Showing posts with label Eloisa James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eloisa James. Show all posts

Monday, May 23, 2016

… On Vander: The Magnificent Tool

Four Nights with the Duke or is it Vander & His Magnificent Tool? (Vander: The Magnificent Tool?) I haven't made up my mind about him yet, but there is no question that this Duke is a tool.

This romance begins as fifteen year-old Mia eavesdrops on fifteen year old Vander and his best friend Thorn (from Three Weeks with Lady X) as they read a romantic poem she secretly wrote about her love for Vander. The two boys are joined by a school mate nicknamed Rotter and the three proceed to destroy the poem by finding sexual innuendos where she meant none, i.e., "moonbeam" = Vander's tool. The boys also act like fifteen year-old idiots and make personal comments about Mia's body parts -- focusing on the size of her breasts. Mia is brave enough to confront them, but as a result becomes totally self-conscious about her looks.

Years later, Mia, now a successful author writing under a pen name, finds herself in a terrible situation and blackmails Vander into marrying her. When confronted by blackmail, Vander reverts to being a tool by opening his breeches and exposing his magnificence to Mia in the hopes of scaring her off.

This man is a Duke? Supposedly. Vander is convinced that because Mia wrote that poem when they were 15, she is still a spinster and blackmailing him because she must be in love and hot to bed him. The arrogant idiot has no choice but to marry Mia, but doesn't even bother to read a letter she writes for him enumerating the conditions of marriage because: "a wife must do as the husband dictates." And, he comes up with the foolish idea that he will allot four times a year to bed her, but first Mia will have to beg him. Shenanigans, tool usage, and the eating of crow by both parties ensue.

The style used by Eloisa James to develop this story, as well as the type of male protagonist, reminded a lot of Three Weeks with Lady X. Yes, Vander is a Duke but he's very rough around the edges and no gentleman. That is proven by his on and off mean attitude, over-the-top lusty behavior (he's a walking erection for most the story) and appalling lack of manners in his dealings with Mia. Mia is a Lady. Never mind that her father was Vander's mother's lover. It is understandable that Vander gets upset over getting blackmailed, and that he resented Mia's father all those years on his father's behalf. But, really? How old is this man?

Mia. I did not understand how a woman who spent years becoming independent by writing her own books, and is spunky enough to take care of her disabled nephew against her uncle's wishes, spends so much time worrying about having big breasts or wishing she were tall and "willowy." Someone please tell if I am wrong, but if I remember correctly during those times shorter women with curves were considered beauties, not "tall, willowy women."  Maybe when Mia was a 15 year old she did not realize this, but as an adult she did not know this?

So what did I like about this book? I loved a couple of the secondary characters and the interactions between them and both Mia and Vander. I particularly loved Vander's drunken Uncle Chancy who stole every scene where he appeared.

This romance has some good sections with humor, but frankly, toward the end I was just tired. I usually love James' writing style, her over-the-top characters, romps and romances. Unfortunately for me, I never stopped seeing Vander as an egotistical fool. So, Four Nights with a Duke was definitely not a personal favorite. Grade C or 3 stars at Goodreads.
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NOTE: I wrote this review a while back (last year after reading the book) and never posted it, I decided it was time. Oh, and I made up my mind about the alternate tile…

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Update + Three Weeks with Lady X by Eloisa James

I finally picked up my precious computer from the Apple store today! I've been so busy there was no time to get it. There wasn't much wrong with it, thank goodness, but it is now working like new. In the meantime I've been enjoying a few favorite movies -- The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies & The Lord of The Rings Trilogy -- and the A&E production of Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth! And of course, I am waiting breathlessly for the second season of Outlander to begin.

I've also been catching up with some reading. I finished Dreamer's Pool by Juliette Marillier (upcoming review) and I picked up The Rake by Mary Jo Putney just to find out if the reread would help get me back on the historical romance horse. I am happy to report that it did!

I read Three Weeks with Lady X (Desperate Duchesses by the Numbers #1) and Four Nights with the Duke (Desperate Duchesses #8) by Eloisa James consecutively and basically in one sitting each! That hasn't happened for me in a long while.

