kitty, who has been kicked out of plenty of boarding schools. Bellehaven Academy seems like a last resort even if Miss Lively the headmistress is putting stipulations on Kitty’s enrollment. Following the headmistress’s orders, Blade begins to know his niece and Hazel. A man sworn off love, Blade falls for the headmistress is a sweet but heated story with all the expected conflicts but an impressively, feel good HEA. Girls Before Earls was a delightful, entertaining joy to read. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

I liked the opposites attract part of this couple…Hazel and Gabriel do have amazing chemistry.

However, this book had such a creative title, I was looking for a little more creativity with the plot. I was frustrated that this was another romance featuring a man with an irrational reason why he can’t be with the woman he loves. He frustratingly lets himself be manipulated by a woman who keeps the lovers apart.

I liked the ending where the girls come together to “knock their heads together” and make them realize not only are they in love, they can be together.

I am looking forward to trying more books in this series.

3.5 rounded up

This is the first book I've read by Anna Bennett and halfway through I was already adding the rest of her catalog to my TBR list. I can't pinpoint why I was so swept up in this story, but it was hard to put down. I love it when a good plot and characters you root for come together and they do here. It was a satisfying, feel-good escape.

Hazel, a young woman starting her own school for girls falls for the uncle of her newest and most rebellious student, who happens to be a HOT EARL. She helps them connect as a family and opens her heart to a man for the first time. The love scenes were steamy but some of the locations for these encounters felt a little out of character and awkward. BUT, as I said, I was rolling with it cause HOT EARL.

Lots of girl power and women supporting other women in this one as well. It was the perfect winter read under my cozy blanket.