Customer Reviews

Fool for Love

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

A sequel of sorts to DUCHESS IN LOVE, in that we follow Lady Esme Rawlings to the country where she is staying for the duration of her pregnancy. For those who read DiL, you'll recall that Esme wanted to have a child and coaxed her estranged husband into spending the night with her to achieve it. But not before an unexpected but much longed for sexual encounter with Sebastian, Marquis Bonnington the night before. What Esme did not know was that her husband had a weak heart resulting in his death that night and now a guilt-ridden Esme is not sure who is the father of her child. She has to believe that it's her husband's for inheritance sake but her heart may yearn for something else.

But one person who is suspicious is her nephew by marriage (and her late husband's heir) Simon Darby. Simon has two young stepsisters to provide for and has always fully expected to inherit. Now he is resolved to visit his aunt to see what's what. While there he meets the intriguing Lady Henrietta Maclellan who just happens to be a beautiful, intelligent and wealthy heiress. Hmmm, perhaps he should look for a wealthy wife in case Esme's child is a son!

Henrietta was born with the same lame hip as her mother who died in childbirth. As a result, she has been advised never to marry and certain never to attempt to have children as it could kill her as it did her mother. But she longs for children and when she meets Simon Darby and his two motherless sisters, she sees the family she's always wanted. Simon and Henrietta are attracted to one another and decide to marry only to have her mother tell Simon about Henrietta's condition and that marital relations are out of the question. A disappointed Simon withdraws his offer and plans to return to London. But Esme is not so easily daunted by Henrietta's situation (there are ways to prevent pregnancy afterall) and together they scheme to trap Simon into marriage. She'll get the husband and children she wants and he'll get the fortune he'll need. What could be better? Well, it turns out that Simon does not really need her fortune, but agrees to marry her anyway. Does this mean that he has feelings for her - and she for him? It seems a distinct possibility!

But that's where problems come into the story. In the beginning, we are lead to believe that Simon needs her money, but we find out that he's actually quite wealthy. And why would she not want to consult a London physician about her condition when her longing for a family is so strong? And if Simon had wanted to marry her so badly, why did he not think of using sheaths before he is trapped into marrying her? And the Esme/Sebastian storyline is not exactly resolved; leading me to wonder if they will be seen in yet another book that may just reunited estranged Helene and Rees, Lord and Lady Godwin.

While I enjoyed the relationship between Simon and Henrietta, Esme and Sebastian's reunion and the wit the author is famous for, there are also flaws that keep me from a higher rating. Fans of the series, however, may well overlook such inconsistencies and wait eagerly for the next installment. A flawed but still enjoyable read.

I really like Eloisa James' writing. Each of heroes and heroines has a distinct personality and the love stories are really amazing! However, the plot was totally unresolved. The whole book builds up to what will happen to the secondary character, Esme Rawlings, and then there's nothing. We don't know what happens to her, and what happens to her affects the lives of the main characters as part of the suspense during the first half of the book is whether she will have a girl or a boy or twins, etc., and whether or not the main characters will inherit a title and have little cousins. What is that? Did she die? Did she get married/? 3/4 of the book talks about this woman, and then we don't know what happens to her! This book would have been a five-star book, if only it had ended or we were given some clue that there would be a sequel (as in "to be continued"). We are made to care about Esme all throughout the book and then she just drops off the face of the earth (or the pages). The main characters, Simon and Henrietta, were totally likeable. It's a nice change for a romance novel not to have people who are constantly fighting or a hero who is bad-tempered and surly. Anyone who has ever been married knows that there is nothing sexy about a crabby husband! So for that, bravo!

I was very excited to run out and purchase this book after finishing Duchess In Love. James creates strong characters by giving the reader glimpses into parts of them that most writers overlook, leaving their characters flat and devoid of personality or likeability. Not so with Eloisa James - you will LOVE ALL her character, even the secondary ones! One of my favorite parts of this book and Duchess in Love are the characters of Esme and Sebastian. They are the underlying current in both books that will leave you hungry for the next novel. Some would say they they steal the show, but I think all of her characters have a storyline that everyone wants to know the ending of. It's just that she leaves us hanging on for the next book for any more information... isn't that what season cliff hangers are all about?!?!?!

I won't give away any details about the books plot, but i HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone interestd in Regency Period romance. If you don't read this one or her others, you are missing probably some of the best books on the market in this genre.

Illicit love letters, interesting secondary characters, and rich story telling pack this heavy hitter by Eloisa James.

Lady Henrietta Maclellan was born with a weak hip, and told she can never bear children and therefore cannot get married. Though she is a beautiful woman she never has a debut and must accept her plight of a marriageless and childless state. She longs to have children of her own and studies up on child rearing, runs a school for children, and keeps her own passionate nature carefully curtailed.