My reactions to Eloisa James' historical romances are usually mixed -- I either love them or they don't work for me. Once in a while, however, those feelings get all tangled up in one book. I love sections of a book while other sections don't quite work. That's what happened to me with Three Weeks with Lady X.

Let's see. I loved the first half of Three Weeks with Lady X where the relationship between the protagonists and background exploration begin. The Duke of Villiers' eldest bastard son Juby/Tobias, now calling himself Thorn, hires Lady Xenobia India St. Clair to refurbish and redecorate a newly purchased country estate to impress his intended bride's mother. During this first section of the book, it quickly becomes evident that Thorn is a vastly wealthy but crass man whose years as a mudlark had a deeper influence on his character than his later education among aristocrats. He is an extremely successful as well as an acutely intelligent businessman and inventor, but his ideal wife material is a young woman known throughout society as a 'simpleton,' a woman he chose for her sweet character and love of children.

India, our female protagonist, is far from 'sweet.' She is the orphaned daughter of a Marquees, left without a dowry when her parents died. India, however, didn't sit around waiting for a husband to save her from destitution, instead she earned her own dowry by reorganizing and redecorating households for the aristocracy. Additionally, although she has had multiple marriage proposals, India will not choose a husband or marry until she is ready.

Upon meeting, Thorn and India develop a type of prickly relationship that leads to heated and amusing exchanges, quickly evolving into the sort of friendship that includes physical contact. It concludes with India lying about her virginity and giving herself, without second thought, to Thorn in a heated, off-the-charts passionate sex scene.

(WARNING: some spoilers ahead)
Then. . . everything falls apart for a while. Let's keep in mind that when all of the above takes place Thorn is not yet engaged to his chosen intended. However, even after having had sex with India, he still plans to go through with the engagement to Lala. Thorn further complicates matters by inviting his best friend Vander, the future Duke of Pindar, as a possible match for India! India willingly goes along with all of this and even considers Vander as a future husband while falling in love and still banging Thorn. (End SPOILERS)

Of course after all of those WTF moments, a highly dramatic farce ensues. And it just so happens that I love a good farce by Eloisa James, so you can see where I'm going, right? Because of course this is a romance and after all is said and done, Thorn is not about to let India get away. Villiers is involved, (I adore Villiers) and there is begging as well as some fantastic over the top fun along with emotional scenes all the way to the end. Plus in the middle of everything, James inserts a ward for Thorn -- the orphaned, overly eloquent and sincerely out of whack six year-old Rose whose grammar and vocabulary are more advanced than India's or Thorn's. Rose & Thorn. It's not easy people.

So yes, Three Weeks with Lady X was a roller coaster read and in the end I gave it a C+ because despite those "what the heck are they doing?" moments, I really enjoyed the first and last sections of the book. This book is a sort of continuation by way of a spin off of the Desperate Duchesses series. I think of it as the "manly man" series since so far the males are big, rough around the edges men oozing testosterone.

This post turned out to be longer than expected, so I will post my impressions of Four Nights with the Duke separately. The romance between Vander, The Duke of Pindar, and Mia, daughter of his mother's lifetime lover. Yeah. . .

ETA: I'm out of my mind. It's Three Weeks with Lady X, not Three Days! Edited…

Monday, August 4, 2014

July's Rereads & Minis: Ann Leckie, Eloisa James, Ben H. Winters, Josh Lanyon

During the month of July I went back to my old habit of rereading a few favorites. Actually, this year, I have been rereading at least one favorite book per month. It is an old habit that keeps me grounded in my reading and that has always been more than enjoyable because there are always details to discover or rediscover in those old (or new) favorites.

