I rarely read this genre, but whenever Janna MacGregor puts out a new book I jump on it! Constance in this book has been through the mill, but she has come out strong! She enlists her former best friend to marry her after her first husband made a mess of her reputation and life. She wants Jonathan to be a doting father to her newborn baby. Jonathan is dealing with the mess that is his own life, but can't deny her. There's isn't a usual marriage for the first year. Jonathan doubts his ability to be a proper father and husband. It's Constance's job to convince him that his physical disability doesn't make him any less of a man.

I totally loved the woman that Constance became. She was a real go-getter and she totally went after what she wanted, even in bed. Jonathan really had some stepping up to do through most of the book. A war injury made him vulnerable to others and full of doubt. Constance wants a REAL husband and certainly not another who will abandon her. The two of them were wonderful together!

This was a book I really couldn't put down. If you like historical romance, I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Here we have a marriage between old friends who haven’t seen each other for years, but they jump into a marriage without getting to know each other. Jonathan has PTSD from his time as a sniper in the Napoleonic Wars plus he’s being blackmailed by his former commanding officer. He’s been badly injured in his leg. So he’s a grumpy guy but he’s still in love with Constance who is just perfect in every way. She’s lovely and also manages a business on her own. We never actually see her do much with her business, but we’re assured that she does so.

It’s all a bit predictable that Jonathan and Constance will find their way to each other and foil the bad guy, but it was still a pleasant read.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

3.5 stars

The Widow Rules series was one where I enjoyed the first book, so was excited to see what would happen next for the trio of unlikely friends.

This installment of the series focuses on Constance and her childhood friend, Jonathan.

I enjoyed getting to know Constance, Jonathan, and the secondary cast of their staff and friends. These are characters that come to us with history and baggage. How they deal with those issues colors their interactions and takes an unusual situation and makes it real and relatable.

The time line for this is sequential to book 1, so it definitely makes more sense if you read the series in order. Seeing Constance follow in Kat’s footsteps for a potential happy ending has made me more curious to see how the series will conclude with Beth’s story.

This is the 2nd book in this series. The series revolves around 3 women who all married the same man.
Book 1 was Kate's story. This is Constance's story. Constance is the only one of the 3 who is pregnant. But considering she was the 2nd to marry the no-good Meri, her child will be born illegitimate. So she asks her life long friend, Johnathan to marry her. This is how the book starts. And right at the beginning things don't make sense. Why rush to marry when it turns out that it is no longer necessary.
The relationship between these two is one of constant angst. It just didn't make for very enjoyable reading. I struggled to finish the book. I gave it 3stars because I liked the secondary characters in Mr and Mrs North and Regina the mastiff.
I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Her childhood friend, Jonathan, comes through for Constance when she needs a husband but he is loathe to become close to her. Enter stage right the loyal butler who takes matters into his own hands….
I did feel there were a few inconsistencies in the story and the villain of the piece collapses very easily at the end but friends to lovers and marriage of convenience are two of my favourite tropes so it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Constance Lysander is about to give birth to her late husband's child, and Society feels she should have a man with her. She has an aunt and the friends she made out of her late husband's other wives, and a business to run. Jonathan, Earl of Sykeson, is a childhood friend whose reentry into Society is rough due to injuries from the war. A marriage of convenience will help them both, but it soon enough seems like much more than convenience.

Rules for Engaging the Earl is the second book of the Widow Rules series, taking place after Duke in Time. That's the book where the three women Meri married met and discovered the bigamy. In this novel, we start with the arrangement soon after Aurelia is born, then there's a time skip of a year after Jonathan retreated to his country estate in humiliation. His butler intervened, ultimately asking Constance to arrive via letters he wrote in Jonathan's stead. His senior staff are all in on it and hope that Constance and Aurelia will draw him out of his self-imposed isolation. There are many humorous moments, especially surrounding the mastiff that servants can't stand, which ultimately showcases Constance at her tender-hearted best. Of course, the two are well suited and soon fall in love.

