I loved this story of Hazel and Blade. Their romance was filled with hearts that needed healing and a little sea air. Blade thought only to send his niece away so that he didn't have to deal with the painful reminder of his past. Hazel saw the way to heal the brokenness in both of them and the two managed to find love through it all. This was a delightful tale.

Hazel lively is the headmistress of a new school for girls in a cozy sea place, her dream is to have a school where girls can feel like they’ve found a family... too bad her school only has five students and no one else seems to want to attend. Gabriel Beckett is an Earl who needs his rebellious niece to behave and straighten out so he can finally marry the lady he wants. Gabriel’s niece, Kitty has already been kicked out of two schools and Hazel’s school is his last hope to help straighten her out. However, Hazel has her own workings, she wants to help Kitty and Gabriel become a family and to ultimately help Kitty heal after the death of her parents. She makes a deal with Beck, if he agrees to visit his niece every two weeks, she will take Kitty on as a student in her school. Beck agrees, seeing as he has become interested in the new headmistress.....while still pursuing his engagement to another woman in London. Soon awkward teen bonding and outings bring together these three. I have to say I actually liked Hazel and I liked how she stood her ground and wouldn’t settle for less. My big issue here came in the form of our love protagonist Beckett. To say I did not see how he and Hazel had any chemistry together and would work together.... The entire time he is pursuing Hazel he is also actively pursuing his courtship and intentions to marry his fiancee in London.... all while also getting together with Hazel. With his tragic backstory, the fact that he is doing this, was even more baffling, and the ending with the whole dilemma of him being like “love doesn’t exist and I can’t love you” while being in love with her? I just can’t with this man. He kept expecting her to meet his needs and when she clearly laid out her terms he still expects her to change them. Yes I can clearly see how long it took for this dude to figure out he was in love with Hazel, and to shed his “cold and snooby” demeanor but still, something about him just irritated me. So while Hazel was a joy to read, Beckett got on my last nerves. Definitely give this a try, it’s a fast and easy read and great for romance lovers. It would have been perfect for me but sadly I just couldn’t get into Beckett.

*Thanks netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Everything to love about history romance

GIRLS BEFORE EARLS is the first title I’ve read by Anna Bennett, and I found myself enchanted with everything I enjoy about historical romances — the clash of the social classes, the extent of education required to prepare young women for the ton along with well-crafted characters who draw me in.

Our heroine, Hazel Lively has very solid, strong reason to avoid scandal. Her attraction of Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, is a temptation she doesn’t need. But Blade does need Hazel and her school for girls to educate his niece and prepare her for her role in society.

As is typical of the upper crust, Blade doesn’t see why there should be any difficulties with educating his niece, Kitty, nor acting upon his attraction to Hazel. Blade has his own reasons not to want a permanent relationship with Hazel.

Author Bennett has a flair for writing characters, not just her main hero and heroine, but the supporting characters are delightful, too. I loved Kitty and her fellow students. I’m even hoping for a subsequent title for the “villain” of GIRLS BEFORE EARLS.

Loved this story just what I needed to read in these troubling times! Love how the kids made it happen, when adualts think they know what is to happen! Good read

Kent, England - 1795

Hazel Lively is near to achieving a lifelong dream of opening a girls' academy where the wealthier students' tuition will pay enough to educate those who cannot afford schooling. The Bellehaven Academy is situated in a small seaside town where Hazel rents a portion of a boarding house. The few students she has barely keep the school afloat, but Hazel has hopes that a good reputation will bring in new, paying students. With her own history of keeping her emotions hidden, her love of books, and dedication to the girls, Hazel knows she will succeed. But then, things get complicated.

Gabriel Beckett, the Earl of Bladenton (known as Blade), has suddenly become the sole guardian of his fifteen-year-old niece, Kitty, after the sudden demise of her parents. Blade knows little about her, except that she's been expelled from two London schools for her antics. It's obvious to Hazel that the earl and his niece are at odds with each other as he insists that she be enrolled at Bellehaven as a boarder. What Hazel also sees is that the girl is desperately in need of someone who will guide her. And someone she can rely on. Hazel agrees to have Kitty under one condition - the earl must return from London every two weeks to visit his niece. Not happy, but desperate, Blade agrees.

Kitty is not an easy young lady to deal with, but Hazel has a lot of patience as she understands about being left alone at a young age. Hazel's own parents died when she was just a child, and only the kindness of a headmistress, who took Hazel in as a charity case, saved her from a dire existence. But Kitty is another sort of case, and Hazel works hard to crack the girl's hard shell. And then, of course, there are the visits of Kitty's handsome uncle. Trying hard to avoid her emotional thoughts of him, Hazel finds herself at odds with her own determination to avoid caring for someone.

