I have looked forward to reading Janna MacGregor’s second book in The Widow Rules series since finishing book one, and what a pleasure it was! Rules for Engaging the Earl combines friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, and wounded warrior tropes into one amazing book! Aurelia and Regina are irresistible and there are wonderful character cameos from book one.

I loved Constance’s strength and ability to go after what she wanted. She seeks out Jonathan, her childhood best friend, hoping he will marry her to save her baby from being illegitimate. I enjoyed watching them navigate the trials of their new relationship. Jonathan, with his damaged body and insecurities from the war, doesn’t think he is fit to be a husband and father. Constance WANTS him to be a real husband and father, and she is determined to see it happen. What a journey they have, as they are reunited and form a family!

Janna MacGregor’s wonderful writing puts you in the story with the characters. You can picture the rooms, imagine the smells, feel the emotions. Her colorful descriptions give you the feels you are looking for in a romance story – love, warmth, sexiness, mystery, passion. Bring on the smoking chemistry, witty banter, brilliant secondary characters who lovingly bring the characters together and you have another winner! I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you to Janna MacGregor, St. Martin’s Publishing, and Netgalley for an advanced copy. I voluntarily read the book and gladly leave my unbiased opinion.

What a treat this was!
Constance finds herself in need of a husband in order to save no only her reputation but her unborn child as well. In her time of need, she turns to her old childhood friend Jonathan.
I found I liked this more than book one. The cast of characters and plot lines were done well. Jonathan and Constance make a wonderful pair and compliment each other well. The supporting characters are fun too, constantly trying to play matchmaker. The plot lines were interesting but sometimes I felt a little too much was going on.
The writing is superb and engaging. I flew through this one!

This is the second book in the Widow Rules series, about three women who were duped by a man into marriage. Constance is the only one of the three to have been legally married to the fraudster. She has a baby now, and a reputation that is in tatters. Her childhood best friend, Jonathan, Lord Sykeston, agrees to marry her. However, Jonathon has his own demons and physical wounds to battle, after the Napoleonic wars.

This is essentially a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Constance is a generous, caring character, who is willing to do the hard work to make her marriage work. She runs her family business, which I love to see a woman running a business. When there are problems at her business, she wants to solve them herself and not rely on her husband. However, she really needed to share the problems. Having had to rely on her own self for a while, she needs to learn to trust. Of course, that trust is tested in the story's black moment. Like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, it is when she feels the Beast, Jonathan, can't be anything other than angry and hurtful, that she feels like she can't do this any longer and needs to leave. I think Constance's character arc is pretty predictable, though still well done. She leans on her friends, while afraid to trust fully in her husband because of her horrible first husband. At the same time, she expects Jonathan to grow to trust her fully. That's the double-edged sword, she wants him to trust her while she doesn't fully trust him either. I know readers always say "they should talk!" but people don't. They really do try to do it themselves, make assumptions and mistakes, and Constance is no different.

Jonathan is a more difficult character. I understand he is meant to be dealing with both emotional and physical wounds. His character is fully the Beast and it takes a long time to get him to come out of the dark. His physical disabilities and how he is belittled by the villain, will be difficult for some readers. Also, this is where the pacing lost me. The middle of the book, where Jonathan and Constance are building a relationship but in reality Jonathon is still holding back from fully committing his heart and coming out of his self-imposed isolation, never mind addressing outside conflict in the plot - it's slow going. I could feel all the angst happening and I love a good angsty story. But the pace needed to move along here. Jonathan spends so much time being angry, and I needed to see him actually expressing the joy he had with Constance.

To continue the Beauty and the Beast theme, we have the trusty butler, North, who could easily be a B&B side character, as could the housekeeper and the footman who assists Jonathan when he does his target practice. Few other servants are quite as nosy or busybody'esque as North, but he does continue the flavor of the loyal servant trying to lead the Beast back to civilization and love.

Even with the pacing issues, I thought the resolution was satisfying. The villain is revealed and the external conflict resolved, in a quick but still satisfactory manner. Constance and Jonathan finally talk. And there is a lovely party to end the fairy tale.

As with many regency romances, we have a baby at the end but the baby isn't used as just a bow on the story. There is the story line about Constance having a child and the issue of Jonathan taking on the role of parent, which is something he is afraid he is not able to do. In one scene, Jonathan believes Aurelia gets injured because he wasn't able to protect her due to his physical disability. Constance doesn't feel that way but she is busy caring for her child and not consoling Jonathan's fears. It felt real and sad and hard, and is a real way to have a child in a story without simply being a the old style "they got married, must have baby" trope. Here, they are learning to be a family together, and having Constance and Jonathan adding to their family together is part of the journey for these two, and feels right.