What stops the immediate happiness is Jonathan feeling sorry for himself, the lord that was threatening him (and coincidentally Constance) and the belief both had that they had to rely on themselves for everything. It all comes to a head, and in the fallout, both realize what is truly important to them and go after it. We have our happily ever after, and justice for the wrongs done.

I really like this series of friends who find that they have all three married the same man. The connections and friendships that this mistake helps to curate is just the best. The second installment begins with Constance having her baby. She is about to marry her childhood best friend and everything seems to go wrong after the fact. Their journey to find each other and uncover their love is filled with longing and mistakes and tender moments that I enjoyed so much. I am looking forward to the third installment.

Well, what have we here? the perfect (for most) angsty read of the spring.

We have a loving pair of young best friends, Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston, and Constance Lysander. Jonathan is leaving to become a sharpshooter with the army. He leaves, but promises have been made! Constance is going about her life learning about her father's business.

Constance marries a rake, a rogue, an all-around bad guy, who just so happens to marry two other women after he marries her. Steals her dowery and then drowns in a mud puddle. Oopsie!

Oh, and did I forget to mention that Constance is pregnant?

Since all of this has happened in the last ten years---I doubt that, but the timeline said: "ten years have passed."

Okay, here come my issues. It may be that I'm I've just had too many books dealing with self-recriminations, angst to the nth degree, and a lot of internal dialoguing. I just could not make it through this book.

Constance needs a husband so her baby won't be born out of wedlock ( since her first hubby was married three times at the same time). She sends word to Johathan, and here he comes to save the day-only he doesn't have to. If you read the book, you'll find out why; I don't want to add any more spoilers than I may have done already!

We deal with PTSD, physical disabilities, a frigid heart, and passionate leering thoughts. The lustful thoughts are on both sides of this farce. Of course, you can see the writing on the wall because, well, this is a romance, dammit! Things will go on in their own befuddled way, especially since the Earl has some pretty heavy accusations against him from his time in the army, so of course, there will be an evil, despicable entity thrown in the plot for good measure. Sex will come into the picture and save the day, the Earl will come to adore the baby, things will work out, and they will have a happy ending!

I just couldn't do it; I just couldn't find any compassion or empathy for these characters or sorrow for what Johathan had gotten himself into.

*ARC supplied by publisher and NetGalley.

Constance Lysander needs to marry and the man she has chosen is Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston. Jonathan and Constance were childhood friends but then life happened and the two of them haven't seen each other in years.
I don't normally recap books in series especially not in historical romance series but if you didn't read the first book (go do so now), let me give you a quick recap.
Constance and two other women married a scheming swindler who died, leaving all three of the women penniless and leaving Constance with a baby.
Constance's original reason to marry is to provide her baby with a name. But as time goes on, she remembers the feelings she had for Jonathan.
Constance makes herself comfortable in Jonathan's home but as time goes on, wife and husband start to keep secrets that could endanger both of their lives.
This book gets downgraded to four stars because it irritated me that they wouldn't just talk to each other and fix their problems.
I did however love seeing these characters again. Meri's widows still have a strong bond and it was great to see how they always wanted to protect Constance.
I cannot wait to read the next book in the series

It's about the devastating physiological and physical results of war.

Jonathan and Caroline are childhood best friends. Unfortunately, Jonathan is called upon to serve his country in the ongoing war. He leaves Caroline behind with no promises of his return. Although she pines for him, she marries a trigamist who leaves her with nothing. He just disappears and meets his demise. In the meantime, the other two wives befriend Caroline and they become friends. Tied together by the same fate.

Jonathan returns from war a broken man. He becomes reclusive and refuses to have friends or socialise at all. He is summoned by the pregnant Caroline to make her unborn child legitimate. He reluctantly agrees because in his eyes, he is worthless and nobdy would want hin in their lives. Then they are faced with an unscrupulous individual who start to blackmail them. It takes a lot to talk Jonathan around and make him believe that he is worth fighting for. Together they embark on this journey full of ups and downs. Caroline won't give up though. Can she convince Jonathan of his worth and have the happy life that she craves?

