A sweet romance! I loved how serious Hazel is, and how hard she worked to creat her dream! I loved her interactions with Blade and how Hazel eventually connects with Blade’s niece.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Another good book by Anna Bennett! The story was great, the characters are great and the dialogue was great! The main characters Blade and Hazel had good chemistry- very sweet. A must read!

This was really fun, but it was just alright for me. I had a hard time getting into the story or connecting with the protagonists.

I adored Girls Before Earls and the message it sent on female empowerment. From the getgo, I was smiling and laughing at the shenanigans and grit that our female main character held.

Lord Bladenton wants to enroll his niece in Miss Hazel Lively's school. He does not believe in love after an old betrayal but his rakish charms work on Hazel and they become enchanted with each other. But it seems like a doomed romance as he is expected to marry a lady and Hazel wants to be loved. This was a good story with engaging characters and I enjoyed it. Some sexual content.

I really enjoyed Hazel and Gabriel's story. It was fun watching these two come together as well as watching Gabriel become closer to his niece. What a great start to a new series!!

A poignant romance full of charm, wit, and humor with two fantastic MCs and a story that keeps you entertained from beginning to end.
Anna Bennett has started her new series, Rogues to Lovers, with a gratifying tale of love finding a way to triumph over class differences and society expectations. This story introduces multiple characters and unique situations for exceptional series growth and I am eager to enjoy the books to come!


4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 3 Flames 🔥🔥🔥


📚Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press publishing via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, comments, and interpretations of the story are my own and bias free. I did not receive any money in exchange for this review. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review. Reviews are cross-posted to social media, goodreads, and blog. 🦄

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: Third person from both the hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
This is the first book in Bennett’s Rogues to Lovers series.

Basic plot:
After his niece has been expelled from multiple schools, Blade is trying Bellehaven Academy to see if Miss Lively can reign her in.

Give this a try if you want:
- Regency time period (1814)
- Beach side setting in England (get out of London!)
- Medium steam – 3 full scenes and a short
- Child in the story – hero has a 15 year old niece in his care
- Touch of class difference – hero is an Earl and heroine runs a girls school
- Hero needs to marry and sire and heir (to prevent the title going to wastrel relatives)
- Working women
- You’re okay with some love triangle problems

Ages:
- Heroine is 28. I didn’t catch the hero’s age, but he was engaged around the time his 15 year old niece was born so I’d guess mid-30s?

My thoughts:
I really wanted this book to work for me! I love Anna Bennett’s writing and I really enjoyed the seaside setting of this book. But ultimately this couple fell a little flat for me. I do have hang ups on other woman drama/love triangle so this won’t bother everyone.

The thing that got me about this book was I never felt the tension or pull between them. I was actually shocked at the first kiss because I was left asking ‘huh? Why??’ And I never grew to feel that pull or love between them. I also really disliked the fact that the hero was tentatively engaged to someone else and then went to the seaside kissing someone else pretty frequently. Which, you know, I could even get over that, but then the engagement lasted until almost the end of the book. Like wayyyyy too far for me. I was left feeling like I needed another book after this one for them to actually feel like they have a true HEA!

Still, I think overall it’s a sweet story and those without my hangups won’t have these issues. I enjoyed Blade having a niece that he’s trying to navigate a relationship with. And I loved Hazel’s story and background and opening her own girl’s school. I’ll definitely be picking up book 2 to try.

A romantic sweet read that includes found family. I thought it dragged in the middle, but overall readers will be happy to read.

Apologies for the late response on this title, and apologies for clogging up an inbox on old titles.

While I am aware it's obvious, I have chosen not to read/review this title.

As always, I appreciate access to titles and look forward to the next one...which I have likely already read based on how long ago this title was published.

Thanks, again.

I am sorry to say but I did not like this book. There was no chemistry between the characters. The book had a depressing feel to it. No one was ever happy. The Earl even said at one point that their relationship was a series of goodbyes. This book needed more romance and less angst.

A light-hearted historical RomCom type story.
First time reading this author and I will look for her other books. Sweet romance. I might have liked even more if there had been more development between the main characters; seemed awfully thin for me to become totally invested in their romance. (I always wonder if this is something that publishers are directing word count—and the author has to cut somewhere.)
Lots of potential for a series.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for this gifted ARC.

