Duchess in Love (with Bonus Material)

Eloisa James's trademark historical novel is very chaotic. There's a lot of information being thrown at the reader in the beginning, and a lot of characters to meet. From there, this book doesn't proceed like a typical romance novel. It's not unusual for there to be a romantic subplot, but this book had 2 of them, making 3 romances altogether! I'll say one thing: you never get bored with this book.

The primary romance is the one described in the synopsis: Gina and Cam have been separated for 12 years, and she asks him for an annulment so that she can marry someone whom she truly cares about and who cares about her. However, as soon as Cam arrives in England to sign the annulment, he falls madly in lust with his wife. Shenanigans ensue. show more

Gina was an extremely likable character. Despite being a virgin, she is not shy about her sexuality, which I very much appreciate. One can only read so many romances about dumb virgins, and reading about one who not only knew what the marital act entailed but desired it was refreshing! Add to this that she was intelligent and capable and strong, having run her husband's estate for the last dozen years, and she's a brilliant heroine.

Cam was likable too, and he eventually comes to terms with his responsibilities, but there wasn't a lot of time spent on him because James spent so much time on the other romances. He wasn't as fleshed out as he could've been. Also, his fear of the dark is cured by true love. That made me throw up in my mouth a little.

The secondary romance is between Esme, a woman who acts more promiscuous than she is, and Gina's uptight fiancé. I despised these two. First of all, the Marquess Bonnington gave me "Hellfire" Judge Frollo vibes. He preached modesty all the time, but was drawn to the sexy Esme while constantly putting down his fiancé. We are also led to believe this transformation has been recent, as before he inherited his title, he was a fairly normal man with normal desires. However, readers will be hard-pressed to say if he's worse than Esme. The bitch not only openly flirts with her best friend's fiancé but also her husband! She might not have slept with as many men as she pretends, but she knows no boundaries, and that is unforgivable in my mind. These two are a horrible pair, and I rather liked their ending in this story, which is what saved it for me.

Carola Perwinkle and "Tuppy" Perwinkle are the third romance, but their relationship is more of an afterthought. They argue a lot. He calls her fat (and never apologizes for it), only ever wants to fish, and is bad at pleasing his wife. Then, one day, Carola decides she wants Tuppy back, for no discernible reason. It's also clear that literally nothing will change in their relationship: all he wants to do is fish, and his love-making abilities are the same as before, only somehow Carola is into it. With no explanation. Personally, I think she should've ended up with Neville. The two had things in common, and he genuinely cared about her. He might've succeeded too, if he gave her an orgasm first. That is James's favorite way to resolve arguments in her books: orgasms. Are the issues still unresolved? Yes. Is the relationship still pretty toxic? Yes, but at least they had good sex, I guess.

A lot of people dislike this book because the story centers around three women estranged from their husbands, people having relationships outside of those marriages, and then even more confusing passions as the book goes on. Honestly, this didn't bother me that much because 1) it's commonly known that aristocratic marriages back in the day weren't love matches and that adultery was allowed, if it was discreet and 2) the book is so silly that you can't take it seriously. I've read other romances where the tone is a lot more serious, and the adulterous relationships in those are much more disturbing, as a result.

Truly, what makes this book is the light-hearted tone. Duchess in Love doesn't take itself too seriously, which is why this book is so entertaining, despite its content. I recommend this book if you just want some fun. Don't read too much into it, or you'll get a headache. Just enjoy the ride. show less

I wrote this review back in 2008 so please keep that in mind when reading it. I'd like to think my reviews have evolved into something better now.

This was my first Eloisa James book and was a little unsure if I liked her writting style or not. I thought it was interesting that instead of just dancing at a ball she was specific as to what type of dances that were done and even mentioned a few steps involved in one. I didn't know what any of the dances were (except the waltz) so the names read like foreign words to me.

The Duchess Gina and her friends are all married women without husbands. They all live seperately from their husbands and tend to cause the ton talking with their actions. Gina was forced to marry Cam when she was 11 by his show more father to "protect" the family name from the scandal of her birth. Cam was 18 and as soon as the vows were taken he snuck out the window and fled to Greece. 12 years later Gina has grown weary of being a married innocent woman and has met someone else and petitions Cam to grant her an annullment. Cam comes to England to do so but realizes little Gina has grown into a stunning woman.

This book was interesting in the aspect that I really was not sure I was enjoying reading it for the first half of the book. I thought it fell into the "OK" "middle of the road" range as far as books go. Then it got really good. You find that not only are Gina and Cam having their story told but you also see her friends get theirs told too. Esme and Carola find love too. To tell the truth, it was their part of the story that really made me emotional. It is their stories within Gina's that brought my opinion of this book from an average 3 star rating to a 4.

Another thing...any writer who can take a man that you really don't care much for and turn him into a tastey muffin is a great writer. Case in point. Gina plans on marrying Sebastian. He spends most of the book talking about the proper way to act and although marrying Gina he displays no passion for her (that wouldn't be proper). Somehow, Eloisa James turns this stuck up, pompus jerk into a serious morsel. No kidding. show less

The only time this book caught my interest was when I read the Author's Introduction at the end. I didn't know Ms James was a Professor of English Literature and found it difficult to reconcile her academic expertise with this lack-lustre historical romance.

