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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was convinced this’ll be my first Eloisa James’s book. As it turned out, it was my second, and looking at the rating I gave the first one I've read ([b:Pleasure for Pleasure|428677|Pleasure for Pleasure (Essex Sisters, #4)|Eloisa James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407707344l/428677._SY75_.jpg|417683], 2 stars), I’m starting to think… this author is not for me.
Wilde in Love is not a horrible book or badly written one. On the contrary, Eloisa James’s prose is quite pleasant to read: not to dense to obscure the story and smooth enough to keep one reading, and the romance seems to have all the important elements to make it fun. And still… there is just something crucial lacking in it for me to enjoy it.
The premise of a heroine, who seems subdue and proper, but secretly likes "bawdy jokes" meeting this absolutely not proper, over the top manly Lord, seemed interesting and fun. A promise of a series revolving around a family of almost eccentric members of the Wilde (this name…) family sounded fun, and I really looked forward to explore books about them.
But, to be completely honest Wilde in Love was a dud for me, and after reading it I’m not that interested in the rest of the series.
I didn’t like either of the protagonists: through the whole book Willa seemed pretentious and unpleasant, and Alaric absolutely obsessed with her for no real reason. The promised bawdy jokes never happened, or I missed it. And the way Willa’s bookish nature was used seemed almost caricatural. She's heroine in a romance novel and vehemently hated fiction books and only read philosophical treatises. Oh, and while describing how her ideal husband should look – to somehow disparage Alaric’s attractiveness - she used Aristotle’s likeness. I mean, c’mon. Maybe it was intentionally used to juxtapose Lavinia’s, Willa’s best friend, obsession with how handsome Lord Wilde was? I mean she went so far as to plaster her bedroom walls with his portraits, like all the teenage girls known to history always do, right? If that was the case, it could actually be clever. But I doubt it.
Still, Lavinia was probably one of the few characters I actually liked a little, but only when she interacted with her future love interests, Perth. When she shared any scenes with Willa, I was annoyed with them both. They reminded me so much of the over used, almost meme-like, stereotype of “mean girls”.
Alaric’s presence in the book was not as annoying – I enjoyed almost all his scenes with his brother or best friend – probably because I still have a kind of soft spot for old-school, bodice ripper, type of alpha heroes. But, there’s only so much nostalgia can take. I just didn’t get why he went from obsessively lusting over Willa (presumably because she clearly wasn’t interested in him at first) to loving her. Also, for a hero who was described as ladies-man, he wasn’t that charming or suave. I guess, the author aimed for a mix of ‘enemies to lovers’ and ‘friends to lovers’ tropes while developing their relationship, but it felt shallow and almost artificial.
The sub plot of Alaric’s super fans or the “crazy” missionary’s daughter was so awkwardly over the top, I just couldn’t find them enjoyable. I was hoping for some type of plot twist, where the plays about Wilde’s escapades were actually written by Willa, or better yet, Alaric’s brother, but alas.
There’re of course secondary romances thrown into the mix (it’s a series after all…), and between the two I obviously enjoyed Lavinia and Perth’s attraction fueled dislike more. Forcibly vague hostility Diana expressed for Roland didn’t make me curious about them at all, and the cliffhanger at the end only reinforced those feelings.
To be fair, Eloisa James admitted in her author's notes all the books will have some sort of cliffhangers, but the way this one dragged on at the end was awful. The last two, two and a half chapters were weirdly put together and didn’t fit the flow of the story.
So, did I like anything about Wilde in Love? Yes, I did.
Like I said the prose was good, some bits of dialog witty and fun. Although I didn’t really like any of the main characters, I enjoyed some of the slow burn romance they shared. I mean, that one intimate scene of Alaric? Pretty nice. Sweetpea was kind of a brilliant character, and… I really liked the covers. Full disclosure, I saw the pretty men and thought this series would be fun.
Wilde in Love was clearly not for me.
I understand Eloisa James is a huge figure in the historical romance genre and I heard good things about her Fairy Tales series, so maybe I’ll give her books another chance. But, so far her stories seem not to hit that sweet spot for me.
~2/5 Stars
Wilde in Love is not a horrible book or badly written one. On the contrary, Eloisa James’s prose is quite pleasant to read: not to dense to obscure the story and smooth enough to keep one reading, and the romance seems to have all the important elements to make it fun. And still… there is just something crucial lacking in it for me to enjoy it.
The premise of a heroine, who seems subdue and proper, but secretly likes "bawdy jokes" meeting this absolutely not proper, over the top manly Lord, seemed interesting and fun. A promise of a series revolving around a family of almost eccentric members of the Wilde (this name…) family sounded fun, and I really looked forward to explore books about them.
But, to be completely honest Wilde in Love was a dud for me, and after reading it I’m not that interested in the rest of the series.
I didn’t like either of the protagonists: through the whole book Willa seemed pretentious and unpleasant, and Alaric absolutely obsessed with her for no real reason. The promised bawdy jokes never happened, or I missed it. And the way Willa’s bookish nature was used seemed almost caricatural. She's heroine in a romance novel and vehemently hated fiction books and only read philosophical treatises. Oh, and while describing how her ideal husband should look – to somehow disparage Alaric’s attractiveness - she used Aristotle’s likeness. I mean, c’mon. Maybe it was intentionally used to juxtapose Lavinia’s, Willa’s best friend, obsession with how handsome Lord Wilde was? I mean she went so far as to plaster her bedroom walls with his portraits, like all the teenage girls known to history always do, right? If that was the case, it could actually be clever. But I doubt it.
