What can I say but I loved this book from start to finish. It's one that you will read again and again. The characters were genuinely a wonderful mix. The friendships were so strong you just felt them Bravo on a great story

This is the second book from The Widow Rules by Janna McGregor.

It focused on the legal wife, Constance Lysander, of the deceased Meriwether, who married three women and left them penniless.

Constance was a strong and independent woman. She owned a shipping company, but shame came over her when she found out that she was pregnant. She didn't want her daughter to grow up without a father, so she asked the one person who promised that he would be there for her, Jonathan Eaton.

Jonathan, aka Lord Sykeston, was Constance's childhood best friend. He was one of the great marksmen of the British Army. When the woman he fell in love with requested that she marry him to save her daughter's reputation, he didn't hesitate to come. Constance knew

Jonathan was not the same guy. He has a mangled right leg and wasn't capable of having a wife or a family. Yet for Jonathan, he would do everything for Constance and their daughter, Aurelia, even if it meant breaking their hearts.

I commend Constance's personality. I actually like her. Jonathan has pure intentions, but the experience of the army left changed him and bruised his ego and heart. I had a good time reading this story! I cannot wait for the last installment, which is about Beth and Grayson.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC!

3.5-star!

I love a good childhood best friends to lovers story where the couple shared a solid friendship foundation in the past, so I was looking forward to this book after reading the first one in the series. Constance Lysander was caught up in a strange situation where she found out her deceased husband left behind two other wives. Now pregnant, she wanted her child to have a legitimate father, so she turned to her childhood best friend Jonathan Eaton, the Earl of Sykeston, to propose a marriage.

A top marksman in the military, Jonathan returned home from his missions wounded, his honor and reputation being rumored and questioned. He turned himself into a hermit, staying away from society, until Constance reached out to him asking for assistance...

While I enjoyed Ms MacGregor's writing style, I just couldn't agree with Jonathan. I understand his fear and his bitterness, but he didn't actively do anything to improve his situation or to get out of the trouble he was in. He kept pushing himself away from those who cared for him, and I just got frustrated! I was hoping he would do some serious groveling to Constance in the end, but even the conflict with the villain was only resolved because someone else dropped it in his lap.

I wasn't a huge fan of Constance in the beginning because of her attitude when asking Jonathan to marry her while she was ready to give birth. But as the story went on, I sympathized with her as she must do what she could to secure her daughter's future. And she really tried! She tried to run her own shipping company, to take care of her baby, and to pull Jonathan out of his hiding shell and give him a family. So I felt that Jonathan should have done more to make up to her.

Overall, I felt a bit disappointed that this book could have a great potential with their strong foundation. But their sexy times were steamy and sweet, so I guess it sort of makes up for it a little!

*Special thanks to SMP Romance for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.*

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆☆
RULES FOR ENGAGING THE EARL is the second installment in The Widow Rules series. The novel can easily be read as a standalone within the series with little to no confusion. However, the "widows" themselves are connected by a singular husband, where it would benefit the reader to start with A DUKE IN TIME, as Constance was introduced in the first novel.

Pregnant and struggling to come to terms with the fact that her husband was a bigamist, while surrounded by his "wives." The man left her and their unborn child with no money, now she has no husband, extra wives to consider, and pregnancy makes it difficult to run her shipping business.

Jonathan, a former childhood friend, reenters Constance's life. The returning war hero was wounded – physically, mentally, and emotionally – which has him draw away from society.

This pair of old friends needs one another, deciding a marriage of convenience would benefit them both. The author continuously puts our hero and heroine in situations meant to draw them closer together, to rely on one another, and to truly get to know each other soul deep.

Unique and lifelike characters this reader rooted for from page one, Constance and Jonathan balanced one another perfectly in this second-chance, friends-to-lovers, beauty and the beast novel.

I highly recommend to fans of the author, historical romance, and this series. The only complaint I can make is a pacing issue, simply because the story dragged at parts, not progressing fast enough to completely hold my interests.

With that said, I'm beyond eager to get my hands on the next installment.