While period romances aren't always my jam, this was really good! I always love when there's a backstory that requires some overcoming in addition to the love story. The class difference storyline is also really well done here. I think that even if you're not into period romance, this is a good one!

This setup just did not work at all for me. She's the spinster educator and he's going to marry someone he doesn't love just...because he thinks that's what he should do? I never understand the "I must do this thing" plot device.

After a hard childhood, Hazel knows what she wants from life. She wants to help other children who are less fortunate than others. She knows what is needed to accomplish this and she has everything on the right path until... Blade walks through her doors. Blade is determined to find a place for his niece and will offer almost anything to make that happen. Visits to his niece, Kitty, keep bringing Hazel and Blade together where their attraction grows.

I have read a few Anna Bennett books and I have loved all of them!


I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Girls Before Earls is a spicy, fun, and heartwarming romance between the headmistress of a school for girls and an earl with an uncooperative niece who needs structure and discipline.

This was my first read by Anna Bennett, and I definitely need to read more now! I was obsessed with Blade and Hazel and their relationships with the school girls. Blade is a new favorite male main character of mine, and watching him grow and develop as an uncle was just wonderful. I loved watching Hazel slowly open up her heart even when she didn’t think she could have Blade. My heart cracked a little bit, but it was easily put back together with the happily ever after between the characters. This was such a fun read that I would recommend!

Content warning for loss of loved ones, sexual content, blackmailing.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC of Girls Before Earls by Anna Bennett.

Girls before Earls, oh yeah. this checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read. Historical fiction oh yeah. Love me some of this.

Hazel Lively has had to prove herself many times in her life, now she's opened her school for young ladies and trying to appeal to the upper crust. She needs more enrollment as she's just getting by.

Gabriel Beckett the Earl of Bladenton, aka Blade, has a problem. His teenaged niece, Kitty Beckett, his ward, has been expelled from another boarding school and he hasn't been successful finding another.

Hazel doesn't need a problem student, she needs her school to be beyond reproach or she'll lose students, not gain them. However, when Blade offers to pay all of Kitty's expenses plus three times the normal tuition, she really has to pause. She agrees but only if he visits at least once a fortnight.

Of course, Lord Bladenton isn't going to be coerced into spending time with his niece. As he's taking his leave it becomes apparent that Kitty is not in the waiting room, neither is she on the street outside.

An interesting rescue has the Earl agreeing to Hazel's terms and the enrollment of Kitty in Bellehaven Academy.

The teaching methods are as unique as the headmistress and the students are from both end of societies spectrum.

Then there is the attraction between Blade and Hazel that grows with each visit with Kitty, although they both try to ignore it.

A truly enjoyable read with lots of fun antics and romance.

I'm a sucker for a good Regency with a bit of steam. Girls Before Earls fits the bill nicely.

Growing up an orphan, Hazel Lively loved nothing so much as books and organization. Her dream was to follow in her mentor's steps and open a school for girls. Finally realizing that dream, she opens Bellehaven Academy, hoping that the wealthy families who spend their summers at the shore will entrust their daughters' educations to her. Her reputation is spotless, and she needs to keep it that way. She also needs to raise a great deal of money from sponsors so that she can also educate some less fortunate girls. Not a problem, until the Earl of Bladenton walks into her office.

Gabriel Beckett's niece has been kicked out of two boarding schools already, so when he hears of Bellehaven Academy, his relief knows no bounds. Bellehaven is far enough from London that he won't have his niece underfoot any longer, and it is in a small enough town that there are few ways she can get up to mischief. All he needs to do is convince the head mistress that she is the perfect candidate for her school - and, to grease the wheels, he offers a substantial sum of money, over and above his niece's tuition. What he's not prepared for is Miss Lively, who is not only far more beautiful than a spinster head mistress should ever be, but she also stubbornly insists that if his niece is to remain with her school, he must promise to visit her every two weeks.

The more time they spend together, the more passion flares. When that passion threatens both Hazel's school, and Blade's heart, can they find a way to be together, even though they come from two different worlds?

I loved Hazel's passion for "her girls". She wanted each of them to realize their own potential, even arranging internships where their gifts could shine. I loved that Blade was willing to overlook class lines and step boldly over them when he found the woman he wanted. All in all, a very satisfying read. I listened to this one, which was also fun.