Enter Simon Darby. Handsome, rich and about to lose his fortune to an unborn heir, he is encouraged to marry. His two siblings, Josie and Anabel, under his care after the death of their parents make up his family and are charming secondary characters. Anabel, known for her weak stomach and Josie, the hot-tempered older sister, fill the pages with delightful scenes. Simon meets Henrietta and is drawn to her beauty, wit and charms. Deciding to marry her because he doesn't want children, he is told he can never take advantage of his marital rights, as it would put Henrietta at risk. He is put off by this and decides not to propose. Henrietta soon discovers from Esme (an experienced and very pregnant friend who has her own story interwoven into this primary one) that this is not the case and pregnancy can be prevented. It is a shocking course of action; very risqu' at the time, but Henrietta is determined to marry Simon.

In order to force Darby into marriage Henrietta and Esme concoct a plan - to plant a love letter so damning that marriage would be inescapable. Here the fun begins..

FOOL FOR LOVE was a delight to read from start to finish with a wonderful ending. The chapter titles were also very entertaining with a unique manner of presentation

Having just finished reading "Fool for Love", with delight, I was surprised to read the many criticisms offered here. First of all, Simon's fortune - even today many people are reticent to talk about their personal financial situations and in the Regency era it would have been even more outre. In addition, Simon, with his strong character hidden under a foppish exterior, would be the last person to tip his hand. As for Henrietta and the doctors - she had been through several painful and disappointing examinations, only to have her heart broken over and over. Moreover, in the Regency era the practice of medicine was very different from what we are used to. Of course we all were rooting for her to see the London doctor, but it should surprise no one that it was a very difficult step for her to take. As to the complaint that Simon should have brought up the possibility of using sheaths - Wow! Many gentlemen in that time did not even believe that it was possible for their wives to enjoy sex. Moreover, to suggest birth control to your wife was to place her in the company of "ladies of the night", offering her great disrespect. In my opinion, the scene in which Henrietta screws up her courage to raise the subject is one of the best in the book. Her bravery and Simon's ability to remain unfazed by this profoundly shocking turn of events goes to the heart of their attraction to each other. Finally, the unresolved secondary plot involving Esme and Sebastian was such a teaser! I can't wait to see what happens next. Sometimes suspense is even better than instant gratification. Hooray for Eloisa James, who just keeps getting better and better.

When I finished the sparkling and delightful DUCHESS IN LOVE, I couldn't wait for the next installment in Eloisa James's new series. Now, having read FOOL FOR LOVE, I can only express my disappointment.

In FOOL FOR LOVE, the main characters are Henrietta and Simon - not one of the couples introduced in DUCHESS IN LOVE. Simon Darby is Esme Rawlings's nephew, heir apparent to her late husband's title and estates. However, Esme is pregnant, and so Simon needs to wait out her confinement to see if the baby is a boy or not. There are also doubts as to whether Esme's child was fathered by her late husband. When Simon comes to Esme's country estate with his much younger half-sisters in tow, he meets - and is fascinated with - Esme's neighbor, Henrietta Maclellan. He woos her, after a fashion, until he discovers that she can not only not carry children to term, but that she also probably should not even participate in activities that could lead to pregnancy. Henrietta wants Simon and his two sisters, so she does not give up, and with Esme's help, contrives to trap him into marriage.

Around this point, the book just started to wander along paths that made no sense. Simon, who in the first half of the book appears to truly need his uncle's estates (given the way he rushed off to the country to determine if Esme was indeed pregnant), suddenly reveals that he has a fortune worth twice Henrietta's dowry. Henrietta stubbornly refuses to consult a better doctor in London about her deformity and her childbearing ability. A great deal of stress is placed on how she longs to be a mother to Simon's two sisters, but little is shown of how she manages to handle the two extremely difficult girls. For that matter, much is made of younger sibling Annabel's "weak stomach," and I kept expecting Henrietta to find the solution to this illness, but nothing happened. Similarly, there was no explanation offered as to why older sibling Josie mourned so much for a shrew of a mother she apparently never really knew. To top it all off, I had a hard time believing Simon and Henrietta were ever really in love; their declarations to one another felt rather rushed, and even the cause and resolution of Henrietta's medical problems were glossed over.

I think what frustrated me most about FOOL FOR LOVE is that the scenes between Esme Rawlings and Sebastian Bonnington stole the show. This book should have been their time at center stage, and the fact that they were only granted minor scenes (even if those scenes were the strongest in the book) makes me feel downright cheated. In fact, I sensed that James was setting readers up for Rees and Helena's story next, which means Esme and Sebastian will be continuing background characters, awaiting their own book for some time. But at least Rees and Helena are a compelling couple. Simon and Henrietta left me cold, frustrated, and wanting to knock heads together. I settled for throwing the book across the room. I recommend FOOL FOR LOVE only for Esme and Sebastian's sake.

