Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Eloisa James (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2004

When you're the oldest daughter, you don't get to have any fun!

Witty, orphaned Tess Essex faces her duty: marry well and marry quickly, so she can arrange matches for her three sisters -- beautiful Annabel, romantic Imogen and practical Josie. After all, right now they're under the rather awkward guardianship of the perpetually tipsy Duke of Holbrook. But just when she begins to think that all might end well, one of her sisters bolts with a horse-mad young lord, and her own fiancé just plain runs away.

Which leaves Tess contemplating marriage to the sort of man she wishes to avoid -- one of London's most infamous rakes. Lucius Felton is a rogue whose own mother considers him irredeemable! He's delicious, Annabel points out. And he's rich, Josie notes. But although Tess finally consents to marry him, it may be for the worst reason of all. Absurd as she knows it to be, she may have fallen utterly in love . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Reviewers have compared James's Regency-era romances (Your Wicked Ways, etc.) to Sex and the City, but her effervescent voice is somewhat subdued in this first installment of her new series, focusing on four squabbling sisters. After their father passes away, Tess, Imogen, Annabel and Josie Essex find themselves impoverished, uprooted and taken under the wing of a benevolent duke. As the eldest and most sensible, Tess decides she must marry so that she can help support her sisters. But who should she wed? Garret Langham, an earl who seems to admire, though not lust after, her? Or the untitled but über-wealthy Lucius Felton, who hides his emotions behind a mask of cool civility, save for when he kisses her? Tess is mildly conflicted but generally content to go along with whatever fate throws her way, which makes her a less than inspiring heroine. What she lacks in character is more than made up for by Lucius, however, who possesses a quiet intensity and magnetic presence. The chemistry between the two easily overshadows the rather tenuous camaraderie that Tess and her sisters share. Sex and the City gals they are not; they bicker constantly and rarely connect on a sisterly or even friendly level. But though the book isn't as spry as James's earlier novels, it contains a romance that will induce sighs of satisfaction.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Tess Essex wished her father had loved his Thoroughbreds a bit less and his daughters a bit more. Now, after his death, Tess, Imogen, Annabel, and Josephine find themselves with a new guardian: Rafe Jourdain, the Duke of Holbrook. Although Holbrook is exceedingly kind, he is completely clueless when it comes to finding suitable matches for his new wards. Deciding that it is up to her, Tess encourages the romantic overtures of one of Holbrook's closest friends, Garret Langham, the Earl of Mayne. Titled, handsome, and sophisticated, Garret is an entirely appropriate suitor for Tess, and his society connections will help Tess secure good husbands for her sisters. The only problem is that even though Tess is resigned to a politely civilized marriage to Garret, she just can't seem to forget the less acceptable Lucius Felton and his deliciously improper kisses. In the first in a new series featuring the wonderfully amusing Essex sisters, New York Times best-selling James' gift for superb characterization and elegantly sensual, delightfully witty prose create a thoroughly romantic treat. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Avon (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060732067
• ISBN-13: 978-0060732066
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar"; later People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Eloisa wrote her first novel after graduating from Harvard, but alas, it was rejected by every possible publisher. After she got an M.Phil. from Oxford, a Ph.D. from Yale, and a job as a Shakespeare professor, she tried again, with much greater success. Currently she teaches Shakespeare in the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She's also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A letdown, February 14, 2005

By 

SilkStockings "We Were Fated To Be Mated" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a huge Eloisa James fan, but was not thrilled with this book and had to force myself to finish it. It is very clear even without ever knowing more books would follow that was her intention, a setup. Too much time was spent explaining each sister over and over again so we could truly get a sense of them. I felt that Tess really deserved a true story of her own, not one thrown into the mix of all the many explanations. I thought Imogen would NEVER finally run away with her love as we were told she would by reading the back cover. The story was very slow paced and instead of sitting down and finishing it the way I have done with all of her books prier it took me three days. Then suddenly when there are less than 50 pages left it grew interesting. It was truly a letdown but I hope the ones to follow will be better without all the explaining. We can only hope.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a bit sedate but a nice read nonetheless, December 30, 2004

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Essex sisters are in a pickle: their improvident father is dead, and now the sisters (four in all) are penniless and homeless. But their prospects are not so dire for their father has given them a guardian in the shape of the Duke of Holbrook (a youngish and rich gentleman, even if he does seem to be perpetually tipsy); and he has dowered them each with a much prized horse. The Duke in determined to do his duty by his wards and to see them settled happily in life; while Tess, now that she realises that she can count on the Duke to do right by her sisters and her, is determined to marry as soon as possible. Fortunately, the Duke his two of his closest friends visiting: the urbane and sophisticated Earl of Mayne and the fabulously rich and rakish Lucius Felton. The earl seems all set to woo her, but it is Lucius Felton who makes her pulses race, and whose kisses thrill. Should Tess make the prudent decision of allowing the earl to propose? Or should she wait for Lucius to make his move?

With this first installment of a new series featuring the Essex sisters, Eliosa James is off to a promising start. For while the series follows an old formula (virtually penniless sisters must marry for security), Ms James' execution of this old plot gambit is anything but, especially since she's introduced a rather interesting twist involving Imogen Essex, her obsession with an unsuitable suitor and how this affects her relationship with her sisters. All this will probably only be properly "fleshed" out in subsequent installments; "Much Ado About You," focuses mostly on setting up the series premise and the characters involved in this series. And while I did enjoy "Much Ado About You" enormously, I have a feeling that some readers may not, because the developing romance/attraction that the book should have focused on (the Tess-Lucius pairing) sometimes got lost in between the many plot threads. A little more of Tess interacting with Lucius would have been very welcome. Since I've never watched Sex in the City, I'm unable to say whether or not the comparision is accurate; but I can advise though is to avoide the plot synopsis at the back of the book -- it gives far too much of the plot away.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, February 14, 2005

By 

Regency fan (MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my first book by Eloisa James. She is an excellent writer, and I enjoyed this novel--my favorite genre, Regency romance--but I would have enjoyed it more if the pace hadn't been so plodding throughout much of the book. Too talky at times, too much dialogue, not enough action. But I certainly plan to read at least one more book in the Essex series.