Sexy times are on the page and keep things hot. Found family is a theme in this series and continues here. And there are appearances by the characters from the first book. However, this one does work as a standalone. Enough is referenced to explain the overriding storyline and I don't think readers would be confused if they haven't read the first book. I do hope we get a third book and see Beth and Grayson figure things out.

4 stars because I really did like Constance and Jonathan together. I just needed the angsty middle pace to pick up a lot.

The hero of “A Duke in Time” is the level headed Duke of Randford. His friend, the star of this year’s “Rules for Engaging an Earl,” Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston is a nobleman of a different stripe. Jonathan is moody, broody, and otherwise socially disengaged. He has his reasons, but the task of bringing him back into the world is going to be a huge one for Constance Lysander, his new wife.

The theme of this series is that there are three women who all thought they were married to a recently deceased bigamist. Now that he is dead, they are all finding new lives, and Constance has his baby daughter to raise.

It takes Jonathan the entire length of the book to figure out what he knew about his feelings for Constance when she was fifteen, but his life has been tough since then, so perhaps its not surprising that he tries to keep his distance. But he is no match for Constance, baby Aurelia, and Jonathan’s staff and friends.

This is a fun addition to the series, and I look forward to “wife” number three’s story!

Rules for Engaging the Earl by Janna MacGregor is book Two in The Widow Rules series. This is the story of Constance Lysander and Jonathan Eaton, the Earl of Sykeston. Constance and Jonathan are friends but Constance had hoped for more when she was older. But Jonathan has been asked to join the British army so he will be leaving her behind but tells her to marry and not to wait for him. Which she does end up having to do. Johnathan has return home due to a leg injury and Constance needs his help. Constance is a widower to a man who was a scam artist and she is pregnant. Constance ask that Jonathan marry her to help her and her child which starts their story to love. Enjoyed their story.

Although this book can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the prequel and the first book before diving into this one.

I've loved the bravery of Constance from the first. She's stood up to everyone and fought for what is rightfully hers. Unfortunately, there were many complications, one of which was the question of who is the legal wife of the deceased Lord Meriwether Varek?

While that investigation was going on, a pregnant Constance sends for her best friend Jonathan Eaton, Earl of Sykeston. She's found he was injured in the war and returned home. He is still unmarried and she requests that he marry her to give her child legitimacy.

Jonathan could never turn down any request made by Constance and while he never planned to marry, he would marry her. He doesn't consider himself to be good husband material and there is also a threat of court martial hanging over his head, that could ruin them all.

Before Jonathan arrives, Constance discovers she is in fact Lady Meriwether and her child will have no stigma of illegitimacy. However, she is still of the opinion they should marry.

Jonathan also informed her he had things to do before she traveled to his home in Portsmouth, although he didn't mention what those things were. Constance didn't hear from him at first and then she started getting letters regularly. It's now been a year and she's going to join him in Portsmouth. She'll be closer to her business, and she can finally be with Jonathan.

Now Jonathan had a rather disastrous meeting with Harold Evert, Marquess of Faladen, his former commander. He left under the threat of blackmail, and an unsubstantiated hint at a letter from the last man he was charged with targeting. He didn't kill Jean Davout and he was trying to locate the man to clear things up. The man wasn't armed and Jonathan couldn't shoot due to the rules of engagement.

Constance also has a problem with Faladen involving her the business left to her by her father.

I find it interesting that while these two are getting to know each other and adjust to being in the same house, they also neglect to tell each other the whole truth about things.

From Jonathan's depression to Constance's independence, this book will have you on your toes. I loved seeing the friends from the other two books and they are also instrumental in keeping these two together.

Ups and downs, some sizzle, and plenty of flirting as we work our way to the perfect resolution to their problems.

Janna MacGregor is a favorite of mine. If you enjoy historical regency romance you need to check her out! Her books are romantic and sexy with heroes and heroines to fall in love with.. Rules for Engaging the Earl is the second book in her Widow Rules series. Three women meet at their solicitor's office to discover they were all married to the same man! Against all odds they become good friends. This is the story of Constance who is pregnant, trying to run a business, and looking for a husband. She settles on Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston, a childhood friend who has recently returned a war hero. But due to wounds he received he prefers to stay out of sight...but he will do anything necessary to make her happy. I really enjoyed this book and am already looking forward to the next one in the series. If you enjoy romance books that are truly romantic check out Janna's books.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I adored Constance and Jonathan. I would even go so far as to say they are my favorite MacGregor couple. They, and their journey to love, captured my imagination, held my attention, and touched my heart. This one is going to my keeper shelf where I have no doubt I'll be revisiting them more than once.

MacGregor's depiction of Jonathan made my heart ache. Here was a man who desperately needed the love and support Constance was offering yet couldn't bring himself to accept it...or believe that he was worthy of it. Yet there were glimpses of the man he had once been and ached to be again, even if he wasn't yet ready to admit it. I enjoyed how MacGregor used not only his evolving relationship with Constance but his relationships with his dog, the new baby, and his matchmaking butler to underscore the gradual opening of his heart.

