8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eloisa's Duchess series is one of my favorites, January 13, 2005
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.
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a nice 3 1/2 star romp of a read, December 19, 2002
"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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Duchess in Love is refreshingly funny and empathetic, February 7, 2003
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.
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