Alec was the earl of Evans rode up to his country estate . he had left the little village of Loves Bridge after he attended the weddings of his two friends -Marcus who was the Duke of Hart and nate who was the Marquess of Haywood. After that he spent the last two months wondering the Lake district alone and feeling envious his friends had found - his friends who had been trying to avoid marriage. Alec had been jilted by Lady Charlotte - while away Alec vowed to leave that part of his life in the past. He wanted a quiet restful sort of female who wouldn’t busy herself  about his or other people's affairs. He would He would shop the Marriage Mart, attend the balls, and house parties and talk to every eligible lady. Then as he got close to his home his niece rachel yelled his name which meant his sister Diana was at the hall. Diana was five years older then Alec and would notice Alec’s blues and figure it out and assemble a bunch of eager matrimonial candidates before he knew it. Diana had eight daughters and wa sagain pregnant Alec hoped this one was a boy and his brother in law Roger finally got his son and heir. Then Alec learned his mother was also at the hall, Alec decided he didn’t want to deal with his mother and decided to return to Loves Bridge. The village wanted the carnival special as it way be the Duke’s last one as his family was cursed and each male died before his heir was born. Ellen’s friend Catherine/Cat was married to the Duke. Cat was one of Ellen’s two best friends her other was Anne who married the Marquess of Haywood. Jane found she was envious of her friends even though now she had the Spinsters house to herself to live alone in. Jane was yelling at the man who owned the traveling zoo and Alec stopped and offered his assistance. After he asked Jane to tea and she took him back to the Spinsters House. Alec decides he wants Jane but he is afraid she won’t want him. Jane does like the Earl. The Spinster House is a house set aside for a lady wishing to be a spinster who can live there free and not be forced to marry. Jane had wanted to go to the Spinster House to get away from her brother and she had no interest in marriage. Jane felt feelings and attraction to Alec but she decided she wanted her freedom more. When he proposed to her jane turned Alec down. As time passed she came to regret that decision.

I read this and it was okay but not a favorite of mine. I did chuckle while reading this at times. I also advise you to read the other books in this series in order. At times I got bored with all the conflicts. I also didn’t feel the romance between Alec and jane. I am sure others will love this just really wasn’t for me.

'When to Engage an Earl' by Sally MacKenzie is book Three in the "Spinster House" series. This is the story of Jane and Alex, Earl of Evans. I have read the other books in this series but feel this can be a standalone book
Alex is very envious of his two best friends that just married after finding the women for them. Although Alex was the one that wanted to get married and his two friends were the ones that were running from it now it seem he is the one left unmarried. Alex almost married once but the future bride broke it off. Now he is determined to be married by next year. Alex thinks he just needs to woo the right Lady on the 'Marriage Mart'. But he has one Lady he can't seem to get out of this mine...Jane. She is friends with the friends that married his best friends. But he knows Jane is firmly on the shelf and even might have had a hand in getting her friends married to get to live in the "Spinster House"
The Spinster House is set aside for a Lady wishing to be a Spinster who can live their free and not be forced to marry. One lady is chosen to be the new owner, once the present lady is leaves the home and new lady is chosen. Now Jane is that lady and wants to live her life as she wishes.
This has been a really great series. I have enjoyed the ladies and men that have fallen victim to this house that seems to just set in motion a marriage instead of what the name says.
Spinster House Series:
In the Spinster's Bed Book 0.5
What to Do with a Duke Book 1
How to Manage a Marquess Book 2
When to Engage an Earl Book 3
"My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read."
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When To Engage An Earl by Sally MacKenzie is a fun historical romance.  This book is well-written.  Ms MacKenzie has delivered awesome, lovable characters.  I especially enjoyed Alex's nieces.  Alex and Jane's story had plenty of drama, humor and spice to keep readers attention on the story.  I enjoyed When To Engage An Earl and look forward to reading more from Sally MacKenzie in the future.  When To Engage An Earl is book 3 of the Spinster House Series but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.

In the Spinster's Bed - Sally MacKenzie

Belle was at the small village’s library reading when William came in calling her name, Belle pretended not to know William.After all he was eighteen the last time Belle had seen William who was now thirty eight. Belle had changed her name from Frost to Franklin, Belle had been the Vicar’s daughter and twenty years ago the Vicar had thrown her out of the house as she was unmarried and pregnant- by William but he didn’t know. William had known Belle when she was young and they used to roam the woods together. One day when William was home from Oxford William left his father’s home to get a break from his father and he came upon Belle reading Fanny Hill.Then William had kissed Belle and ended up taking her virginity and that started the few weeks Belle and William had shared.William had since married Hortense and both had betrayed each other so William came to hide at Love’s Bridge . Belle lived in a Spinster’s home and was the town Librarian But William knows who Belle is no matter what she says. But this time William is married even if he is in hiding. Then William is called away as his wife overdosed and has passed away.

I didn’t particularity care for this story. Neither William nor Belle are careful and scandal is right around the corner. Belle went back and William’s arms and got pregnant yet again and is guilty of committing adultery with him. I don’t like cheating of any kind in a story just me.

I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.

"Your name and title will continue after you're gone," she said, looking up at him. "But can you understand at all how fleeting a woman's existence is? We give up our lives and possessions---even our name---to our husbands. Our bodies become little more than vessels for children, to continue our husbands' lines." Her voice hardened. "I want something else. Something more. Something that's mine, with my name on it."

First off, that cover is delightful, the light colors and the kitty cat (who plays a bit of a role in the story) make for a very eye catching and pleasing image. Moving on to the actual story, I was a bit disappointed in the insta-lust and later love. From the moment our hero and heroine meet, their bodies are just drawn to one another; the personality of their attraction and relationship was missing. I can't say I felt any chemistry between the two and with both characters not realizing they actually love one another, which felt insta also because they never really communicate and don't spend a lot of time together communicating and building a relationship, until the very, very end of the story. It feels like I'm running into that problem a lot lately in stories. 

The bit about the curse felt very uneven, on one hand we have the hero believing it but on the other we have all the other characters making fun of how anyone could be so superstitious and believe such a dumb thing. I also had some slightly uncomfortable moments were the heroine and other woman characters say some off putting things about women. When the heroine is discussing the curse, she says something along the lines about if the Duke did rape the merchants daughter, it doesn't really matter because it happened over 200 yrs ago. There are other lines that aren't blatantly sexist but I was uncomfortable with their line of thinking.

The hero and heroine didn't interact enough for me and their chemistry just wasn't there. The ending was a bit abrupt, especially concerning the curse storyline, and I think it might continue on in the next in the series (but I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger). It's a lighter feeling story, a bit anachronistic, has a slight touch of paranormal, and if you're looking to escape the ballrooms, it never ventures there. I've never read a book by this author before, it seems she might tend more toward the silly and light side, so maybe the writing style is just not for me.