I always love a great Regency romance romp. There are one of my favourite books to escape in. A Lady's Rules for Ruin is fun, heartfelt, and very steamy. I enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to sink into and had a lot of fun and drama-filled twists in it. Frances is tired of her family parading her around like a prize horse, hoping she will finally get married. She just wants to be free and have a chance to discover what she likes and wants to do with her own life. That is when she comes up with the idea of ruining herself so no man will want to marry her. As Frances goes on this journey of self-discovery, she finds her path constantly crossing with Evan, the Earl of Winthrop, a man she cannot stand being around. But of course, as these two spend more and more time together, this attraction between them only grows. I loved the overall plot of this story. There are some predictable elements to the story, but I like the theme of finding what makes you happy. Frances's journey has her trying out various things, whether it's art, music, charitable work, or whatever she thinks might make her happy. Even when they don't work out, she approaches these new interests with this glass-half-full attitude. Watching her spread wings for the first time was a lot of fun. While Frances is trying out all these new interests, she also spends more time with Evan and his younger brothers. It was heartwarming watching these new relationships form. Outside of these two main plotlines, you will find lots of family and high-society drama. It was so delicious to read and will keep you entertained.
The romance between Frances and Evan is both sweet and very spicy. Frances doesn't like Evan at the beginning of this book. She thinks he stands for everything she hates in society, and even though she is attracted to him, she knows she needs to keep her distance. Evan has a lot of family drama happening in his life and doesn't need to be distracted by a woman, especially one that brings out these big emotions in him. These two come together when Evan discovers he has brothers he didn't know existed. While they work together to help out Evan's brothers, they start forming this deeper connection. I loved all the interactions between these two characters. It felt like this dance was happening between them, and all I wanted was to see what the next step would be.
A Lady's Rules for Ruin is a fun and spicy love story that is so enjoyable to read.

The story revolves around Miss Frances Cherrington's determination to sidestep an undesirable marriage by orchestrating her scandalous downfall. The story intricately weaves Frances's escapades with the secrets of the enigmatic Earl of Winthrop, Evan Locke. As their attraction develops amid societal censure, the plot unfolds with unexpected twists and personal challenges. Haymore adeptly crafts well-defined characters, portraying Frances's independence and Evan's irresistible charm. This novel, a noteworthy installment in The Lions and the Lilies series, delivers a poignant love story rich in emotion, family dynamics, and societal complexities. This story is a good read for any historical romance fan.

What an amazing read! This was so great that I had a hard time putting it down. It was lighthearted and filled with humor and still had plenty of angst and a good amount of spice.

Frances and Evan are wonderful together, and with everything they went through their happily ever after, it was super satisfying. I loved their time spent with Evan's brothers, and the antics of the boys were a highlight of the book.

A Lady's Rules For Ruin is a delightfully charming read that I highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I adored Frances and Evan's story! I just loved these two together!! It was so much fun watching them find their HEA!

A "New to me" Author that held my interest with unexpected twists and turns. Looking forward to reading more of her work.

This series keeps getting better and better!!
Miss Frances Cherrington has long been criticized as independent and prickly. Truth be told, she’d prefer to be a spinster—damn her family’s desires. But it’s a conversation with the infuriating Earl of Winthrop that inspires the perfect escape from her nuptial troubles. Frances could ensure that no one will marry her—by happily ruining her own reputation…
The Earl of Winthrop knows more about ruin than anyone suspects. He’s just uncovered a secret that would tear his name—and everything he’s worked for—to the ground. Though all London is abuzz with Frances’s “disgrace,” she’s determined to use her freedom however she sees fit. Even if it means spending more time with a man who sets her body on fire. But when Frances’s misdeeds catch up to her, the ruinous disaster she finds herself in blazes out of control, taking all of her options with it.
This is such a great book! It was so much fun! I loved these two. But mostly the kids! They were just amazing! So cute and endearing. Frances is so different from her family. She doesn’t want to get marry and fell trapped under a man. I adored Evan. He is romantic, caring, sweet and super sexy.
The book is well written, with sweet steamy moments and witty dialogs. There’s a lot of aghast by the end that I devoured. It was addictive and super easy to read. I couldn’t stop reading! They are perfect together and I adored how they find their happy ending. I highly recommended it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Lady’s Rules For Ruin was emotionally engaging, sensual and a thoroughly enjoyable read. I loved both Frances and Evan, neither of whom had any plans to marry when the story opened. It was fun watching Frances deal with the unexpected-to her-consequences of being ruined. A listmaker, Frances thinks through her every action before undertaking it until she gets to know Evan, who turns out to be a thoroughly charming and pleasant companion, which was not at all her impression of him earlier. These two can’t help but fall in love, despite their best efforts to keep things friendly. I loved the way Evan took his three unexpected brothers under his wing and how they bonded as a family unit, while at the same time bringing Frances into their fold. This story flowed beautifully, nicely balancing the romance with exposés of life in 1820’s England, including the appalling treatment of the poor and the way in which women were expected to toe the family line, bowing down to the wishes of their fathers and brothers. I always enjoy Jennifer Haymore’s books and this one was no exception.

