In the Eyes of the Earl, by Kristin Vayden, is a historical romance filled with philosophy and mystery. Collin Morgan, Earl of Penderdale, needs to find who has been committing crimes in his name. Elizabeth Essex has been secretly teaching the women of Cambridge about philosophy. When they first meet neither one is impressed with the other. As they learn to work together, they might find that they are actually the perfect fit.

This novel has a slow start in terms of the relationship between Elizabeth and Collin. There is a lot of background that the author has to do to set up the story. Vayden has to set up Collin’s mystery the crook stealing his name, and she has to set up Elizabeth as a secret learned women (who takes care of bees). This complicated setup means that Collin and Elizabeth do not have their first interaction until about 30 pages into the book. The background information did seem a little dense at time, but Vayden does do a good job of introducing her love interests.

Vayden places the majority of the focus of the novel on the mystery and Elizabeth’s teaching. I enjoyed that Elizabeth was bucking social customs and teaching her friends about philosophy. However, I could have done with less of the actual philosophy lessons. They often grew dense and hard to read, if you are not a philosophy scholar. The mystery element was interesting. Vayden does a good job of setting it up, and revelations at the end are satisfying. It made for a good back drop for this historical romance.

The novel, as a whole, would have been better served if Collin and Elizabeth spent more time trying to solve the mystery together. Much of the suspense and action of the novel involves Collin and Michael. They are out chasing criminals, while Elizabeth is stuck at home. Otherwise, Elizabeth is with Patricia focusing on her studies and her teaching. This does not leave much space for the relationship to grow between Collin and Elizabeth. Vayden does an excellent job writing the witty exchanges between Collin and Elizabeth. They are quick and funny. There just needed to be more building of the relationship. They go from dislike, to friendship, to love very quickly in the novel. The declaration of love at the end doesn’t feel earned. It would have been much better to have Collin and Elizabeth be the main investigators, without the distraction of Michael or Patricia.

Overall, this novel was slow in finding its footing. Vayden finds her stride around half way through, and the novel does pick up its pace. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a slow burn historical romance, and happens to be a fan of philosophy.