Customer Reviews

Duchess in Love

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I really did enjoy this book. James has been criticized more than once for having too much going on in her novels, but I find her refreshing and innovative. Duchess does have a lot of set up, and I admit that the following three books of the series are better, but this particular novel was the hook. And I couldn't help it; when I finished the book I was dying to know what happened to all my favorite characters. James succeeds in writing flawed characters who are also endearing and interesting. The best suggestion I can make to potential consumers is to go ahead and give the book a try. Tastes vary so much that you won't be able to tell whether or not you like the story unless you give it a try. You don't even have to purchase it; check it out of the library first. And I promise that the series does get better and better right through the last novel.

"Duchess in Love" seems, on the surface to be a lighthearted and witty historical 'romp,' with a rather novel focal point: the book deals with the lives and loves of three society hostesses, who, for some reason or the other, are all currently living apart from their husbands. However, do take note: there is also a slight dark underside to this fluffy confection.

Many years ago, in order to avert a scandal, a teenage Camden Serrard married his 11 year old cousin Gina, and then left the country in order to pursue his studies as a sculptor in Greece. And all through the years he remained in Greece, Cam and Gina have maintained a cordial and friendly relationship via letters. Now, however, the youthful and beautiful Duchess of Girton (Gina) has decided that she would like to marry a gentleman she's fallen in love with, Sebastian, Marquess Bonnington. But she can only to do this if Cam agrees to grant her an annulment. This, Cam is only too willing to do for Gina's sake. Imagine the couple's shock then when they meet for the first time after so many years, and discover that they are actually attracted to each other! Gina never expected to find that her husband would grow from a gangly teenager to become the charismatic and thrilling young man who actually excites her in a way that her handsome and stiff 'fiance' doesn't, nor does Cam anticipate that he'd find his wife to be a beautiful and enchanting young woman. Neither are really sure if they still want the annulment to go through. But it will take another threat to Gina's reputation and one of Lady Troubridge's scandalous house parties to make both Cam and Gina decide once and for all what it they really want...

On the whole I rather enjoyed the novel. And I didn't really mind the secondary plots that involved Gina's friends -- Carola, Lady Perwinkle, who abandoned her husband the day after their marriage because he did not live up to her romantic expectations, and who has regretted her hasty actions ever since; and Esme, Lady Rawlings, a scandalous society matron who's living apart from her husband and who seems to be the object of Gina's fiance (Sebastian)'s disapproval. And while the conversations that the women have about men are actually a little run of the mill (they've all been tackled many, many times before), I'll admit that Eliosa James does add her own special light touch to these conversations. My reservations about this novel, however, stem from the strange and abrupt and almost shocking manner in which the authour tied things together and ended the book. Perhaps it is because there will be future books in this series that will feature some of the other female characters? But I'll admit that I did feel a little shortchanged at the manner in which things were left for one pair of characters at least. (Can't say more without giving things away).

The novel unfolded smoothly enough and a steady pace until the last few chapters when things suddenly took an unexpected and shocking turn. Which gave a rather jarring and somewhat uncomfortable effect to the book, I thought. And character-wise, while Carola and Esme do come across as being slightly shallow, both Gina and Cam were splendidly 'fleshed out' -- both are vulnerable and hardened, esp because of Cam's father's influence in their lives, and the authour depicts this brilliantly. And the romance/attraction that develops between Cam and Gina was very nicely done as well. On the whole, I'd say that this was an engaging 3 1/2 star romp of a read.

Eloisa James may be guilty of fashioning her Regency-era romance with a shade of Sex-and-the-City modern sensibilities but the refreshing gumption found in the scandalous group of ladies translates to a guilty pleasure. Duchess in Love features the delightful duchess of Girton, Gina receiving her sculptor of a husband, Cam Serrad who escaped his matrimony 12 years ago to the then 11-year old Gina. Through these years they communicated on letters and Cam returns to London again by the summons of his father's solicitor Mr. Rounton to settle his estates and to grant Gina an annulment so that she can marry the starched-up, prim-and-proper Marquess of Bonnington.

What Cam did not expect was the revival of love and lust for the now grown-up Gina. The comedy of mismatched lovers and scandals spirals into several surprising twists to flesh out the nuances of her side characters. Lady Perwinkle finds unrequited love with the return of her husband while Esme is trapped in a loveless marriage and yearns for a child. Eloisa James gives a hilarious and tender portrayal of desires and passion clashing with obligations and sensibilities where the central clueless couple Gina and Cam unravels secrets of Gina's half-brother and illicit mother through a sculpture of Aphrodite. It is a laugh-out riot with her clever usage of Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing to spice up the interplay of witty quips and insults. With empathy and grace, Eloisa James proves there can be a new world after all in the over-recycled and stereotypical genre.

this is my favourite kind of regency - light and bright and witty with a hint of bite and depth, but not enough to spoil the froth.

There are unhappy women, strange aristocratic marriages, the desire for stability verses just plain desire. There were chuckle out loud moments and steamy sensuality (all puns intended, the love scene in the new fangled splash bath worked very well.)

My only quibble was that it ended rather quickly, I could have had a few more pages exploring Greece, and that I hope we meet these characters again, because some of them certainly deserve more love than they were getting!

