I have read several books by this author and have enjoyed them. This book was a 3.5 star read for me; loved the romance between Jacob and Charlotte, the murder mystery was not much of a mystery although I usually enjoy some action, mystery and adventure in a novel. The middle part of the book was slow.

This novel is perfection, I loved the story, I adored the characters and everything else about this book is amazing. It is well-written, I really enjoyed both the romance and the mystery side of the story. Although it was a little predictable still I loved it!
Jacob is comfortable in his life. He is used to being alone and lives a certain way. But now his life is going to change because of some unexpected events. He is getting used to his new life when Charlotte enters into it and turned things upside down. She is a stubborn woman who is clearly in need of his help. She might accept it but only on her own terms.
Charlotte never thought that she would be lucky enough to find someone who cares about her. She is running away from her past with little hope for the future. She only knows one thing; she must leave England if she wants to live because there is no way she can fight this evil on her own. Jacob wants to help her but she is too proud to accept it. Maybe if things were different and they were in love it might have worked but they were not. So, there was no reason for her to rely on Jacob so much.
They both have past demons and that just helps them get closer to each other. They know loneliness and that has helped them to be there for each other... Ultimately, they are perfect together. Now, only if they could stay that way forever...
I really enjoyed reading this historical fiction and would recommend it to all my friends. I think this is a must read for historical romance fans who love strong characters.

Jacob Ashland’s life has taken an unexpected turn. He’s now the Earl of Ashland and expected to marry. But he’s done that before and had his heart ripped from his chest. When Charlotte shows up at his door needing protection, he offers to marry her––in name-only.

Charlotte, an orphan, suspects her sinister cousin of terrorizing London. As if her cruel aunt wasn't problem enough, when her maid disappears, she fears for her own life. Since she is afraid for her life she runs to the Rookeries to hide.

Her cousin just has to be the murderer that is terrorizing the working women of London. The headless bodies keep piling up. The fact that they have been decapitated makes them impossible to identify, but Charlotte knows it all started with her doll many years ago and progressed to butchered cats. Lord Ashland who just days before had saved her from a horses hooves while she was in disguise offers to help.
That help leads to marriage, and it’s the perfect solution but it isn’t long before she finds herself falling for her new husband. Unfortunately, he won’t allow himself to love anyone ever again.

This historical romantic suspense is a page turner. I read it in one sitting and although I figured out early on who was killing the women I still couldn't put this book down until the crime was resolved.
I gave this book 4.4 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization.
II received a complimentary ARC of this book to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

I really liked Jacob and Charlotte's story. The subject matter was a little dark and I wasn't expecting it, but at the same time, I couldn't stop reading once I started. These two fit so well together.

I loved Jacob and Charlotte's story!! I have found that some of my favorite historical romances have been those that also include a mystery and Cullen has done a masterful job of weaving the two together.

Charlotte is scared for her life and had gone to live in the rookeries. She has a chance encounter with Jacob and she believes that he might be able to help her. Jacob believes that they only way to protect her is to marry her. Even though this is a marriage in name only, they both start to have feelings for the other. Can the marriage that started out as a way to protect Charlotte, give them the HEA they didn't know they wanted?

I loved watching these two together!! Charlotte knew that she needed help and went to Jacob after her lifetime friend suggested it. In the end, they both ended up helping each other!

I'm hoping that this is the start of a series as I would love to see Armbuster get his HEA! I'm excited to see what Cullen comes up with next!!

This well written original historical romance was a joy to read. Jacob is the new Earl of Ashland, and Charlotte (dressed as a boy) is a runaway living on the streets of London when their story begins. Both have experienced loss and Charlotte is also running from danger. Together can they heal each other and and solve the mystery that is threatening Charlotte and the women of London? Be sure to read this steamy, suspense filled romance to find out.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy provide by Entangled Publishing/NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The premise of this story was intriguing in the very beginning. The way the orphaned/runaway Charlotte met the newly named Earl of Ashland, was unique. The reason for marriage seemed a bit forced but it stuck with Jacob's do-good manner. Charlotte was in good hands with him. The ending seemed rushed but at least there was an epilogue to tie things up.

A new author for me! Nicely done story with romance and crime.
I thought Charlotte too reluctant to confide in Jacob regarding her need to escape London and then not wanting to try to contact her mother's family. However, at 20 and not out in society at all, it is understandable for her to be cautious in giving her trust.
I very much liked Jacob's character and Armbruster as supporting character.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

***ARC was provided to me for a fair and honest review***

Overall rating: 4/5 Romance and a mystery

Heroine (Charlotte): 4/5 Charlotte is the granddaughter of the late marquess and niece of the current one. Her parents were shunned due to a perceived bad match and when she is orphaned Charlotte goes to live with her aunt Martha and cousin Edmund, a baron. She is strong willed and possesses a very strong character that is not easily broken.

