Thank you for approving my request for this book. Unfortunately, he last few books from this author have really lost their magic for me, and they don't feel authentic to the time period. I have lost interest in reading anything from this author.

Ethan Fortescue, the Earl of Devon is on his way to Cleves Court, his family's seat in Cornwall. His intention is to permanently close it up. Cleves Court arouses too many memories for Ethan. Although his family spend many happy times there, he is trying to forgot, run away from the unhappy ones. One too many tragedies occurred there, his father leaving, his mother and brother dying there. That is Christmas makes his journey even more trying. Just think of his horror when he hears the Twelve Days of Christmas, a greatly disliked Carol being played in what seems to be a full blown an Christmas party. It only heightens when he comes face to face with two very misbehaving orphans. Just what is going on in what he expected to be an almost empty, falling down house. Finding that his childhood sweetheart, Theodosia Sheridan is responsible is more than he can handle. His attitude antagonizes everyone from the servants, the orphans and even level headed Thea. Can Theo get Ethan to remember the good times with his family, but accepting the bad ones? Can Thea stop him from closing up the house? Will they admit that they always loved one another? This read has some very nice characters, especially the children. They definitely add a bit of humor to what would have been a sad tale. I do hope they appear in follow-up books.

Review: Christmas and historical romance. How could you go wrong? When I saw this title available for review, I knew it was right up my alley and jumped at the chance to read it. And I’m glad I did. This is the first of Anna Bradley’s books I’ve read, but I’m going to have to rectify that. This is the third book is a series, but I didn’t feel lost. In fact, I’m not entirely sure how this book fits into a series… but on to my review of this book.

Ethan is one of those heroes that was really hard to like in the beginning. He has demons from his past that are plaguing him, but they’re slowly revealed. So, his early behavior didn’t win me over and I was really wondering what I was getting into. As his past was revealed, I began to understand and cheer him along. Considering this was a short story, I found there to be good character development and growth,

Then we have Thea. She’s a strong willed woman. She and Ethan were childhood friends and she’s surprised to have him come home. And she’s determined to “fix” him. Thea was definitely easier to like since her backstory wasn’t shrouded in mystery and she was more of an open book. I won’t say that Thea’s character wasn’t as developed, but she definitely didn’t have the same growth as Ethan.

The romance between the two relied heavily on their history. There wasn’t really any wooing or that “dance” around each other than typically happens in a romance. In this, I was a little let down. I felt that they both kinda had this epiphany that they’ve always loved the other and *bam*, they’re in love. I’m not sure if this was due to the fact it’s a short story and a focus on character development.

All that said, I did enjoy the story. If you’re a fan of historical romances set at Christmas time, you may want to check this one out.

Ethan is the Earl of Devon. He is known also as Lord Demon because of his outrageous behavior. His character is first introduced in the book, Lady Charlotte 's First Love. You dont need to read the book to read this novella but it would add alot of background to his character.
Thea is Ethan's childhood sweetheart. She is an orphan his mother took in and raised as one of her own. She is now in charge of taking care of Ethans estate in Cornwall, although he doesn't know that since he hasn't been there in years. Not since his older brother died.
Ethan goes home to close everything up and finally file away all bad memories associated wth his home. He arrives expecting to find a decayed, falling down building. But instead walks into a house alive, filled with Christmas music and people. And there in the center of it all is Thea.
It is a lot of story for a novella. A lot of emotion and some very funny parts with the 3 orphan children living there for the holidays. I always enjoy Anna Bradley's books and this was no exception.

4.5 stars - It’s a perfect Christmas story! He’s haunted by the memories of the house, and for good reason. Probably the only person who could see him through the trauma and out to the other side is Thea — the girl he grew up, climbed trees, and shared a kiss with. This romance is so festive and filled with gifts of love and learning how to live again.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Ethan Fortescue, Earl of Devon, is on his way to Cornwall, in order to finally close his family home, Cleves Court. The place is both the source of good and bad memories, but the bad are winning.
Then he comes "home" and finds it alight and filled with revelers, thanks to his housekeeper's Christmas spirit. When the housekeeper turns to be the only woman he's ever loved, Theodosia Sheridan, the shock is complete.