Damaged characters who later redeem themselves are among my favorite type of characters. Jonathan Eaton, the Earl of Sykeston is wounded physically and psychologically. He is a shakeable character. One that you just want to reach into the book and give him a big shake. When his childhood best friend, Constance Lysander needs to marry immediately, he does the right thing and marries her. Unfortunately, he prefers to wallow alone at his country estate. Constance has her own issues. She was the second and only true wife of the late Meriweather Vareck, who left her after one month and pregnant. Right so, she is terrified of being abandoned. Sparks fly when she has had enough of his absence and goes to his estate. They could have resolved so many issues if they just would have been honest and talked to each other. But then, there would not have been much of a story then. As much as I enjoyed the first book in the series, I felt this one was better. It has it all, pathos, romance, wonderful, likeable characters, and even a nasty villain. Jonathan's butler, North is a treasure. I hope we see more of him in the next book.

A must-read for anyone who enjoys well crafted Regency Romance with unforgettable characters and an incredible story that immediately pulled me into the middle of all that was happening and kept me totally immersed until I read the last word. I loved the second chance romance between Constance and Jonathan who had been childhood friends. The secondary characters, especially Regina, the English Mastiff and North the butler added so much to my reading pleasure. Janna MacGregor never disappoints whatsoever and blew me away with Rules for Engaging the Earl, book two in the Widow Rules series and now I am looking forward to book three from this gifted author.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review. I enjoyed it so much, I purchased a copy to read again later.

The fact that this is a romance where the two leads knew and loved each other as children but separated to follow their own paths fully expecting to find their way back pretty much guarantees that I would love this. The rather spectacular and sad way that it took them such a long time to get back together and the way it happened only added to the things I enjoyed about this one.
I also really liked how it connects to the previous book while showing the deep connection that the three widows forged and how they're so willing to help and support each other. Mad respect to MacGregor for showing three women supporting each other instead of attacking each other for something a man did. The only downside to this is that it makes this a book that I'm not sure would hit quite as good for someone reading this without reading the previous book.
My one complaint is that I do think that the melodramatics from Jonathan could have been toned down a bit. Then again, I enjoyed that the guy was the one wallowing in his feelings while the woman was totally in charge of everything and everyone.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for the engaging (wink, wink) read!

I received an ARC from Netgalley. Although I mostly love the books of Janna MacGregor, this series, Widow Rules, has been a disappointment. I gave the last book three stars; this was marginally better. Aside from the concept issues I mentioned in A Duke in Time, this particular book was missing something. I wish I could pinpoint what it was.

While MacGregor does an adequate job of conveying Jonathan’s inner turmoil, I never quite connected with it. Constance, the perfect name for this character, is one of the widows of Meriwether, but has always been in love with Jonathan. Not sure exactly why she married Meriwether, but it did allow a good excuse for her to be pregnant, thus forcing Jonathan to push past his hesitancies to allow love into his life. His reluctance to allow anyone to get close to him only serves to highlight the importance of sharing our burdens with friends and family. Had he done so sooner, he might have avoided a lot of pain. Of course, Constance makes the same mistake, the difference being, she doesn’t allow her conflicts to interfere with her personal relationships. Nevertheless, both could have saved a lot of aggravation if they’d simply shared their troubles.

Jonathan is described as a male version of Ms. Havisham (Great Expectations). Even his study is much like I imagined her parlor—curtains drawn, everything dusty and in disarray, basically closed off to the world and frozen in time. And when Constance first sees him, after a year apart, she thinks, “He looked like a hermit who’d found his way out of the woods after being lost for a year.” Luckily, he has a busybody butler who has been with his family since before he was born, and Mr. North doesn’t allow Jonathan to wallow as much as he might like.

Which brings me to my favorite character: Mr. North. He cares for Jonathan and oversteps the bounds of a servant to bring Jonathan the love he so desperately needs. The banter between them is definitely a highlight of this story, as North continually pushes Jonathan to do better. When Constance first arrives at Jonathan’s estate, North tells her something Jonathan does which the household discourages. “The solicitous hum in his voice reminded Jonathan of a teacher’s pet currying favor by tattling on another.” During an argument: “Jonathan didn’t need to point out that he was the earl and North was the butler. It never made any difference.” Later, while discussing Jonathan’s newly-cleaned office, North comments, “Everyone is aware you prefer the putrid smell of powder burns mixed with dog.” Finally, during one argument, in which Jonathan accuses North of being an ill-bred haggard:

“Don't you have responsibilities besides aggravating me?” Jonathan growled.
North smiled demurely. “Of course, sir. Even ill-bred haggard butlers know their duties. It's to remind the dunderheaded lords of the manor what their responsibilities are.”