A LADY’S RULES FOR RUIN by Jennifer Haymore is the second in her Lions and Lillies series.

Frances Cherrington knows herself fairly well, and one of her great frustrations is that alas, her family seems determined not to. She knows she is considered abrasive and too forthright, not demure or pliant or at all eager to marry or pursue other supposedly feminine interests. She determines that the best way forward is to find herself ruined, and that she can weather the immediate storm for the peaceful existence she hopes to achieve after. However...

The Earl of Winthrop is a seeming thorn in her side. He's far too handsome and congenial, and cannot possibly be as pleasant as all that.

As Frances and Evan are thrown together and then ultimately opt to spend more time together, they have the chance to get to know each other and see the person they typically don't show the rest of the world. And they discover that they not only like but trust the other with their true selves.

Ms Haymore's writing is immersive and she captures Frances's and Evan's feelings and circumstances beautifully. I loved seeing their slowly unfolding feelings for the other. I also wanted to gnash my teeth at the incredibly frustrating people and circumstances they faced at times. It is a testament to how well Ms Haymore brings these to life as well, that my emotions were fully engaged. And ultimately I couldn't stop reading as I cheered for this unconventional couple to find their way to a life where they could express their love and happiness as they desired. Well done, Ms Haymore!

This was a fun book and I did ultimately really like the leads together, I especially loved that the earl seemed to love Frances especially when she was being prickly and trying to push him away. Every woman deserves someone who wants and loves all sides of her.

But Frances’ family was just so overbearing and her brother was so cruel that it was hard to read those parts of the book. Watching Frances being ignored concerning her desires and dreams was so painful. It made me all the more happy that the earl seemed more than happy to be the one who always listened to what she wanted,

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
I went into this story not really knowing what to expect as the summary seemed intriguing but I couldn't put this book down! I loved getting to know the personalities of the main characters and how they dealt with the conflict handed to them. The story was the perfect length as well as it wasn't too short as we got to see the main couple moments and it wasn't too long that it got boring from the conflict not happening or wrapping up. I enjoyed how the setting and events constantly changed as well and how unpredictable everything was. I will definitely be checking out more book by Jennifer Haymore in the future.
Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy!

I thought this was an above average historical romance. I really liked how the FMC had little interest in getting married and her reason was because she wanted her freedom. I also liked how the MMC interacted with his little brothers and felt with the new revelations about hims own history. It helped that this new information when combined with the FMC desire to remain unmarried created a legitimate reason why the couple couldn’t get married at first.

I enjoyed the two main characters and I found the MMC little brothers to be amazing and fun to read. I liked how the author wrote children that seemed believable for the ages they were supposed to be. I did find the FMC characters family to be incredibly annoying and frustrating but not to a point where I didn’t want to keep reading the book more like they were great obstacles. Overall this book was a 3.5 star read rounded up to a 4star rating.

My reading journey began very young and I came across historical romance. It immediately became one of my fav genres I was so excited to read this book. It reminded me of how much I enjoy reading. Evan and Francis are such great characters, I love their story.

Ah excellent. I love a fun Regency romp and this was great! Good, believable characters. Perfect read for a wintry day.

A Lady's Rules for Ruin is second book in The Lions and the Lilies series. This is a stand-alone read.

A woman's reputation was never more important than in regency times. A woman and her family could be ruined by the slightest misstep. Frances has been forced to endure several seasons of being on the marriage mart. She has been trotted out season after season with her family excepting the different results, that she would find a respectable man to marry her. Frances has no desire to marry, ever.

Evan, Earl of Winthrop overhears the conversation at the masquerade ball being had with Frances and her family about needing to be more welcoming and sweeter instead of the disagreeable person she is acting. Evan wants to rescue Frances from her family and proceeds to ask her for a dance. Desperate to escape her family she accepts in spite of not liking the Earl. As they chat about her circumstances, she comes to the realization there is another way out of this mess. She can get an unsuspecting man to ruin her, and she can finally be left alone. After their dance she excuses herself in search of Mr. Salt, a man one of her sisters thought would be perfect for her. Frances couldn't disagree more. Mr. Salt will be perfect since he is leaving the next day for Egypt unaware of the drama he leaves behind. Frances puts her plan in motion perfectly. She gets Mr. Salt to kiss her, and she excuses herself to leave, very satisfied that her plan worked, she returns home.