Hero (Jacob Baker, Lord Ashland): 4/5 Jacob just inherited an earldom from a distant cousin and is not too eager to leave his post as a solicitor and an armchair detective.

Plot: 4/5 Jacob is intrigued by the mysteries and Scotland Yard cases. He is approached by a woman whose niece, Charlotte has disappeared and with a serial killer on the loose it is imperative she comes home. But something doesn’t sit right with Jacob about the situation so he sets out to find her on his own. Together he and Charlotte set out to bring the killer to justice, but will the two be able to keep things from heating up between them?

Personal Review: While I understand Charlotte’s unwillingness to trust people, was she really okay with letting a killer stay loose when she knew crucial details? It just doesn’t fit her character to run to America and leave the killer to do his work.

I liked that Jacob and Charlotte meet before they really meet when he saves a ‘lad’ from a horse about to run him over. The ‘lad’ being Charlotte in boys clothing. It was fun and high stakes way to be introduced to the characters.

SPOILERS: I loved the Psycho vibe with the Bates family dynamic between Edmund and his mother Martha. Very interesting to see it play out in Victorian times, I wish there was more of it first hand in the book rather than retold by Charlotte.

Solicitor Jacob Baker has just unexpectedly inherited an earldom. Now he must abandon the career he enjoys and figure out how to be the Earl of Ashland. When Lady Martha Morris demands his help in finding her missing niece, Jacob follows his instincts and refuses the haughty woman, but he's still curious about the whereabouts of Miss Charlotte Morris, especially with the recent string of gruesome murders of young women around the city. Jacob is, of course, not interested in the lovely young woman beyond curiosity and concern for her well-being.

Charlotte Morris, niece of a baron and his pompous and hateful wife, has been orphaned and forced to live with her man-hating Aunt Martha and her son Edmund, Baron Morris. Fearing for her safety and suspicious of her cousin's behavior, especially in conjunction with the recent murders, Charlotte runs away and finds herself struggling to survive in London's rookeries. On the advice of her friend, a member of the nobility, Charlotte seeks out Jacob, thinking he may be able to help her.

The blurb is rather misleading because it takes some time for Jacob to convince Charlotte to allow him to help. She is extremely distrustful, but for reasons he doesn't quite understand Jacob is determined to help her and convinces her to come live with him. She eventually confides in him her fears about her family and he convinces her to stay and marry him for protection, rather than running away to America. They aren't actually married until the book in more than halfway over and yet Charlotte fancies herself in love with Jacob before that, though she just uses this as a reason to refuse to marry him initially and never actually states her feelings. She continues to be overly dramatic as Jacob is the one who wants to make theirs a true marriage and work past his grief and loneliness.

His new status demands that Jacob marry, although he has no desire to as he is still grieving the death of his first wife and has no wish relive that heartbreak again and Charlotte longs for the type of love her parents had, the two both stand to gain from marriage and eventually agree to it. Of course this isn't really enough to keep either of them safe and they have to work a bit for a happy ending.

The writing of this book seemed a bit stilted to me somehow and it took some getting used to. I'm not sure what it was precisely, but this book had me scoffing at it a bit from the get go. I found myself racing to the end a bit rather than trying to savor the story. I think what threw me off is perhaps that there is just so much going on here with several arcs to the story and some feel rushed while others are too drawn out. I didn't really start enjoying this one until the last four chapters.

There was something off and unbelievable to me about Charlotte's character almost from the get go. She's changed so much and become this street-hardened person in about three weeks since running from her aunt. She also doesn't know what a solicitor does even though she grew up in a family that, while untitled, had noble connections (her mother was the disowned daughter of a marquess), so she should've had some education. Plus she for some reason questions whether or not she can trust someone who has apparently been her friend since childhood.

Rant starting about here, be warned: The inconsistencies just didn't work for me and Charlotte just came off as overly dramatic much of the time. Her desperation for help followed by her refusal to accept it was irritating and Jacob's immediate desire to find and help her was only slightly more believable. Charlotte is full of annoyingly cryptic statements that rouse Jacob's curiosity and he continues to be inexplicably drawn to her. Really Charlotte's overall treatment of Jacob was just rather high-handed and unfair and she refuses to ever really give him the benefit of the doubt but expects him to blindly trust her.

Even after they marry, Charlotte maintains that it's temporary because he doesn't really love her (he's only known her for a week!) and she'll leave Jacob to go to America once the culprit behind the gruesome murders is caught. She was just stubborn, selfish and illogical for much of the time and I got very fed up with her repetitive inner monologues about how much she owes Jacob, but how she can't trust him or stay with him and how she can never forgive her uncle for his father's disowning of her mother. Then she is so intent on the vague plan she has of going to America and making her own future that she doesn't open her eyes to truly examine her options and really think about what's best for her; she's just blind and narrow-minded.