Jonathan
There were some really great descriptions of Jonathan’s walls coming down in the face of Constance’s persistent coaxing He observes Constance and thinks this: “Constance glided into the room with her unique, brilliant smile. It reminded him of an unwanted ray of sunshine interrupting a perfect morning sleep. Neither knew when they weren’t wanted.” When she tells him how desirable she finds him (despite his gnarled, lame leg), “Her words blasted a new hole in his heart, but the fickle organ mended itself immediately and started pounding against his ribs trying to reach her.” Still, he tries to fight the pull. He petulantly thinks, “She made people happy. He didn’t like it one bit.”

Some problems: Near the end of the story, the narrator mentions that Constance danced with James Sewell, as if the reader should know who that is. However, this particular character is mentioned nowhere else in the story, so some context would have been helpful.

And although this phrase only appeared twice throughout the book, it was unusual enough that it caught my eye and caused me to do a word search: “Then and there, Jonathan decided…” Maybe it’s because “then and there” wasn’t really necessary to tell the story, but there was something sophomoric about it. I expect better from Janna MacGregor. Will I read the next book in the series? Hope springs eternal so, yes.

As much as I loved the first book in this series, this one falls way short. Jonathan and Constance might have married ten years earlier had he not gone off to war. Now, she’s in need of a husband and asks him to marry her. Jonathan is pretty much a recluse since he came home from the war with a bad leg, but agrees.

This book is just super slow and Jonathan and Constance are always apart which makes having a romance hard. He’s not a very strong character for most of the book as he allows his bad leg and people’s comments to get to him. His behavior through the book is so back and forth from gruff and off putting to loving and wanting Constance that it was exhausting. Constance for the most part goes along with it all - including being abandoned multiple times like her disastrous first marriage. When there is actual romance, it’s well written and steamy, but it felt out of left field given all going on. Once it seems they’ve worked it all out he then leaves again for months which left me scratching my head.

Disappointing, but I hope Beth’s book will be better.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

OK so Rules for Engaging the Earl was one of the best historical romance books I’ve read. I meant to get it read and reviewed earlier but then I got hit by Covid. I had hoped that I’d feel like reading but, no. So it took several weeks for me to start reading the book and as always, I made sure to read the first book in the series before I started this one. It is absolutely essential that you read the first book before you star this one. That first one is an excellent book and you are going to learn a lot about the characters you find in this one. You get an introduction to Constance and Jonathan as well as other characters that are important to the series. The first one is delightful. So definitely read that before you read this.

But, oh, Rules is just amazing. First of all, I am absolutely in love with Aurelia, North, and Regina. You will be, too

This book is engaging because the premise is just different enough to keep you intrigued the entire time. I swear to you, you will be filled with righteous indignation about what happens to Jonathan and Constance. You will be their champions. This is just one of those HEAs that just consumes you, but in a lovely way.

The spicy parts were perfection. The conversation and what the characters thought and felt and the entire plot was just so engaging the entire time. I am a sucker for a scarred and broken hero. I didn’t want to put it down and actually kept reading it while I was on the treadmill at the gym. I cannot wait for the third book which will be about Beth.

Janna MacGregor has definitely become one of my auto buy authors.

This is an arc review from NetGalley

A solid three star book.

This is the second book in The Widow Rules series. I did not read the first book and this book stands alone - it adds enough backstory to understand the relationship with the other main characters from the other books without telling too much of their stories.

What I liked about this book:
- Jonathan (male main character) is really interesting. In the prologue he is a young teenage boy who takes on a big mission, leaving behind his best friend and young love. Ten years later, war, death and betrayal have left him jaded.
- Aurelia (daughter of female main character) is a lovely addition. She is young and sweet and I love the interactions between her and her mom and Jonathan.
- Regina (Jonathan's dog) is a hilarious addition. She adds comedy but also a "homey" feel to this genre that can sometimes seem too stiff.
- Constance (female main character) is strong and independent while fighting for what she wants.
- The background of how Constance becomes a widow (before Jonathan) is really unique. This alone makes me want to read the first novel in this series.

