Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Saving Crofton Hall

SERIES:  Modern Crofton

AUTHOR:  Rebecca Cohen

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  296 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 21, 2021

BLURB:

How he’d kept his cool, Ben will never know, but learning he owes the bank £5million thanks to his mother’s gambling debts means he must act fast if he doesn’t want to lose his beloved family home.

To save Crofton Hall, Ben Redbourn, the 16th Earl of Crofton, is going to need all his charm, lots of hard work, and not a small amount of luck. But he can’t do it alone, Ben needs help—and he needs it now. Enter Ashley Niven, events manager extraordinaire, and best friend of Ben’s little sister. Ashley might once have been a dweeby teenager, but he’s grown up nicely and Ben needs to remember he’s the boss, and that means keeping his hands to himself.

But Crofton Hall has many untold stories, and she’s hiding a secret dating back four hundred years to the 1st Earl of Crofton, Anthony Redbourn, which might just change all their lives.

Benjamin Redbourn is the modern-day descendant of Anthony Redbourn, the 1st Earl of Crofton from the mm historical romance series The Crofton Chronicles.

Previously published, this second edition has been re-edited for release.

REVIEW:

Ben Redbourn, the 16th Earl of Crofton returns home from a trip to NYC to discover his home in chaos.  It seems his mother has been assuaging her loneliness after the death of the previous Earl with gambling.  Things are missing from the home and despite her best efforts to cover things up, it seems she’s been taking on debt and hiding it from everyone and they now in danger of losing the estate – Crofton Hall.  Ben is absolutely furious.  But he’s got to find a way to dig them out from under this mess, pay back the loan and get the Estate to be self-sustaining.

The only way to save the family legacy is to open the Hall to the public – as a venue for corporate affairs, weddings, etc.  But Ben realizes he does not have the expertise to run such a venture alone.  Luckily his younger sister Catlin has a friend who would be perfect who’s just been made redundant so the timing is serendipitous.  Ben vaguely remembers the nerdy cohort of Catlin’s from a visit some years before.  He agrees to at least meet Ashley Niven.

Ashley has been looking for a new job and he almost passes this up – but Catlin is quite persistent.  When he meets Ben again, he remembers why he had a crush on him all those years ago.  But Ben’s reputation as a playboy precedes him and so Ashley will do well to remember that.  Besides, he hasn’t been broken up with his long-term boyfriend for that long and he needs to embrace the single life for a bit.  He’s also anxious to throw himself into this new job and prove himself.

Despite a few setbacks, things proceed with the project to open the Hall to the public.  There is advertising to secure, permits to obtain, vendors to contract, etc.  Both Harry, Ben’s younger brother, and Catlin are assigned their own duties to make the project a success.  There are inspections and decisions about how spaces can be used and other tasks that need doing.  But before long, they are ready to do a trial run.  The first group gets off to a rocky start, but overall things work out and they discover some bumps they want to smooth over before they kick it into high gear.

Along the way to making a success of the venue, Ben and Ashley do their best to ignore the building attraction and chemistry between them.  Ben doesn’t want to jeopardize the success of the venture, nor does he want to harass an employee and further degrade his reputation or that of the hall.  Ashley takes a while to realize that Ben really is a changed man and he’s not looking for a fling or a one night stand.  He really is ready to settle down and take his place as the Earl of Crofton.  Even though they seem to be ships passing in the night at times, with a little help from family and friends, they finally are on the same page 🙂

This was a really enjoyable read!  I don’t think I’ve read anything previously from this author, but now I really want to read the historical series, The Crofton Chronicles!   Ben is such a standup guy.  He may have gone through a wild phase after being treated so poorly by his first boyfriend, but he really takes his responsibility as the Earl seriously.  He’s more than generous with his family and he’s made up his mind that he will save the family home.  Ashley has grown up to be a very level headed and competent man – a far cry from Ben’s little sister Catlin’s best friend from school. he’s go the experience and more importantly the enthusiasm to make the venture a success.  The fact that’s he’s always had a bit of a crush on the Earl shouldn’t stand in the way 🙂  It takes these guys quite a while to get in sync.  Both have some baggage and Ashley has misjudged Ben quite a bit based on his past.  Thank goodness Catlin decides to stick her nose into the situation 😉 or they could have missed their chance.  Both mothers also take quite the keen interest in their sons love lives – much to the chagrin of those sons.  Ben really is reformed from his promiscuous days, but he hasn’t gotten to the point yet where he feels like he’s worthy of love.  Ashley is determined to get him to see the light though.

There is also a lovely surprise that ties in to the previous series.  That is one of the reasons I want to read the historical series set in this home.  It certainly isn’t necessary to read those before this series, but it did whet my appetite for those stories as well.  I loved the very Britishness of this story too. I was so happy to see these two work through their issues and end up in a thriving happy place.  If it feels a little long to get these two together, stick with it.  The slow burn is totally worth it 😉  Highly recommended.

RATING: 

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