I love historical romance and this one was another wonderful story! I loved MacGregor's writing and characters. Will definitely be reading more from this author!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this title.

I will not be publicly reviewing this title due to SMP's lack of communication on the comments of its workers.

I wish Janna luck as I enjoyed her writing style, and her characters were interesting. The story was enjoyable and moved at a good pace. The intrigue was good, and came to a good resolution.

Rules for Engaging the Earl is an Enchanting read. You cannot put it down for a second after you start reading the story.

I Want to read it Five Stars and Recommend it to all readers.

This book is comfort food for romance readers. The female lead is feisty and the Earl really doesn't stand a chance against her. There is a nice balance of romantic tension and Happily ever after. I loved the romance.

This heartwarming narrative unfolds a tender romantic saga of rediscovered love. Acquainted since childhood, Constance and Jonathan carry the scars of past hurts and betrayals into adulthood. When Constance faces a dire situation, Jonathan steps forward as her savior. However, their marriage takes an unexpected turn as Jonathan vanishes shortly after the ceremony, leaving Constance to believe he's off playing the hero.

The plot thickens when Jonathan invites Constance to his country estate, unveiling hidden truths and nurturing the blossoming of love. Their journey is a rollercoaster of highs and lows, creating a sweet spectacle of love's evolution. In the end, she becomes his salvation, while he stands as her steadfast and stabilizing force in life.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the banter between the characters. I felt the story flowed well, and I liked the premise throughout the book. The heroine I thought was fabulous because she was confident and knew who she was. I enjoyed watching the hero fall for the heroine. In general the story was fun to read.

The concept behind this series is well thought out and original!

The love story of Constance and Jonathan was beautifully done. Knowing their feelings did not change with the passage if time, even if individually they did was charmingly portrayed.

Seeing how greed, poor decisions, entitlement and blackmail can debilitate someone saddened me. That people feel that intimidation in a role as someone's superior or a business client makes me angry. I cheered outloud when justice was served! Well done.

The journey for Jonathan was good, but painful to watch. Thankfully , he had supportive people around him to gently nudge, push, shove and pull him into a better place. Once he started to get out of his own way you could see him soaring back to the man he once was.

Constance is an epic character, strong, determined and a true lioness. She will not back down from a fight and will defend those she sees as hers to the very edge of hell if needed!

The secondary characters are fabulous. Jonathan's staff are so caring and charming, I think everyone needs a Mr. North in their lives. Constance's friends are fun, supportive and ready to stand by her in a heart beat.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this story, all opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Lisa for Buried Under Romance

A phenomenal follow up in this trilogy! The entire premise of this series is fantastic and I am sucker for a broken hero! Constance is so sunshine to Jonathan's grumpy. Childhood friends to lovers. A heartfelt journey to HEA. Secondary characters also add so much to this whole series! Love!

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

This is the second book in a series by Janna MacGregor. This follows the story of Jonathan Eaton, Earl of Sykeston, and Constance Lysander, widow of a bounder. These two are childhood sweethearts, separated due to Jonathan going off to war due to his specialized skills and marksmanship.

10 years after their emotional parting, Jonathan reenters Constance's life in order for her to be married prior to the birth of her child. Constance initially was uncertain if she had been married legitimately to her husband until shortly prior to the birth of her daughter. Jonathan willingly comes to Constance's aid and chooses to marry her anyway.

As Constance has just delivered, she convaleses waiting for Jonathan to send for her. It takes over a year for him to do so, except the writer is in question.

I liked this novel for the fact that we deal with both a traumatized hero and a traumatized heroine who are both working to heal themselves and come together as a healed couple to move forward. That road is very rocky, and the author does an excellent job of presenting that.

Jonathan returns from the war physically injured due to being shot in the leg twice, but he is also emotionally scarred due to rumors that could lead to him being court-martialed. Will he let Constance in to help him battle the rumors?

Constance has great emotional scarring from her first husband and his abandonment of her. Constance is also a business owner!! One of her customers comes to her saying she is at fault for a design flaw. Constance has to decide whether or not to let Jonathan in to know about this concern.

Another aspect of this novel I greatly enjoyed are the side characters who are at Jonathan's house. They add another dimension of compassion and also show the effects of trauma on those who may not have gone through the trauma directly. It is very well written!

As far as steam elements, this has them in spades! There is a shower. There are teasings and tauntings. Constance is a bit of a dom in certain parts of the novel. That was an unexpected and pleasant change.

I do recommend the book with a caution of knowing these are traumatized characters that could potentially trigger someone with either PTSD, physical injuries from service, or abandonment from a spouse or loved one.

