Miss Calliope Haversham has eighteen days. Eighteen days before she turns twenty-one and becomes a spinster.Eighteen days before her inheritance is passed on to her loathsome cousin Beatrice. Eighteen days before she must marry a stranger… or lose everything she has. But Calliope isn’t worried. She has a plan. One that involves a bit of luck, the help of her daring best friend, and the … daring best friend, and the curmudgeonly (albeit very handsome) Earl of Winchester. All she needs to do is secure an invitation to London’s most elite ball (something which she has no hope of getting), convince the earl to dance (something he never does), and have him propose before the night is over (something he has vowed never to do).
How hard can it possibly be?
Find out in Winning the Earl of Winchester, the first book in a whimsical new Regency romance series from best-selling author Jillian Eaton!
Winning the Earl of Winchester is a 30k word (approx. 130 page) novella.
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Where would we all be without our best friends? Wonderful story! Looking forward to reading the rest in this series.
“Winning the Earl of Winchester” by Jillian Eaton
I loved this novella. I was surprised at the poor editing job thus the 4-stars rather than 5-stars … but the story was worth having to proof-read the story as I went along. It is a quick easy fun clean sweet historical romance. I am not really sure what era it is set in, but there were a couple of things that just didn’t seem to fit. Maybe that was just me. Still a worthy read.
Okay…. This is a short novella and moves quickly. What I did learn about the good characters I admired very much. The author knew how to write effectively about the mean, loveless aunt and her daughter and the slight indifference of the uncle who was actually related to our heroine, Calliope. The story is simple in presentation but rich in feelings and emotions. When her uncle unexpectedly passes away, he left her all his money and the townhouse in London. She was now an heiress. The aunt and cousin were outraged. But there was a contingency clause, she must be married before her twenty first birthday. That gave her only eighteen days to fulfill the will or everything would pass to her undeserving cousin. The aunt and cousin became gleeful as they doubted that Calliope would find a man to marry her. She already had five failed seasons. They knew the money and home would pass out of Calliope’s hands. Calliope’s best friend Helena had other ideas and arranged for her to meet a very good friend of hers, Leopold Maven, the Earl of Winchester. For the last seven years he has encased his heart in ice after the death of his beloved wife and son. There was also the sadness he felt growing up abandoned by his mother and shuffled off to boarding school so his father did not have to deal with him. Family meant everything to him. He wanted to love and be loved. A very coincidental accident brought Leo and Calliope together. However, Leo had trained himself to be rough, gruff, insulting and rude. He did not want to interact with anyone. He did not want to need anyone. Even though Calliope thought he was the most handsome man she had ever seen, he brushed her off like crap on his shoe. He never bothered to introduce himself to Calliope and they went their separate ways. Little did they know they were truly fated to be together. I thought it a nice touch that in the end Calliope donated all her money to an orphanage. Boo hoo no money for the aunt or cousin. I loved that. Even though Calliope did not marry before her twenty first birthday she ended up getting more than she ever dreamed of. The only drawback I have about this book is I wished it was longer. There is plenty of room for the imagination to go and also it would have been nice to really, really get to know more about all the characters. This story just gives you enough information to go along. Other than that, it is a lovely story. A quick read and you will not be bored. One last thing, at the very, very end there is a shocking cliffhanger that surrounds Helena and her guest Percy. I cannot wait for the next book. I know it will be quite exciting.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Jillian Eaton is becoming one of my favorite authors and I look forward to reading more of her stories. A brooding, broken hearted hero, a heroine who had not had love in her life in a long time, jealous, mean relatives, love at first sight and an attraction that warms, the heart. This novella had it all and I really could not stop reading once I started.
My only complaint is that it was short and I so want to read the next additions to this series right now. I mean right now!! Lol.
This author has the ability to pull out the emotions of the characters to make them almost palpable, with the scenes unfolding with her words creating magic. I always become invested quickly and cannot wait to read more.
Know this is a story that will grab your heart and leave it with a smile, truly anxious to see what will happen next!
Although short it is very sweet. Jillian Eaton as always wrote a good story. Leo and Calliope are very good for each other.I definitely recommenced this book to be read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I have read many books from this author before and this one follows true to form. The story is absolutely sweet and lovely. When I want a feel-good romance, I know where I can find it. I love the adorable and hilarious way Calliope and the Earl first meet and the ensuing romance. It’s always amazing how much depth Ms Eaton manages to fit into her stories! As always, I just wish it could have gone on for hundreds more pages!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Winning the Earl of Winchester is the first book in the new series Secret Wallflower Society. It was a sweet romance with great characters. Miss Calliope Haversham’s uncle had passed and left her his fortune with one condition. In order to receive the inheritance, she had to be married by her 21st birthday. He hadn’t had time to change his will before he passed and her 21st birthday was in eighteen days. She had no prospective grooms, so her friend, Helena, introduced her to Leo, the Earl of Winchester. Leo’s wife and son had died seven years before and he had withdrawn from society. Due to a debt owed Helena he agreed to go to a ball and to dance with Calliope. Will Calliope be successful in keeping her inheritance? The book was well written and paced. Calliope was very sweet and Leo was gruff but together they made a perfect couple.
