Okay, this is a book with a common enough trope, and unfortunately was nothing exceptional. Part of this is because of the writing (choppy and had some disconnects), not enough connection between the MCs and a bit too much focus on the secondary romance.

#LovinganEarl #NetGalley

This first book in the Widows of Mayfair is a very engaging and well written historical romance. The story has drama, action, intrigue, suspense, manipulation, kidnapping, attempted ruin, many plot twits, and emotional and heartfelt issues that kept me very entertained. I enjoyed how beautiful, passionate love overcame so many things by the end. I can't wait for the next book. I highly recommend reading!

3⭐️ There’s something about a regency romance that I just love!
Christine Donovan’s “Loving an Earl” is a great start to a new series that I will continue.
We follow the FMC Lilly as she navigates the loss of her father and an immediate marriage to an older (much) titled man and subsequently must navigate being his widow and the arrival of Edmund to the estate, the new Earl.
Lilly has a lot to learn and navigate in society and trying to find love. I also had fun meeting the side characters who will undoubtably be great characters to follow in subsequent books.

Things I enjoyed:
The relationship between the fmc and mmc was not insta love and they both had to grow in character throughout the book.
The side quests and characters were all interesting!
I loved the inside look into some of the other classes of society in London and how the women in upper society were trying to help those in need.

This book felt a little drawn out, I started losing interest in the romance there after a while but overall enjoyed it!


Thank you to Net Galley and Christine Donovan for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the chance to read this. I have been loving the chances to read more Historical Romances. I love that there is still authors out there that make them. My mom got into them and when i was old enough knew exactly what intrigued her to read them. This story with it being an author i never heard of made it all that more interesting to read. I thought Edmund and Lilly were well written up characters The storyline was very interesting. Got confused for a few moments but everything worked out to make it a 5 star for me. The hot and cold between from Edmund was understandable with his feelings towards Lily. But i definitely love the moment it explains his feelings and everything towards her. I cant wait to read more from this author. Keep them coming.

I really enjoyed this book! I haven’t read anything else by this author before, and this was the first book in this series. I thought Edmund and Lilly were well developed characters, and had a good friend support system, which made the story more interesting. The dialog and storyline was smooth, although there were a few side-story lines that I thought were a bit confusing at first. They cleared up and were explained more later, but I did wonder at the time if they were somehow related to the author’s previous books.

The MMC, Edmund, did seem a little hot/cold with his feelings towards the FMC, Lilly. However, I appreciated the conversations he had between his best friends, explaining the struggle he felt with his feelings and how he was expressing them to her.

Overall, this was a good book and I’m looking forward to the next books in this series and what happens next with their group of friends!

The first in a new series, Liliana is a young woman who basically has been very sheltered. She's married to an old guy who treats her well but when he dies, she has to deal with his heir, Edmund. Sadly, Liliana wasn't raised with much of a backbone and Edmund is an arrogant jerk.

While I understand the premise and age issues, as a modern woman, I'm totally frustrated with the kind of life these women had to live. Edmund ends up ok, but nothing I would call really sterling. I picture him being arrogant to her their entire life and her just complying. In my mind, I hope he doesn't turn into one of those men with a mistress and I rather think it did him a world of good when he thought he had lost everything.

Such feedback means it was a great story with the reader feeling lots of emotions and opinions, therefore it's a 4 rating. It's not at all dry.

This is the first book in a new historical romance series about a group of young widows.
Our heroine this time, has had to face more than her share of heartache. It's time for her to experience what life has to offer.
Our hero has been travelling the world with his friends, for their business, and comes home to find his life has changed forever.
There is a lot of miscommunication, and speaking before thinking. Doing a good deed can sometimes end in catastrophe. Will our hero ever get his foot out of his mouth long enough to get what he wants?
Will either of them see the danger when it comes? You will need to read it to see.
All the characters, even the secondary ones are fascinating. I feel the next set of lead characters are obvious from this story. But similar to these two, they are having trouble sorting themselves out.
Good fun.

Lily and Edmund's story was a quick, cute read. Very entertaining and worth the read. Donovan delivers again.

But which earl?

