“When all else failed, order tea. It was a sort of eleventh commandment in England, she was certain.”

Disappointed doesn’t begin to explain how Rebecca Jennings is feeling right now. With her London debut only two days away and lots on her mind, Rebecca makes a careless decision to take a shortcut across her neighbour’s land. Just as she’s about to cross over the style with all her packages, the owner startles her and she trips, breaking her ankle. After delaying it for two seasons, it seems as though her London Season will be delayed yet again.

As the guilt at contributing to Rebecca’s injury begins to lessen, Ben Fortescue discovers that his friendship with Rebecca is deepening. It causes him to press pause and reassess his reasons for moving to Lincolnshire and search his heart to see if he’s ready for another relationship.

This was my first Regency romance and considering I don’t enjoy romance novels, it was a risk. Thankfully, the promise of “a good clean historical fiction with elements of faith running through it” caught my attention. The promise held true and I’m delighted to have really enjoyed my introduction into this genre, despite discovering (upon finishing) that it was Tuft’s 6th book in the series!

I loved the romantic tension and the uniquely crafted characters in the extended Jennings family. Rebecca may be the youngest of the 8 Jennings children, but having 5 older brothers means that she’s not pampered nor helpless. In fact, it’s due to her place in the family that makes Rebecca endearing. She’s refreshingly different from the other girls waiting to be presented at the London Season this year. Ben is not a young aristocrat with more money than common sense, either. He’s 26 and been around long enough to know what London Society will do to a person. It also means that he knows the difference between infatuation and love. Tuft has highlighted people who overcome difficulties and grow as individuals and as a couple. She focuses on home, family and love as the most desirable dreams to have in one’s heart. I enjoyed reading about Rebecca, who realizes that she’s become self-obsessed, and makes a concerted effort to look outside of herself and put her eyes on others as much as I enjoyed reading about Ben who needed to deal with his past in order to move forward with his life. How refreshing to read a clean romance – one that I’d heartily recommend.

Publishes December 6, 2021.

I was gifted this advance copy by Karen Tuft, Covenant Communications and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This Regency Romance was a sweet unfolding of a relationship that hit in all the right places. The title of this book is so perfect for the plot! Neither of these characters planned to fall in love in the way that this story unfolds, but it was sweet and provided just the right amount of angst. There were moments of tenderness, romantic tension, frustration and understanding between Ben and Rebecca that made their relationship genuine and the slow burning kind of romance that sneaks up on the characters!
There is so much character growth in this story from both Ben and Rebecca and I think that is truly what makes this story stand out to me. The unique dynamic of Rebecca’s really added some bits of fun and humor to this story that I really loved as well! I enjoyed this book and would happily ready more from this author!

This was a cute addition to the Jennings family series. It was fun to see what Rebecca was doing while her sister was in London. I really liked that both Rebecca and Ben had disappointments and things that they struggled with that took time to resolve. I also liked how their relationship developed naturally from neighbors to friends to romantic partners.

My main issue with this book was that it was just very bland. Boring. I was able to put it down many, many times, and I didn't feel much of an inclination to pick it up again beyond the desire to finish it for a possible review. The characters didn't grab me, I didn't feel the chemistry between them, and the hero in particular ran very hot and cold. The heroine was mature one moment, then would lash out at random. I didn't feel a connection to either of them, and the secondary characters and their situations felt really random. For example, when the heroine's sister becomes engaged, it felt odd to the plot. Why did she become engaged after only one week in London? And to a duke? A 30 year old woman randomly becomes engaged to a duke she just meant, and the read is just meant to accept this and focus on the couple who is boring them to tears? I would rather read about the spinster sister. Sounds much more interesting.

That all being said, it wasn't a terrible book. It just wasn't a great one. If a book can't capture my attention for more than 10 minutes at a time, I can't recommend it.

Karen Tuft's romance between Rebecca and Ben is a sweet and enjoyable story. Rebecca is sweet and grows throughout the story. Ben is in need of healing and love. The story ends exactly as you'd expect it, but it's a sweet journey getting there.

I liked The Duke Meets His Match, this book made me want to read it again.
I didn't like the characters very much and there weren't many things happening, just the characters struggling against their feeling, but the writer has the talent to keep me interested in the book.

Thanks to the publisher and the author for the ARC.

3.5 stars. This proper romance was an enjoyable read for me. Tuft is very descriptive and thoughtful in her writing. The reader gets a chance to really see inside the character's thoughts, and that was refreshing. The story was simple, but joyous and heartbreaking at times. There were moments I wanted the story to speed up as it seemed to drag in parts. Despite that, this was a pleasant read.