It reads well and easily, this is my first Eloisa James but certainly not my last.

Childhood friends forced into marriage way too young. A groom who flees the wedding within minutes of taking his vows and who winds up a sculptor in Greece. But far from hating him, Gina stays in touch with him, writing him letters that keep him abreast of events back home. And now she has asked him to come home and give her an annullment so that she can marry a Marquess, have a real marriage and family and move on with her life.

But when they meet again after 12 years, not only is their easy friendship renewed, but a strong attraction is begun. Cam is the opposite of Gina's fiancee. He's charming, carefree, informal, flouts convention and society's rules and he's also darkly handsome. Though he can be selfish and infuriating, he's also irresistable. Will Gina choose to go through with the annullment and marry her responsible, stable, starchy Marquess or will she stay married to her wayward, sometimes irresponsible husband?

While Cam and Gina are the central couple, this is also the story of three of her friends, also estranged from their husbands. Carola wants her's back, the little seen Helene does not and then there is Esme who is unwillingly attracted to Gina's upright, uptight fiancee. Esme is a tragic figure and my heart went out to her. She's a woman of her time, trapped in a marriage she doesn't want and attracted to a man she cannot and should not have.

By the end of the book, I was wondering if possibly Helene will be seen in a story of her own - maybe with Cam's cousin Stephen? They might make a nice couple :)!

A fun, enjoyable and recommended read.

As others have said, the plot has already been written in great detail, so I will focus on what I did or didnt like about the book.

To start out with I was not happy with the way the book started. Three women, unhappy in their marriages, taking on lovers, wanting a divorce, and an annulment, and flirting with other men, gave me a shallow perception of them from the very start. The men were just as bad, with their mistresses and lovers. Maybe I am just expecting too much, but I enjoy when characters are honorable and trustworty rather than deceitful and loose.

First let me say that I enjoy a book with multiple characters and subplots, but this just went way too far. A book needs to have a heroine and hero and Cam and Gina, just didn't do it for me. With so many other characters and plots going on, you never really got a true sense of who Cam and Gina were. It wasn't realistic for me that you were not sure who Gina was going to pick until the very end. I obviously knew they were going to be together, because it's a romance novel and that's just the way it goes, but for me, if you truly loved someone with all your heart, you would not be considering another man as your husband, just a few days before she ends up with Cam, which is just what Gina did. Their final reunion was severely lacking on many levels. I must admit I enjoyed Cam as a character, but did not feel any chemistry between him and Gina whatsoever in the story.

As an author, if you do decide to load a book with many storylines, at least finish them off. There wasn't enough information about any of the characters, to really get to know them. You were thrown bits of pieces about each of their characters and their situations. Was Sebastion truly the uptight stiff that he seemed. Does Esme feel a growing attraction to Sebastion, like we are led to believe, and if so why was she trying to have a baby with her husband, who was in love with another woman? It could have been so much more excting between them, but she takes another route, and I will not even go into how that one turns out, you definitely don't want to know!! James threw in a half brother, that was her tutor, that I am still trying to figure out for what purpose???? Then there is Carola and Neville, who were not only boring, but given way too much time in this book. And then Helene that just appears once in a while as you try to figure out just what is going on with her. I can only assume, James put her in there, to give us a glimpe of her, for an upcoming book. I am hoping you get my point, too many characters, going too many ways. And then to top it all off, James left us hanging on how they turn out.

In my opinion, a good book has you laughing, crying, hoping, and cheering but this had me doing none of that. It never drew me in and captivated me, the way a good book should. I just wanted the book to be over and done with, so I could move onto something more exciting. Reading nearly 400 pages of scattered plots and boring characters was just not fun for me.

As with most of my reviews, I won't tell you not to read it because you may enjoy reading something that I didn't. I just wanted to give you an honest review, where you can then make up your own mind.

I read a lot of romances, and I'm kind of sick of all the misunderstandings in the plots. Why don't these people just talk to each other? Eloisa James's new book was absolutely marvelous that way -- NO misunderstandings, just laugh aloud funny lines. A great sexy romance

I found this to be the worst of Ms. Jame's books. The only reason I would recommend it is to get to know Gina's friends, who have books that center more on them later. I found Gina and Cam to be unrealistic; or maybe just that I didn't care for them. However, Esme and Sebastian were what spurred me on to read more in this series.

but it won't be my last. I really enjoyed this author's writing style and humor. I liked the characters but found myself more interested in the secondary characters than the main two. I look forward to trying more by this wonderful author.

This book had me laughing from the very begining. There were some moments where the author could have gone into more details i won't get into specific to not ruin it for somebody else. Gina Character i think was better developed than Cam but it didn't feel like there was soething misssing. I new new the moment that they fell in love. That a very important part of a book for me. When a reader can say this is the part they came together. For me this part in the book was Gina and Cam took a walk in the garden during the rain. The secondard characters in this were well developed, i felt i new them. I don't know why all these women were married to such horrid men. I didn't give this book 5 stars because i didn't like how the book in a whole came
together in the end. I felt that she was rushed to finish it. A part that i think she should have gone into better detail was how Can and Gina got back together, The secondard characters weren't finished of well either. Over All the book is funny and a light read, I recommend anyone to read it.