Good growth. Well paced. ( )

3.5 stars - I enjoyed this book overall but found it was too long. Some editing would have made this into a great read. Will continue with the series and hope that the other books are more focused. ( )

3.5 stars rounded up. There were some times when I might have leaned toward 5 stars, and then others that were at best a 3. At one point they leave an event early because they have to get their hands on each other, and they can barely contain themselves during the carriage ride- and then when they arrive they play sort of a long boring game making up some lame limericks... Neither is a virgin, there's no point in taking one step forward and then two steps back. By the time their bedroom scene rolled around my mind kept trying to wander off and I struggled to care. There's a later sex scene though that was really well executed, so there's potential there. Same with other aspects of the plot, something clever and engaging and then something meandering and dull and a bit ridiculous. I think it would have been stronger overall with more of the fluff edited out. The heroine irked me a bit as well, but that's bound to happen sometimes. This is my first from this author and I think there's potential for me to become a fan... but I'm still hoping for some improvement! ( )

Though I loved the basic premise of Forever Your Earl, the execution left me unmoved. Both Eleanor and Daniel were enjoyable characters (she the editor of a gossip rag, he the paper's most popular subject) but the situation they found themselves in was just too contrived for my taste. It was never at all clear why Daniel felt having a reporter along for the ride on his wild escapades would bring less attention than when he set out alone? Nothing about that makes any sense. The book was an OK read but one I had to keep chiding myself to continue. ( )

Full review at Little Book Jockey. I really liked that Eleanor is a writer (which means I’m obviously excited about the rest of the series since they all follow writers) and that she holds fast to her beliefs and her independence, which is hard considering the time period. That said, while I enjoyed the progressive ideas presented in the novel in terms of gender equality and the dialogue of some of the characters, I do think it sometimes felt a bit forced, which makes me sad. I’m willing to overlook that for the sake of the story, especially since I agree with the ideas, but it did take me out of the story sometimes. I also really liked how Daniel thought about and addressed these gender inequalities present in their (and our) society. I think it’s great to see these ideas in historical fiction, though, and don’t consider it to be much of a fault in the writing. ( )