It's an emotional journey where Caroline has to work hard to convince Jonathan of her feelings for him. It's a good concept with a few twists and turns. Well worth reading.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

Book 2 in the series starts off with Constance and Jonathan as teenagers giving each other their first kiss. Jonathan though is off to war and Constance marries another man. Unfortunately, the man she married happened to also marry two other women! He dies and the women all find out about each other. This is about wife 2.

Jonathan was severely injured in battle and is living with the scars, both physical and mental. He doesn’t believe that Constance could love him as he is and left her for a year after the got married, hiding at his estate while his butler lied and said he was on secret missions for the Crown (which Jonathan was not aware of). On top of that, his honor is being questioned as a deserter of his post while at war and his idea for a training camp was stolen by the same man who was behind the rumors of Jonathan’s desertion. There was a lot going on that Jonathan had to overcome. In my opinion, it was a little too much.

Constance needs a husband but then doesn’t. That confused me right off. Turned out she’s the legitimate wife and therefore doesn’t need to marry Jonathan. Despite that, she still wants to marry Jonathan and give her daughter a father. Constance has loved Jonathan since she was a girl and wants to help him see the man she sees. But at the same time, she doesn’t trust him with the issues that are going on at her business, which involve the same man Jonathan is having issues with. It was all a bit much and could have been resolved if they just talked with one another.

I’m interested to see what happens with Beth and Grayson. Hope they get their happy ending.

*copy received from publisher for review consideration

The prequel short story was wonderful. The first book was disappointing, but still okay. This was tedious, dull, and filled with uninspired characters. I abhorred the H/h. Mr North, the butler, was one of the few entertaining characters, but even the few laugh out loud moments mostly due to him, were not enough to redeem this. The digital ARC is poorly edited, as well. Let’s hope they clean it up for the final printing.

I’m giving this two stars purely for North and the rest of the Sykeston’s staff, but I’m done with this series. I’m sure book 3 will be Beth’s story and probably a HEA with Grayson, but I can’t imagine suffering through another book with the main characters from any of these prior stories.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rules for engaging the Earl by Janna Macgregor is the newest installment in The Widow Rules series. I highly recommend reading the first book and the novella in this series. Works as a stand alone but all the heroines are connected in a surprising way.

I love this series as a whole and Macgregor's writing is always top notch. This book wasn't my cup of tea due to some of the elements in this book: second chance romance, concealing information from romantic partner and just felt like the plot moved slowly or wasn't enough action for me.

I loved Regina, the mastiff that sits at the dinner table and Constance's daughter. Jonathan, the Earl of Sykeston is finding himself after a severe injury to his leg. I thought his dramatics, sweetness and willingness to work through his trauma very realistic and endearing. Constance Lysander is a hard working mother and I felt so bad for her sometimes! What is it going to take for Jonathan to kiss her and for her to stop cleaning?!

Arc for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

MacGregor's latest novel features two long time friends who must overcome their issues to create a loving relationship. I enjoyed the novel, but felt that the plot could have been more easily resolved if the characters had actually named the antagonist to each other.

Constance Lysander needs a husband and quick! Ready to give birth to the daughter of her late husband who abandoned her and married 2 other women, Constance wants to protect her daughter's reputation so she summons childhood friend and first love, Jonathan, the Earl of Sykseton. But Jonathan has been away at war and comes back a changed man, both emotionally and physically. Can Constance and Jonathan heal from their past and make a future together before it's too late?

This is the second novel in the The Widow Rules series and I have absolutely loved both of them so far. The original story of the 3 wives is intriguing and I love that the author has been able to get 3 different storylines out of each of the ladies. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Constance and Jonathan in this book. There was enough romance to keep you turning the pages and enough of a hero/heroine story that it kept me engaged to the last page! I can't wait to see where the final story leads the last of the ladies!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review and honest opinions.

