The Earl’s Cinderella Countess by Amanda McCabe

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Matchmakers of Bath, #1

Release Date: March 26, 2024

Years ago Eleanor “Ella” St. Aubin fell head over heels in love with the boy next door, Fredrick “Fred” Canning, the younger son of the Earl of Fleetwood. They were the best of friends, despite Fred being five years older, but all that changed when her mother died and Fred leaves to join the army. The two lose touch, but Ella never forgot him, even followed gossip about him in the papers. When her father passes, she and her sister Mary relocate to Bath and join forces with an old school friend, Henrietta, the widowed Lady Briggs, starting a matchmaking agency; The St. Aubin and Briggs Confidential Agency. They have had some success, but are by no means rich, but they are content, and Ella has made peace with the past. But when the love of her life turns up in Bath, now the Earl of Fleetwood and in need of a rich wife, Ella will have to try and force down the feelings she thought long buried and help him find a wife, who can repair not only the fortunes of the earldom, but the wounds Fred now carries, both inside and out.

Fred Canning never imagined he would inherit the earldom, and at nineteen he went to London to join the army and in his heart of hearts, hoped to return someday and marry Ella. But he did things in London as a young man that made him feel that he was not worthy of her, then the war happened and he was sure he wasn’t worthy, and buries his feeling for her. Injured and heartsore, he returns to England when he learns that he has inherited the earldom after the deaths of his brother and father. To his dismay, the estate is in shambles and needs a fortune to restore it. He visits his stepmother in Bath, hoping for a small reprieve before he has to take on the duties of the estate. He knows what he has to do, but when he runs into Ella, he realizes his feelings for her never died and the thought of marrying anyone but her is impossible to imagine. But Ella is determined to find him a bride, will he be able to let her go and wed for duty?

This was a well-written story, but it did not live up to the expectations I had based on the title. No reviews that I have read have mentioned it, but when I see “Cinderella” in the title, there are certain expectations made about the story and there was nothing remotely Cinderella-like about this book – other than the heroine’s name is Ella. Aside from that this was a good story, just not the story I was hoping for. The story is sweet, with a friends to lovers trope, a second chance romance, great friends, the possibility of several other romances and finally a very sweet ending with two happy endings. This was a nice start to a new series and I am looking forward to Mary and Harry’s stories!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*