Thea has dreamed of the moment Ethan would finally come home, but in her dreams the reunion was always a happy one. Reality is a different beast all together, since Ethan is much changed from the boy she knew and loved. This Ethan is bad-tempered, drunk most of the time, demanding, surly, and determined to close his ancestral home forever.

Thea now only has until the Twelfth Night to convince him otherwise...And maybe give them both a Christmas present they'll never forget.


I've come to love Anna Bradley's ability of creating layered, flawed and realistic characters I'd love to know in real life, and of presenting wonderful stories of star-crossed love and painting wonderful pictures with her words.

Unfortunately, this story fell rather short of that. While I liked Lord Devon in Charlotte's story, where he played the part of her friend, would-be rescuer, and even Cupid, in his own story he was just an ass.
Maybe he had his reasons, but the one I came to know in his story, was rather disproportionate to what happened to him, and was as much his own doing for "bowing down" to rumors, and creating the persona those that spread those rumors wanted and expected him to be.
I liked his heroine just a little bit more. I found her shrewish, obstinate, and her determination to get what she wanted no matter the cost rubbed me the wrong way. And yes, as Ethan did, I also suspected an ulterior motive after she "succumbed" to his advances.

I found them both slightly childish for their age, I hardly got the we're-old-friends-vibe, so the descent into romance was quite a stretch, but that's probably because there was so little story involving their past together. There wasn't space, I guess with all the drama of the present, with Ethan being a surly jerk, Thea going out of her way to be as disrespectful to rank (no matter their common past) as possible) and unlikable, and the antics of the three children temporarily living under their roof.

It felt like there were pieces of the story missing, important pieces to make it all glue together, to make it a better, more rounded story.

An absolute GEM! Anna Bradley has done it again, although this was a short story it had all the elements you get in a longer novel. Ethanthe Earl of Devon has decided to go home to the family estate and put to rest all the demons of his past. What he comes face to face with is the girl he never stopped loving and three little orphans.

Thea Sheridan is housekeeper to an abandoned estate and surrogate mother to three orphaned children. Thea has always loved Ethan but she can’t believe that he’s changed to a bitter shell of a man .coming home to a jovial scene he’s infuriated with all the cheer and happiness. Needless to say he feels the need to lash out in pain and poor Thea is the one to receive all his anger. This was an exeptional story well written with likeable characters. I just love a second chance at love romance.
The connection between the two lead characters was slightly antagonistic with Ethan being arrogantly miserable person. The end result was perfect love, acceptance and redemption make the sweetest second chances worthwhile.
Highly recommend. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest unbiased opinion.

Anna Bradley has given us a Regency Christmas novella in Twelfth Night with the Earl. Ethan, the Earl of Devon, has come to close down his country house. Theodosia Sheridan is holding Christmas party for the staff and neighbours as he arrives. The earl was in love with her as a teenager, but was sent away. His father and brother died tragically; now he has to contend with orphans sheltered in his home and his old flame. Will he close the house or will he stay?

I have been looking forward to Ethan' s story and I was not disappointed even though it was as a novella. I felt I got the entire background of this couple and fell in love with all the characters.

Ethan Fortescue has come to his family home only to close its doors after so much tragedy having occurred there. When entering Cleves Court he is surprised to see it decked out for Christmas festivities.

Theodosia Sheridan is the housekeeper of Cleves Court and has lived there ever since she was a young girl. In fact it was there that she shared her first kiss with Ethan and fell in love. Her deepest desire is to show Ethan that closing the manor It won't make the memories go away, he just has to focus on the good ones.

It is a battle of wills but Thea has a secret weapon in 3 adorably precocious orphans staying at the manor during the Twelfth Night celebration.