Still, Lavinia was probably one of the few characters I actually liked a little, but only when she interacted with her future love interests, Perth. When she shared any scenes with Willa, I was annoyed with them both. They reminded me so much of the over used, almost meme-like, stereotype of “mean girls”.
Alaric’s presence in the book was not as annoying – I enjoyed almost all his scenes with his brother or best friend – probably because I still have a kind of soft spot for old-school, bodice ripper, type of alpha heroes. But, there’s only so much nostalgia can take. I just didn’t get why he went from obsessively lusting over Willa (presumably because she clearly wasn’t interested in him at first) to loving her. Also, for a hero who was described as ladies-man, he wasn’t that charming or suave. I guess, the author aimed for a mix of ‘enemies to lovers’ and ‘friends to lovers’ tropes while developing their relationship, but it felt shallow and almost artificial.
There’re of course secondary romances thrown into the mix (it’s a series after all…), and between the two I obviously enjoyed Lavinia and Perth’s attraction fueled dislike more. Forcibly vague hostility Diana expressed for Roland didn’t make me curious about them at all, and the cliffhanger at the end only reinforced those feelings.
To be fair, Eloisa James admitted in her author's notes all the books will have some sort of cliffhangers, but the way this one dragged on at the end was awful. The last two, two and a half chapters were weirdly put together and didn’t fit the flow of the story.
So, did I like anything about Wilde in Love? Yes, I did.
Like I said the prose was good, some bits of dialog witty and fun. Although I didn’t really like any of the main characters, I enjoyed some of the slow burn romance they shared. I mean, that one intimate scene of Alaric? Pretty nice. Sweetpea was kind of a brilliant character, and… I really liked the covers. Full disclosure, I saw the pretty men and thought this series would be fun.
Wilde in Love was clearly not for me.
I understand Eloisa James is a huge figure in the historical romance genre and I heard good things about her Fairy Tales series, so maybe I’ll give her books another chance. But, so far her stories seem not to hit that sweet spot for me.
~2/5 Stars
I really liked this! It's a different trope than I'm used to - they were neither friends nor enemies to lovers, and I enjoyed that. I also loved the engagement of convenience and the crazy missionary's daughter. I'll be following this series. Recommend for anyone who likes historical romance.
A note on the audio - it was terrible. The narrator didn't differentiate between characters at all, so I had to rewind quite a bit. I'll read the rest of them in print if the same narrator does the whole series.
A note on the audio - it was terrible. The narrator didn't differentiate between characters at all, so I had to rewind quite a bit. I'll read the rest of them in print if the same narrator does the whole series.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content
I didn’t love it, but didn’t hate it. There were great parts and cheesy parts. But I totally want to know what happens with the supporting characters.
4*s
This was surprisingly a bit of a slower read than most romances, but I enjoyed it a lot. The cliffhanger at the end was maddening though, I can't wait too see what comes of that.
This was surprisingly a bit of a slower read than most romances, but I enjoyed it a lot. The cliffhanger at the end was maddening though, I can't wait too see what comes of that.
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
Yes
Wilde in Love was an enjoyable read to me and I liked the hero and heroine a lot, especially once they started getting stronger feelings for each other. I won't say it's my favorite historical romance ever but it was very well-written and had a lot of moments that made me swoon.
Lord Alaric wasn't the typical hero that I so often see in these kind of books. He had been away for years visiting foreign countries and writing books about everything he experienced. When he finally does come home he has no idea his books have become very popular with the ladies and that there's even a play about him. Needless to say he doesn't like this one bit. Then he meets Willa Ffynche who seems to be the only woman who doesn't swoon in his presence.
As I said before I really liked these two characters together. It took some convincing for Willa to accept her feelings for Alaric but once she did she had no more doubts about marrying him. I liked this a lot because it limited the drama somewhat. What I didn't like as much, though, was the drama surrounding Prudence. I know that her presence and what she eventually tried to do added some suspense but that part was too obvious for me. This, however, is my only slightly negative point.
Another part of what made the book so great were some of the secondary characters, like Willa's friend Lavinia. And even the animals in the story like Sweetpea, the skunk. It all added something different to the story. I also shipped the hell out of Lavinia and Parth because they just couldn't get along throughout the whole book. I'm sure they'd ben so much fun together to read about. I'm also glad the scene for the next book got set for North (Alaric's brother) and Diana.
Overall, Wilde in Love by Eloisa James was a great start to this series set in the Georgian period. It had humor, steamy romance, witty characters and some danger. I can't wait to read the next book!
Lord Alaric wasn't the typical hero that I so often see in these kind of books. He had been away for years visiting foreign countries and writing books about everything he experienced. When he finally does come home he has no idea his books have become very popular with the ladies and that there's even a play about him. Needless to say he doesn't like this one bit. Then he meets Willa Ffynche who seems to be the only woman who doesn't swoon in his presence.
As I said before I really liked these two characters together. It took some convincing for Willa to accept her feelings for Alaric but once she did she had no more doubts about marrying him. I liked this a lot because it limited the drama somewhat. What I didn't like as much, though, was the drama surrounding Prudence. I know that her presence and what she eventually tried to do added some suspense but that part was too obvious for me. This, however, is my only slightly negative point.
Another part of what made the book so great were some of the secondary characters, like Willa's friend Lavinia. And even the animals in the story like Sweetpea, the skunk. It all added something different to the story. I also shipped the hell out of Lavinia and Parth because they just couldn't get along throughout the whole book. I'm sure they'd ben so much fun together to read about. I'm also glad the scene for the next book got set for North (Alaric's brother) and Diana.
Overall, Wilde in Love by Eloisa James was a great start to this series set in the Georgian period. It had humor, steamy romance, witty characters and some danger. I can't wait to read the next book!