Karen Tuft is an auto-buy author for me. I love her books! Her latest addition is one of my favorites! I love this sweet romance with relatable characters and wonderful character arcs. I love the theme of familial love that is woven throughout this story!

I received an ARC through Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

I am adding Karen Tuft to my list of go to authors. Having enjoyed a few of her books already, this one the best so far, although I have enjoyed all of them. I loved An Accidental Romance! Ben and Rebecca had the most unusual meeting that turned out to be the best ‘accident’ to happen to either of them. The way these two ‘fell’ in love as their relationship built to a loving one kept me intrigued. And, this clean romance draws you in to their lives.

If you have not read The Duke Meets His Match, these books partially occur simultaneously. Each are stand-alone books, but I enjoyed reading them in sequence. In fact, the whole Jennings family series is worth reading. You will laugh and love this family! Ben and Rebecca will tug at your heart strings as you cheer them on to their HEA!

A pleasant and lighthearted story. It isn't one of my favourite regency romances but I still enjoyed it.

The feelings that Rebecca and Ben both begin to have for each other fairly quickly surprised me, because Ben has some trust issues due to his previous marriage and is now also responsible for a young child as well, whilst Rebecca is quite impulsive and even admits herself acts foolish on occasion. Because Ben is more mature and serious, I couldn't understand him falling as fast as Rebecca, who hadn't even had her first season yet or been outside her small country life. However by the end of the book, Rebecca does to have grown up a little.

It's a clean romance, which I don't mind as I like reading about the development of feelings between the hero and heroine, but if you're after something a little bit more then this one may not be for you.

I'd be interested to read more about Rebecca's sister, Susan's, relationship with the Duke so may pick up some more of the author's books.

Good read with a happy ending.

4⭐


Thank you to NetGalley, Covenant Communications and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Rebecca Jennings has had to delay her London Season for two years and now is her long-awaited opportunity to go! It’s too bad that two days prior to leaving she has an accident and cannot attend once again. Ben Fortesque, the Earl of Winton, feels terrible that he was the cause of Rebecca’s accident and puts aside his self-imposed isolation in order to daily visit Rebecca while she recuperates.

The betrayal that Ben has experienced from his ill-fated marriage leaves him wounded and extremely hesitant to trust another woman. Rebecca’s goodness and kindness shows him that trust and love are possible. Seeing Ben go through the healing process was well done and showed that even though horrible things happened, he became a stronger man. Ben showed his selfless nature as he insists Rebecca go and enjoy her shortened Season. I am glad he did because it brought about circumstances he needed to confront and put behind him.

Seeing Rebecca’s transformation from being an immature young lady and somewhat self absorbed to a more mature, caring woman was wonderful to watch. As Ben becomes vulnerable and reveals details of his marriage and death of his wife, Rebecca responds with compassion and understanding. This endeared her to me and made this a great love story.

I recommend this book for not only the story of love and transformation, but also Rebecca’s loving family. This can be read as a standalone, but it is part of the Jennings Family Series. I thought the rest of Rebecca's family was intriguing and I look forward to finding out more about them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I read by Karen Tuft. It has an interesting story description especially the fact that the “supposed” villain for delaying Rebecca’s much-anticipated debut, became her “hero”. My favorite scenes would be the dynamic between the siblings, although I’m not familiar with the other characters mentioned, it is still understandable nonetheless.

I admit I’m not a fan of Rebecca's naivete and Ben’s hot and cold treatment of her, I do appreciate how the author made the characters upfront with each other, regarding their feelings.

Overall, if you like a fun and light read and a visit from the author’s other characters from her previous book then this is for you.

Got this from Netgalley, courtesy of Covenant Communications (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars for a good read

This is part of a series - though I hadn't read the previous book, it was not very difficult to follow (but would be good to read it before buying this).

Ben and Rebecca - were good, though they did not give the 'strong character' feel.

The story line was intriguing and my expectations were a bit higher. However, there were some confusions and repetitive thoughts especially from Ben's end, might be a put off. The secrets and the matter related to it, felt a bit flat and it could have been built upon to engage the readers.

All that aside, it ended with a HEA and I did have a smile on my face when I finished the book.

Overall - a good read.

An Accidental Romance is a great book! Poor Rebecca has always looked forward to her first season in London, but circumstances always seem to prevent her coming out. Preparing for it now is such an exciting time! Until her neighbor calls to her as she is crossing his property, startling her so that she falls and breaks her ankle, which again prevents her from her opening season. Ben never meant to startle the poor girl, and feels horribly about the circumstances. He brings over some crutches for her to use, and also agrees to read to her during her convalescence. During this time, they develop a friendship, and she falls completely in love with him. He still has issues with his late first wife and isn't sure he can trust any woman again. Great book I really liked!