Evan has received a letter from a home for wayward boys asking for money to care for Robert Dickens. When he confronts his mother, she admits that he is a bastard himself before he could ask her about his brother. Devastated by the news that he is not the heir to his father's estate, and that he is not a legal heir, he endeavors to meet and care for his brother.

The next day Frances is making plans to visit a home for wayward boys where she meets Bobby and helps tutor him in manners while getting to know him. While there she encounters Evan. Seeing him and Bobby together, she instantly sees that they are related and jumps to the wrong conclusion that Bobby is his son. Bobby discloses that he has a brother, Jasper who is coming to see him on Sunday. Evan is shocked to learn that his father was so irresponsible and wonders how many more brothers are out there. Evan takes Bobby to his home a long with Frances since Bobby won't go without her. They get him settled with plans to return the next day. Evan sends word to Jasper to come to his home where he will be able to see Bobby.

Jasper and Bobby begin to bond with Evan and Frances while Evan and Frances begin to feel romantic towards one another. Now that she sees the real Evan, she realizes that there is much more to the man than she allowed herself to believe. But when her brother Charles reads a letter that was private and he suspects that she is another man's paramour and locks her in her room until she can marry Mr. Salt who has returned to marry her. Now that Frances realizes that her feelings are more than she hoped they would be she tries to get a letter to Evan, but her brother intercepts it and refuses to listen to her. Will Frances be able to escape her future with a man she doesn't love, and will Evan be able give her the freedom she longs for.

I thought that this was a wonderful story. Frances doesn't conform to society's norm. She wants to be independent and free to live her life her way. I really enjoyed Frances and Evan's love story. These are two individuals that struggled in their childhood to feel loved by their parents. Evan learns that his father has had other children which he didn't claim but cared for remotely. This was shattering for Evan but determined to right the wrongs his father made, he becomes a better man and realizes the potential for a family he never thought possible.

I very much enjoyed Frances and Evan's romance. The story being told was easy to engage with and both characters were very likable. I liked that each of these characters were very much square pegs in round holes. It made my heart ache for them, and it also made them perfect for each other. A great addition to the series that I look forward to reading more of.

This book is a slow burn with an older heroine who seems a bit naive with her decisions. It is a friends to lovers trope of historical romance. Some nice banter and on the hotter side of the scale. The only negative is that it did seem that it dragged on a bit when the problems were easily solvable. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Frances would rather remain a spinster than be forced into the marriage mart. She wants to marry in her own time, and for love. When Evan told her that she had two options, she suddenly thought of a third, ruination. Evan has problems of his own. He has just had disturbing news, and he has started collecting brothers. The two of them unexpectedly find a common cause and begin to spend time together. They become friends, the began to have feeling for each other. Will they be able to work through the scandal around them and find a happy future? There are some bumps along the way. The worst one is Frances’s brother. This is an interesting and an emotional story with a slow-burn romance, a scandal or two, some tough family interaction, an unreasonable brother, and three little boys who find a family.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

A Lady's Rules for Ruin by Jennifer Haymore, book two in the The Lions and the Lilies series, follows Frances Cherrington, who wants to avoid marriage and remain free as a spinster, plans her ruination. Frances connects with the charming Evan, an earl with secrets that could ruin him. Evan and Francis are interesting characters; well developed and layered with complicated lives and family situations. The pair has an epic swoon-worthy romance. Filled with secrets, family betrayals, difficult decisions, and wonderful journeys, their romance is positively wonderful. I highly recommend A Lady's Rules for Ruin to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I found the heroine compelling and enjoyed her journey. Looking forward to reading more from Jennifer Haymore.

4 ⭐️

She found the perfect plan to avoid marriage…


I enjoyed this story! Frances had me a little frustrated at times. She ruined herself, but didn’t fully expect the consequences that came with it. She has a journey to find what she really wants out of life once she has the option. Evan really stole the show a bit. I won’t give anything away, but he was so sweet! I loved the development of the relationship between the two. Once marriage wasn’t a driving factor, they found what they needed in each other. There are secrets and twists along with plenty of family drama.

I would recommend for anyone who likes historical romance, who wants to try the genre, or anyone who likes stories of women finding themselves.



Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the early read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.