An Affair Before Christmas

A solid four-and-a-half stars, I thought. Loved, loved, loved Fletch...er, John, but Poppy's itchy hair? Not so sure. I suppose a bad allergy *might* distract one from (ahem) other things, and later on she does admit to feeling a twinge of something a time or two, but still. That part of it just seemed a bit silly. I was definitely rooting for them in the end, though. The rest of the book more than made up for the stretch of belief that was required (and can I just say how glad I am not to have lived in that era? Between panniers and feathers, wax, and powder in one's hair--ugh! No thank you.) to swallow the premise. The "scientific" debates/discussions/curiosities were just too funny ("God would never have placed false evidence on show more Adam's body!" as part of the NO argument about whether or not Adam and Eve had belly buttons); I love those little touches that James throws into her stories. The side characters and their stories were, as always, absolutely wonderful--now I'm almost as eager for Villiers's story as I am for Jemma and Elijah's!--and James's dialogue never disappoints. It never fails--I'm always chastised at least once by my daughter while reading an Eloisa James book; "Mom, stop laughing. I"m trying to (fill in the blank with activity that is disturbed by parental giggling)" I try to read in solitude, but those darn kids just won't go away.... show less

Summary: Poppy and the Duke of Fletcher met in Paris and fell madly in love. However, thanks to Poppy being conditioned to think that women can never enjoy sex, relations between them have grown cold and frigid. It’ll take a special Christmas to bring them back together again.

Review: After the disappointment that was Desperate Duchesses, I thought that Eloisa James would improve if I gave her another chance. I have enjoyed some of her books in the past and she has a knack for amusing subplots and great secondary characters, not to mention an eye for historical detail. But what I’ve come to realize is that whenever I pick up one of her novels, I look for those things and practically ignore the main romance. Which, for a romance show more novel, is probably not a good sign.

Why do I dislike many of her romances? Mostly, the genre cliches. The excessive sentimentality, the sideline homophobia (because men and women! come together like cookies and cream! so there can't possibly be any alternate sexualities that matter!), the creepy idealization of French culture, the naive heroines, the hyper manly heroes, the requisite “aww, aren’t we happy with our brood of five million children?” epilogue. Yeah. You’ve seen it before and you see it again.

Poppy had her decent moments, such as her interest in the natural sciences, but her overwhelming naivete and sweetness was too much for me to stomach, especially when James tried to give her some forward-thinking, modern qualities as well. There are authors who can combine these two sets of qualities together and make it work (that is, create a 3D character), but James isn’t one of them. At her worst, Poppy seemed like a case of trying to have your cake and eat it too. Look, she’s smart and strong and operates on some feminist ideals sure to appeal to the modern reader! But look, she’s also demure and shy and easily convinced by everyone around her! She has no dark moments, only angelic ones! Weird.

It’s a shame that Poppy and Fletcher’s romance bored me to tears. Because James really is good at constructing other types of stories. I absolutely loved the plot with Villiers, Charlotte, and Dautry. The interaction between Villiers and Charlotte fascinated me, and I would have loved to have seen an entire book revolve around them instead of boring old Poppy and Fletcher. Villiers himself is a great character, both cynical and dark but with sartorial elegance, hooray! He isn’t afraid that liking fashion means he’s a woman (which, gods forbid, is the Worst Thing Ever).

So I will continue reading this series, mostly because Eloisa James continues to draw me back with her intriguing secondary characters that I want to see appear in future books. It's funny, but I think I would appreciate her in a different genre. Maybe more of a comedy of manners? I would love her romance novels as long as she left out the romance, haha. No, really, I'm serious.

Conclusion: Poppy and Fletcher who? show less

This is the first time that a couple started out truly disliking each other. Most romances begin with that "you annoy the heck outta me, but gosh, golly, how I lust for you" theme, but Poppy and Fletch have been married for four years, and their feelings for each other are nearing disgust and contempt. James takes them on an interesting route to figure out what went wrong, and she manages to get the characters to change enough to fall in real love.

Though I care more for the peripheral characters in this one (love Charlotte Tatlock and the Duke of Villiers), I did enjoy this one! (Especially loved the glimpses into Georgian life - descriptions of Poppy's duchess level hairstyles and the effort - and gross additions - that went into them show more were fascinating!) show less

An Affair Before Christmas was a delightful story and definitely quite unique and a surprise from what I was actually expecting to find here. This is the second book in the series and I found that even though many of the side characters were introduced in the first book I had not much trouble catching on to what was going on between everyone. I will say stick with the story the first 50 pages or so we get a set up of three separate plot lines so you definitely want to stick with it longer than most normally would. I almost gave up on it, but since I have a deep love for Eloisa James I decided to stick with it and I have NO regrets. Despite how it started the story ended up being so heartwarming and delicious to read.