The main story was cute: a reluctant Duke forced to marry an 11-yr-old girl whom he thought was his cousin. Within hours of the marriage he flees to Greece, where he enjoys an idyllic life sculpting nude statues of Greek goddesses.

He returns to England with the intention of annulling his unconsummated marriage with Gina, who seems to have already chosen a new fiancé. Things don't work out that easily, however. Close childhood friends until the enforced marriage, Camden and Gina are show more still fond of each other and this fondness continues to grow.

The down side of this book is the fussy handling of the gaggle of Gina's merry lady friends. Within a page or two I was unable to sort out who was courting or seducing whom, and Gina's continuing attachment to the complete asshole she plans to marry once the annulment is settled is a mystery.

The story-within-a-story device of having Much Ado About Nothing performed at a country house party added a little zest to the story, but not much. In other places Ms James indulged in long passages of descriptive writing that slowed the narrative to a pedestrian plod. show less

Duchess in Love is advertised as classic historical romance, but I must admit that it delivered more than I expected. We get not only the romance between duchess Gina and her not-quite-husband Camden but also we get a glimpse into a structure of a society in historical England and it's attitude towards marriage and relationships.
The plot revolves around Gina and her circle of friends - and surprise surprise none of them has a conventional marriage. Although the focus is on a development (and of course finally HEA) between Gina and her love interests, we also get an intro into lives of her friends. I am guessing that they will be featured in the next books in this series and frankly I can't wait. I liked them - they were unorthodox and show more flaunting the conventions. Very refreshing instead of the usual shy and naive heroines in historical romance novels.
So why the low rating then? Because, I don't know who annoyed me more - Gina or her husband. They were both pigheaded and stubborn and could not see the obvious things...
But I love Eloisa James's writing style and her side characters, so I will get back fore more. ;) show less

Duchess in Love by Eloisa James is a historical romance, even though the cover screams contemporary. Anyway... Who knows who had the final decision on that one?!
Due to the era in which this story is set, it was a common practice for couples to be paired in marriage according to status, so it is realistic that couples would become estranged, taking lovers in secret to fill their hearts desires. There are several romance story-lines involving estranged married couples during one of those lush house parties that last several weeks with balls, luncheons, and other goings on of the titled upper-crust.
The highlighted couple is Cam and Gina, who I enjoyed very much. There is enough back and forth to add tension, but not so much that it has show more more than a moment of what feels tedious. Who doesn't love a believable romance between an already married couple? Oh, and Gina, she's great. She is independent in as many ways as a duchess living in the time can be. As most romance goes, it is predictable in the way that we know how it will turn out, but the time that I spent getting there was enjoyable.
Eloisa James does a nice job of balancing the predictability that comes with romance with a variety of other romances that are filled with surprises. It is impossible to guess who is getting a divorce, an annulment, or who is just going to continue living a life of a forever unhappily married couple.
Duchess in Love lost some credibility with me at the very end when the drama kicks into high gear and one of the story lines crosses into dumb ass land. show less

Pretty sure this is my first full-length novel by Eloisa James and I was surely not disappointed.

Even though I knew what was going to happen throughout the whole story, I loved this book for the characters. I adored the extremely charming Gina so much and she is what really made this book for me. And of course, the sweet and handsome Cam. I was definitely invested in this romance and it was the perfect amount of steamy for my tastes. Side note: the steamier the better!

And yes, I did like the other characters enough that I will be continuing with the Duchess Quartet series. And yes, I enjoyed the writing enough that I will be looking into other series by Eloisa James.

This theme, of a married couple reuniting, is another one of my favorites. And this one is kind of different, in that Gina was still a child when she was married. So her marriage isn't really real. It's just an idea, a concept. So when she meets and falls for Sebastian, Marquess Bonnington, Gina writes to Cam, who has been sculpting in Greece these last 12 years and asks for an annulment.

Cam has to return to England to grant Gina's wishes. He doesn't mind - he doesn't really want to be married and Gina is a friend to him. They've kept up a faithful correspondence. But oh how things change...

The minute Cam sees Gina - not realizing she's his wife - he's attracted to her. You see, Gina was only 11 years old when her and Cam were married show more (the reasons why are divulged in the book). So Cam is entranced and here's an example of the conflict he's going through:

Cam felt a low simmer in his belly that he had no trouble identifying. He wanted the chit. Unfortunately, she was his wife and un-haveable. But perversely he meant to torment her for being so desirable.

Ok, the whole situation is so humorous! A husband and wife are attracted to each other, but its kind of too late for them, because Gina is engaged to Sebastian and if they were to consummate their marriage after all this time, their easy annulment would be forfeit.

At first Cam and Gina have fun with their situation, but as they get to know each other better, things begin to get serious and they both have to decide: to remain married or part as friends, if that's not already too late.

As with every Eloisa James novel, there's some secondary plots going on as well, and they all add to the main story. Since DiL is part of the Duchess quartet, I know we'll see these characters again. And I'm thankful for that.

Duchess in Love gets 4 stars from me. I love the theme and Eloisa's writing is great. If you haven't already, definitely check her out. I'm just glad I have so many of her books left in my TBR Pile. LOL show less