Widow Rules continue!

Rules for Engaging the Earl (Widow Rukes #2) by Janna MacGregor 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Marriage of convenience trope given an interesting twist. Childhood friends reunite under strained circumstances. Constance Lysander had married a scoundrel who committed not bigamy but trigamy. Pregnant Constance needs a husband and friend Jonathan, Earl of Sykeston, agrees to marry her to legitimise her child. A decorated sharpshooter in the Napoleonic wars, Jonathan was badly injured and is very much a recluse. Alongside that he’s been unjustly accused, at this stage by the rumour mill, of action unbecoming a gentleman, very much against the military’s rules of conduct.

Jonathan is loathe to marry but this is the friend he’s loved forever.

Constance operates a ship building company and has her own worries. Neither is able to confide in the other. Unbeknownst to each they’re facing a common enemy, and that plays havoc with the restoration of their relationship. Their coming together, hard won, has the hermit leaching out of Jonathan, but is their love going to be strong enough to face another enemy closing in on their hard won life together?

A predictable but pleasant read.

A St Martin’s Press ARC via NetGalley