Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston, has been friends with Constance Lysander since they were children--they were actually each other's first kiss, before war and life put distance between them. In the years since, Constance has not only been married and widowed, but discovered that her late husband was a bigamist with two other wives. In an effort to give her unborn child a life and a name, she's asked Jonathan to marry her, and he's reluctantly accepted.

The issue? Jonathan isn't the man Constance once knew. Though considered a war hero, Jonathan has been left ashamed and an outcast following an injury he received that has left him permanently disabled. Having become a loner and reliant only on himself, he's determined to make this a pure marriage of convenience... unfortunately for Constance, who very much wants a lot more than convenience.

This one was a mixed bag for me, but ultimately I quite liked it and plan on reading more from Janna MacGregor. And a lot of this does ride on Constance as a heroine--she's sweet and kind but not too sweet, independent without being a girlboss. Perhaps most refreshingly, HER desire for sex and intimacy is what drives a lot of the initial conflict in the relationship. Constance likes sex. She's had it, she's into it, and she's not ashamed of either of those facts. And it's not that Jonathan doesn't want her in return... He definitely does. Like, there's no big external conflict keeping these two apart (there is an external conflict, but it's not a huge deal and I think it was a bit ornamental, if I'm being honest). They know each other, they're attracted to each other...

The issue is in Jonathan's emotional issues. Which, I want to stress, are not invalid. He has been through a lot. He's seen war. He's killed people. He's suffered an injury that has pretty severely limited his mobility, especially for a man of his era (he can't bear any weight on his knee, basically). He's been humiliated and scorned due to that injury. I totally get it. And I love a self-loathing hero. But at times, MacGregor does lean in so hard to Jonathan's self-loathing that it feels more like self-pity, and that's where I was like... Okay, dude. I understand. But we do have a plot to move along here, and you do need to get it together for the sake of that plot.

And he does! However, he tested my patience, and there was a point where I wasn't sure if I could possibly reconcile with some of his actions (or rather inaction--he's quite passive for the first half of the novel). I'm actually pretty impressed with how MacGregor turned it around. I suspect it had a lot to do with how much Constance held him accountable and, for all her patience and love, finally snapped a little and demanded that he shape up as a husband and father. And he did! There was a bit of a third act final shot, but by then the two had worked on the relationship enough for me to feel good about it, and he had groveled a good bit. Perhaps one of his grovels involved her sitting on his face. Who is to know?

I did find MacGregor's handling of Jonathan's disability interesting. As someone who doesn't have a disability, I really can't speak to how well or accurately she wrote that. However, it was refreshing to not only see a disabled hero in a historical romance, but a heroine who was very game. Constance was not a babe in the woods and shocked over Jonathan's scars or daunted by his anxieties surrounding sex (as he hadn't had sex since before his injury). Reading about them trying things out to maintain an active sex life while ensuring that he didn't further hurt himself was different from what you typically see in a historical romance, and I appreciated that. Also? Hot sex.

So for all that I was a little frustrated with this one at times, I really am interested in reading more from MacGregor, and I like that she's taking risks. Even if I feel like Jonathan went a bit overboard from time to time, at least she tried it. I felt like she wasn't afraid to make him a bit... actually unlikable, which made him being rebuilt more enjoyable. Especially when he was paired with such a likable heroine.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The second book in Janna MacGregor’s Widow Rules series, Rules for Engaging the Earl is a good read. Constance, along with two other women, found out they’d all married the same man upon his death. Heavily pregnant, Constance writes to her old friend, Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston to ask him to marry her and save her reputation.

Injured in the war and with the nebulous threat of a court martial hanging over him, Jonathan is reclusive but would do anything to help the girl who had meant so much to him.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series and thought this one was good as well. MacGregor uses this book to tackle some heavy issues. Jonathan has a lot of trauma from the war and from trying to find his footing both literally and figuratively. Constance is almost unbelievably cheerful and kind-hearted. While she eventually finds her voice, there were several points that I was upset she was allowing herself to be treated in the way she was. This book felt heavy, and the HEA was very hard-won.

I did enjoy Rules for Engaging the Earl and can’t wait to read Beth and Grayson’s story!