What I did not like about this book:
- There is little character growth of anyone but Jonathan and the main part of his seems to happen only because the story is wrapping up and not in a genuine way.
- Some of the house staff is insanely disrespectful. I always enjoy when the characters in this genre have close relationships but this was too much. It was completely unbelievable.
- Constance seems both innocent of pleasure and yet is super adventurous and take charge in the bedroom. There is no explanation of why she is more knowledgeable than she should be.
- There seems to be no growth of love for the characters as adults. It's mainly Constance trying to get Jonathan to see that he loves her - but it's been 10 years and they are completely different people now. I wish there was more of them learning about each other now instead of relying on who they were as teenagers.

I've always enjoyed a Janna MacGregor series & this one (The Widow Rules) looks like it's not going to disappoint either. This book is the second in the series & tells the story of Constance. She is looking to help with her future daughter's reputation & asks her childhood best friend, Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston, to marry her. He agrees & arrives after she has found out that she's the actual legitimate widow of her husband's 3 wives but she still wants to marry Jonathan. He agrees but wants it to pretty much be in name only because he has demons from being injured during the war & a threatened court martial. I highly recommend reading this story to see how their relationship unfolds & what happens to Jonathan's court martial. Also, the first book of the series was good & I look forward to the last one as well.
Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

The reason to keep them from just being happily together already was quite weak. But I decided to just play along like it made sense, and still ended up enjoying the rest of the book above average, so I'm giving it 4 stars anyway. Childhood sweethearts, second chance, wounded soldier, female business owner, and Beauty and the Beast tropes. I think the hero is an especially memorable character, but both leads were likable, and I was happy for them to be together in the end. It wasn't quite as strong as the first book in the series, in my opinion, but I'm very interested to see where the series goes from here.

Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor is a friends-to-lovers and marriage of convenience historical romance about best friends Constance Lysander and Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston. I must confess that Rules for Engaging the Earl was nothing like I expected. It was so much more. Instead of a typical friends-to-lovers romance, MacGregor used that relationship as the basis for the character’s willingness to commit to a marriage of convenience. So, it’s more of a marriage of convenience romance between friends. If you thought that would make things easier for them, you’d be wrong. She excellently explores how years apart, life’s ups and downs, scars, and secrets impact people and their relationships, changing how they relate to each other. Their friendship is the most crucial relationship in both their lives.

Nevertheless, Constance and Jonathan have to start fresh as adults before they can regain the comfort of their childhood friendship and use it as a foundation for the well-founded, adult partnership a lasting happy marriage requires. MacGregor keeps that journey emotionally compelling with serious tumult along the path. The novel’s pacing is a bit slow at first but picks up once the hero and heroine start interacting more. It’s a bit of a slow-burn romance that will draw readers in immediately.


After Constance’s husband dies, leaving her penniless and about to give birth to their child, with the scandal of two other wives of whom she had no knowledge hanging over her head, she needs to marry to preserve her child’s legitimacy. Constance isn’t alone with it all because her aunt and the other wives, with whom she’s become close friends, are by her side. However, she has no time to look for the perfect husband with a shipping business to run, a new baby coming, and someone threatening her livelihood. So, she asks her childhood best friend Jonathan to marry her. Though Jonathan has returned home a war hero, he doesn’t feel like one. His re-entrance to society has been challenging, with lingering severe and disabling war injuries and secrets about a mission burdening him and his outlook on life. His feelings for Constance remain deep, drawing him from the safety of his self-imposed seclusion. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his best friend and the woman who owns his heart. Will this marriage of convenience give them the chance to explore the feelings and attraction simmering between them as they help each other heal from the wounds and scars neither can see nor are ready and willing to share?

Though it’s told in dual POV from the heroine’s and hero’s POVs, in a nice change of pace, much of the novel is written from the hero Jonathan’s POV. MacGregor takes her time developing Jonathan’s and Constance’s relationship with sweet, angsty, tender, deeply emotional, steamy moments/interactions, furthering their characters’ and the story’s development. Constance is serious, intelligent, stubborn, kind, and spirited. After her father’s death, she took over the family’s business, and it became her passion, which she continues growing and increasing in profitability. However, Constance’s responsibilities make it easy for Jonathan to fulfill his promise of marrying her and then hide away from society and her. A man of honor, Jonathan is brave, courageous, reliable, and frustratingly set on having things his way, even if it doesn’t make sense. Jonathan and Constance often clash but are meant for each other. If only Jonathan could believe and accept it.

