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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
February 15, 2018
Eloisa James’ latest book, Wilde in Love, published in 2017, focuses on Lord Alaric Wilde who has been traveling the world, having daring adventures and writing about them which has made him a celebrity in his home country of England. Alaric’s travels, however, are not solely about adventure. He appears to be escaping a sad event in his life — the unfortunate death of a beloved older brother. Upon Alaric’s return to England and his rather large family, he unexpectedly meets a young woman who is a part of his society and is unique — she, Miss Willa Ffynche — has no interest in his fame and, in fact, is put off by it as she treasures her privacy and her more normal, quiet life. Of course, Willa is a part of the house party Alaric’s father throws, and Alaric and Willa are thrown together. Will Alaric be able to convince Willa that he also craves the normalcy that she prefers? Will Alaric’s legion of admirers undermine his goal, especially a particular woman who has made it her business to highlight his “infamy” and put herself foremost in the picture?
Anyway, Eloisa James’ books have always been hit or miss with me. In this case, the book is more a miss than a hit. The problems I had were that the villainess started out to be quite interesting, but eventually ended up being the usual over-the-top, crazy other woman. The fact that she kept coming back, like The Terminator, really made me wonder about the intelligence of the people trying to keep her restrained. Take a woman scorned seriously, people!
The other thing that was less enjoyable was the fact that almost all the activity occurred at one house party. Literally the setting never varied and I was disappointed that we never got a full feel for Alaric’s fame because he was, almost entirely, on his father’s estate. It just seemed that the plot was just stalled on that damn estate, with the cutesy animals, and somewhat claustrophobic. I would give this a B-, maybe even a C. What started out being a very interesting premise just boiled down to the same old, same old.
Eloisa James’ latest book, Wilde in Love, published in 2017, focuses on Lord Alaric Wilde who has been traveling the world, having daring adventures and writing about them which has made him a celebrity in his home country of England. Alaric’s travels, however, are not solely about adventure. He appears to be escaping a sad event in his life — the unfortunate death of a beloved older brother. Upon Alaric’s return to England and his rather large family, he unexpectedly meets a young woman who is a part of his society and is unique — she, Miss Willa Ffynche — has no interest in his fame and, in fact, is put off by it as she treasures her privacy and her more normal, quiet life. Of course, Willa is a part of the house party Alaric’s father throws, and Alaric and Willa are thrown together. Will Alaric be able to convince Willa that he also craves the normalcy that she prefers? Will Alaric’s legion of admirers undermine his goal, especially a particular woman who has made it her business to highlight his “infamy” and put herself foremost in the picture?
Anyway, Eloisa James’ books have always been hit or miss with me. In this case, the book is more a miss than a hit. The problems I had were that the villainess started out to be quite interesting, but eventually ended up being the usual over-the-top, crazy other woman. The fact that she kept coming back, like The Terminator, really made me wonder about the intelligence of the people trying to keep her restrained. Take a woman scorned seriously, people!
The other thing that was less enjoyable was the fact that almost all the activity occurred at one house party. Literally the setting never varied and I was disappointed that we never got a full feel for Alaric’s fame because he was, almost entirely, on his father’s estate. It just seemed that the plot was just stalled on that damn estate, with the cutesy animals, and somewhat claustrophobic. I would give this a B-, maybe even a C. What started out being a very interesting premise just boiled down to the same old, same old.
This was ridiculous, but pretty funny. I actually liked a lot of the characters.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good intro to the series! The plot is fun above all else (and once i got over the men in powdered wigs) i really enjoyed it! Would recommend reading the series in order though, unlike me who read 2-5 first.
3.5. I liked both of the main characters well enough, but there just wasn't anything that stood out about this one. I thought Willa was an intelligent heroine and I appreciated her throughout. And Alaric was a good hero who set his sights on Willa, but allowed her to open up on her own.
Admittedly, I HATED the narrator of the audiobook and really should have read this, which is why I'm rounding up instead of down. It makes me sad that almost every other audio of Eloisa James is done by the same narrator, so I know I won't be going that route again. Seriously though, every single sentence she spoke (when it wasn't dialogue) was delivered in a tone like a smarmy reporter or game show host. Not a fan.
Admittedly, I HATED the narrator of the audiobook and really should have read this, which is why I'm rounding up instead of down. It makes me sad that almost every other audio of Eloisa James is done by the same narrator, so I know I won't be going that route again. Seriously though, every single sentence she spoke (when it wasn't dialogue) was delivered in a tone like a smarmy reporter or game show host. Not a fan.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
i really liked it. the characters were good and the romance flowed nicely. the only problem i had was the pacing. it was a little slow for me.
3.5 easy. This was great for the romance genre. Predictable, of course, and fun to read
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was slow starting but it really built throughout the book to a great finish.
Heat level: 3/5
Heat level: 3/5
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed this. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a story that entirely takes place at a house party, and I finally found one! It's on the simple side, with a third act villain that maybe doesn't do women justice. But I like that Alaric both had no knowledge and no interest in his fame. I quite liked Willa as well. She was smart and driven. Even if her fatal flaw was her inability to compromise, she certainly overcame that. Her sexual assertiveness seemed to come a bit out of nowhere, but it wasn't so out of left field to not make sense. She always knew what she wanted.