Blade is in a similar situation to Hazel's. But his reason is that he cared too much for a girl, and she wed someone else. His hurt has led him to make arrangements to wed a member of the ton who, similarly, doesn't wish to have a marriage based on love. However, Blade is growing overly fond of the stubborn headmistress who seems to be making headway with Blade's difficult niece. Reputation and the future of her school are Hazel's top priorities, and the earl could potentially endanger both.

GIRLS BEFORE EARLS, a Rogues to Lovers Novel, tests two people who have repressed their feelings for too long. But how can it end? And what kind of situations can Kitty get into with her own determination to control her emotions?

Girls before Earls, by Anna Bennett. What a smashing good book this was. I absolutely loved all the characters. Well, Penelope I would place her on her own island. This romantic story spoiled me with all the love from family and friends.
The story showed how not only love, but strength, courage, determination, trust, confidence and believing in the people you care about helped make this book, a book worth reading. First of all I think I’m head over heels in love Gabriel. The man knows how to service a lady in need of some pleasure. Take me to the beach under the stars anytime, Gabriel. Hazel was blessed to have this man come into her life.
I thought Hazel was magnificent. She held her own and stared down on Penelope without fear. I liked that the author placed Hazels age at twenty eight. I definitely loved that Hazels character was a natural woman who has needs, and didn’t shy away from those needs when all that she wanted to do was, climb on Gabriel like a monkey in heat. When it came to these scenes between Gabriel and Hazel I thought the writer did a good job with giving her readers, a behind the closed door look.
Gabriel and Hazel were not the only stars of this book. I loved Gabriel’s niece, Kitty. The girl was master of being devious. I would have left in the boat a little longer though. I’m anxious to read Poppy’s story when it comes time for her to shine.
I think that this story was told in a clear way. I understood what was happening in each scene. The details that were given provided a descriptive vision for me while reading the book. I enjoyed the excitement and the entertainment from the whole book. I give this book two snaps and a twist.
Until next time my fellow readers… read on!

Liked the setting and the character of Hazel. The story was fun for people who like historical romance books. Hazel was a good character to read about, but the plot just fell a bit flat for me as I wasn’t pulled in by the writing style.

This book did not work for me. The conflict was frustrating for me and I didn’t understand why these two didn’t just get married by chapter ten.

I like the disparaging social class tropes, but this one just fell flat for me.

GIRLS BEFORE EARLS is a flirtatious opposites-attract romance that is incredibly layered with angst-filled moments, grief, love, attraction, hi-jinks, and more. It stars a lovely lady, Hazel Lively, an orphan who loves books. She luckily grew up in a boarding school for girls. Hazel is optimistic, independent, and bravely starts an instructive school, Bellehaven Academy, for girls in a sunny seaside area located outside of London. As headmistress, Hazel adores her job, her students and its safe atmosphere. Little does she know her life is about to change. Romance is in the air!

Blade, Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, is determined to enroll his feisty niece, Kitty, in Hazel's boarding school. Kitty is his ward after a devastating death in his family. Blade has no experience raising a teenage girl. Kitty's track record is three times expelled. An emotionally damaged man, Blade doesn't believe in love but is engaged to a society lady. Their arrangement is a marriage of convenience. He needs to convince the straitlaced, stubborn headmistress to take Kitty into her capable hands. He sweetens the pot with a sizable donation. Hazel reconsiders her stance, but there is one stipulation. Blade must visit Kitty every other week.

However, trouble brews. There is an unmistakable attraction between Hazel and Blade. Hazel is mesmerized by the arrogant, sexy man. Blade is impressed by smart, beautiful Hazel. Blade is resolute on returning to his life of leisure, but his heart hums for Hazel. Hazel's feelings for Blade are indecent. Hazel's life takes a u-turn with Blade's constant flirtations. Do the fingers of fate spell difficulties between Hazel and Blade or does romance trump in the end?

An attractive earl, a beautiful schoolmarm, and an unbelievable agreement, GIRLS BEFORE EARLS is a stunning historical novel. This sweeping, dramatic story is touching, willful, skillful, with twists and turns aplenty! Ms. Bennett conjured up a fantastic plot that held me spellbound from beginning to end. There are so many interesting characters with depth and heart to them. Even troublesome Kitty is a diamond in the rough. She blossoms in Hazel's care. This is an amazing story that has many layers to it. I even cried in some spots. Well done Ms. Bennett! GIRLS BEFORE EARLS is just like a jelly-filled puff pastry! It's incredibly delicious with a surprising center.