As you will see below, I read some of these books a long time ago and others recently. I don't remember when I read Duchess by Night by Eloisa James but I know it was before I began blogging in 2009. I read and reread Fair Game by Josh Lanyon back in November of 2010, but have not reread it since. Countdown City by Ben H. Winters is a 2013 summer read, and the most recent read is Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, from January 2014.
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Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Reread)

I had to reread Ancillary Justice. I am really looking forward to the second book of the series Ancillary Sword and wanted to take my time with a reread. There were a few thoughts that crossed my mind when I finished my reread (much has already been discussed about how Leckie approaches gender in this novel -- all characters are referred to as "she"), but there was another thought that kept coming back. In my original review I mention how "emotions," particularly those coming from an AI (artificial intelligence), surprised me. But really, it's more than just the emotional impact, it is how well Leckie weaves in interpersonal relationships throughout this space opera.
An interpersonal relationship is a strong, deep, or close association or acquaintance between two or more people that may range in duration from brief to enduring. This association may be based on inference, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the context of social, cultural and other influences. The context can vary from family or kinship relations, friendship, marriage, relations with associates, work, clubs, neighborhoods, and places of worship. They may be regulated by law, custom, or mutual agreement, and are the basis of social groups and society as a whole. From Wikipedia
And, that is it. It's not just Breq's sense of self -- Justice of Toren/One Esk/Breq -- and how broken he feels or how he interacts with Station or other ships, recognizing a part of himself, but how he interacts and develops a close bond with Lieutenant Awn before the break. More importantly, however, it is the slower and deeper bond that reluctantly develops between Breq and Captain Seivarden Vendaai -- two broken individuals. There are other relationships such as the one with Lieutenant Skaaiat Awer that are brief and built on "solidarity." These are all fantastic examples of the core interpersonal relationships that make this book such an excellent read, but there is more.

Leckie also uses interpersonal relationships to build the foundation for the Radch civilization's cultural and social structure. For example: a person from a powerful House offering clientage to a person from a House in a lower social position is both a business transaction and a social/personal commitment. This is the basis in which the Radch's society functions. Clientage then becomes a way to forge "intimate" relationships, but with power and social standing playing the more significant role. Leckie then uses changes taking place in the Radch's cultural and social structure, the struggle for power, social standing and/or the status quo in how those basic interpersonal relationships develop within that structure as the main impetus for her conflict. These are just a few (condensed) stray thoughts, read the book for more.

Countdown City (The Last Policeman II) by Ben H. Winters: B+ (Reread)

I read Countdown City last year and decided to reread it in July before picking up the last book of the trilogy. I never reviewed it and didn't post it as read! Well, I don't know what happened, but this second book is great. It begins a few months after Hank Palace loses his job and is asked to look for his old babysitter's husband who went "bucket list." His sister Nico helps him find clues along the way. I've said before that Hank Palace is the star of this series, even as the pre-apocalyptic world-building is exceptional. This second book is not a disappointment as many middle books tend to be in trilogies. Instead it adds to The Last Policeman with a meaty mystery and by amping up the already tense end-of-times atmosphere created in that first book. Countdown City was a great read that left me salivating for the last book of the series. Additionally, it is a must read because details and characters introduced here are key to the last installment.

Duchess by Night (Desperate Duchesses #2) by Eloisa James: Grade B+ (Reread)

I absolutely loved this book the first time I read it (before I began blogging), and loved it again this time around. I picked up this novel last month when I was looking through my RITA Award winners for a TBR read. It is one of my favorite books from the Desperate Duchesses series so it was no surprise that after going through a few pages I ended up rereading the whole book! I had forgotten how much I loved the romance and characters. Duchess by Night is definitely one of the best books of the series. A few points:

1) Regardless of the fact that Harriet is a widow and Jem is a widower and single father there is a certain joyfulness to this romance that makes me smile.
2) I love that Jem Strange is immediately attracted to Harriet as Harry, and that although he tries to get rid of that attraction and attempts to make a "man" out of Harry, there comes a moment when he accepts the fact that he's just attracted.
3) I found it interesting that Harriet discovered her female confidence and beauty while dressing and acting out the role of a man.
4) The romance between Harry/Harriet's and Jem is filled with sexual tension and passion.
5) I love Villiers' character period, but I love that his secondary role in this novel is meaningful without the necessity of him having to play the fool or the villain.

Fair Game by Josh Lanyon: Grade B+ (Reread)

Fair Game is another reread. I decided to look for a book by Josh Lanyon that typifies what I think of as one of his best. I initially gave Fair Game a B because I think during that time everything I read by Lanyon was compared to the Adrien English mysteries and suffered by the comparison, however if you read that review it is obvious that I really enjoyed the book, so my grade goes up to a B+.