Lilly was orphaned at seventeen and married the same day by her father's good friend, the Earl of Langford. He was elderly and they had a convenient and happy marriage for a year, as friends, only.
The day her nephew, Edmund arrived to ascend the title, he accused her of marrying his uncle for money, though he had not seen his uncle, the earl in years, as he was off living his life filled with fun and adventure and women. I really didn't like Edmund,

Widowed at eighteen and after a year of mourning, Lilly is set out to enter London society, but the only man who always seems to catch her attention is the horrid Edmund, who never truly apologizes for his random accusations that came out of nowhere except that Lilly was young and pretty. Edmund never atones for his behavior.

The newly widowed Lilliana St. Claire is deeply wounded by the new Earl of Langford's unkind assumptions and as soon as she is able she flees to London to stay with her cousin. Edmund Weston soon comes to realize that he had underestimated Lily and if nothing else alerted him, the loyalty of his staff to the Countess indicates that she is more than meets the eye. Meeting up with Lily in London is a surprise to both of them, and Edmund comes to appreciate her allure even though he keeps pushing her away. When he is severely wounded, it is Lily who cares for him, but he still hesitates to give her what she needs most. It takes a devastating betrayal to make Edmund realize what he has almost lost, bringing the novel to a lovely romantic conclusion. I received a copy of this romance as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

I enjoyed this book and if you like historical romances, you may also enjoy this story. It was well written but I feel like I wanted Lillian to be more brave and at times I feel as things happened not organically. It is a one 🌶️ on the chili pepper scale. Some spice but nothing too detailed!

Thank you to NetGalley, DragonBlade Publishing, and Christine Donovan for the chance to read this ARC!

This is a first in a series, and I am looking forward to the next as I liked that couple very much. I also liked that the widows have a society that helps the poor.
The book begins with the funeral of the Vicar, who had asked his best friend, the Earl, to marry his daughter. Lilliana is 18, and the Earl is 66. He does tell her that once they are home , he has no need of an heir, and this will be a marriage in name only. Phew.
They have a very happy marriage, and when he dies his heir, Edmund, who has been building a shipping company, finally comes home to find out his uncle has died. He immediately lashes out at Lily for being a gold digger. At this point, I wanted to punch him in the face. He runs hot and cold, but we see his thoughts, and he was trying not to be attracted to her. There is no excuse for his treatment of her, which continues throughout the book.
Lily runs to London to live with the Earl's cousin (a way more interesting character who I hope will be the heroine of the next book). Lily has an interesting time in London and is placed in peril more than once. After even more shenanigans, the Earl finally gives into his lust, but Lily wants love. Guess how this will end
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest opinion. I will be on the look out for book #2.

I genuinely had issues with both main characters and some of the story telling. Another reviewer noted it as well, but how transitions are handled is odd at certain points. It is especially odd to me as this is in the third person and they can be handled really well in this POV. I did like how it was very easy to tell which POV we were seeing as there are times where it is not from the two main characters.

Lilly is written so young. Like i would never believe that she was 19 year old woman who helped her father with his vicar work. I don't like how she really is courting everyone but our MMC in this. LIke why would they fall in love? And there is too much setting up for the next couple in her story. It is so often we are reminded that her friend and his bestie are in love. But that couple has the issue of the main couple, no communicating.
Our Earl is a jerk. He is so damn hot and cold i was exhausted. Why is he doubting her so much, no woman ever betrayed or "tricked" him so its just that he can't communicate his fears and then treats her with anger or indifference

My favorite part was actually when she was married to the previous Earl, they both seemed to genuinely care and love one another.

3⭐️

This was my first ever historical romance, and it was not bad! I think throughout the book, I did get a little bored, however, there was some action towards the end that captured my attention again. I will say, this was fairly slow burn as the couple doesn’t get together until faaar into the book. I can definitely see how the author set up for future books that will follow the side characters. Overall, if you’re looking for a quick, easy historical romance, this could be for you!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

A scrumptious delight of all the best historical romance tropes in one delicious novel.

Lilly is the widow of Edmund's late uncle. When his uncle passes away, Edmund returns to inherit the earldom and is shocked to find that his uncle married at all, especially someone at least 40 years his junior. He grapples with suspicion, jealousy, responsibility, and lust. After going their own ways, they both attend the London season, as Lilly hopes to find a love match.