Again, this book was wonderfully written and the cast of characters melted my heart (to the point it could burn the carpets). ;-)

Twelfth Night With the Earl

Sutherland Sisters Series



By Anna Bradley

Lyrical Press - November 2017

Historical Romance



Ethan Fortescue knew exactly what he was going to do upon his return to Cleves Court. Close it. The place that haunted his memories would never be part of his future. He expected Cleves Court would be a place of darkness and quiet upon his arrival. Instead, it was bright with lights, merry with Christmas cheer, and full of celebrants. And at the center of it all was Thea Sheridan, who was also the center of his fondest childhood memories.

Thea's dream was to bring Cleves Court alive again, and keep Ethan home. She had been succeeding with the former, even opening it up to some orphans. Now in order to succeed at the latter, she needed Ethan to remember the good times from their past, not just the tragedy. Ethan was making it hard for her and challenged her at every turn, but slowly, she saw a thawing in Ethan, giving Thea hope for all her dreams.

Twelfth Night with the Earl was a romance of healing and bringing two long ago friends together. Thea was a lovely heroine full of hope, caring, and dreams. She faces challenges head on, in particular, one cranky Earl. Ethan does not come across as much of a hero at the beginning. Uncaring of others, and pretty much a nightmare to Thea. But Thea knows Ethan is better than the surly self he was acting, and it is her wish for him to finally find closure with the past, remember more of the good memories, and find a future here at home. Although part of a series, this story does stand on its own.









Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com

I absolutely love this. Anna Bradley is such a great author!

First of all, I generally don't like short stories that much. Which makes this even more unforgettable, it is perfect. There are kids, which are always very entertaining for one reason or another, the love tangle was sooo passionate and moving and, it's a Christmas short story. What else should one desire apart from more pages??? I'll tell you. Nothing. But more pages would have made my day!

BEAUTIFUL.

Anna Bradley has been on my radar for a while now because several of my Goodreads friends like her work and her series about an enigmatic family is a solid hook. This is my second time reading her work, and I must say, Bradley is a strong writer. She crafts a good story and fleshes out characters that feel real. So why the lower rating? I think it is more a symptom of my own personal preference. Bradley likes redeeming bad boy heroes and well, I just don't like them. I am definitely in the camp of the nice guys :)

In this Christmas novella, Ethan Fortescue returns to Cleves Court, his family seat, to close it forever now that he is the Earl. He wants to bury it as he could never truly bury his grief of family loss. However, Thea Sheridan, an orphan raised with Ethan at the house, wants more than anything for it to remain open. Throughout the story, Bradley reveals details of why the house is the source of so many sad memories and how Ethan and Thea slowly rebuild and move forward. It was a very layered story for the short format and I have to give Bradley kudos for weaving everything in together so well.

So what didn't I like? Well, Ethan is an enormous jerk for most of the story. Yes, he hasn't gotten past his grief, but he knows he is being a jerk and he seems to relish being difficult. I know that there are people like that and I'm not faulting Bradley for choosing to use this characterization, but for me as a reader, I just didn't enjoy being tied up in that story. It wasn't fun to read. To be honest, if I hadn't been reading so I could review, I probably would have left this story unfinished because I disliked the hero so much and I couldn't see why Thea was putting up with it. In addition to Ethan being hard to like, there were two issues that I didn't feel were addressed. First, it seemed like Ethan had a bit of a drinking problem. He always seemed to turn to drink to numb the pain. Then, he just stopped drinking. From the way he was described, I didn't feel like it would've been that simple. The other item was the cross-class romance. Thea was a housekeeper and Ethan was the Earl. How the two could ever be together was never discussed. And I know this is terribly cynical of me, but knowing how much of a jerk Ethan was, it seemed more likely to me that he'd want Thea as a mistress, not for his brain to immediately jump to marriage. It was a sweet ending we all want, but it just didn't ring quite true for me.

