I really wanted to like this book. From the tittle to the plot summary, this was the kind of romance book that just has this interesting prospect. So imagine my pain when suddenly I realized that this story wasn't going like I imagined it would. The main issue here was the characters. Each on their own was okay but when the two just get into this dinamic of will they wont they it was just kinda tiresome.
The background of both of them is interesting and adds one more layer to the conflict to overcome but as I mentioned before, as a couple they got into this repetitive scenarios and not much of advance for the story were presented. I liked the way the author described the different places where action takes place so this gives me hope in case I decide to continue reading the other books of the series. If you read your fair amount of romance books this may not be that great of a reading but if you just started in this genre maybe you would like this one.

This was an enjoyable, quick read. Both main characters are likeable, even if they overreact a bit to being deceived. Also, I appreciated how the author handled the FMC's mother's mental and physical problems delicately.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The first half of the book was way better than the second half. The romance was nice to read, the characters were well fleshed out and had many layers, and the storyline was progressing well.
However, as soon as the secret was revealed, everything went on a downward spiral. Firstly, for the life of me, I couldn't understand the sudden change of the FMC. From the beginning, she was kind of levelheaded and wise. But, after she learned the truth, her decisions and overall thoughts were hard to read. The author let her take weird decisions just for the sake of writing some angst, which was a turn off for me.
The MMC was overly bland, his character wasn't that attractive. In many places, he felt sort of a doormat for the FMC, which, again, wasn't my favorite.
Overall, I think the book should've been edited further because it definitely has potential.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Absolutely ridiculous but fantastic at the same time. Jane Ashford managed to create a story that had me smiling and laughing the entire time (some of it from ridiculous moments). Harriet is trapped under a roof with her tyrant of a grandfather and anxiety ridden mother as she tries to find a solution to her circumstances. That's when she meets Jack (the rogue). She is fascinated by this free-spirited, charming stranger that she quickly labels a rogue and the begin to fall in love. As the story progresses there are twists and turns, some foolish decision making and unfortunately, a very abrupt ending. I was pleased by the way the story ended but not very satisfied. It felt rushed. If there was even just an epilogue, showing a glimpse of what life would be like after the book, I especially wanted to see the grandfather get knocked down a couple more pegs than the one set down we got to see in the entire book after all his tantrums and cruelty. If the ending was a little better I would've given this a 4.5 instead of 4 stars. I still enjoyed the book, (the side characters of the Travelers might have been in the top 5 best parts) and look forward to more in the series.

I adored Jack and Harriet's story! It was so much fun watching these two come to find their HEA! I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

2.5 stars rounded up.

Jonathan Merrill has just had his comfortable life in Boston upended by the news that he is now the Earl of Ferrington. He arrives in London to reluctantly accept the responsibility, hoping to find a family at last, only to find unrelenting criticism and vitriol from his great-grandmother. Seething with hurt and disappointment, Jack decides to go see his ancestral seat and then plans to return to his life in Boston.

Harriet Finch is drowning in resentment at having been forced off to her grandfather’s grandiose country estate. He intends to exchange his wealth for connection to a title, using Harriet to do it. She longs to escape his plan, but with herself and her mother now out of money and dependent on his largesse, she has little recourse but to go along. When she meets a handsome stranger, she begins to see a way to rebel with a suitor her grandfather would never approve of, but she’s shocked and livid at the deception when she learns who Jack really is. Her grandfather is, of course, thrilled at the prospect of an available title so close by. Jack is willing to accept the unwanted title if it means a loving marriage, but Harriet must first determine where her priorities lie.

This story was perhaps a bit too sweet for my taste, but I did enjoy the way Harriet and Jonathan got to know one another in an organic way, outside the bounds of high society. Jack’s desire for a family and a sense of belonging were endearing and relatable, making him a hero one wants to root for. I think Harriet ultimately wanted those same things, but the way she went about it was mostly nonsensical and her questionable decision making is where this story went off the rails a bit for me. She came off as rather vapid much of the time and quite a few of the dialogue between her and her two friends felt like useless filler. I even remember one of the girls saying something along the lines of not knowing why she’d said what she did, so the conversation didn’t even appear to make sense amongst the characters themselves.