4.5* I enjoyed the messages in this story.  The consummate gentleman (with a back story) and his country miss who has a loving heart and desire to experience the London season complemented each other well.  I was glad I'd read The Duke Meets His Match, as the timing coincides and that background information was helpful to this story, but this story can stand alone.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

I am really surprised to see so many positive reviews. This book is as dull as it can get. Nothing really happens in this book and I kept skipping and hoping to get it better. It doesn't.

Jane Austen used witty conversations and some intrigue to lighten up the fact that the gentry spends days of basically doing nothing. But this book is full of dull conversations, random events, and falsely promised a lack of intrigue.

The character of Rebecca (the broken ankle heroine) is barely developed. She is young, naïve and it is not very clear why she falls in love with Ben so early besides his good looks and his frequent visits. Ben is a cardboard character who is visiting the girl out of guilt of being the cause of her broken ankle. We actually even get to read about how boring his day was going. Why would anyone want to write a chapter about it? One chance of making this book compelling was his secret but his secret is hardly a secret and since he is a cardboard character, it is hard to care about his dead wife and the baby.

The Duke of Aylesham is supposed to be this tough and aloof lord but his commentary sounds very feminine instead. The fact that Rebecca's sister ends up marrying him after a week of knowing each other adds nothing to the story except for the author to give an opportunity to write another superficial romance novel.

The scenes with the Jennings family are not that engaging. It is even hard to believe that a man from the gentry would end up marrying an actress in those days and having all other actors in the house would not be frown upon by the neighbors. The size of the family seems to be a result of the author wanting an opportunity to write more books in the series (and thus make more profit). But to be fair to her audience, it is better to write one good book than one superficial series.

I keep pondering why any reader would want to read about all these dull characters.

Thanks Netgalley for a free copy in exchange of the honest review.

An accidental romance by Karen Tuft is part of a series about the Jennings family. While it is a stand alone novel, I feel like the family dynamic is better understood and appreciated if you’ve read the other books.

Rebecca and Ben meet when Rebecca is passing through Ben’s property to her family’s property. When Ben startles her, Rebecca breaks her ankle. Ben feels terrible for the accident and tries to make amends by keeping her company thereafter.

I loved Rebecca’s character growth. She was really disappointed to miss her season, after so many years of circumstances preventing a season. As she comes to get to know Ben and put things in perspective I grew to really like her.

Ben has escaped to the country to find solitude and emotionally heal after the passing of his wife and deal with his complicated feelings towards her. He is not looking for romance. As the two lean on each other and confide in each other, attachment and attraction grow. I loved that Rebecca could truly see him as he was. Unable to fully give himself to Rebecca, Ben encourages her to salvage the rest of the season after her ankle heals. She finally gets all the attention of the season she had wanted.

This book had some great romantic scenes. Their chemistry was believable. I feel like Karen Tuft excels at creating intense emotions with the written word. There’s a bit of mystery woven in as we try to discover more of Ben’s past and that is really fun to read and guess at. Overall a really great addition to the series and one that had me hooked throughout.

I loved this book. In the beginning the main character seems very excitable, but as the book grows and the friendship blossoms, it becomes a rather quaint mystery. I was astounded at the mystery reveal at the end, but enjoyed it immensely. It was fun to revisit some of the characters from previous books, I even re-read a few after this one. :)

I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair review. thank you.

Rebecca Jennings is looking excitedly forward to her first season. While carrying her recent purchases home she is startled by her new neighbor, which results in a fall and a broken ankle. She is devastated to realize that because of her injuries she will not be leaving in two days as planned.

Ben Fortescue, her neighbor, feels responsible for what has happened. He begins to visit her daily as a result of his guilt. Because of this a closeness is developed on both sides. He, however, has been hiding many secrets about not only his true identity, but his past as well.

Will he be able to resolve his issues to feel free to give his heart? Will Rebecca change her mind when all is revealed?

This was a clean read with some deep issues, but also some ridiculously entertaining moments. It was nice to see the growth of these characters and realize the influence that their families made in their lives.
A delightful read.

A pleasant read! Rebecca finds herself at the mercy of her neighbor Ben when she injuries her ankle. Ben manages to get her home safely. He feels he caused her accident and feels responsible for her missing out on her season in London. Eventually they get to know each other and become friends and grow from there. Ben is reluctant to get too close. He is haunted by the past and a dead wife and child to care for. You can't help but cheer Rebecca and Ben on to a romantic relationship!