Our story sets off show more with seeing our main couple "Lady Perdita Selby "Poppy" and Duke of Fletcher" where they first meet in Paris and fall in love and it takes us four years later. And our main couple is divided and split. They have both struggled with honest communication and they have drifted apart mostly due to their struggles with intimacy and sex in the bedroom. In Poppy's mind, nothing she does is good enough to satisfy Fletch, and Fletcher feels he can't find a way to have her enjoy those intimate moments and the lack of communication about this issue has truly driven them apart. When they separate for a time, it awakens Fletcher to the love he has for Poppy, that he could never have a mistress and endeavors to fight for her and win her heart again.
“I miss talking to you.'
'I can't imagine why. We haven't talked about anything particularly interesting in years.'
'I thought it was interesting. Perhaps I like talking about boring things with you.”

This was such a delightful story that felt so real especially in seeing that the biggest issue in their marriage came down to struggling with intimacy and lack of honest communication. And considering what both of them were taught about marriage beforehand its no wonder that they had issues. Seeing them work through these problems was a bit heartbreaking at times, But while this drama between them is going on we also get two other stories. One involving a sick Duke who is dying from a wound from a duel and another couple "Jemma and Elijah" and we get their full story in "This Duchess of Mine" and so we get some great intros and storylines between these three couples. We do get an HEA for our sick Duke and an interesting character who is the Duke's cousin and from the reviews I read has his own book but also makes appearances in every book in the series so I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of this character.

What really worked for me in this book was seeing these separate plot lines that somehow meet up at the end of the story during a Christmas house party ball. I really felt like even though there were some issues especially since we see Fletcher seek out another bed partner (but no worries he doesn't do anything) so even though I struggled with his character at first, he definitely grew on me especially when we see that his love for his wife prevails in the end and boy does Poppy put him through some drama first but its reasonable and not too intense or crazy.

Overall I found An Affair Before Christmas to be such a heartfelt and plot packed story that will keep you flipping those pages to delve more into this delightful Christmas story....so grab hold of your boots, because this story will wreak you in ways you don't expect....A TEAR JERKER TO ENDEAR!!! show less

An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James

A darling historical romance. A bride that knows little of the physical nature of marriage and a groom that has endless patience because he’s in love.
Once Poppy is out from under her mother’s harsh criticism and heavy hand, Poppy finds herself pursuing educational knowledge and curiosities. As she learns more of being a naturalist and understanding her own emotions and herself, Poppy’s interest in her husband expands as well.
An enticing and entertaining story where you root for the couple to win.
A touch of religion in the story of the birth but puts the emphasis on the Christmas holiday and the joyous feelings of love and family.

Two main storylines and two couples.

I listened to the show more audio version performed by Susan Duerden in a mostly French accent.

Book 2 of the Desperate Duchesses series. Can be read as a stand-alone. show less

I really did enjoy this story about a young woman who finds herself very confused, told by her mother what she should expect and how she should react to sex in her marriage. Her mother is soured by her experience with her husband. This leads to their relationship souring. Perdita 'Poppy' Selby now Duchess Fletcher, is trying hard to be the perfect wife, unaware that she is driving a wedge between herself and her husband, finally she cracks and goes to stay with Jemma, the Duchess of Beaumont, who is toying with another man herself, during this period Poppy learns how to love herself and how to be herself, but how will the Duke react when they come together again?

I did enjoy this, you could see how the situation set itself up and how the show more two characters could have ended up in the situation. I also liked some of the background characters and couldn't but feel a little sorry for Poppy's mother, who was more to be pitied than scorned, I don't know that she knew any better. show less

James is brilliant. Her stories are dazzling, her characters intelligent, her multilayered plots complex, her dialogue witty and sophisticated, and her storytelling superb. In three unique plotlines she explores the aspects of love. This depth is why James is one of the finest writers of the genre: She makes you believe in love and miracles. She doesn't just write about one couple rekindling their love; she turns her attention to several couples. It's overwhelming, joyful, painful -- and James' novel is a masterpiece.
It's a new season for the Desperate Duchesses, and of course there's a scandal -- a duel between Jemma's brother and the Duke of Villiers. But there's more. Jemma, the Duchess of Beaumont, is reunited with Poppy, the show more Duchess of Fletcher.

Four years ago Fletch, the Duke
of Fletcher, and Poppy fell in love
in Paris, but that love appears to be lost. Poppy hopes to build a new life, and Fletch plans to woo her back. Meanwhile, Jemma and her husband live almost separate lives. Their only pleasure comes from their chess
matches. And then there's the Duke of Villiers, who's healing from his wound and near death when Caroline helps his recovery by befriending him. Their companionship grows into something more. (Avon, Nov., 400 pp., $7.99) show less