My principal issue with Harriet is that she blew Jack’s “deception” way out of proportion. Sure, he failed to disclose to her that he had a title, but it wasn’t like he was trying to deceive her or manipulate her for his own gain. He was simply trying to come to terms with a major upheaval in his life and attempting to understand just what his new role would be and what the title meant. He didn’t grow up titled so it’s not like this position defined him in any way or made him disingenuous. If anything, he got to know Harriet on a more genuine level for not bringing the title into play. For some unknown reason, Harriet judged Jack from the first, labeling him as some sort of rogue, for no apparent reason, then continuing to underestimate him throughout the book. I’m still not sure why she did this, but she came off as pretty spineless and quite inconsiderate. At one point she’s even surprised to learn that Jack had friends in Boston. This just struck me as such a snobbish and unnecessary thing to say, especially since she’d professed to like him at this point. She focused only on the fact that he’d kept something, ultimately a trivial thing, from her and didn’t spare a thought for the upheaval he faced or how he might feel. I was cheering for the love here, but it just continued to feel like Harriet was criticizing every kind thing Jack attempted to do, holding up some rigid, unattainable standard despite professing to have no care for the opinions of society.

I know she was in a tough situation with her need to get away from her spiteful grandfather, but this didn’t make her any easier to like. The plot of this story felt a bit weak in general. I kept waiting for the grandfather to get the set down that was coming to him and was disappointed that he never faced any real consequences for his machinations, though at least Jack’s vitriolic grandmother did get put in her place. I was happy to see Jack finally get the chance to establish the family he’d always longed for, but I definitely felt the love between the secondary characters more than I did between Jack and Harriet.

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

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 2 in the Dukes estates series. I did like this one better than the first one but I liked number 3 better. This was a solid read but just okay for me.

DNF at 22%

Jane Ashford's books are just not for me. I read the first book in this series in order to prepare for this ARC and I found it to be pretty boring and immensely passionless. It was not the most auspicious start, but I figured that maybe it was a fluke. However, once I started Earl on the Run, I realized that Ashford's writing style is just not something that I vibe with. There is definitely an audience here, but it is just not something that I am interested in continuing with

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I really enjoyed the Duke Who Loves Me with The Duke of Tereford and Cecelia's love story, the first in this series. There was a whole derelict dukedom that they had to figure out and uncover and at the end we get a glimpse of Jack's story.

Now with the 2nd book, Harriet, Cecelia's friend has been confined by her grandfather's strict rules and is living in the country after the season. When she meets an attractive rogue with the travelers on the neighboring estate. An estate with a supposed errant Earl.

When her friend Cecelia and her husband the Duke who is a distant relation to the Earl show looking for him, things start to get complicated. Who is this attractive rogue she's met?

I do adore a nobility in disguise.. though he just wanted a simple life since he grew up in America and worked in trade already so many strikes against him per the British aristocracy. I loved the travelers and their readings of the young ladies. I felt so bad for Harriet's mother that father of hers was a nasty piece of baggage so controlling and belittling.

Jack and Harriet fell for eachother without the strictures of society and without the judgement and expectations. They were a great match but one felt like a burden and the other not worthy.

Thank you sourcebookscasa and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Fun fast read! Jack and Harriet are great! Loved their dialogue! Really enjoyed this story! A must read!

This book was a bit slow going, but I did enjoy the interaction between the hero and heroine once they started meeting secretly. I also think the author did a great job with the engagement with the Travelers in the text.

Note that the relationship is based on a lie, which undercuts some of the romance. And the couple really needed to just talk to each other more in order to resolve their issues.

I have not read the previous book in the series, which might have made this one more enjoyable.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

It’s such a shame that that cover and blurb was hinting at a beautiful romance story that unfortunately didn’t lived up to my expectations. I enjoyed it as a normal tale but there was nothing really standing out from it to keep me engaged and enjoying. Will see how the next one goes because I still want to give a try to the author as we can’t love them all at all times.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This book was severely disappointing to me. The two main characters, Jack and Harriet, were essentially children. This would have worked better if they were around 15 years old rather than 20s. The romance was “sweet” but only because it was described as such. I never felt moved or drawn in by it. To make up for the lack of romance, the plot should’ve been decent. It wasn’t. There really was nothing going for me in this book. No witty banter, no engaging plot, and no romance with even a hint of spice. Sorry, but I would pass next time.

Title: Earl on the Run
Author: Jane Ashford
Pages: 288

Harriet Finch does not want a nobleman - thank you very much. That would come too close to pleasing her grandfather and if there is one thing Harriet dislikes, it's pleasing her grandfather. However, when it turns out the rogue she met at a traveller's camp, who also managed to steal her heart, is an Earl, she is in quite the predicament.
Jack Merill, does not want to be an Earl. He misses his life back in Boston and he does not enjoy being critiqued by Society. And then there is the lovely Lady Harriet, who despises nobility, which makes him even more inclined to hide who he truly is. But, when Jack cannot hide who he is anymore, her breaks the fragile trust between himself and Lady Harriet, and he will do anything to ensure that they have their happy ending.

