If there was such a thing as YA- adult historical romance, this book would be the first on the list. It's incredibly light and fluffy, I like stories with a little more depth and edge. The heroine, hero, and storyline was all wallpaper and I never felt their relationship. If looking for a easy clean historical, the writing is pretty good here, just expect a little modern wording. I'm not sure if this author's writing style is for me. ( )

If you love traditional regency romances like Pride and Prejudice or Emma, I predict you love The Earl I Adore. I believe I detected a hint of inspiration from both of these romances, but with more than enough originality to keep the novel fresh.

The heroine, Sophie, was adorable. I love less-than-perfect heroines, especially diminutive ones with curves who play the oboe. I had to ignore the cover because she didn't look at all like the image of the woman I had in mind. The earl was a bit too perfect, even with his family secret, but he was genuinely sweet and charming. The story was written from both the hero and the heroine's POV, but the heroine definitely had the starring role. Perhaps that's another reason the book reminded me so much of a traditional regency.

The supporting characters were good. If you've ever seen the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice, Sophie's mother could have been Elizabeth Bennet's mother's long lost twin. She was that manipulative. My understanding is that the cadre of friends surrounding Sophie play the leading role in other novels. I'm eager to read some of those stories, especially May's.

I picked up The Earl I Adore because I was looking for a clean romance. So much of what I end up reading is "steamy" at a minimum because that seems to be what's most available. (Don't you wish sites like Amazon allowed you to search by heat level?) However, I was in the mood for something that wasn't so explicit, and I wanted to see how other authors write clean romances without losing the sizzle that makes a romance a romance.

I suspect I'll pick up another novel by Erin Knightly in the near future. My understanding is that despite her suggestive covers, her other books are also a breath of fresh air in the steamy romance world. ( )