All complaints and rants aside, having earned a Criminal Justice degree myself, I really did appreciate the discussion of some very early theories of criminality and the first attempts at criminological study and analysis. During this time criminality was seen as an inherited trait with distinctive and recognizable physical attributes. This novel is approaching a time in history in which the scientific study of crime was just beginning to emerge, most notably with Italian doctor Cesare Lombroso in the latter half of the 19th century.

This little tidbit made my inner nerd very happy, but it didn't come to later on in the book and it wasn't quite enough to make me set aside my dislike of the wishy-washy heroine.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Our hero in An Unwilling Earl, has several ways in which he is found to be unwilling. The first being that he is not comfortable as a newly minted earl, he is unwilling to marry again, and he definitely does not want to fall in love. But, unwilling or not, he does each of these. Jacob is a gentleman at heart who cares about people. Jacob and his friend, the Earl of Armbruster, have an unusual hobby of trying to solve crimes. This hobby keeps them connected to Scotland Yard which certainly has our heroine confused.

When Jacob sees a lad about to be trampled by a horse, he has no other choice but to rescue the lad. Thus, the ‘lad’ seems to become somewhat obsessed with Jacob and wants to secretly see him again. It turns out the rescued ‘lad’ is our heroine in hiding. As shared in the synopsis, Charlotte eventually goes to Jacob for protection. I loved his care and gentlemanly manner with Charlotte. Although over a short amount of time, you feel like it has taken longer than it actually did in their romance for them to fall in love.

Charlotte kept saying she needed to leave as the only way to be safe, but when they marry, everything changes. Her whole outlook takes a huge step back. What does not change is the continuing deaths of women. Charlotte is still convinced she knows the murderer. Jacob is going to do whatever it takes to protect Charlotte, even from her cruel aunt.

There is so much to like about this book – great characters, great story line, great writing. Ms. Cullen wraps a bit of mystery around Charlotte and Jacob to keep you wanting to find out what happens next.

Charlotte isnt one to hold back on things:
“Do you already have a mistress?” she asked.
“No! Good Lord, Charlotte. Some of the things you say.”His cheeks felt like they were on fire.
jacob just can't say no to his woman, “good God, woman.” He backed her against the wall and lifted her many voluminous skirts until the cool air hit her legs. “Put your legs around my hips,” he commanded..." I liked this book, I liked Jacob.

Gah, I loved this book. It was so sweet. It took a while for Jacob to realized he loved Charlotte, but I'm willing to forgive him given what he's been through. I also liked the subplot with the murder mystery alongside their romance. The only issue I had was a nitpicky one, where the book went back and forth between calling a character Edward and Edmund, and hopefully that'll be fixed in copyedits since I read an ARC.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. This one does have a lot of mystery and suspense but not much in the way of actual romance. The hero and heroine are thrust together and develop some frisson but I was never sold on the actual relationship, which seemed almost an afterthought to the crime story. Not quite satisfying. 2.5 rounded up

Talk about coincidence. Lucky for Charlotte, it was Jacob who saved her life. I was left in wonder while reading, An Willing Earl. So many surprises, good but mostly bad. The story kept me captive throughout.

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the premise of the hero becoming an earl and charlotte’s story line was great. Add in the added element of women being killed, and it was a great all around book! Looking forward to the next one.

Excellent book! I really loved this book. The hero, Jacob, was a widowed solicitor that recently inherited an earldom, and like to be an “armchair detective “ with his best friend Lord Armbuster. When the book opens they are discussing the grisly murder of 4 women. Charlotte is on the run from her horrible aunt and weird cousin and she is dressing as a boy and living in the rookeries of London. When Charlottes aunt tries to hire Jacob to find Charlotte he turns her down but is intrigued and makes some inquiries. When he finally finds her he is drawn to her and wants to help her. I really loved Charlotte and Jacob. Jacob was wonderful. This is a true hero. He was widowed and instead of burying his pain in women and alcohol he works and spends time with friends. His wife was the only woman he had ever been with! He was kind and a good person. I absolutely fell in love with him. I am looking forward to the next book even though Armbuster the usual rake.

Wow. That was unexpected. The first 40% reads like a calm historical romance with a marriage of convenience trope. Then the killings come in to play and it's a romantic suspense novel. There were times it was a bit gruesome, so consider yourself warned. I loved that the hero had no clue how to be an Earl and also that he was a widower who had loved his first wife dearly. It added so much to the book. Charlotte was a bit overly stubborn for my taste at the beginning, but she grew on me. I'll be looking out for the next book in the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.