Fool for Love

I found this overly weighted down by very contrived drama, which is not my thing at all. Eloisa James can write well, but sometimes reason seems to fall by the wayside. A man wants to marry a woman but is deterred when told he won't be able to bed her because any risk of pregnancy would sign her death warrant- fine. He's a man of the world but doesn't consider just using birth control- fine. But then when the woman is told of it, rather than go to the man like, 'hey, that hurdle could be surmountable after all, let's weigh in this new information and maybe marry after all!'. Somehow she and his aunt contrive this whole plot that is bound to sully both of their reputations, and cast shame on their families, all in an effort to *trap him show more into marriage*, ('cause everyone likes that, right? A great way to start off a lifelong relationship!?) all still without giving him the new information, and even though *he had already wanted to marry her of his own volition!* ... What the Hell?! That is just insane. Sometimes the heroine seemed like a steady sort, and then she would fly into being totally irrational, and somehow men found her utterly charming when she was rude? I don't know. It was just too much. There were some nice aspects too, but they were overwhelmed by the problems for me. show less

There's so much wrong with this book that I don't know where to start. It's the third Eloisa James I've read, and it is also without doubt the last. She's lost me for good with Fool for Love.

- Darby is a thinly drawn hero. He looks like Johnny Depp and he likes lace and that's pretty much all that James has to say about him.

- Henrietta starts off charming but turns into a shrewish stick in the mud. Early in the book she's very understanding and mature, but once she gets it into her head that it's time to start impressing Simon's friends, or London in general, everything she says is catty catty catty. She became in the blink of an eye a truly despicable, moralizing faux-sophisticate. Especially all of the insulting comments she directs show more towards Darby's best friend, which James tries to pass off as "wit" but are anything but.

- Henrietta's devotion to the children overwhelms the romance. This, too, steers the novel in the direction of obnoxious moralizing. I should have guessed what was going on when Darby sees Henrietta covered in VOMIT and thinks about how the sticky liquid molds her dress to her figure and is really turned on. I know that romance novels are frequently unrealistic, but that made me feel queasy. By the end of the novel, Henrietta's major selling point as a heroine is her endless self-sacrifice for babies.

- The Esme subplot was similarly irritating. Esme is pregnant, she feels fat and ugly, and so the knight in shining armor rides in on his white horse...in order to assure her that pregnancy hasn't made her ugly and go gaga over the miracle of life.

I know that there is a whole sub-genre of Romance that is about men who just can't get enough of domestic pleasures, pie-baking and cozy nights by the fire and apparently vomit and pregnant women. However, that sub-genre is not Regency and I was really unhappy to find it sneaking in here.

I've come to the conclusion that James' schtick is to take these supposedly "free" or "scandalous" women and recoup them one by one into staid, rule-obeying, traditional and unremarkable mommies. She kills their fire and personality. I, for one, think it's truly awful. show less

Where to begin? This book was all over the place. The opening is characteristically chaotic for James. There are a lot of characters to meet, a lot of shouting, and one intriguing premise. Eventually, both the heroine and the reader figure out what's going on, but that clarity doesn't last long. Fool for Love is a mess in more ways than one, and it's so disappointing.

Henrietta Maclellan has a bad leg that causes her to limp, which makes her an unusual heroine, and I was immediately drawn to her. However, the more I got to know her, the more I found her prudish, idiotic, and even dangerous. When we first meet her, she pours water onto little Josie's because the four year old was having a tantrum. I know we've all wanted to do this to show more children when they're being ludicrous, but that doesn't mean you actually do it! I was actually quite frustrated by the way James thought it was "endearing" when women burst into violent bouts of rage by throwing things at men or dousing children with water. Just because these women are "desirable" and "petite", doesn't mean they should be excused for exhibitions of violence.

The only saving grace in this book was the hero, Simon Darby. He's a certified dandy, and consequently unnerves every country gentleman of his acquaintance by his discussion of lace and waistcoats. I found him quite refreshing and fun. His adoration of Henrietta carried the book, seeing as she never reciprocated. The man was turned on despite the fact that she rarely kissed him back. Henrietta is described, multiple times, as keeping her lips shut or not touching him, but this still manages to drive Darby wild. Most people would be put off by someone so uninterested, but to each his own, I guess.

The big conflict comes in regards to Henrietta's hip condition. She's been told all her life that her disability will not only prevent her from having children but that she will die likely in the process. Naturally, this just makes her long for a child all the more. Honestly, while I personally want children of my own one day, I was looking forward to reading about a heroine who didn't fit the traditional mold. Darby is very uninterested in having children, being content with raising his two step-sisters (even when he does have his own child, he's quite clear he's only excited about it because his wife wants the kid). This promised to be a modern family in a historical romance novel, and I was excited for that. Alas, that was not to be. Henrietta inevitably gets pregnant and is desperate to have the child, despite knowing that it will likely kill her. She's forced to contemplate between dying and potentially giving birth to a child or aborting the baby, which, at this point, is a cluster of cells because it's only been a month. Now, I'm fairly liberal and pretty pro choice. While my decisions are my own and everyone should do what they want, I was rather put off by the heroine's obsession to have her own kid, despite the fact that she admits to tricking Darby into marrying her solely so she could parent his step-sisters.