So what did work? Well, I thought the orphan children were fun. They offered a nice counterpoint to Ethan's bitterness and did a good job of throwing him for a loop. Bradley also did a brilliant job of creating a "moment" for the characters. What I mean by this is that throughout the story, there is a bunch of antagonism and as a reader I didn't quite understand how the two would ever be shown as a couple. And then, one cold morning in the forest, with the orphan children and a sudden "accident" of sorts, it all changed. This scene was brilliantly done and showed Thea and Ethan's past and present colliding until they were suddenly on the same page. For me, it was the highlight of the book.

Another thing that worked was how Bradley handled the "Scroogey hero" and grief. She expertly showed how grief can tear a family apart and how difficult it can be for a person to move forward and recall the happy memories amid the tragic ones. It is a struggle for many and I liked how Bradley showed the progress that can be made without over-sweetening the story to say "love fixes everything." Bittersweet memories are REAL and bittersweet is nuanced and interesting.

So overall, if you like redeemed heroes and don't mind wading through some jerkiness and antagonism to get there, this book is for you. For a novella, it felt like a rich story, which is hard to find. I don't think Bradley is an author that fits my taste, but I think she is a great writer all the same and even though she doesn't work for me, she has a strong ability to create layers and emotion that others may enjoy. Not a favorite for me, but definitely a solid holiday novella that has a little more weight to it than many holiday fluff pieces.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy that I could read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Twelfth Night with the Earl by Anna Bradley is Book Three in "The Sutherland Sisters" series. This is the story of Ethan Fortescue and Theodosia 'Thea" Sheridan. I have read the previous books in this series, (and loved them) but feel this can easily be a standalone book.
Thea has always loved Ethan but that is all there ever was. Ethan has not been back to Cleves Court and thought the house was closed down before his father died. Ethan had hope that his childhood home would just fall into decay. But to his shock he has been told that it is up and open. More to his shock when he arrives it all done up for Christmas and what appears to be a party going on.
Thea has been trying to help keep Cleves Court going along with the people around there. But the time has come to face Ethan once again...and what she has been up too.
This really was a great Christmas Love Story! I so enjoyed the secondary characters...those children were the best!.

Twelfth Night with the Earl by Anna Bradley is a short Christmas novel with a great feel good ending. The Earl - really he is the Earl now - can’t wait to get rid of his ancestral home, Cleves Court. But he knows the best he can do would be to close it down and walk away forever. He can’t beleive he is doing this over the Christmas season, but it is time. Bah humburg a holiday. Only to arrive at his decrepit and cold home to find the windows lit and the house full of Christmas cheer and PEOPLE. He will get to the bottom of this!

Theodosia Sheridan, a blast from the past is the housekeeper. She is throwing the party as if she has the right. And then she tricks him into staying until the twelfth night. If only he wasn’t really interested and if only - well the memories are so harsh of his brother and mother.

A fun novel moving a humburg to a Christmas lover. The Twelfth Night with the Earl by Anna Bradley is a quick fun read!

This is a fun, sweet and entertaining read. Ethan plans to close of his family seat in Cornwall as it is an unhappy place for him. When he arrives near Christmas time he is surprised to find it filled with people and Christmas decoration. Thea and Ethan grew up together and Thea has always loved Cleves Court. Can she give Ethan some new memories to associate with his home? Great characters, entertaining story. An enjoyable read.

I would consider this a stand-alone novella that the reader is perfectly capable of enjoying even without having read the other stories. To clarify something, Thea is not a Sutherland sister. Ethan however was featured heavily in book number two. Even with that, you do not miss anything that isn't clarified (or expanded upon) within the pages of this novella.

Overall, this was a very cute story. I do think some of the characters acted very "out of character" for the time period however, which did take a way a little of my enjoyment. I understand that Ethan is dealing with grief and the ghosts that haunt his former home, but I cannot believe that his staff would refuse to serve him (or even that Thea would approve of such a thing) without being worried they would be fired immediately and sent away without reference. I don't believe there is a servant anywhere during that period who would take on such a risk just to prove a point. And to be honest, with the amount of anger Ethan carried around, I am very surprised he didn't do just that. It did make for a wonderful story arc watching Ethan and Thea find a way to revive their friendship of old considering not only the people they had become, but also the trials they had overcome.

