Good friends-to-lovers/second chance story. Eleanor and Fred were best friends years earlier, and he was her secret crush. She was the vicar's daughter, and he was the earl's youngest son. Then Eleanor's mother died, and she had to leave school to care for her father. Fred joined the army and went off to fight Napoleon, and they lost touch.

After her father died, Eleanor and her sister Mary moved to Bath to join their friend, Lady Henrietta. Together, they established a matchmaking agency and have enjoyed some modest success. Imagine Eleanor's shock when she ran into Fred in Bath. As the new Earl of a financially strapped estate, Fred must marry a rich wife, and Eleanor promises to find him one. To do so, she must bury her feelings for him.

As the younger son, Fred joined the army to make his way in the world. He had dreams of returning someday and marrying Eleanor, but between the stupid things he did as a young man and the things he witnessed during the war, he no longer feels worthy of her. He returned to England after the deaths of his father and brother, only to discover that the estate was in dire straits. He needs an infusion of cash; the best solution is to marry.

I ached for Fred and Eleanor. It is immediately evident that they still have feelings for each other but are caught in an impossible situation. Fred needs money, but Eleanor doesn't have what he needs. The more time they spend together, the stronger their feelings grow. There were some sweet scenes of them as they rekindled their friendship, but their inability to find a way to be together was frustrating. I had hope when Fred found a way to raise some of what he needed, and I wanted to shake Eleanor over her determined self-sacrifice of her happiness. I felt like she didn't trust Fred to know his own mind and heart. I loved the surprise solution that enabled Fred to finally convince Eleanor that they could be together.

There was a secondary romance in the book between Fred's stepmother and a man from her past. Anthony was terrific, and I loved watching him fall deeper under Penelope's spell. However, another case of potential self-sacrifice nearly ended things before Pen accepted that she, too, deserved to be happy.

I enjoyed seeing the matchmaking business in Bath rather than London. It is always nice to see the world outside of the nobility and experience the lives of more ordinary people. Another character was introduced near the end that I suspect will play a part in the next book. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

This is the first book I have read from this author. I like the premise of the story, and I love the historical romance. Three dear friends decided to open up a matchmaking venture in Bath, England. They had not had any luck in that department for themselves, but felt qualified and inspired to make matches for other people, The characters were quite likable, and you definitely felt a connection between Eleanor and Frederick. There were also some sweet connections between other characters that were charming. There were a few things that bothered me about this book. 1st was the title, I didn’t really feel like it was a “Cinderella” story. Next, I felt like it rambled, and some places jumped around, it also had some editing errors (not just grammar or punctuation, but passages that just didn’t make sense). Now, I did read an arc copy, so hopefully some of those problems were fixed by the time it was published. The last thing that really bothered me was. The last chapter. I was so pleased that the entire book was clean (sweet kisses) until that last chapter, when their relationship in the bedroom became quite descriptive, not explicit, but more detailed than should be in a clean romance. Now granted they were a married couple, but truly, it just ruined the book for me. There was no reason to have that in there. So if you like clean wholesome romances, you can read this book just skipped the last chapter! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is everything you could ever ask for in a second chance romance.
I am not usually one to get sappy, but this one really got me.

This is a second chance romance. The heroine is a matchmaker and must find her old flame a match. It leads to a romance between the two characters.

Second chances and matchmaking...

Ella is now a matchmaker along with several of her friends. She isn't rich by any means.

Fred was older than Ella but they were friends. He went off to London to be a ho bag and then off to war, where he was injured. He also has inherited the earldom, which needs a cash infusion by way of marrying a wealthy heiress (of course).

They obviously are into each other but they both keep thinking they can't be together. This does get repetitive, but I do enjoy Amanda McCabe's writing.

Years ago Eleanor “Ella” St. Aubin fell head over heels in love with the boy next door, Fredrick “Fred” Canning, the younger son of the Earl of Fleetwood. They were the best of friends, despite Fred being five years older, but all that changed when her mother died and Fred leaves to join the army. The two lose touch, but Ella never forgot him, even followed gossip about him in the papers. When her father passes, she and her sister Mary relocate to Bath and join forces with an old school friend, Henrietta, the widowed Lady Briggs, starting a matchmaking agency; The St. Aubin and Briggs Confidential Agency. They have had some success, but are by no means rich, but they are content, and Ella has made peace with the past. But when the love of her life turns up in Bath, now the Earl of Fleetwood and in need of a rich wife, Ella will have to try and force down the feelings she thought long buried and help him find a wife, who can repair not only the fortunes of the earldom, but the wounds Fred now carries, both inside and out.

Fred Canning never imagined he would inherit the earldom, and at nineteen he went to London to join the army and in his heart of hearts, hoped to return someday and marry Ella. But he did things in London as a young man that made him feel that he was not worthy of her, then the war happened and he was sure he wasn’t worthy, and buries his feeling for her. Injured and heartsore, he returns to England when he learns that he has inherited the earldom after the deaths of his brother and father. To his dismay, the estate is in shambles and needs a fortune to restore it. He visits his stepmother in Bath, hoping for a small reprieve before he has to take on the duties of the estate. He knows what he has to do, but when he runs into Ella, he realizes his feelings for her never died and the thought of marrying anyone but her is impossible to imagine. But Ella is determined to find him a bride, will he be able to let her go and wed for duty?