I wanted to enjoy this book, and I did, on a very surface level. It is quite a forgettable story and unfortunately, despite the fact that it is one of the longer regency romances, it felt underdeveloped. I did not believe the chemistry between Jack and Harriet, especially when it went from a few walks and talks to love.
Both Harriet and Jack felt undeveloped as characters and left me bored to read about them.

The one thing this book did, made me excited to read the next in the series as well as the first book in the series. The Duke and Duchess were so much fun as both a couple and as characters, I cannot wait to jump into their story. The same with Harriet's friend Sarah, who I am excited to read more about. As such I am inclined to believe that An Earl on the Run is just my least favourite out of the series and I am excited to read more by the author.

I'm always interested to see how author's balance the 'secret identity' trope, so I decided to read Earl on the Run. Although this book would count as novel, I definitely felt novella vibes, and even then, the beginning of the book was pretty slow going for me. It wasn’t that the plot didn’t progress, but the character interactions and dialogues didn’t really catch my interest. I didn’t love the characters or the character development throughout the book, they seem a bit underdeveloped; or maybe it’s just that these types of characters don’t appeal to me. The lack of character appeal probably contributed to my disinterest in the dialogue. I would say the best character in the book is Jack, even if he did lie. Earl on the Run was not a bad book, but certainly not up to my Jane Ashford expectations. This is a bland, easy read for slow days, and a book that needs little effort or attention to read.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. This was just a wonderful book to read and it was just easy to lose yourself in the story. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Jane Ashford has become an automatic read author for me, and this one did not disappoint. This was a sweet and entertaining story. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for approving to supply a copy for an honest review!

Although I am not a fan of lying in a relationship, I do enjoy a good case of mistaken identify and masquerading as someone else. This is just such a story.

Harriet Finch, who appeared in preceding books, is now a considerable heiress - if she abides by her grandfather's rules and marries a man with a title. She grew up relatively poor. She worked to pay for her education and knows what it is like to go without. She also knows who her true friends are and understands any courtship thus far has been motivated by her money, not herself, even though she had no caring male family member to protect her. She values the character of a person and dislikes most of the nobility.

Jonathan Frederick Merrill―Jack―has recently inherited the title of Earl of Ferrington, though his father was cast out and disinherited, through an unlikely string of deaths without male issue. He was born and raised in America, so he has very little knowledge of the British classes or his newfound responsibilities. After meeting his unlikable grandmother, he goes into hiding. His mother was a Traveler, so he ends up joining a wandering group of Travelers as Jack. It is in this capacity that he meets Harriet.

Both the H and h have good character, though of course are not faultless. There is misleading and left out facts but no blatant lies. They get to know each other's true selves. The secondary characters from the evil villain grandparents to the anxious mother and friends in the peerage added layers to the story without confusing the main plot.

As I have mentioned in prior reviews, each new addition to the series is unique and different. I look forward to continuing.

This was a great historical romance, and I definitely recommend it! Also, I love the cover of this one, the colors are so pretty!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I was able to read this book early thanks to Netgalley and sourcebooks.

Earl on the Run is the second in Jane Ashford’s Dukes Estates series, and while I enjoyed the first book, I definitely preferred this one. Jack and Harriet meet by chance and begin to fall in love. But Jack is pretending he’s not the missing Earl of Ferrington, and Harriet has no interest in the pompous titled men her grandfather is demanding she marry. The romance is light and sweet, and Jack and Harriet are fun together. But the truth about who he really is ruin their chance of being together?

I’m the type of reader that loves to get emotionally attached to the characters. It’s what makes me fully sink into a book. And I did feel that with Jack, who was bright and expressive and interesting, and somewhat with Harriet, who I loved simply for her determination to live her life on her own terms. Yet I don’t feel like I was ever 100% invested in the book, and I can’t put my finger on why. I enjoyed reading it, and I still would recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet historical romance, anyone looking for a HEA. But I wasn’t longing for more when I finished the book.

On the other hand, I could happily read a whole book about the group of Irish Travelers Jack stays with when he’s pretending not to be the Earl. This was a whole culture I wasn’t aware of before I read this book, and I found myself googling them to find out more. The side characters in the group were vibrant and intriguing, and my favorite parts of the story were when Jack and Harriet were with them. Those were the scenes that really jumped off the page, and when we weren’t in the Traveler camp, I wished we were. Seriously, if anyone knows of a book about something similar, send it my way!

#books #bookstagram #janeashford #earlontherun #thedukesestates #netgalley #sourcebookscasablanca

This was a very fun book with memorable characters. I hadn't read the first book in the series and ended up reading that after I finished this one. I think if you read the first book already, it would make it more enjoyable and easier to understand.