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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Promising start which devolved into pages of nothingness. I enjoyed the start, story moved fast but everything seemed resolved at 60% mark and my immediate thought was book should end here. Turns out I was right. It devolved into 40% of "I don't believe in love " with an unnecessary amnesia plot. All of it gets tied up abruptly.
The heroine was charming in her honesty but had too much of a manic pixie dream girl quality to her. Thrown in was her being "not like other girls" which was literally mentioned so many times how she was so unique and not like other women who are vain and unintelligent. Basic concept that I hope writers understand- you don't have to put down an entire gender to elevate your heroine.
Also for an American, there was little understanding of American history and a lot of erasure of native American history. There were some wierd racial comments and a Mohawk warriors fetishism which was just wierd.
I am fine with romance being a fantasy. I can ignore that most of these Dukes made their wealth and owned land based on slavery and looting the colonies. But please don't keep bringing it up- it makes it hard to sympathize with your protagonists.
The heroine was charming in her honesty but had too much of a manic pixie dream girl quality to her. Thrown in was her being "not like other girls" which was literally mentioned so many times how she was so unique and not like other women who are vain and unintelligent. Basic concept that I hope writers understand- you don't have to put down an entire gender to elevate your heroine.
Also for an American, there was little understanding of American history and a lot of erasure of native American history. There were some wierd racial comments and a Mohawk warriors fetishism which was just wierd.
I am fine with romance being a fantasy. I can ignore that most of these Dukes made their wealth and owned land based on slavery and looting the colonies. But please don't keep bringing it up- it makes it hard to sympathize with your protagonists.
Read for Novelicious:
http://www.novelicious.com/2016/02/review-my-american-duchess-by-eloisa-james.html
Excerpt:
My American Duchess surprised me. I was expecting a fish-out-of-water, comedy of manners, forbidden love novel with a long slow build to a dramatic showdown, but although that’s in there, it’s actually only half the story – a lot more happens beyond that. I didn’t think that it was always totally successful, but for the most part it worked well and I can’t say more without being properly spoilery!
Merry is a great heroine. Smart but flawed, her inner monologue is funny and honest, and, although I found Trent a touch frustrating at times (he’s a very emotionally repressed alpha male who isn’t very good at realising when he’s wrong), I enjoyed their story. Eloisa James is a Shakespeare professor “in real life” and although the book wears it very lightly, the language and research always feels spot on. This is a standalone novel – but has a teasey set up at the end for a possible sequel.
I enjoyed My American Duchess and raced through it in two days and didn’t want to put it down. It isn’t my favourite of James’ novels – but the bar for that is incredibly high. If one of your 2016 resolutions is to read more widely across genres, this would be a good place to dip your toe in the historical-romance water. If you’re into the genre, you’ve probably already got this on your to-read list. If you haven’t, you should have.
http://www.novelicious.com/2016/02/review-my-american-duchess-by-eloisa-james.html
Excerpt:
My American Duchess surprised me. I was expecting a fish-out-of-water, comedy of manners, forbidden love novel with a long slow build to a dramatic showdown, but although that’s in there, it’s actually only half the story – a lot more happens beyond that. I didn’t think that it was always totally successful, but for the most part it worked well and I can’t say more without being properly spoilery!
Merry is a great heroine. Smart but flawed, her inner monologue is funny and honest, and, although I found Trent a touch frustrating at times (he’s a very emotionally repressed alpha male who isn’t very good at realising when he’s wrong), I enjoyed their story. Eloisa James is a Shakespeare professor “in real life” and although the book wears it very lightly, the language and research always feels spot on. This is a standalone novel – but has a teasey set up at the end for a possible sequel.
I enjoyed My American Duchess and raced through it in two days and didn’t want to put it down. It isn’t my favourite of James’ novels – but the bar for that is incredibly high. If one of your 2016 resolutions is to read more widely across genres, this would be a good place to dip your toe in the historical-romance water. If you’re into the genre, you’ve probably already got this on your to-read list. If you haven’t, you should have.
funny
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:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
* after thinking about it more and more I just kept getting mad at this book so I’m coming back to knock off .5 stars and I might even knock off a whole star. It just kept making me so mad they were banging like crazy but he wasn’t in love I just did not believe it at all *** This book was long and boring. Three stars is me being generous. I didn’t like Cedric (I know you’re not supposed to), I didn’t like the trick in the middle, and I didn’t like Merry half the time. And The whole thing about the duke not wanting to ever be in love made no sense. I also did not like how she made the unlikable female have a lisp, and the unlikable male who was groping people fat. Very insensitive and put a sour taste in my mouth . After all of the hype this book has on the reviews and on YouTube channels I am very disappointed.