This was a well-written story, but it did not live up to the expectations I had based on the title. No reviews that I have read have mentioned it, but when I see “Cinderella” in the title, there are certain expectations made about the story and there was nothing remotely Cinderella-like about this book – other than the heroine’s name is Ella. Aside from that this was a good story, just not the story I was hoping for. The story is sweet, with a friends to lovers trope, a second chance romance, great friends, the possibility of several other romances and finally a very sweet ending with two happy endings. This was a nice start to a new series and I am looking forward to Mary and Harry’s stories!

3.5 stars, rounded up.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Matchmaker Eleanor is tasked with finding a wealthy wife for earl Frederick to settle his debts. Her childhood sweetheart, he’s haunted by war, and she’s drawn to help him. Can she overcome their past misunderstandings and become his countess?

This charming book has some of my favorite tropes (childhood sweethearts, desire vs. duty). I love Eleanor and Frederick, and the chemistry between them. The tone of the book is lighthearted and sweet.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This one started off strong, two young people (one with a schoolgirl crush and the other heading off to war) saying good-bye to one another after a long-standing friendship. Only to come unexpectedly face to face years later when their circumstances are now quite different than they once were.

However, this one just didn't work for me for a lot of reasons. Now, full disclaimer, I did read an advanced reader copy of this one, so there may have been more editing done to fix the issues that I found, but I can only give an honest review on the copy that I read.

And my honest opinion is that this one needed a lot more work to really bring it together.

To begin with there were several instances where things just suddenly changed, or people showed up that didn't make sense. There are two instances that really stick out in my mind. The first being when Eleanor was walking her dog in the park when her sister shows up "hurrying along the pier in the shade of her lacy parasol." Mary then makes a comment about the weather, but suddenly the pair are no longer outdoors at all, but suddenly stepping "from their door into the sunny morning." It made no sense. The second one was when Miss Muffins (the dog), ended up falling into the river. At first it is said that Eleanor suddenly became aware of Fred's presence at her side before he jumps in to save her dog, but then a few pages later she is thinking about how fast things changed starting off with "one moment she was chatting with Fred and Mary". Again, it would seem as though the author forgot just what was going on within her own story.

I could also go into detail about how the slow pacing seemed to drag this one down, but I'm not even sure if it was that, or if it was the constant repetitiveness of these characters. They love each other, but he needs to marry and heiress and she cannot marry him knowing she isn't one. I guess it's a tried and true formula with these types of novels for a reason, but man it just got tedious in this one.

Maybe it would have been better had there been something else thrown in, perhaps in an attempt to rid herself of her feelings for Fred, Eleanor agreed to marry the man who made advances towards her. Or perhaps Fred could have began courting Miss Evans at the suggestion of the agency. Something that wasn't just these two constantly kissing and thinking about their feelings and how it could never be (or in the case of Eleanor, crying and/or running off before she started to cry).

I'm glad these two (as well as two other characters) managed to achieve their happily-ever-after although it was a bit too drawn out for my tastes. All things considered, I don't think I will continue on with this series, although I may give this author another chance down the road.

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

Spinster Ella runs a matchmaking company in Bath. When she runs into her childhood friend and crush she is thrilled. However Fred is not the same since the war. Inheriting an impoverished Earldom, he must marry an heiress. Attracted to each other, they both know that nothing can come of it. Can they find a solution so they can be together? I received an ARC from NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for my honest review.

This was my first book by Amanda McCabe and unfortunately I didn't care for it. It was very repetitive and there were a few things that didn't make sense. Things or people that weren't there, then suddenly they were. There was also too much going on with other characters but there was no depth to them at all. It was strange that you could see things from so many different points of view also. The main characters kept doing the same thing just on a different day and it all seemed too planned out. It also didn't seem like it was written well. The language didn't seem to fit and seemed to be written by someone young. There was too much telling and the writing didn't bring me into the story.

This is my first book by Amanda McCabe. I liked it but I didn't love it. The storyline between Fredrick and Eleanor(Ella) was sweet. You can't help but root for them. But I found the story very repetitive.
I also found the secondary relationship between Penelope and Anthony a little
Unusual. It was a second chance romance. One minute I thought they were perfect for each other, the next shes looking for a wealthy husband and the next they were engaged without saying how it came about.
So all in all I found the book repetitive and a little confusing.
⭐⭐⭐
I want to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This book was so cute and had such a sweet story. If you enjoy historical romances than this book is for you.

This was a fantastic historical romance. I liked the plot and the characters were a lot of fun. Very much recommend this book.

3.5⭐️
This book took me out of my reading slump. It was fun and fast. I love Eleanor and Fred. I can’t wait to see more books potentially for Mary and Harry 👀

A thing that I didn’t like was how often Eleanor ran away from the room while proclaiming she needed air. I believe it was 3 or 4 times…which is too often as a plot point for a book under 300 pages.
I also felt like the book started dragging by 80%. There was no real plot progression and that was frustrating.

I didn't love this one but I also didn't hate this one. However I'm not sure how I feel about this one.