While this is supposedly a Regency romance, it smacks of the Georgian period, especially in the fashions. Simon never really grabbed me; he was such a dandy. Though Henrietta is an engaging heroine. Her torment over being unable to bear children due to a deformity is a significant thread in her character and the story.

Other reviewers are correct in saying that Esme and Sebastian steal (or nearly so) the show. They played too big a part to keep from interfering with the main storyline. They certainly need their own story.

It's a good, if flawed, book. The letter is definitely not "very steamy" and I disliked the manipulations of Henrietta and Esme over it, but all-in-all the book's worth reading. Buying may be a different thing.

This book is a complete slapdash, with none of the verve of quality Regencies.

First of all the book is riddled with errors-they are Simon's half-not his stepsisters. They are clearly related to him, though he treats the girls, and especially the eternally barfing baby, as some rare species of insect. He has as much personality as one of his fine neck cloths. I can't imagine him being a rake-he is so full of himself, leers at every pair of breasts in sight, and is so meticulously dressed all the time that one would doubt he would ever do anything so undiginfied as sweat, let alone copulate. Also, vis a vis the errors in the book, I am sure he does not go around showing his 'labels' all over the place-I am sure the author meant lapels.

As for the heroine, well, what can I say-the crippled heroine left on the shelf and rescued by the rake has been done to death, and done far better elsewhere.

The endless tantrums, dullness of the settings-a room with tall windows, a study, well gee, where is the sumptuous language we expect from a well-written book, are all too dull for words. The endless stream of vomit is also unbearbale, not at all funny.

In fact, I really wonder what people find so amusing or even romantic about adultery and the social mores that allow men to treat women as little better than chattel. Where marriages of convenience are usually only convenient for the men, who do whatever they like and treat women like doormats. Austen was highly witty and amusing, but she dealt with the real world and issues too. This is just foolishness, selfishness and hypocrisy. The heroine traps him into marriage to get hold of his sisters as children. He insists he wants to bed her and give her a bottle of an abortifacient just in case because he doesn't want kids and just in case the 'sheath fails'. Revolting.

As if all of this is not repellent enough, what on earth was the author thinking having three couple in the book if we include Rees the composer and his estranged wife. Esme's story is more interesting, but I was really disgusted with the way Simon actually sexually responds to her when her pregnant belly comes into contact with his body. and she is an adulteress, not matter how oyu tryo to dress it up as romance.

I also was appalled at the way that her hero lusts after all the other women quite openly-there is little focus on Henrietta apart from her pretty hair and nice smile. Really gross. I have no idea how the characters fall in love with each other, when they hardly know each other. And no woman in her right mind would wnat to know Simon.

I have to admit I read the books inthe wrong order, Wild Pursuit and then Fool for Love If you have not read this one, you will not care less about Wild Pursuit's couple, and again, Rees and his wife. And the final resolution to Esme's problems is in that book, but not really a problem. All of these peoole are so selfish and care so little about Regency society with its strict dictates (yes it does seem a lot more Georgian than Regency in many respects, 18th century, as one reviewer said) that nothing is at stake for anyh of the coulles-they thrive on scandal rather than avoid it. she set up the next books in her series, but failed miserably to write a single book in the series which we could classify as romance.

A romance is a hero and heroine falling in love. This is not a romance. Nor are the others.

I loved this book. It was sexy and sweet at the same time -- it seems as if I am always reading books that are really really sexy (but the hero is a jerk) or really really sweet (and there's nothing more than a kiss). This was a great book!

Lord Simon Darby cannot believe the news that his Aunt Esme Rawlins is increasing though his uncle is dead and the twosome were estranged and separated for years. Simon worries that a male offspring leaves his stepsisters without a dowry and he with only income from his lace importing business. However, Simon knows the "infamous Esme" is a constant scandal so anyone could be the sire. He plans to visit his notorious pregnant aunt.

Because of her limp, Lady Henrietta Maclellan can only dream of a London season let alone a husband and children as no male would want a deformed wife. When she meets her friend Esme's nephew, she knows he is the one for her, but realizes her imperfection would never do for him. Though she hides her feelings, she writes a letter filled with passion that becomes public, scandalizing the Ton, who blame Simon. Forced to marry or else, Simon and Henrietta are falling in love, but neither trusts the other with their heart.

FOOL FOR LOVE, the sequel to DUCHESS IN LOVE, is a terrific romance that will hook the audience (as did the first tale) because of the interactions and relationships (some dysfunctional) of the powerfully drawn cast. The witty story line includes the return of characters from the previous novel, but this book belongs to Simon, Henrietta, and an infamous letter, who manage to keep the plot out of trite sand traps. Eloisa James provides a strong historical that will send the audience back to re-read the prequel keeper so set time for both in one sitting

Harriet Klausner