emotional
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
emotional
lighthearted
medium-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
My American Duchess is an enjoyable and amusing historical romance with heat. It is not my favorite of James’s books, but it is a good read with characters I liked and a lot of humor.
emotional
funny
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
He is everything I want in a man and she’s everything I hope to be….could have been five stars if not for the ending and also why didn’t he murder Kestril with his hunky rage? Disappointing
If you have visited my blog before, you know that I really love Historical Romance novels. I just love the romance and the etiquette of Historical Romance novels. So when I received ‘My American Duchess’ a view weeks ago I was super excited. This is my second Eloisa James novel and I started reading as fast as I could.
‘My American Duchess’ is a fun story about an American woman named Merry, who travels with her aunt and uncle to England because she has a certain reputation. Merry, has been engaged two times before and now she hopes to save her status by marrying an English man.
One of the best parts about this book is definitely Merry’s character. Merry doesn’t understand a thing about English etiquette. For example she isn’t afraid to speak her mind, even to the Duke, she is very informal and calls people by their first name, something that is simple not done at the time in England. Most people find Merry troubling, even her new fiancé thinks she needs to learn to behave better. Only the Duke, and Merry’s fiancé’s brother Trent finds Merry’s ways interesting. Merry really made me laugh. I just loved the way she was and from the start I was rooting for Merry and the Duke.
The romance between Merry and the Duke was really a lot of fun to read about. I loved both their characters and they just made a great couple. Unfortunately for them there were a lot of obstacles to get through to be together. And even then the Dukes childhood made for some interesting hoops. But this definitely made this book a great read. Sigh.. I just loved those two.
The bedroom scenes were also very nicely written, and it made this book all the more swoon worthy.
I did have one little issue with this book. And that was the way the Duke’s brother just disappeared from the story.. I didn’t really believe the way he just left because he was such a hard headed and unkind person in the beginning of the book.
But that part really was the only trouble I had with ‘My American Duchess’, overall this was a great read and I look forward to reading more books by Eloisa James.
‘My American Duchess’ is a fun story about an American woman named Merry, who travels with her aunt and uncle to England because she has a certain reputation. Merry, has been engaged two times before and now she hopes to save her status by marrying an English man.
One of the best parts about this book is definitely Merry’s character. Merry doesn’t understand a thing about English etiquette. For example she isn’t afraid to speak her mind, even to the Duke, she is very informal and calls people by their first name, something that is simple not done at the time in England. Most people find Merry troubling, even her new fiancé thinks she needs to learn to behave better. Only the Duke, and Merry’s fiancé’s brother Trent finds Merry’s ways interesting. Merry really made me laugh. I just loved the way she was and from the start I was rooting for Merry and the Duke.
The romance between Merry and the Duke was really a lot of fun to read about. I loved both their characters and they just made a great couple. Unfortunately for them there were a lot of obstacles to get through to be together. And even then the Dukes childhood made for some interesting hoops. But this definitely made this book a great read. Sigh.. I just loved those two.
The bedroom scenes were also very nicely written, and it made this book all the more swoon worthy.
I did have one little issue with this book. And that was the way the Duke’s brother just disappeared from the story.. I didn’t really believe the way he just left because he was such a hard headed and unkind person in the beginning of the book.
But that part really was the only trouble I had with ‘My American Duchess’, overall this was a great read and I look forward to reading more books by Eloisa James.
I liked this book until the first sex scene and then it was just downhill from there. The hero coming around and not being a total jackass at the end helped a little, but it was more too little too late.
Kate Reading's narration is wonderful, as she always is.
Too many euphemisms and similes in sex scenes just read so silly and I can't respect them. Which is what knocked it down to two stars from the three it would have gotten. Because up until that point, it really was pretty decent.
Kate Reading's narration is wonderful, as she always is.
Too many euphemisms and similes in sex scenes just read so silly and I can't respect them. Which is what knocked it down to two stars from the three it would have gotten. Because up until that point, it really was pretty decent.
Merry Pelham is hilarious, and the hijinks which ensue when she accidentally engages herself to the wrong brother are pretty spectacular. Very enjoyable!
Advanced Readers Copy provided by Edelweiss
Advanced Readers Copy provided by Edelweiss