The addition of the orphans that Thea had taken in while repairs were done to the orphanage were by far some of my favorite characters. They definitely provided some much needed comical relief, and it was heart warming to see the way they brought life back into a dreary place (both literally and figuratively). Plus seeing a stuffy Earl have to deal with children was nothing short of a pleasure.

I believe this story will still appeal to those who enjoy historical romances. I would read more from this author!

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

This emotionally charged novella is billed as the third book in Anna Bradley’s current Sutherland Sisters series, although it doesn’t actually feature a Sutherland. It’s linked to the other books by virtue of the fact that its hero, Ethan Fortescue, Earl of Devon, is one of the secondary characters from Lady Charlotte’s First Love. In Twelfth Night with the Earl, Ethan takes centre stage as a thoroughly Scrooge-like figure who returns to his family home in Cornwall (and I did wonder why the Earl of Devon has his family seat in the next county) with the intention of closing it up for good so that he can finally bury the painful memories that reside there. I confess that when I started reading, I thought I was in for a clichéd, grouchy-lord- lightened-up-by-spunky-heroine sort of thing – I’m not a fan – but fortunately, Ms. Bradley doesn’t go that route and I was instead very pleased to read a nuanced story about the importance of facing up to grief, loss and guilt that also included a tender and heartwarming rekindled romance.

Ethan Fortescue hasn’t been to Cleves Court for two years, not even returning there after becoming the Earl of Devon a year earlier. He detests the place and has one object in travelling to the wilds of Cornwall just before Christmas – to close the house down for good. He arrives in a bad mood and somewhat the worse for drink, expecting the place to be dark, freezing and damp with only a skeleton staff of servants on hand; so pulling up to the front of the house to find it well-lit and with some sort of social gathering going on inside comes as something of a shock.

Furious, Ethan storms in and demands to know what’s going on, and is surprised and hurt when he discovers his childhood friend – and the only woman he has ever loved – Thea Sheridan, at the centre of it all. His anger and sense of ill-usage get the better of him, and he berates her in front of everyone, accusing her of acting without permission in holding the party and of stealing from him, accusations she calmly refutes.

Much as Thea has longed for Ethan to return to Cleves Court, the last thing she expected was for him to appear on Christmas Eve, half-drunk, obnoxious and yelling at the top of his voice. She’s cherished a tendre for him since she was a girl – not that anything could happen between an earl and an orphan of uncertain birth – but his haughty, surly manner and insistence that he wants the place permanently closed ruins a few cherished daydreams nonetheless.

In spite of that, his arrival provides the opportunity Thea has long hoped for. She knows Ethan’s memories of the house are painful for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he has still not come to terms with the death, years earlier, of his older brother, Andrew. She is naturally upset at the prospect of losing her home, but is even more saddened by the change in the man she’s loved for so long, and wants nothing more than to help him to deal with the distressing memories the house holds for him. She knows that no matter how far he runs, Ethan will never be able to leave those memories behind him, and hopes that by reminding him of happier times, of lives full of love, family and friendship, she might be able to change his mind.

Ethan agrees to stay until Twelfth Night, after which he will return to London and Thea will make arrangements to close the house. At first Ethan behaves like a complete dickhead – he’s demanding and offensive to such an extent that the servants refuse to go near him, leaving everything to Thea – which requires a bit of a stretch of credulity because Ethan would have been well within his rights to sack the lot of them for failing to do their jobs. Still, Thea gives as good as she gets, knowing that if she refuses to rise to his bait, it will drive him nuts. Eventually however, their barbed exchanges turn more towards teasing and a little flirtation, reminding them both of the feelings they have long harboured for each other. Ms. Bradley builds the sexual tension between the pair very well, and brings some real emotional weight to the final part of the story in which Ethan finally opens up to Thea and begins to process the heart-breaking truths he has tried for so long to avoid.