Fair Game has it all for me. It has a passionate romance with significant obstacles and fantastic characterization that I really enjoyed during my first read, but that I have come to appreciate even more during rereads. The mystery kept me at the edge of my seat with dangerous action, gruesome moments, and a great ending. I was totally satisfied at the end of this reread.
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Grades: I don't remember my initial grade for Duchess by Night, but it's definitely a B+ now. Fair Game changed for the better, and both Ancillary Justice (A) and Countdown City stay the same.

I will return with more of my summer reading updates -- new releases and contemporary romance reads -- later this week.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Retro-Review: A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James

This is one of those retro-reviews I promised to post once in a while, this is the perfect time for me! Eloisa James is an author whose historical romances I enjoy -- some books and series more than others. I waited a long time for Villiers story and this was my review of the book when it was released.

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A Duke of Her Own is the last installment in Eloisa James' Desperate Duchesses historical romance series. This is the story that we have all been waiting for -- we finally find out what happens to Leopold Dautry, the Duke of Villiers. He is one of the most interesting characters of this series and one I fell in love with from the first.

In Desperate Duchesses, Villiers was portrayed an arrogant Duke with a dismissive and cynical outlook for the ton I couldn't help but admire. He was a man of contradictions who seemed to care much for his outward appearance; a true rake who didn't think twice about having illegitimate children with his mistresses, and an egotistical chess player who thought he was the best and didn't have a problem saying so. Our Villiers didn't have the best of profiles, but he seemed to have the sex appeal and fire to attract the Georgian ladies like months to a flame. Yet, he disdained those around him. The more he was admired, the more cynical he became. How could I not be intrigued?

As the series progresses, our not-so-pretty and not-so-nice hero is jilted by two different fiancés. He thinks love is for fools and it's not something he wants in his life. By this point I just think Leopold deserves some love, weather he wants it or not.

Our story in A Duke of Her Own begins right after Villiers makes the decision to raise his six illegitimate children (yes, six!) under the Ducal roof. In order to achieve this, he needs a wife quickly -- one willing to take on his illegitimate children and strong enough to face down the ton. Only a Duke's daughter will do for him and only two are eligible.

Eleanor, the Duke of Montague's daughter, is both beautiful and intelligent. She is also a woman whose heart was broken at a young age and who thinks she's still in love with her old beau, a man who is now married. She once said she would only marry a Duke and now one is available -- her family is putting on the pressure.

After a first meeting full of sharp, witty dialogue and some excellent sexual tension, Villiers decides that Eleanor will do. Especially since he's under the impression she is his only hope. Leopold wants to make her his fiancé immediately, but she declines and lets him know that there is one other woman who qualifies. Eleanor convinces Leopold, he must meet this woman before making a final decision in regards to the betrothal.

Lisette, daughter to the Duke of Gilner, resides in the country and never comes to town. It is rumored that she's mad. A house party is quickly planned and all our characters retire to the Duke of Gilner's residence. Lisette is a beautiful woman who seems to have a disregard for the manners and restrictions of the ton. She works closely with an orphanage, loves children and seems to possess a vivid imagination. Villiers is immediately taken with her.

There is also an ongoing storyline that pertains to a search for two of Villiers' illegitimate children. Lisette's charity work with the local orphanage makes this a convenient trip for our hero. The children play an important part in this story, with Tobias, his eldest son, as a somewhat key player. Tobias and Eleanor's sister turned out to be my favorite secondary characters.

Once they are all gathered in the country, the story gets interesting. Sparks fly between Leopold and Eleanor... the passion between them is sizzling and I enjoyed every one of their scenes together. Eleanor is sexy and smart but her 'blind love' for that old flame gets old after a while. As a couple, these two are a pair of flawed characters whose wit and passion outweigh their insight and judgment.

I had fun with this book. Villiers was not the keenest of men when it came to understanding women or children, and he knew it. He admitted it to all and sundry and still went ahead and made one mistake after another. As his young son Tobias told him, he was "such an ass!"  I still liked him even though I thought his future Duchess forgave him too quickly. She should have made him beg for at least a year!