Hazel is clearly a survivor who has faced difficult circumstances and managed to create something special in life that is actually helpful for the society. Blade on the other hand has clearly led a privileged life but has been missing a family and the associated bonds. Hazel and Blade have a fun and cute relationship and their chemistry is good too. As a rational person, Blade had already started few plans for his marriage but how he plans to end up with Hazel is absolutely heartwarming! The whole beach setting in a historical romance book was quite refreshing and unique. It has some steamy scenes as well.

I really enjoyed reading Anna Bennett's Girls Before Earls. I have never read any of her works before and was pleasantly surprised. This book was witty, engaging, romantic and tragic. The author takes you through a myriad of emotions; loss to love, repulsion to attraction, and hidden to revealed. Girls Before Earls is the story of Hazel Lively, headmistress of the Bellehaven Academy for young ladies. Having lost her parents at a young age, Hazel is determined to help other young girls who have no families and she needs some wealthy patronesses to do it. Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, has recently become guardian for a neice that he didn't even know existed a short time ago. Now he needs to find a school for her so he can get on with his life. Only Hazel will not make it so easy for him! I love how the sparks fly between the two of these characters. These characters just seem to come alive as you read. This is definitely one book you can't put down.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Anna Bennett is one of my favorite writers because she truly provides the escape I need with her light-hearted and romantic stories. This one was worth the wait for me.

Hazel Lively has lived a very difficult life losing both her parents when she was very young. She survived, and now she is realizing her dream of opening up a school for girls. Gabriel Beckett, Earl of Bladenton, wants to enroll his unruly niece into Hazel's school, but Hazel forces him to visit her so that they can rebuild their relationship. He might be rebuilding his relationship with his niece, but romance is blossoming between Hazel and Blade as well.

Hazel and Blade's relationship made me SO happy. I was smiling through the entire book because I found it so sweet and wholesome. Yes, there are conflicts, but somehow Anna Bennett makes it all feel fluffy. She is a master at romance, and this was top notch. I enjoyed the side story of Blade and his neice reconciling their relationship, and learning how to trust each other again. Hazel's maneuvering of that was brilliant. Overall, another great story by her. I can't wait to read the next one in the series because this one was truly excellent!

This story was perfect. Set at the beach, perfect setting for a romance to develop unexpectedly. I thought the part near the end with the countess was utterly hilarious and wouldn't mind seeing a story with her in the future. The girls were definitely adorable meddling as they did to get the main couple together, yet they did seem to need a bit of help. I enjoyed the mixture of steamy, emotion, and hilarity that this book held and look forward to reading more from this author. #netgalley #girlsbeforeearls

I was in the mood for a HR, and felt like I had exhausted all of my resources.

And then, I got this ARC, and it was surprisingly wholesome! Despite the sheer amount of HR that I read, I very rarely like the large majority of the books.

This one was fun and just what I needed - a (semi) slow burn, a man who, unbeknownst to him, is head over heels in love, a strong, independent woman, some character growth…all of my favorite things.

A good comfort read, and I’ll definitely be checking out more Bennett in the future. Thanks to the publisher for providing this eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this book.. Hazel is the kind of heroine I love; tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She is an orphan who had no one and resigned herself to being alone. Blade had loved and lost and been betrayed. Suddenly saddled with his grief stricken and trouble causing niece, they must all find a way to open up and trust.

Girls Before Earls is an entertaining and layered historical romance with great messages about family, grief, society, and love. Miss Hazel Lively is a strong, independent woman who has devoted her life to helping young girls. Adamant that all girls, regardless of social class, deserve the same opportunities, Hazel opens a school to girls of all social stations. A lover of books and learning, Hazel is determined to make her school a success, and when the Earl of Bladenton enrolls his niece, it seems her prospects are looking up. However, Blade’s niece Kitty is a handful, and Hazel’s feelings for Blade are less than professional.

Blade doesn’t believe in love. Determined to enter a marriage of convenience, Blade intends to leave Kitty in Hazel’s capable hands so that he can ensure his engagement to a woman of the ton. However, when Hazel makes his involvement in Kitty’s life part of their arrangement, Blade finds himself returning to Bellhaven Academy to visit Kitty and developing feelings for the proper and intelligent headmistress.

