Annabella: A Season With The Earl

The Kingsley Regency #1

by Ann Cynthia

***A Sweet Regency Romance, Enemies-to-lovers, Brooding Earl***

Annabella Kingsley's Book

Determined to clear her brother's name and provide for her three sisters, Miss Annabella Kingsley finds herself in London under the sponsorship of her aunt, Lady Stanbeck, and embarks reluctantly upon a London Season.

But her nemesis, Lord Berkshire, seems to show up at the most embarrassing times and ruffle her normally level emotions.

Can Annabella clear her brother's name in the dark atmosphere of Napoleonic threat, and still find love with the irritatingly attractive Earl?


*** The Kingsley Regency Series is a standalone series that can be read in any order, however it is recommended to be read in order due to previous siblings' HEA***

Book A Season With The Earl
Book An Adventure With The Viscount
Book An Intrigue With The Captain
Book A Dance With The Duke
Book A Wager With The Marquess


Christmas With The Is Pricilla's book (Their Aunt) and is a Standalone HEA story that can be read before or after

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Amazon, Regency

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 12, 2025

Reviews

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annabella is the oldest of four daughters, orphaned, and forced by the new heir to leave their family home. The only son and heir to the entailed estate was alleged to have drowned in the Thames a year before. The only hint that we're given that he might be alive is the fact that his body was never found. Annabella's determination to find the truth about his death adds the element of mystery to the story. She is not a likable heroine. Having the responsibility since childhood for the care of her younger siblings and the household has made her overly confident in her own abilities. She's too quick to anger and too slow to take advice.

Annabella travels to London for the Season with all three, where her Aunt Eustace will sponsor the two oldest in their come out. The enemies-to-lovers trope is justified, because the "enemy" is the heir to their family estate, the one Annabella believes has thrown them out. Younger sister Beatrice is described so well as a sweet, adorable beauty. She's very appealing, but doesn't get much air time.

Before the balls and visits to Almack's, there are shopping trips and clothing descriptions you can easily skim through, if sarsenet and furbelows make your eyes glaze over. Now that we're set up for a sweet Regency romance, it goes out the window, and the intrigue kicks in. Incredibly stupid decisions are made, and the reasons for them are beyond plausible. I could have enjoyed the story, were it not for the outrageous number of errors. There is no way this book was proofread. Forewarned is forearmed.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annabella lost her parents when she was young and then she lost her brother in the current war with Napoleon. She had been living in Kingsley Hall, the estate passed on to the next male heir and raising her 3 younger sisters. With Jamison now declared dead, she had received an eviction notice which left Annabella and her sisters homeless. Fortunately, her aunt has offered a home to the four girls. In addition, the girls would live with her in London and Annabella and her next oldest sister would be introduced on the marriage mart. Annabella agrees but she also has a secret intention of finding out why her brother who never gambled or drank was murdered outside a gambling hell and was seen incoherent. She believes the government has undertaken a huge coverup to her brother, Jamison's, detriment. Annabella is determined to clear his name. Unfortunately, Annabella goes from scrape to scrape and every time she turns around, she runs into Lord Giles Berkshire. Giles is determined to keep Annabella safe, but she is convinced that Giles is someone who can't be trusted (because he inherited Kingsley Hall) and is sure that she is worldly enough to manage London on her own. In a city with a filthy criminal underground, a spy network, and high society each creating and playing by their own set of rules, Annabella isn't as equipped as she thinks to tackle the city. I highly recommend this read. It's good clean fun and has a sweet ending.

[CV · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out a little slow, but after a few the story got underway. There are about 15 names within the first two chapters you have to remember and some of the names and characters are similar to other books I’ve read. (You would think there are more than 10 names in England.)

I liked the storyline enough to want to know what happens and it has some mystery and danger involved. As there is in every story, there are some characters you like and some you don’t. It is G rated with the romance side and maybe PG for the danger side.

There is a HEA and also a side story that I am assuming will be the next book.

I received this ARC book from Hidden Gems for an honest review.

[Bobbi Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this historical romance story. This is the first book in this series and what a great start it is. I look forward to seeing more from this series. I enjoyed this author's use of details that brought not only the characters to life but made them pop. This is a story about Annabella. She is determined to clear her brother's name and provide for her family at the same time. The characters are strong and well developed. I enjoyed watching not only their growth throughout but how they made me care about them. I found this to be a fast paced and hard to put down story. This is a great story that I truly enjoyed reading. I highly recommend this book.

[Keren Cargan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When served with an eviction notice, the sisters have no choice but to accept their Aunts invitation to attend the season in London under her sponsor.
It should be the job of their brother but he was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Now Annabella vows to discover what happened and clear his name and carry on to bring up her younger siblings.
But all is not what it seemed and Annabellas headstrong determination may land her in trouble. luckily she gained an Allie in Lord Berkshire , but can she trust if he feels the same.

[Dora · Rating 5 out of 5]

From being destitute and at the mercy of a relative's charity, Annabella suddenly finds herself caught between a powerful attraction, her convictions, and a dangerous adventure with an intense protector willing to do anything for her safety. I was concerned by the protagonist's impetuousness, but at the same time, I appreciated her compassion for the less fortunate. I found the plot interesting and entertaining, with suspense, secrets, intrigue, dangerous situations, romance, and sudden twists that kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story that needs a few tweaks

I really enjoyed this story. There were a few things that bothered me which is why it ia not a five star.
1. There were several spelling and grammatical mistakes. Not bad enough to take away from the atory or enjoyment, just noticeable.
2. Some of the plot felt too rushed.
3. Maybe it was because of the rush of the plot, but some parts did not flow well.

[Melody Tregear · Rating 3 out of 5]

3½stars

There certainly is a lot of action and intrigue. I liked Berkeley, despite him being a bit overbearing at times. But Annabelle was often annoying. Her younger sister had more sense than she did! Loved the aunt. Nice ending, but you need to subscribe to the newsletter to get the bonus chapter.

[Nancy McPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mix of Napoleonic war espionage, and a few love stories. When her brother is reported dead and his entailed estate inherited by the Earl--whose man of affairs rudely evicts Annabella and her sisters, the family moves to London to live with an aunt. The "villainous" Earl turns out to be a friend of the aunt and one of the good guys and both Annabella and her sister find HEA.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

She wants to clear her brother name so she goes to London with her aunt and reluctantly has a season. She will find an Earl who may just take her heart but she wants to clear her brother name first. Follow her and see how she gets on
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and a wonderful tale

[Cathy Ann]

Only made it to about 18% before giving up. There was no problem with the writing style, only the content. There was nothing original. The same dynamics have been used by 100's of authors and maybe that is why it felt pretentious.

[Jan Stier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

A beautiful, only slightly historical, sweet romance. Misunderstandings, treason and (no I cannot say) make this a charming read. Enjoy!

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, clean romance.