This is a nice romance story about Leo and Calliope, it is also a nice friendship story between Calliope and Helena. This was an easy smooth read. This story had me from the Prologue to the end. When Leo said, “I loved you when you fell out of the damned tree, I loved you when you trounced on my toes in the ballroom, and I loved you when you stepped into that church looking lie an angel straight from heaven.” “I loved you then, I love you now, I’ll love you always” My heart melted, and I had butterflies in my stomach. This is the first book in the new series Secret Wallflower Society. I cannot wait to hear about Helena next.
Very interesting characters.
Calliope does not want to marry but unless she does in eighteen days she loses her inheritance to her cousin Beatrice. Yet when she was standing up to marry things take a different road. The story is about events before she and Leo were to marry. Will they have a happy-ever-after? It is a very good story and not until the very end will the reader know what happens with the characters great job by the author. The epilogue at its end is a great set-up for another story. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Book one of the Secret Wallflower Society series a well written story a book that kept me smiling as I read. I want to read the next book. I enjoyed reading Miss Calliope Haversham and widower Leo Maven, Earl of Winchester’s story. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A short sweet romance about Calliope and Leo who are both broken souls, albeit in very different ways. Leo has been tortured by grief over the loss of his wife and young son seven years ago and has let himself withdraw from society and any display of emotion. Calliope, on the other hand, has been broken due to indifference shown by her uncle and outright hostility and ridicule from his wife and their daughter, her cousin, after the death of her parents when she is six and she is compelled to move in with them.
Two lost souls who due to reasons I will not go into here who meet and discover that love has a way of blossoming even under the most unusual circumstances.
This is a very touching story which I really would have liked more if it had been a full-length novel since the author did not have enough pages to give us any true depth to the personalities of the main characters or to allow the love between them to develop naturally within the time constraint they were facing. Still, I always enjoy books written by Jillian Eaton!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a sweet & wonderful story full of romance, love & unhappy pasts that all lead to a happy ending.
Miss Calliope Haversham has, unexpectedly become an heiress after her uncle died & left her his non-entailed assets. However; the will states one detail – Calliope must marry by her 21st birthday, which happens to be only 18 days away. Although she is lovely, she hasn’t found a husband in her prior seasons, so where will she find one in 18 days?
Leo Maven, Earl of Winchester is a brooding, rich, unbelievably handsome & a recluse since the death of his wife & infant son 7 years ago. He has a hard, tough disposition that keeps debutantes & their mothers away from him but he needs someone to break his walls down – Helena (a friend from his past & Calliope’s best friend now) knows Calliope would be perfect to help him out of his darkness & he could help Calliope with her marriage dilemma.
I fell head over heels for Leo – he was so grouchy, funny, tender & I wanted him to find happiness.
Calliope was a wonderful solution for him & they never expected the attraction they had for one another. The friendship that is formed & stays throughout the book & hopefully, carry through with Helena & Percy’s stories is heartwarming. I highly recommend this 1st book in the Secret Wallflower Society & Jillian Eaton always has such fabulous characters that pull you in to their adventures.
I was gifted the Advanced Reader Copy of this book & all opinions are my own & have been voluntarily given.
Miss Calliope Haversham and Leo Maven, Earl of Winchester. Omg this was such a sweet story. I just wish it was longer because I would have liked to have seen their courtship. But Leo (who is a widower) made my heart hurt. He had so much love locked away and I’m so happy that Calliope was the person to set it free. I completely bawled over this one. Great start to the Secret Wallflower Society Series. Can’t wait to read Helena’s and Percy’s stories!! Good job, as always, Jillian Eaton. You are firmly on my Keeper Shelf.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily reviewed it and the comments are my own.
My star system:
5 stars: Ugly cried AF, major book hangover, made me wanna hug the author for writing a book that gave me all the feels. Will be re-reading this over and over and over again.
A wonderful novella that is more than a romance, it is about friendship between first two then three women. I love their Greek-inspired names. Their friendship is the crux of this story. Yes, there is a quick romance going on in the background with a brooding Earl which is also very nice (if not long enough in the making for me). I cannot wait for the next book – who is Helena’s benefactor? And what will Percy do?
I received a complimentary copy from Booksprout.