This novel has everything fun about the genre. We have new beginnings, graveside confessions, "I must find her a husband, but I want her," a horde of wrong suitors, caretaking, and more that I won't say as to not give away the surprises.

This book has many parts to the plot, as the main storyline is the relationship between Lilly and Edmund. Therefore, it includes the backstory of her marriage to Henry (Edmund's uncle), a plot line related to Edmund's younger years, Lilly and Edmund's first meetings, and concludes with the HEA. Many events happen to throughout their time getting to know each other. While it feels different than many other histroms for this reason, it means that ample time is allowed for the romance to develop between the characters. It takes place over several months, rather than just days or weeks.

This book featured another couple quite heavily and I was excited to have two romances in one story. I was surprised when their story did not have a resolution, but I am assuming they will be next in the series. I can't wait to see them get their HEA.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Lilliana St. Claire finds herself orphaned and married to an elderly earl. Lord Henry Langford, her deceased father’s closest friend, is her saviour, and their marriage is one of convenience. Lilly will care for Henry in his advancing years, and he will save her from destitution. Sadly, henry dies only one year later leaving Lilli a widow at the tender age of eighteen. Edmund Weston, the new Earl of Langford, returns from the West Indies to the news of his uncle’s death and that he has taken a wife. He arrives at Langford Manor in Kent, expecting an older woman, and is flabbergasted to find a mere slip of a girl. Tempers flare, and he accuses Lilly of tricking his uncle into marrying her and stealing from the earldom. Furious, Lilly flees to London. After her year of mourning ends, she prepares to take on the ton with as much confidence as she can muster.
The start of a new series & a very good starter. I really liked both Edmund & Lilly & thoroughly enjoyed their enemies to lovers story. They were attracted to each other but also locked horns at every meeting, plus both fought their attraction until an accident nearly kills Edmund. There is some intrigue but the majority is a captivating romance. There was also a secondary romance which I think will be the next book as it was left very much up in the air. A well written enjoyable romance & I look forward to the rest of the series
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

Thank you NetGalley for a fun read to the start of a what I think will be a great series. Lilly finds herself married to Henry, the Earl who she has known her whole life. Her father has died and she is not sure what is next in her life. Henry sits down with her and explains what he wants their life to be. They have a very happy year when suddenly Henry dies and Lilly is missing him so, but decides she will get along with the nephew who will take the title. Edmund expects an elderly lady and is very shocked to find the widow is so young. Of course he starts out by saying the wrong thing. They are attracted to each other but he tries to marry her off to another bachelor. This does not work out. Can they find happiness?

Young and innocent Lilly marries the elderly Earl of Langford at the request of her dying father.
He protects her and watches over her until he passes when his nephew becomes the new Earl.
Unfortunately he is surprised by her youth and they begin with a contentious relationship.
Lots of angst and misunderstandings until they finally understand each other.
Romance abounds despite their initial meeting.

Loved the characters and storyline on this novel. I love a strong, independent and creative heroine. Overall enjoyable.

Let me just say, when craving a true romance, my first instinct is to always go to historical fiction. There is nothing better than a rogue gentleman, a proper English lady, and the whole of the ton to spice up your reading pleasure. With Loving an Earl, Christine Donovan was able to weave some of my favorite things about historical fiction, into a romance fit for English aristocracy.

What I liked:
- A true gentleman English Earl who rescues the vicar's daughter to ensure she has a safe and easy life.
- The friendship and bond that always seems to exist between decent men (albeit rogues and rakes) of the English ton who have grown up together and inherited titles together
- The inclusion of the lower class and the struggles they faced
- The romance, the denial of love, and the AH HA moment of realizing you can't live without the other

What I didn't like:
- Em and the Duke's story weaved in but not really told (I am sure they will get their own book, but it just felt unfinished)
- There were times the story felt disjointed. Honestly, I think it could have been something as silly as the breaks in the story that made my brain stop but they story didn't transition. (Yeah, this won't make sense until you read it)
- Crazy as it seems, I need more lust and tension. Really great historical fiction thrives on it!

I did enjoy the story and will continue with this series as it progresses. Thanks to Christine Donovan and Net Galley for the ARC for an honest review.