Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Saving Crofton Hall
SERIES: Stately Passions #1
AUTHOR: Rebecca Cohen
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 240 pages
BLURB:
Benjamin Redbourn, Earl of Crofton, has no intention of giving up his beloved ancestral home without a fight. Faced with his mother’s gambling debts, forgery, and the possibility of foreclosure by the bank, Ben vows to make Crofton Hall pay for herself. But opening an Elizabethan manor house to the public isn’t a one man job. With time running out, Ben needs help—and fast.
Ashley Niven has experience managing events, and he also loves history. Being in charge of opening Crofton Hall is a dream come true. As he works with Ben to prepare the house as a venue for lavish weddings and receptions, Ashley finds himself drawn not just to the charm of the house but to the dashing Earl of Crofton. Even if Ashley can look past Ben’s playboy reputation, he fears an affair could prove too much of a distraction.
But Crofton Hall has many secrets, and something hidden for over four hundred years is about to change all their lives.
REVIEW:
This book is slightly connected to Rebecca Cohen’s The Crofton Chronicles series, and does have some spoilers in it (I assume) from those books. I have not read that series (yet) so I don’t know how big the spoilers are, but if that is something you are concerned about, just be warned. Now, that being said, this book can be read perfectly well as a standalone. I haven’t read the other series and I was able to fully enjoy this book.
Benjamin Redbourn is the Earl of Crofton, and he takes his job as caretaker of his family heritage very seriously. Not only because of his ancestry, but because it is his home and he will do everything in his power to protect it. So when he finds out a member of his family has put his home and his livelihood in jeopardy, he is furious and hurt. He is also willing to sell his soul to keep them both safe.
Or, you know, open up Crofton Hall to the public.
But opening up the Hall is not nearly as easy as it seems, and it is going to take more than Ben’s stubborn refusal to give up to get the place up and running (and profitable). That’s where Ashley Niven comes in. Ashely is a lover of history and the soon-to-be ex-manager of a drafty ol’ Castle. In need of a new job, Ben’s sister, and Ashley’s old school friend, puts him in touch with the Earl. But while it would be a dream come true for Ashley to build up and manage the public face of Crofton Hall, having to face Ben on a constant day-to-day basis, might just be the death of him. What with the insy, little crush he has had on the man since back in his school days. But Crofton Hall is in need, and it isn’t just the Earl who would do anything to keep the place in Crofton hands.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this story. I have been dithering on whether to read the other series connected to this for a year (Elizabethan times are just a tad bit too early for my tastes), so I didn’t know if picking up a this book would be a good surprise or a bad one. Turns out it was a fucking awesome surprise.
Saving Crofton Hall never really went where I expected it to. And I loved that about it. With all the allusions to Ashley’s family, I expected that to be a big to-do, but yet I found myself oddly charmed by his father. Maybe in a as long you aren’t angry at me, kind of way, but charmed nonetheless. And Ashley doesn’t fall very far from the tree (at least in some ways) when it comes to protecting the people and things he loves. Just don’t try anything while his is around a bag of golf clubs and you should be fine (at least until daddy dearest gets ahold of you).
As for the other characters…I don’t know where Ben gets his patience from, but I have to admit that I was surprised that he didn’t chuck his mother in a small dark room with only her thoughts to keep her company. My god, that woman could try a saint. I have very little sympathy for people whose actions cause harm (even monetarily) to others because they could not get their shit together. And to have done it to the extent that she did…I very much wanted to slap some sense into her. However, Ben’s sister Catlin was rather nice. Ben sometimes needed someone to smack some sense into him, as well, and she did a bang-up job. Though I wish she had been a little less meddling–but that’s sisters for ya.
Overall I had a great time reading this. The romance was very slow burning (god, it takes them forever to get it together) but I kinda liked it like that. And the various events and goings-on at the hall did a great job of carrying the story when Ben and Ashley were being too dumb to see the HEA staring them in the face. I always love the minutia of English life, and this one had plenty of it (though with a slightly more upper class feel than some of my recent reads). I fully recommend this book if you are looking for a contemporary book with a nice, long, slow burn and a bit of ancient history to stir the pot.
RATING: 
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Great review! I have this book but am rereading the Crofton Chronicles now. As you say, it’s not necessary to read those books first but it’s a good excuse. I love the author’s writing!
I have the historical series on my ‘you really oughta read this this month’ pile. Not positive I’ll get to it, but I’m going to try my darndest. (I’ve read the sample several times over the last year, I just have a hard time reading historicals that are set before Regency times)