There was so much to admire about Constance. I loved her strength, her determination, and her huge heart. I appreciated her independence and business savvy, the respect she commanded among her workers. I loved that she held Jonathan to account for his actions, not settling for less than she deserved, less than they both deserved.

The chemistry between this couple sizzled but there was also plenty of tenderness as well, with lively banter and more than a few humorous moments to light the way. And MacGregor tempered those lighter moments with an emotional depth that infused their relationship with layers, complexity, and the hard-won happy ending that convinced me these two would endure any obstacles life threw their way.

This is book two in MacGregor's The Widow Rules trilogy. While it could be enjoyed on its own, I think readers will enjoy it much more if they begin with book one, A Duke in Time.

Advance copy received for fair and unbiased review

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

TW: description of battle injuries/scars

Anyone who tries to say they aren't a sucker for a childhood best friends to lovers story is lying to you and also themselves, and they can't be trusted. There, I said it. Now, with that out of the way, let's take a look at this book in particular.

This one started off a bit slow for me, because the two leads are apart for a good chunk of the book to begin with. When I picked up this book I didn't realize that it was a second in a series, however, and that the two friends that Constance spends this portion of the book with are characters that you met and undoubtedly fell in love with in the first book (A Duke in Time). I really loved the bond between these three women throughout this book, so I think if I had that love of them going into it then the beginning wouldn't have felt so long for me. So maybe this is one best read in order, purely for that relationship!

But now on to this story's love match - Constance and Jonathan. They were best friends in their younger years, and you can tell they both secretly knew that they were each other's futures, but they never shared that out loud. Bring in the steamy second chance romance! I really loved their relationship. It was a little bit difficult at times, because sometimes it's hard to read a character treating someone else so coldly, even if you know they're trying to protect them and that it will all work out in the end. And there are definitely some of those moments in this book where Jonathan was really cold and hurtful to Constance. But what I loved is that that time wasn't just brushed under the rug like "well he's not like that anymore, so it doesn't matter" which I think can tend to happen in those types of stories. Both of these characters knew and acknowledged that that treatment was wrong, and we really got to see them make the choice to move forward anyway, and see him really work to make himself better.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to friends! Like I said earlier, though, I may need to go back and read the first one, and might recommend that folks read it in order so that they don't miss any of that badass female friendship! I think that the best way to read this book would be outside in a garden, with the sunshine on your shoulders, and maybe a cup of tea or coffee in your hands. Bonus points for a fresh garden picnic, but not all of us have the Earl of Sykeston's grounds.

Another amazing book in "The Widow Rules" series. Although the story of Constance and Jonathan has started in the previous book A Duke in Time, it could be easily read as a standalone. If you love friends to lovers, this book is simply A Must Read.

Constance was left with child after her late husband swindelt her into marriage. Although the solicitor has found out that she was rightfully married to him, she still socially needed a husband and father for her child.
She requested help from her childhood best friend Jonathan, who before going to war had promised that if she should be in need, she just had to send him a note. After his injury and his return home Jonathan isolated himself not to have his heart broken, yet he had to fulfil his promise to Constance. Because thinking about being not the man Constance needs he left just after they got married. Constance has always loved Jonathan but could she be the wife he deserves and also lead the ship refitting company she inherited from her parents? Would Jonathan be able to fight his demons, the dark truth from his military days, freely love Constance and see the light that she brings into his life?

I simply loved the flow of the whole story and could feel the attraction and frustration between both main characters through the pages. And let me tell you, I am truly excited for the next book in these series.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.
This is the second book of Janna MacGregor series The Widow Rules.
Rules for Engaging the Earl is about Constance Lysander, who's a widow and specking her baby any time now, so she really needs a new husband. Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston, has just returned from the war, as a hero, but he prefers to have nothing to do with people, but agrees to help Constance, as she was her best childhood friend.
Friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, second chance romance including a baby.
A nice reading in historical romance.

Thanks #NetGalley for allowing me to read #RulesForEngagingTheEarl early in exchange for an honest review!

I have read all but one of Janna MacGregor's books now and I can honestly say that I love her writing, her stories and her characters. I enjoyed A Duke in Time (first in this series) but that one pales in comparison to this one. This childhood friends to lovers/second chance at love/Beauty and the Beast retelling will make you laugh, cry and cheer for Constance and Jonathan (and Aurelia and Regina as well). MacGregor is definitely an auto-buy for me and I hope you will read her work.

There was just something about this book that let it worm its way right into my heart. A lot of that is I believe due to the underlying sweetness, poignant emotions and wounded hearts that are in play here. Plus, I will admit that I have a particular weakness for the friends-to-lovers trope. The whole concept behind this series is quite fresh and I find it very intriguing. The characters are complex, and you are sure to sympathize with them. I liked Constance and I found Jonathan swoon worthy.

