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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Fun, fluff. Possibly a 3.5. Enjoyed the characters.
Roberta falls in love with a man she runs into, literally. She escapes from her father (the Mad Marquess) and goes to stay with a distant relative in London - Jemma. Jemma's brother promptly falls for Roberta. Villiers, who Roberta has fallen for, is intrigued by Jemma. Jemma has come back from France to do her duty to her husband, Beaumont, and conceive an heir - though since all they do is argue it might take a while. By the way the only non master chess player is Roberta.
Roberta falls in love with a man she runs into, literally. She escapes from her father (the Mad Marquess) and goes to stay with a distant relative in London - Jemma. Jemma's brother promptly falls for Roberta. Villiers, who Roberta has fallen for, is intrigued by Jemma. Jemma has come back from France to do her duty to her husband, Beaumont, and conceive an heir - though since all they do is argue it might take a while. By the way the only non master chess player is Roberta.
The title? The blurb? The presentation? Not at all something I'd be drawn to read, had I another option.. Such a shock to find that this was nothing like I expected! Wonderfully so.
Witty, subtle & humourous, this was surprisingly fun.
Witty, subtle & humourous, this was surprisingly fun.
An enjoyable romance that didn't follow the usual pathes.
Didn't quite work out as I was expecting. Color me pleasantly surprised.
This is a genre (Georgian period romance) I always refused to read because I assumed I would not like it. But then I read an excerpt from When the Duke Returns and I was intrigued, and because it was reduced in price I decided to buy it. Turned out to be an excellent decision. After enjoying When the Duke Returns I decided to read the first in the series, Desperate Duchesses. This book was hilarious in parts, and the romance is driven by the delightfully bawdy humor. Just the kind of period piece I enjoy. I was quite interested to find out Eloisa James (Mary Bly in real life) is a professor of literature, and it shows in the references to Shakespeare in this book. And she comes from quite literary parents, Carol and Robert Bly.
WOW there are a lot of literary & historical references included. The author certainly knows her stuff, but when I read romance I'm looking for brain candy. Probably one of the most well-written romance genre novels I've read, just not my cup of tea.
Lady Roberta St Giles is a woman who has lived with the fact that her family isn't in any way normal or ordinary. Her father is a poet who lives with women openly in a way that makes people ask questions about his family. She calls on a relative to try to get herself on the market. When she sees the Duke of Villiers, a notorious rakehell, she decides he is to be hers.
Damon Reeve, the Earl of Gryffyn thinks differently, but can he win?
It's fun, full of complicated relationships, chess and duels. It was a fun, light read.
Damon Reeve, the Earl of Gryffyn thinks differently, but can he win?
It's fun, full of complicated relationships, chess and duels. It was a fun, light read.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This one had a slow, rocky start, with a frankly bizarre prologue, but I pushed past that and ended up really enjoying it. A lot of times, when I read a reviewer praise the "witty banter" in a book, I end up confused, wondering if we actually read the same book at all. This book was funny, though! Remember comedy? I barely do, but I actually laughed reading this one. Other book club members liked James's later books better, so I might skip around and read some of her others.
I'm not sure what to score this book, because I only started to enjoy reading it halfway through. In the first half of the book, everyone was just so unlikeable and I got really frustrated. But bit by bit, I started to enjoy the book. By the end, the characters had a lot of depth and that made them way more complex and likeable. I think I will be reading the next book in the series as well.