. It was a sweet book and I enjoyed the writing style. It felt like there were some pacing problems towards the second half and there are definitely threads that could have been more fully fleshed out and will hopefully be addressed later in the series.

3.5 Stars!! This book was good. I wasn’t crazy about it though. It felt a bit rushed. The main characters seem to have fallen in love really easily. All they really did was argue & they fell in love? It was a good read, just a bit underwhelming.
*I received this book to read and review at no charge from the publisher and I gave my honest opinion.*

Adeline, Dowager Countess of Wake, loses her husband in an accident at sea. She joins two other widows to establish a Boarding school for girls who fathers also died in the wreck but have no means to support themselves.

Lord Lyonwood lives next door and is awakened to find young girls singing and dancing in the garden. He is instantly drawn to Adeline but after a love less marriage, she refuses to enter into another. Instead, she agrees to be his mistress.

It is a great story with witty banter and well developed characters. I am looking forward to the next adventure in the series. I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. All views are my own.

I only have given this book 3 stars because I never really could get into the story. It felt stilted and, unfortunately, boring. I never connected to Lyon and Adelaide. I may have too high standards, but that is how I felt. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.
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I loved Adeline and Lyon's story!!

Adeline and Lyon's first meeting didn't go well, to say the least. But they were both instantly attracted to the other. As they got to know one another their feeling turned into something more. But what happens when one wants marriage and the other doesn't? Can these two work out there issues to find their HEA?

These two were great together! Grey did an amazing job of bringing these two together and showing them struggle with the decisions they had made for their lives. This was a great start to a new series and I can't wait to read the next book!!

A pleasant read to escape reality for a bit and go back in time. I voluntarily read this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 1 in a new series by Amelia Grey. I must say I did enjoy the story. An Earl comes home and storms next door thinking that a house of ill repute had moved in. Lyon is rude and annoying but he did grow on me. Adeline is trying to help girls in need and all she needs is an annoying neighbor. I loved the romance that grew. Looking forward to more in the series.

The Earl of Lyonwood’s aunt arrives at his townhouse to complain that a house of ill repute is moving in next door. After all, why else would her friend, his shut-in neighbor, have seen all those beds being delivered to the building? And when the earl goes to confront his new neighbor and finds her wearing a risqué red dress, he assumes his aunt was correct. Adeline, Dowager Countess of Wake is, of course, not planning a brothel, but rather a school for the daughters of seamen lost in the disaster that killed her late, unlamented, husband. Naturally, one misunderstanding leads to another, and Lyon is not especially happy to have a covey of boisterous girls as his neighbors. And when two of the girls appear in his room while he is in the bath, things go from bad to worse! How all this get ironed out, despite many bumps in the road along the way, makes for an absolutely delightful and satisfying tale. Characters are well-drawn, even minor ones, and their flaws make the story more interesting, despite the predictability of the romance at its core.

This book was an okay read. I appreciated the strong female lead character however I didn’t find anything particularly “original” about this historical romance. The market seems to be heavily saturated with similar storylines. Unfortunately this failed to stand out and did not hold my attention well.

Strong female characters always grab my attention and this one doesn’t disappoint. Well written, kept my attention, and made me feel like I was right there, wanting to reach out and plead for each other’s case with the emotions I felt.

Amelia is a widow after her husband drowns in a shipwreck. She is finally free to do what she chooses so, she buys a new house with a large building behind it that she decides to use to start a school for girls. Lyon, her next door neighbor, is sent, by his aunt, to see what kind of business Amelia is opening and, mistakenly makes a wrong
assumption. These two fight tooth and nail about the school, the girls in the school, the noise and, generally everything! The heat between them is explosive and, painfully obvious to everyone but them! When they finally realize they have no control over their physical attraction to each other, Lyon realizes that he loves and wants this woman. Amelia, on the other hand, has decided that, since she believes she is barren, she will never remarry.
It takes time, for Amelia to realize that Lyon is nothing like she believes and, that true love is worth the effort!

The Earl Next Door by Amelia Grey. St. Martin's Press. 2019.

In this story, the recently widowed Adeline and her two friends open a school for girls associated with the ship that took their husbands’ lives. This book has a great start when Lyon, a Marquess and Adeline’s neighbour is persuaded by his aunt that Adeline has opened a brothel in their upscale neighbourhood.

