1.5 stars rounded up because the writing style is generally competent. Some historical details worked, others didn't (why would a viewing be referred to as a "showing", for example? It would have been called a wake during that time). Some awkward phrasing. But mostly it was the weak/inconsistent characterization that was the problem. Behavior and dialog were molded to the whims of the plot and just weren't realistic. In particular the MFC's ongoing childishness was not my cup of tea. Why didn't she just open up to the MMC from the beginning instead of pitching little fits and fretting all the time? It was just silly.

I hope in future books this author is able to work on meshing characterization with plotting. Enemies to lovers is a tough trope to pull off without a deft touch.

While Loving an Earl had all the right elements of a romance novel, the writing style felt like it was trying to fit a formula rather than flowing naturally. The story did a good job of creating the necessary conflicts between Lilly and Edmund, but the execution made it difficult for me to fully connect with the characters or the romance. The storyline felt too forced at times, and because of that, the characters’ personalities didn’t shine as much as they could have.

If the author works on refining some minor technical writing aspects, it could vastly improve the overall storytelling. There’s definite potential here, and I appreciated the effort put into crafting the tension and challenges between the main characters.

For me personally, I struggled to get through the writing, but I’m still open to trying more from this author in the future. I’d love to see how their style develops over time.