Desperate Duchesses

I am not quite sure what to make of my first Eloisa James book. The Desperate Duchess seemed to be more a bedroom farce than a historical romance. Set in Georgian England, the oversexed characters romp and posture through the book as the author introduces a number of characters in this, the first book of the Desperate Duchesses series. At times I felt there were too many characters to keep track of and that the main story, that of Roberta and Damon, seemed almost secondary.

I found this book to have an abundance of humor and sex scenes but was rather lacking in old-fashioned romance. The main couple were not exactly star-crossed but instead, where the male half of the couple was very sure of what he wanted while the female needed to grow show more up and discover what love and marriage was really all about. In the end though I decided I quite enjoyed this colorful and dramatic story and I will probably try at least one more in this series as I am curious as to which couple the author will feature next. show less

I really enjoyed this book. I had not previously read anything by this author and mow I'm going to make up for that and try to get hold of most of her backlist. There's lots of humor but what is even more important to me is that there was no jarring historical inaccuracy and the prose was very readable. The two main characters, Damon and Roberta, were both charming without BEING FOOLISH. The other characters were also important and feel like a tapestry rather than chess pieces (although chess plays a large role in this book).

Eloisa James is very prolific and much beloved, both as a romance author and (in her Bruce Wayne persona, Mary Bly) as a Shakespeare scholar and professor. I love that she can write, and write well, and that her stories are appropriate for the times in which they occur. There have been a few books of hers I loved, but most, while enjoyable enough and worth my time, have not transported me. This book joins that second group.

I wanted to love this so much because the foundation seems so personal for the author. Our FMC, Roberta, is the daughter of a daft poet. For those who do not know, Eloisa James is the daughter of legendary daft poet/Mythopoetic Men's Movement founder Robert Bly. That part of the read, the love and tension between show more Roberta and her father, was super fun. The rest was, IMO, very slow until the end when it hits warp speed to tie up matters, and there was WAY too much talk of chess, which James clearly finds a lot sexier than I do. This was not an unenjoyable read, but it was not a great one either. show less

I love, love, love Eloisa James! (If a Shakespearean professor can write Regency romances, then it's okay for a lowly junior high English teacher to read them voraciously, right? That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!) This is the first in her Desperate Duchesses series, and it's definitely setting the stage for the rest of the books to come (I'm not sure I'm going to be able to stick to the chronological order, though, because after this one I *really* want to see Jemma and Elijah's story! I'm going to attempt to be good, though.); even though this is Roberta and Damon's story, James gives you a wealth of other characters to enjoy and look forward to reading more about. As usual, her research really shines through in this book show more without it reading like a textbook, and the numerous allusions to Shakespeare and other literary personages just make it even more fun. I can't wait to continue on with the rest of the series...good thing I'm on break! show less

While I love all of Eloisa James' work, this one fell a little short for me. My main critiques lie in the fact that the plot was fairly predictable the whole way through, it can be hard to follow if the reader lacks thorough knowledge of chess, and the whole 'cousin' thing put me off a little bit.
However, I will say this is one of James' more complex stories both in regards to plot and characters. I was particularly fascinated by the Duke of Villiers - it was evident that he was meant to be our story's antagonist. While he is by no means likable, I surprisingly couldn't bring myself to hate him - which made for a very interesting read. Overall, still a very enjoyable read despite its shortcomings (it's hard to surpass the bar set by show more 'The Wildes of Lindow Castle' haha). show less

I thought the chemistry between the two leads was fairly good. But the the POVs bounced all around, and lots of things seemed *highly* unlikely (even in a genre which tends to sometimes skew that way), and with all the side characters and their story lines I didn't think there was really enough to fall in love with any of them. All the faults pale, however, compared to the heroine being such a ninny from beginning to end! And inconsistent. Fairly minor spoiler examples of these faults: After a courtesan "gave her a great deal of advice" when she was younger she makes the very bold claim to be "in possession of a rather unique amount of information about pleasuring men", the hero even thinks briefly "she probably knew more about bedding show more than he did!", but then very soon after- she doubts the very existence of oral, is shocked at the idea that a lover might bite, believes that intercourse hardly lasts for more than "a minute at most", knows nothing to do with his pleasure or hers, OR EVEN THAT MEN HAVE NIPPLES! So, in actuality, her knowledge consisted of an awareness that men get erections when they're aroused, basically where the parts go, and, though she claims she knows how to prevent pregnancy and even asks the man if HE "needs some education" on the topic, proceeding circumstances really make me doubt she knows anything beyond that such ways exist. Granted, it's more basic information than many highborn virgin ladies knew at the time, but it's laughable to think that any of that qualifies her as knowledgable on 'how to pleasure men'! Slightly bigger plot spoilers: She's also entirely convinced she's in love at first sight knowing almost nothing at all of the man, and then sticks to that for AGES despite all contrary evidence. And the hero really makes it seem, even to the last, that if she hadn't been interested in someone else instead he never would have wanted her himself. ..... Not exactly a love story for the ages with these two! It was a fine read, but definitely flawed and fluffy! show less

I like the central conceit of this book, that an unhappily married Duchess, Jemma, who's returned to London to do her duty and provide an heir, introduces her country cousin to society in order to help her snag her own Duke. This is a fun fast read.