There are some excellent scenes that were a joy to read such as when Adeline tries on some racy clothing mistakenly included in her order or when Lyon’s guests block the street in a rainstorm, so Adeline’s carriage can’t get to her house. Soaking wet, she storms in during a card game and tears a strip off them all.

Between often amusing, vivid, well written scenes though there are some sections that I just plodded through; when I hit these, I would put the book down and not rush back.

Though the writing is fine, the heroine and hero are likable, consistent, believable characters, and the plot has elements that are better than average, this book was just ok for me.

Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Earl Next Door via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Adeline finally has her freedom...and the pleasure of setting up a girls school. Lyon comes to town and isn't pleased to find loud squealing girls playing outside his bedroom window. Ms. Grey continues to write books that the reader doesn't want to put down until it is totally finished. I loved Adeline and Lyon's story and anyone who reads it will love it as well.

This book started well... or at least differently. Our hero thinks that heroine works in the brothel next door. What a faux pas!
Lord Lyon is not living next to a house of ill-repute, but rather a boarding school for girls (hence all the beds being delivered). He's not your standard overbearing Lord - well not all the time. And Adeline, she's not your typical widow - ever.
I really enjoyed this book. I've read a lot of similar stories over the years but this author has captured something different and given the lovers (and their immediate relations) something I can't quite name. Maybe it's that they feel more human and flawed - not black and white but hues of shades in between. They appealed to me and I'm looking forward to reading more works from Amelia Grey.

It was refreshing to read about a strong lady of the ton. They were rare back then and to have one depicted and be able to be accepted was a great storyline. The handsome earl that was thrown in didn't hurt either.

What a fantastic idea for a book series. The way that the girls were included in the story really made it great. I enjoyed, The Earl Next Door. I cannot wait to see whose story will be next.

Adeline, Countess Of Wake, is a widow who lost her husband at sea. She befriends two other widows and they decide to open a school for young girls who have lost loved ones at sea.

Lord Lyon, Earl Of Marksworth, her next door neighbor, barges into her home thinking that she is running a house of ill-repute, which starts their relationship/attraction.

This is an entertaining, well-written story.

Adeline, the Dowager Countess of Wake finally has the freedom to follow her dreams. This involves starting a boarding school for young women, many of whom were the spouses of sailors who lost their lives, in the same accident that her husband died in. She and two of her friends, who also lost spouses set up the home only to find her neighbour is Lord Lyon, the Earl of Marksworth, who after initially mistaking her as the owner of a brothel, finds himself captivated by her. However, Adeline is resolute in not wanting to remarry, so Lyon must do all he can to convince her otherwise.
This first book in the series ‘First comes love’, was a sweet romance, with Lyon being a man of strength and character, and with a desire to marry for love despite his father’s protest, standing out. I also enjoyed the friendship between Adeline and her friends and the relationship between Lyon and his aunt. Both added to this delightful story. I do look forward to reading more about Adeline's friends in this future books in the series.
I received an advanced review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! The guy was a bit of an oaf/butt at the beginning, but he soon comes to realize that for himself and cleans up his act. Even still, he can be a bit dense, and it sometimes takes Adeline practically screaming at him for him to realize something. I loved the subplot of Adeline and her friends opening a girls school. One thing that did bug me was a minor plot point that developed with that at the very end that was sorta dropped in there without any warning (though I kinda expected something like it to happen) and then not developed. It's just sorta weirdly in there for a chapter and then disappears once the characters have the rest of their HEA.

Adeline, Dowager Countess of Wake, is about to rejoin society after the mourning period for her husband is over. Joining together with two women who also lost their husbands when their ship sank she has decided to open a school for the daughters of the ship workers and offer them a better opportunity than any of them could have expected. After all her husband put her through on his mission for an heir, she has no interest in remarrying or men in general, but she cannot help but find herself matching wits with her new neighbour.

Lord Lyonwood’s father is determined he marry and provide him with a grandchild. It doesn't matter that he, himself, is marrying for the third time, he wants to see his only child settled. Lyon has no interest in marrying until he finds a woman he loves and after watching his father and much of society be unfaithful Lyon plans on being true to his wife when he finds her. He did not expect his life to be upended when a group of young girls move in next door. He is especially unbalanced when he meets the owner of the school, and he finds it hard to resist falling for her even if she is adamant she wants nothing to do with him.

This book was an okay read, while the characters and story were entertaining it lacked anything special. The market is saturated with similar romances that I would recommend the reader to look at. I received an arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.