Twelfth Night With the Earl turned out to have a lot more depth than I had been expecting from a Christmas-related novella, and I’m glad I read it, although it nags at the back of my brain that I never found out why Ethan choses to visit Cleves Court over Christmas. He obviously doesn’t want to be there, but he inherited his earldom a year earlier and I couldn’t understand why he’d want to be somewhere he hated and expected to be so inhospitable over Christmas. I also wasn’t wild about the ending; the author decides to inject a bit of last-minute tension by mirroring a particularly upsetting, long-ago event – and it’s contrived and overly dramatic.

The few inconsistencies I’ve mentioned are reflected in my overall grade, but when all’s said and done, I enjoyed reading Twelfth Night With the Earl in spite of those reservations. If you’re looking looking for a quick, seasonally-themed read that isn’t overly saccharine, you might want to consider picking it up

'Ethan was broken. Broken, and running from it.'

Ethan Fortescue's return to Cleve's Court in Devon is full of surprises. The Earl of Devon has come to finally shut up the family seat--a place of terrible memories. This Christmas he's putting the past behind him. Or is he? The house that should be silent and dark is alight and full of merriment. There in the midst of things, directing the proceedings is his childhood friend Theodosia Sheridan.
The cut and thrust of the repartee between these two is so entertaining. Indeed, it seems the wicked Earl has a decidedly wicked sense of humor.
Ethan is burdened with the most appalling sense of guilt centered around his brother's death at Cleve Court. Thea has determined to make Ethan face his ghosts, hoping to bring about his healing. Ethan needs to stop running! It seems though that she has made an appalling misjudgement. The deadline of winning Ethan over by the twelfth night of Christmas, helping him put aside his guilt over the tragedy of his brother, will not come to fruition.
Resident in the house with Thea are three orphans. They are precociously alert and wary of Ehtan. His efforts to win them over and his interactions with them are especially delightful.
This was a warm, often funny novel leaning on themes of guilt, love and redemption.
The author's note on how epilepsy was perceived during these times gives a deeper understanding of the story.

A NetGalley ARC
(November 2017)

Ethan is the new Earl of Devon and at the moment he has only one goal: to go to Clever House in Cornwall, and close it forever.
He imagined finding a dark house, with ghosts prowling around the rooms, but instead he meets strangers, locals, celebrating Christmas at his expense.
The old housekeeper, Mrs Hopkins, had passed away, and in her place was his childhood friend - and by whom he had a crush - Theodosia Sheridan.

Thea and Ethan had met since childhood when she was taken from an orphanage to live there. Ethan's mother never treated Thea as a maid, although she was trained to run the household.

Ethan's father gave Thea the opportunity to care for the house she loved so much, and when he died, she stayed in charge.
Ethan wanted to close an issue in his life that brought him bad memories.
Thea wanted to prove to Ethan that the house was a place of joy and love, but she needed time to convince him.
He gives her 12 days to solve household affairs, and after that, he would close the house and leave, never to return to Cornwall.

And in that period, Thea would do everything possible to open Ethan's heart and show him that the love she felt for him could heal old wounds, with a prospect of a bright future.

Ethan finds it difficult to convince, until an accident makes Ethan's greatest fear rise and maybe it's too late to make amends with the past ...

A hope, joy and love story.
Highlight to the children who make everything a mess...and joyfull.
5 stars

Ethan Fortescue, the Earl of Devon is haunted by the tragic death of his brother Andrew. He loathes that particular part of his memory and of Cleves Court, his family’s seat in Cornwall. He made a decision to permanently close up the house which torments his soul.
Thea Sheridan, opposes his decision. Ethan's childhood friend and Cleves Court housekeeper has her own agenda. And she was determined to keep the house open despite the Earl's order that everyone packs up and leave on the twelfth night.

This is a tale of family's tragedy, trials, and tribulations which torn them apart. It's also a tale of a woman with formidable courage, a kind heart and has indomitable spirit who tries to save the house, it's inhabitants and it's lord and master.

I voluntarily read and review the eGalley arc from the publisher. All opinions are mine.