I was able to read this book early thanks to netgalley and St. Martins

In the first novel in Janna MacGregor’s The Widow Rules series, three women found out they had all been married to the same terrible man. Constance thought she was his second wife, though she was the only one pregnant when he died. In order to prevent a scandal and to provide her child with the best life possible, Constance asks a childhood friend, Jonathan, to marry her. But at the start of this second novel in the series, they discover that Constance was actually the only one legally married to her late husband. She and Jonathan no longer need to marry – but she still wants to be his wife.

So they marry, and the rest of the book is really a study of them trying to learn how to live together, how to communicate, how to actually be a married couple. Jonathan was injured in the war, and he can’t seem to leave the past behind. He’s convinced he’s not good enough for Constance, that he doesn’t deserve her and she deserves far better than him. But they’ve been in love since they were teenagers, even in the decade they spent apart, and it’s obvious to see they’re going to figure it all out.

Jonathan is deeply flawed but not irredeemable. Constance is wildly optimistic but with a business savvy. They’re both independent, but when they come together, sparks fly. I enjoyed getting to see how they fell in love again as adults rather than inexperienced kids. And I appreciated that there were moments in their journey that made me cringe as I read. MacGregor captured the ups and downs of their situation perfectly, which only made their HEA feel all the more earned and undeniably sweet.

There’s going to be at least one more book in the series, and I honestly can’t wait to see how the third wife, Beth, finds her own happily ever after.

Release Date: April 26th 2022

📖📖📖📖

Constance has made mistakes in the past, such as thinking she was her husbands only wife. When it is revealed that he has not only one other wife but two Constance’s life begins to tailspin. Add to that, she is expecting a baby with her traitorous former “husband” and society is all watching this soap opera play out. Constance reaches out to her childhood friend Jonathan. Who happens to be the Earl of Sykeston and while he is physically and emotionally scared his name Carrie’s the weight that Constance needs to recover from the scandal. Jonathan has always loved Constance and begins to soften his sharp edges but can Constance let down the wall she has built to fall in love?

This book is the classic beauty and the beast troupe but it has other fun elements like the other wives becoming friends but there were the elements I hate. Just talk to each other people!!! I would re read this one but it was fun.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#bookstagram #netgalleyreads #bookrecommendations. #JannaMacgregor #rulesforengagingtheearl

This was a great story. Plenty of angst to get your fill. Jonathan is your typical physically damaged and emotionally unavailable (but still alpha) male. Constance has been hurt and abandoned before and is afraid she’s chosen wrong in the seemingly bitter man that used to be the vibrant boy she loved many years ago. But things aren’t always what they seem and sometimes the beast needs his beauty to bring him back to life. 5 stars!!

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Rules for Engaging the Earl is the second installment in Janna MacGregor’s The Widow Rules series. It can be read as a stand-alone, although there are some elements that would be richer if read in order. As this series revolves around the lives of three women who found out they’d been trigamously married to the same man, I loved seeing the relationships between Constance, Kat, and Blythe develop as they’ve begun to regain their freedom, with Kat, and now Constance, newly married, and Blythe navigating her newly independent life. The women support each other, and it helps that the men the women are paired up with (the two heroes thus far, and I believe the one being set up for book three) are also friends. There are some wonderful moments between different members of the cast that warmed my heart.
But of course, the spotlight is on Constance and Jonathan and their romance. Constance is incredibly sympathetic, given her shared situation with the other ladies, as well as being left pregnant on top of everything else. I didn’t blame her for clinging to the memory of a childhood friend with whom she’d shared a romance, even though they’d obviously grown up and changed since then.
It took longer for me to warm up to Jonathan. On a technical level, I get where he’s coming from. He’s been through a lot of trauma, not to mention developing a leg injury and a black mark on his name he did not deserve. Given all he’s been through, becoming closed off makes sense. But he spends a lot of time reveling in that, pushing those he loves (including Constance) away. Given what she had been through with a first husband who very clearly didn’t want her, I felt for her to have her dreams of her childhood sweetheart tarnished and to be rejected once again due to a husband’s own selfish impulses, whatever the motivation was.
That said, I really like that she had the strength to be the one to confront him about this, and be the one to leave him as he was prepared to continue on his self-destructive path, playing a role (along with help from some friends) in motivating him to prove he’s ready to face down the challenges life throws at them at her side.
This is another enjoyable installment, and given the breadcrumbs that have been left about what awaits Blythe, I can’t wait to find out what’s to come in the third book. If you enjoy historical romance with a good balance of compelling romance and female friendship/found-family vibes, you’ll enjoy this one.