Constance Lysander found out she is one of three wives after her husband left her before he ending up drowning in a mud puddle. She became fast friends with the other two women who thought they were his wives. Turns out he wanted their dowries. She is pregnant with his child and doesn’t want her baby to be born out of wedlock so has asked her childhood best friend Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston to marry her. He has agreed but is not the same person as when he left to go to war. He has come home with an injury and prefers to remain reclusive. There is a lot to this story which contains blackmail, betrayal, and learning to trust as Jonathan and Constance both have trust issues.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a complimentary copy.

I really enjoyed reading the latest in The Widow Rules book 2. It's fantastic and had me at the first page. The author knows how to write a witty, funny and sometimes dramatic story with lots of heat. I mean what's not to love about a story of friends becoming more than friends. This can be read as a stand alone. The characters were fully developed with thoughts and feelings of their own.
Constance Lysander is about to give birth to her late husband's child with out financial support to help her out. She is penniless woman who was left to clean up after the mess after he died. Now the only person who can help her is Jonathan, the Earl of Sykeston. He is a war hero with wounds that keep him from entering society again. He prefers to keep to himself, but when Constance sends a message to him, he goes.
Now Constance wants him to marry her and he intends to keep his heart intact, he agrees. They become close after the birth and feelings are revealed. They will get the happy ever after, and love is the key.
I appreciate Net Galley for this ARC title in which I gave an honest review.

I couldn't get into this book the same way i could the 1st 2 in the series. It could be because i am not a fan of the second chance trope. But this was. a cross between second chance and marriage of connivence that just didn't work for me. I lot of reviewers say they should just talk to each other and i am like that would mean no conflict but in this one i had the same impression especially as there was enough external conflict.

If you want a broken hero redeemed, this is your book. Jonathan said goodbye to his best friend, Constance, and went off to war. Years later, he is back with an injured leg and a more-injured soul. Jonathan feels that he is unworthy of Constance and hides himself from society until she needs him. At the death of her husband, Constance found she was actually one of three wives and the only one pregnant. She asks Jonathan to marry her to save her and her daughter from ruin, bringing them back together.

Overall, this is an entertaining and well-written book. Both characters felt a bit wishy-washy on their feelings and beliefs at times and, I felt, changed directions too quickly with no obvious reason for doing so. They also could have solved so many problems through talking. That being said, I loved this pair of friends reunited. Jonathan is great with Constance's daughter and I love the grumpy hero who is grumpy to everyone but the one he can't help but love. The ending of the book is satisfying and I was engaged the entire time. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Constance is about to give birth to her late husband’s child and she needs a husband quickly. Her dead husband left her with no money and two other wives who have become close friends. She has a business to run, and an enemy skulking about so she has no time.

Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston is a returned war hero and Constance’s childhood best friend. His reentry into society has been hard and he prefers to stay out of sight. When a letter from Constance requests his presence he feels that he must help her. He’ll do anything to make Constance happy.

A nice best friends to lovers story.

My first MacGregor won’t be my last!

An injured war hero. A heroine with a desperate need to marry. A second-chance romance between childhood friends. Rules For Engaging the Earl is full of tropey-goodness I couldn’t turn away from and includes one of my favorites – second-chance romance. My only regret… jumping into this series in the second book.

We have Constance Lysander, who’s in need of a husband since she scandalously got involved with a lord who married three women. Our villain of a lord has since died in an accident, and in her desperation, Constance reaches out to her childhood best friend and the one man who always said he would be there to help her.

Our hero, Jonathan the Earl of Sykeston, has returned from military service and the war a damaged man. He’s not capable of being the husband Constance deserves but agrees to marry her to keep a childhood promise. When Constance will no longer let him hide away from her and society, he’s forced to come to the truth – he’s always loved her.

This story has so much more than second-chance, we’ve got the tortured hero (a classic) and a heroine trying to put herself back together as much as the hero. There’s a clear-cut villain, a lot of emotional baggage and plenty of romance. The only downside I found was that they hero and heroine did not spend as much time together as I would have liked. Twenty five percent of the book they were apart. Additionally, the inability for honesty was a pretty big issue between them and I found myself wondering if they could overcome those elements to be a true couple.

Overall, MacGregor created characters I wanted to root for and in the end I was still just as eager to see if they’d overcome the obstacles and get their HEA. I imagine I’ll be keeping up with this series and I might have to do some digging into MacGregor’s backlist for readers who enjoy Vivienne Lorret or Katherine Ashe.

~ Landra

This second chance romance was amazing. Friends to lovers is the best. Another 5 star book for Janna MacGregor. This was a fast read, cover to cover in one sitting…..just had to know what was going to happen until it did. Constance was my favorite heroine…..passionate and not afraid to come to her man’s aid.