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balletbookworm's review
3.0
I had really been anticipating this fourth (last?) installment in the Royal Entourage series which was more or less decreed to be Isabelle's and Candover's book.
And I feel a bit let down. The resolution was over too quick and the romance between Sussex and Amelia was shoehorned into the book. I think I would have liked the two lines to be separate because a) James hasn't nearly explained himself well enough and b) I don't quite get the love angle between Sussex and Amelia.
And I feel a bit let down. The resolution was over too quick and the romance between Sussex and Amelia was shoehorned into the book. I think I would have liked the two lines to be separate because a) James hasn't nearly explained himself well enough and b) I don't quite get the love angle between Sussex and Amelia.
Spoiler
And then there's the insinuation the perhaps the bachelor party to end all bachelor parties may have been a set-up....what?cammmiam's review
2.0
2.5 out of 5 stars.
Isabelle, the Duchess of March, has been in love with James, the Duke of Candover, since she was fourteen years old. Now in her eighteenth year and a duchess in her own right, she sets out to ask for the hand of her friend and confidant only to be rebuffed by his sense of duty and the promise he made to her father on his death bed. James is too old to marry Isabelle, James is too reserved to marry Isabelle; the excuses for not accepting the love he had developed for her over the years is as long as the list the Prince Regent gives James of potential wives should he not marry otherwise. You know this book will end in a happily ever after, because they all do, but even I became exasperated with how many ways the hero could convince himself that he could not marry his love.
Within this story there was also another love complication between the Duke of Sussex and Amelia Primrose, who is the chaperone of Isabelle’s fourteen-year-old cousin. Miscommunication and secrets dictated this storyline, and when it fed over into the relationship between Isabelle and James it made for even more complications. I’m not sure this story needed to have as many complications as it did; in fact, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had things been streamlined. Bottom line is that I really enjoyed Isabelle as a heroine -- I only wish she had been given a different sort of storyline that could have maintained my interest. This is not the best of the historical romance genre, but it is decent and I hope it will be enjoyed a great deal more by those readers who have followed this series since the beginning (I am not one of those people).
Isabelle, the Duchess of March, has been in love with James, the Duke of Candover, since she was fourteen years old. Now in her eighteenth year and a duchess in her own right, she sets out to ask for the hand of her friend and confidant only to be rebuffed by his sense of duty and the promise he made to her father on his death bed. James is too old to marry Isabelle, James is too reserved to marry Isabelle; the excuses for not accepting the love he had developed for her over the years is as long as the list the Prince Regent gives James of potential wives should he not marry otherwise. You know this book will end in a happily ever after, because they all do, but even I became exasperated with how many ways the hero could convince himself that he could not marry his love.
Within this story there was also another love complication between the Duke of Sussex and Amelia Primrose, who is the chaperone of Isabelle’s fourteen-year-old cousin. Miscommunication and secrets dictated this storyline, and when it fed over into the relationship between Isabelle and James it made for even more complications. I’m not sure this story needed to have as many complications as it did; in fact, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had things been streamlined. Bottom line is that I really enjoyed Isabelle as a heroine -- I only wish she had been given a different sort of storyline that could have maintained my interest. This is not the best of the historical romance genre, but it is decent and I hope it will be enjoyed a great deal more by those readers who have followed this series since the beginning (I am not one of those people).
waclements7's review against another edition
2.0
The people who needed to talk to each each other don’t—usually it’s just one or two couples but here it’s multiple couples. The “hero” has very little to like about him, other than the heroine has been in love with him forever (as she’s now at the ripe old age of 18—granted, for the time a ‘necessary’ marrying age for the gentry, but really...). The only person with any real sense is a 14 year-old girl with the unfortunate name of Calliope Little. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind for this one—there were some parts that made me laugh—but...
booknerd777's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book. I'm pretty new to the "historical romance" genre, so I'm still getting used to the terms and setting. This was a fun read. The romance was cute, but it could've been developed a little bit more. Also, the ending was rushed. I wanted to see more of the couple together.
hijinx_abound's review against another edition
2.0
OK so this is a typical historical romance. It's not better and it's not worse but for some reason there was a particular description during a sex scene that I total got stuck on : hot velvet in rain. Because that sounds like it would feel really disgusting. Not sexy like ever. It was just ewwww.
taisie22's review against another edition
3.0
The Duke of Candover is the premier duke in the realm while Isabelle Tremont is a Duchess in her own right. She's twelve years younger than James Fitzroy, but has been in love with him for years. While he's attracted to her also, he thinks she needs to find a match in someone her own age.
I really liked the first two books in this series, but I think the last two ran out of steam. This one has the same problem as the last; there are too many couples trying to match up and too many storylines. It's not necessarily confusing, but I found it hard to focus on the main couple when some of the other romances were more interesting. The ending was cliche. The writing is still fun and there's a lot of humor, but I wish the author concentrated the story on Isabelle and James.
I really liked the first two books in this series, but I think the last two ran out of steam. This one has the same problem as the last; there are too many couples trying to match up and too many storylines. It's not necessarily confusing, but I found it hard to focus on the main couple when some of the other romances were more interesting. The ending was cliche. The writing is still fun and there's a lot of humor, but I wish the author concentrated the story on Isabelle and James.
emslovestoread's review against another edition
3.0
Reread in 2017.
On a second read, I found things I really didn't care for, and a LOT of inconsistencies throughout the series. It would seem that the author never wrote down the ages of her characters, because in the first book, Wright was said to be the youngest duke at age 27...but in this book, Barry is 23. Hmmm. Also, Isabelle is 18, right? I didn't note any significant passage of time, but by the end, Candover says that it's good to marry Barry because he's only three years older than her. Unless we're missing two years somewhere, this was jarring.
On a whole, the only book in the series that stood up the same to a reread was The Duke Diaries.
On a second read, I found things I really didn't care for, and a LOT of inconsistencies throughout the series. It would seem that the author never wrote down the ages of her characters, because in the first book, Wright was said to be the youngest duke at age 27...but in this book, Barry is 23. Hmmm. Also, Isabelle is 18, right? I didn't note any significant passage of time, but by the end, Candover says that it's good to marry Barry because he's only three years older than her. Unless we're missing two years somewhere, this was jarring.
On a whole, the only book in the series that stood up the same to a reread was The Duke Diaries.
bridgetrose89's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite
I loved the first Royal Entourage book, and liked the others, but this one was hard for me to get into. I was almost more interested in the secondary story of Sussex, than the main characters. This one however, did get good in the end.
I loved the first Royal Entourage book, and liked the others, but this one was hard for me to get into. I was almost more interested in the secondary story of Sussex, than the main characters. This one however, did get good in the end.
bosullivan's review against another edition
4.0
Liked this quite a lot in spite of the overabundance of dukes and a lack of understanding of the laws of primogeniture. The characters drew me in and I cared very much how the story resolved.
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