Note: I received an advance reader copy of this book from #NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think that many historical romances that focus on the returning heroes of war are interesting and in this case, makes the lead characters very interesting.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It’s wonderfully written, with a good amount of steam (Constance seems such a prim lady at the beginning, but in reality she’s quite passionate and wicked!), an astounding depth of feelings and quite an hefty dose of angst. Jonathan is a tormented, reclusive hero who needs to be taken by hand and brought back into the world and Constance, with her patience and kindness, is the right woman to do it. I was quite angry with him for most of the book, because in my opinion he was a coward, unwilling to face life, but perfectly willing to hurt others in order to guard his carefully constructed ivory tower, or self-imposed prison, in which he felt safe. The key, of course, was learning to open up to the others and I think that both Jonathan and Constance should have spoken more about their problems and their feelings. I loved the side characters as well, especially the butler, who plays a key role in the book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Sometimes it is the ones we love and adore, who have the power to hurt us the most."

This proves to be in true in "Rules for Engaging the Earl". It is a gorgeous love story that begins when Jonathan and Constance are young and picks up ten years later when they enter into a marriage of convenience. Immediately upon being introduced to Jonathan and Constance, MacGregor establishes their close connection and the feeling of loss they both have as their lives move in opposite directions. When they come together again as adults, they both have been through challenging changes.

Constance is a wonderful and dedicated friend and person. She is quick to help care for others. Yet, upon her marriage to Jonathan, she is dealing with an uphill battle as Jonathan has a proclivity towards solitude and pushing people away. Jonathan struggles with the overwhelming transition of someone whose life has been forever changed. I have been through something similar and have caught myself comparing my challenges to others just like Jonathan did. He is so mired in the loneliness that is the state of his life after the war, his injury, and the stress of conflicts outside his control, that he justifies his behavior, and is simultaneously blinded to the loneliness or suffering that someone else is experiencing.

My heart just broke for both of them. At times I felt Constance was so incredibly understanding while Jonathan displayed such beastly and selfish behavior to the point where he had me gasping in admonishment. It was also a lesson in humility, as the reader, to remember the trials and tribulations life had handed him, and that dealing with a new normal while trying to acclimate to having a new family, and upholding ones honor is an overwhelming task and can take time to work through.

There was an underlying plot, but the reconnection between Jonathan and Constance takes center stage. This is a character-driven story that beautifully displays the idea that imperfections and insecurities do not need to be exonerated in order for a love to thrive. We are perfectly imperfect people deserving of love in all stages of our life.

MacGregor inserted beautifully crafted, swoon worthy sentences into private moments between Jonathan and Constance, and in their thoughts about one another. The language was so incredibly gorgeous and raw, revealing the depth of connection between the hero and heroine.

If you love a childhood friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, and an interfering butler, you will adore this quiet, but heart-filled story of hope, love, and friendship.

Thank you St. Martins Press/St. Martins Paperback via NetGalley for an advanced copy of this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This one was lovely. I’m not a fan of second chance romances all too much but I did enjoy this! Great side characters too.

This was a DNF for me - I just didn't love the characters and the story wasn't enough of a hook to keep me interested. I usually love the angst and detail of Janna MacGregor - but this one just wasn't for me.

I'm generally a sucker for a good marriage of convenience story, and when the hero stoops to 'save' the heroine's reputation, it makes my heart melt. Yes, I'm all for the 'knight in shining armor'. However, Constance is far from a damsel in distress. She finds herself in a most unusual situation, pregnant with her late husband's child, penniless and in the company of the two other wives. Jonathan is not faring too well himself, struggling with the memories of war and his injury. It's a sweet (and at times steamy) second-chance romance that I highly recommend.

This was a sweet romantic tale of second chances. They have known each other since childhood and as adults they have both been hurt and betrayed, but when Constance is in need Jonathan steps up to help her. The moment they are married he disappears. She is lead to believe he is off being the hero, and then he asks her to join her at his country estate. Once there secrets are revealed and love blooms. Their story had its highs and lows and was sweet to watch unfold. She was his salvation in the end and he was her rock and stable force needed in her life.

Great reading from beginning to end. Really enjoyed this action packed, sexy, fun, highly entertaining and engaging adventure filled with exciting charters, witty dialog, fun twists and thrilling passion.......

I loved Jonathan and Constance's story . it is a heart warming story of best friends when Jonathan is recruited as a sharpshooter for the British army. He tells Constance that whenever she needed him he would always be there for her and he never forgot his best friend Constance during his time fighting the French, but when he returns home he want s nothing to do with anyone and that including his best friends. Constance pregnant from her dead deceitful husband writes Jonathan asking him to marry her to I sure her child is legitimate because her husband had multiple wives. Jonathan does marry Constance with the intent to leave her in London as he has probblrms.of his own that need to be resolved but he has a nosey butler that takes matters into his own hands. When Constance show up at his country home the will find she has to fight Jonathan's dark side to when his heart if he will let her.

Absolutely enjoyed the characters of this story. I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

***ARC Provided by the Publisher via NetGalley***

I generally love second chance romance, but there was just something about this one that never worked for me and I never believed the main couple were actually interested in one another.

DNF at 28%