I wanted to like this book I really did, but there were so many things that just took away from my enjoyment that this quickly went from 3-4 stars down to 1.

To start, I'm still unsure why Constance went through with the wedding in the first place. The whole point of summoning Jonathan and asking him to marry her in the first place was so that the child she was about to give birth to would be "legitimate" even though it wasn't his child and everyone knew it. But then when she found out she was the legal first wife of the despicable man she had married the first time, there was no real reason for her to go through with the marriage without getting to know Jonathan for the man he had become. It was true she had no money from her husband, but she had money from the company that she owned. Surely that could have seen to her and her child's comfort for a while.

But she marries him, and just like her first husband, this one too abandons her (although a lot quicker than her first husband, Meri at least stayed a month where Jonathan set off about an hour after the ceremony). Except it's a-okay this time because Jonathan writes to her. Or so she thinks. And yet when she shows up at her new home and her husband is less than welcoming (and entirely too surprised for someone who extended an invitation), she doesn't question it.

Now here is where I thought the book would get better. We now have a wife who wants a true marriage and to make her husband happy, and a husband who believes a court-martial is in his future (although he did nothing wrong), and who wants nothing to do with his wife. This should be a book about them coming together to face adversity and find love (considering they were in love with each other years ago when they were also best friends). However - despite Constance's attempts, Jonathan is just a.... freaking jerk.

For example, Constance takes it upon herself to clean his study (which really would not have been her place to do, but let's just go with it as she had the best of intentions) and he flips out on not only her, but on his staff as well. Then we are treated to even more of his inner monologue (of which I assure you there is plenty already), "he'd not allow his wife to wreck such havoc. He'd not allow her to destroy his study" ... so cleaning his pigsty of a study is not only wreaking havoc on his life, but also destroying his study as well?" Whatever. But then. THEN. After he takes to task for it, going so far as to tell her that the next time she has the inspiration to do something nice for him she should forget it, he gifts her with a FEATHER DUSTER in the next chapter hoping it will ENCOURAGE her to feel free to come back to his study and clean it. I'm sorry what?

Then they come up with these ridiculous rules. Jonathan insists that they must have rules "about how and when we engage as a married couple" - I'm not even going into my complaints with just how asinine THAT is, but she asks for them to spend time talking to one another, you know, sharing in each others problems like normal people do, and then she demands that he treat her child with her ex-husband as his own. Oddly enough, Jonathan has an easier time with the demand than he does with the request.

But I can't lay all the blame at his feet for that because nearly as soon as she issues the request (or rule as they call them), she breaks it herself, having found her company in a bit of a jam with the same bloke who is also stealing ideas from her husband. But of course, since neither of them can actually open their mouths and talk about what really matters, they go the entire book with a sword hanging over both of their heads, that is wielded by the same man.

I mean, what is it with the characters in this genre and not just TALKING to each other? I promise it would save a lot of trouble and make the books a lot more enjoyable for the reader.

Of course, after a drawn-out storyline that alternates between boring and annoying (such as Jonathan going out of his way to be the most ungrateful and some would say disgusting host he can be just because his wife invited their friends to spend some time with them), they finally manage to find their happily ever after and vanquish their common enemy (although Jonathan leaves her again so he can take care of his end of things in London on his own). In fact, Jonathan is so relieved that when he comes back he doesn't mind that Constance is now throwing a whole party as their estate. You know, the kind where everyone is there.

I suppose that is to show how much he has changed, but honestly? By the time we got there I no longer cared about either of these characters or what happened to them.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.