Rules for Engaging the Earl is an angsty, steamy, humorous, romantic, and captivating historical romance that should appeal to marriage of convenience fans.

Advanced review copy provided by St. Martin’s Paperbacks via Netgalley for review.

I received this book for free through netgalley for an honest review. The second in a series of widowed woman who were all unknowingly married to the same man. The second woman is married while with child to a childhood friend so the child will no longer be illegitimate. I love the childhood friends turned to lovers story so much, because it gives context as to why they both are willing to deal with the annoying nuances of each other. I hope there is a third in the series for the final widow! I highly recommend this series.

Another great enemies to lovers romance!

It took me a bit to get into this one, but then I was captured. I love how the author approached sensitive topics such as PTSD. The love story was very endearing to read and I enjoyed their story a lot.

DNF at 16%

Constance Lysander is pregnant with a dead man's child. A dead man who screwed her over by leaving her no money and cheating on her with two women (who he also happened to be married to). Society says she needs a wife, so she's set when her best friend comes back from the war agreeing to be her husband.

I cannot finish this book. It makes me physically ill to think about. The prologue was great, and I was expecting a great story to follow. I didn't make it much further through the story though because immediately after the prologue I was hit with tons of ableism toward our love interest. I get that it probably is a big part of the story and "that's just how people were back then" but that doesn't mean I want to read about it. It could've been great had I not had to listen to multiple characters bashing him for his disability. I just can't do it.

If that type of thing doesn't bother you, go ahead and give this story a try. I'm sure it's great, I just want no part in it.

This second chance love story is book 2 in Janna MacGregor's "The Widow Rules" series. The series focuses on three women who discover at the reading of their husband's will, that they were all married to him at the same time, which essentially ruins all but one of them.

Constance Lysander's marriage to Meriweather Vareck has been legitimized, just in time for the birth of their daughter. However, as the "2nd wife", believing her daughter would be illegitimate, she called upon her childhood best friend, Jonathan, the Earl of Sykeston, to marry her and give her daughter his name. Jonathan's honor as a war hero is unquestioned so she knows he will agree. That, and she has loved him most of her life. Who could question her motives for marriage with the man who has held her heart since she was a girl?

Jonathan has hidden himself away, running from a brewing scandal that he had no part of, but that he has not been able to refute. If he marries Constance can he stay away from her when everything in him wants to be her husband in truth? When his butler takes matters into his own hands, writing glowing love letters to Constance then finally, asking her to join him at his home, Jonathan can't bring himself to send her and her daughter back to London, especially when she's so thrilled to be with him. As she begins to draw him out of his darkness, and they succumb to the passion that has always simmered between them, can he keep her safe from the lies that swirl around him?

I loved so many things about this story. Jonathan is caught in a scandal he didn't create, by an unscrupulous former commanding officer. When this same villain goes after Constance's business, Jonathan is finally willing to confront, but will it be too little, too late for him and his wife? Constance looks at Jonathan and sees the handsome, loving friend she grew up with, the man she waited for. She doesn't see his physical limitations, or his scars from the war. Her love for him hasn't changed, even though she married another. She sees their marriage as something to treasure, something to nurture. Seeing his care for her daughter seals the deal for her, but can she ever convince Jonathan to let her into his secrets and to just love her?

Readers who love Regency period romance with a substantial amount of heat will enjoy this series. I can hardly wait for book 3, Beth's story, to hit the shelves!

After A Duke In Time, I was curious what would happen to Constance and Beth. In this book, we can see that Jonathan, Constance’s first boyfriend, offers to marry her to avoid scandal. Because Constance is pregnant with Merri’s child.

Jonathan has been wounded during the war. So, he prefers to live solitary. But he wants to provide for Constance, the girl he left behind, to go to war. Constance, however, wants more than just a dutiful marriage. She wants to have a partner, an equal. Can two bruised souls find happiness together?

Janna weaves yet another wonderful story about strong women and brave men.

Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

I wanted to like this more than I did, but the character interactions just didn’t sell me. I enjoyed it, but likely won’t reread.