Throughout the novel, Henrietta insists that having a child made her complete as a woman. Without a natural child, she as a woman was a failure. This message is pretty persistent, and I didn't care for it at all. Darby makes it crystal clear that he loves her for her and that they are still a family, even if it's unconventional. Yet, she can't grow from her obsession to be a "real woman". I think this message is pretty damaging, and I could not enjoy the book due to this.

Esme and Judge Frollo - excuse me, Sebastian - reappear in this novel, and they're just as infuriating in this book. Sebastian is even bigger of a hypocrite, if you can believe it. Not only does he admit he would've happily killed Esme's ex-husband to be with her, he also declares that anyone who couldn't appreciate Esme is a boar, despite the fact that he was planning on doing the very same thing to his fiancé, who is also his beloved's best friend, might I add. Truly, they're the worst couple in regency romance, and I wish they would just move to Italy together so I never have to read about them again.

Between the extremely damaging message about what makes a "woman" and the hypocritical relationship between Esme and Sebastian, there was very little to like about this book. The reasons I rated it two starts instead of one is because the children in this book were actually pretty well-written and not at all precocious plot devices. Additionally, the book itself is well-written, if the pacing is off due to the balancing of the two "romances". Unfortunately, that's not enough to save it, the way it saved the first book in this series. show less

For me this was a big step up from Duchess in Love, the previous book in this series. Henrietta is an endearing character; sensible (with the odd exception!) and believably oblivious to her own attractiveness. Darby is an interesting hero; superficially a 'fribble', there is a lot more to him than most people realise. I enjoyed the course of their romance, despite being able to spot some twists a mile off. James handles the main conceit of the novel well, avoiding the often irritating (to me) Big Misunderstanding. She picks up the story of Esme Rawlings (from Duchess in Love and also Darby's aunt) and balances that plot with the main romance very well. Not my absolute favourite of James' novels, but a really enjoyable read nonethless.

Lady Henrietta is not your usual well-bred English lady. Since she has a limp and can not dance (some doctors even said she can not have children) - she never had a London season. Without expectations to marry, she's not coquettish or flirty. She's painfully honest and always says what she thinks. And if she yearns to have children of her own, well what can she do, when every noble English gentlemen wants an heir...
Simon Darby is crème de la crème of English society. He's popular, handsome, due to inherit a title and large estate. But everything changes when his uncle manages to produce an heir and Simon's easy life is endangered. He needs to find an heiress fast. It would be perfect if it's some docile, quiet girl who loves kids show more since he is a guardian to two young stepsisters. Simon's always practical and he needs to find that girl and marry her fast but...
God knows why he was compelled to kiss a rackety female who drove like a fiend down the country roads and uttered whatever unsuitable comment jumped into her head. But there you are. The compulsion was damn near unconquerable.

[b:Fool for Love|658353|Fool for Love (Duchess Quartet, #2)|Eloisa James|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333587395s/658353.jpg|644437] is a perfect example why I keep on reading Eloisa James's historical romances. Sure her writing is easy-to-read and she has always a lot of interesting characters, but gems like [b:Fool for Love|658353|Fool for Love (Duchess Quartet, #2)|Eloisa James|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333587395s/658353.jpg|644437] are the reason why I keep coming back for more.
I loved both Henrietta and Simon. Their romance has the perfect pacing and I could feel love in the air and how they got attracted more and more...
"Beautiful. Slender fingers?" He touched her second finger lightly.
"Symmetrical?" she put in, with a lifted eyebrow.
"I think we can agree on that. You wear no rings?"
"I am not very interested in decoration."
"What a pity," he said sweetly. "I serve as such lovely decoration, myself."

My rating: 4.5 stars

I recommend this book to fans of: historical romances with unusual characters, strong heroines that fight for what they want. show less

I gave this book 3 stars, it would have gotten an extra star had I not had to read so much about Esme. I didn't like her character in the first book, and I found that her story took away from Henrietta and Simon's. I was enjoying their chemistry and looking forward to the next chapter but it would be interrupted by a chapter about Esme. Perhaps my dislike of her is just me, perhaps others will enjoy her and the story will move along great. But unfortunately for me she just made the story drag along. I will give this author one more chance... but not from this series as I have a feeling Esme will pop up again...

I enjoyed this book more than I have the previous two James books that I've read. I enjoyed watching Henriette and Darby come together, finding their way through the drama inherent in her "deformity." Her becoming pregnant was a plot twist that was obvious, but it was pretty well done by James. Seeing past characters was, as always, interesting, as was seeing Josie as a child. The only thing that really bothered me about this was Esme and Sebastian's interactions. She's too hung up on appearances now, and it's really no fun to read. Otherwise, a solid romance novel.