Though very different, Hazel and Blade both keep people at a distance. For different reasons, neither let anyone get too close, and neither are looking for love. Hazel is committed to her school, and Blade has been burned by love in the past, which swore him off love forever. On top of that, they are from different social classes, they live in different places, and they have different goals. However, this couple has explosive chemistry from their first meeting, and their feelings are undeniable (as much as they try to deny them!). Theirs is a case of opposites attract, and these opposites have an amazing connection. Their budding relationship is equal parts sweet, romantic, fun, angst-filled, and sensual.

I love the found family aspect of the story and how Hazel connects with other motherless women. She, Poppy ( local woman), and Kitty all lost their mothers at a young age, and this creates a bond between them. They can relate to each other and understand each other because they are all motherless daughters. At one point in the story, Poppy asks if the other’s ever wonder how different their lives would be if their mothers were still alive. I found this scene really powerful and relatable. I lost my mother eleven years ago, and I often wonder how my life would be different if she were still here. The author does a wonderful job of showing how the loss of a beloved parent changes a person, and the character’s thoughts about grief and loss are relatable, realistic, and powerful. I also love that Kitty, Poppy, and Hazel find support in each other and form their own family or sisterhood.

I also love how Blade and Kitty grow closer as the story progresses. At the beginning of the novel, Kitty and Blade barely know each other. Estranged from Kitty’s parents, Blade is stunned to learn that he was chosen to care for her, and he struggles to connect with his difficult niece. However, with Hazel’s help, Kitty and Blade begin to develop a bond and a mutual regard for each other. This relationship changes both of them for the better.

Girls Before Earls (love that title!) is an entertaining, romantic, and sweet story with great characters, a beautiful seaside setting, and wonderful messages. The story examines some thought-provoking topics, including the unfair expectations put on different social classes, the consequences of loss and betrayal, the importance of honor and reputation, and the difficulties of being a woman during this time period. I wholly recommend this book to lovers of historical romance and am excited to read the next book in the Rogues to Lovers series. Thanks so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, and Anna Bennett for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the growth of the relationship between Hazel and Bladenton, that part was well done and hooked me. I also liked the growth of both of their relationships with Kat. I did think other parts of the plot/setup were a bit lacking - for one, a single lady who was not a widow running a boarding school for proper young ladies? That would never have happened. And in the end, the wrap-up, and 'defeat' of Bladenton's erstwhile fiance was rather quick and too tidy. But overall, aside from that, I really enjoyed this book.

A delightful book! I devoured it in a day. Loved the characters and the choices that they make at the end of the book. One of those rare books that includes teenagers who don't feel like cardboard cutouts. Heartily recommend!

Girls Before Earls is a delightful book. Hazel and Blade make a fun and interesting couple. Thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend it highly. Would love to see sequels with Poppy, Kitty and Jane. Thank you Anna Bennett, St. Martin's Publishing Group and Net Galley for an early chance to read this charming story.
Warning: There are a few explicit, but tasteful sex scenes.
#GirlsBeforeEarls#AnnaBennett#NetGalley

There's no denying that Anna Bennett knows precisely what her readers are looking for in an anchor title for a new historical romance series: an intrepid heroine, a dashing hero, a vivid setting, and a generous cast of secondary characters developed enough to make us care about subsequent novels-in-series, but relegated enough to the background to let our primary couple shine. While Girls Before Earls certainly fulfills the brief, the "mad crush" to include so many elements at times undermines the core characterization of Hazel and Blade. We see this a lot in serial HistRom: a middling-strong first installment precedes far stronger subsequent titles.

For me, the biggest gaps in Girls Before Earls center around Hazel, whose (warranted) preoccupation with reputation is deeply inconsistent. Determined to get her school for decorum established as a premiere destination for young women, Hazel nevertheless engages in some very public, very salacious encounters with a certain earl. Hazel's character sorely needs a secondary goal of "living more fully," a la Callie Hartwell in Maclean's Nine Rules to Break [...]. This would have made space for elements like Hazel's "trusty manual" subplot to feel better integrated, and would have established a more complete character arc from start to finish.

Blade's "mysterious" wound is easily determined long before the fullness of his backstory is revealed. This is a clear indication that his wound wasn't quite developed enough; his healing comes down to the rather straightforward decision to recognize that Hazel isn't someone from his past, but is in fact her own person. Not exactly the kind of soul-plumbing depth I like to see in a hero on the road to redemption and happiness.

Like Lisa Kleypas's Cold-Hearted Rake (book 1 of the Ravenels series), Girls Before Earls establishes a cast and setting interesting and well-written enough to make whatever comes next in the Rogues to Lovers series an obvious auto-buy. I have every confidence this 3.5-star series start will lead to a 5-star finish.