The edginess I found in Villiers' character at the beginning of the series was mostly gone by the end of the series. He was a reflection of the man we first met in Desperate Duchesses. Ms. James developed his character throughout this long series and his growth and change took place slowly throughout. In the end, I found myself liking Villiers, but not quite loving his character as much as I did in the beginning. I missed that edge.

All in all this was a good Georgian romp, with a full set of great characters and quite a few enjoyable moments for me. A nice ending to a long series, I give this one a B.

Complete series:
Desperate Duchesses
An Affair Before Christmas
Duchess by Night
When the Duke Returns
This Duchess of Mine
A Duke of Her Own

Visit the author here. Read an excerpt here.

Originally posted at Musings of a Bibliophile September 5, 2009

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Hilcia's Weekly Reads: Eloisa James, Rick Riordan & Jennifer Heymore

June was a busy reading month for me. I reviewed most of my early reads, but missed posting my Weekly Reads post for a couple of weeks. There were some disappointments with new releases along the way, but in general I would say it was not too frustrating.

I decided to give Paranormal Romance a rest and picked up some Historical Romances and a Young Adult Series, an enjoyable one. Let's see if we can catch up.

Re-read Desperate Duchesses by Eloisa James as a precursor to This Duchess of Mine. I remember loving the initial relationship between Jemma and the Duke of Beaumont, the whole chess theme and of course Villiers, the villain. I also loved and enjoyed the main couple in the book, Roberta and Damon , I thought they were both sweet and hot together, although not as edgy as the Jemma, Beaumont, Villiers triangle. I love historicals set in Georgian times and I thought Eloisa James did an excellent job of setting up this historical series and giving us a taste of the Georgian morals, fashions and of course the hot ticket of the day, chess. This book was a winner for me the first time around and I must admit to enjoying it even more this time. Too bad the rest of the books in the series didn't quite catch or keep my attention.

I followed by reading This Duchess of Mine by Eloisa James. I've been waiting all this time to find out what happens to Jemma and her Duke of Beaumont and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I must admit to being somewhat disappointed in this book. The characters didn't quite
live up to my expectations or to the initial edginess I found in Desperate Duchesses. It all seemed a bit diluted. The overall romance was pleasing, if somewhat angsty with Jemma still playing some incomprehensible games, Beaumont giving it all he had and Villiers having lost most of his bite. Having said all that, it was an average read for me and I will read Villiers story this month. I must find out how much more humiliation this man can or will take. After all this time, if anyone deserves an HEA in this series, I believe it's Villiers.

Continued by reading and reviewing the first three books in the five book Young Adult series, Percy and the Olympians. You can find reviews for The Lightning Thief (Book 1) and The Titan's Curse (Book 2) and The Sea of Monsters (Book 3). I did finish this series. I read both The Battle of the Labyrinth (Book 4) and The Final Olympian (Book 5) and can say that both these books are Grade A reads. 

There were no disappointments waiting for me and no unanswered questions at the end of this series. Rick Riordan finished the series the way he started it, with wonderful characters and great adventures -- all of it told with great wit and a fast paced narrative that I truly enjoyed. The last two books move quickly and are dark, although not overwhelmingly so. I strongly recommend it for 8th to 12th graders, especially the later books, due to content. An overall "Grade A" Young Adult series all the way.

I also read three historical romances this past week, A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore was one of them. Triangles in a romance are not my favorite trope and I had some trepidation about picking this one up, but decided to give it a shot. I must say the triangle part of it was well done. Both men were worthy of Sophie and neither gave up on her. Sophie seemed 
level headed and I was happy with her decision at the end. Having said that, I did find myself rooting for one man more than the other -- I couldn't help myself. That part of the story was well done, but due to personal preference, I didn't really enjoy this book that much. I don't seem to enjoy historicals that focus too much on suspense/crime/spy plots and that part of it was not enjoyable for me. I also found myself being yanked out of the story every time someone called Sophie, "Soph" or Becky, "Becks" -- this reminded me of the beer label. Words can do that to me, specifically in a historical setting.

The other two historical romances I read were Julia Quinn's What Happened in London and Loretta Chase's Don't Tempt Me -- two enjoyable reads. I'll be addressing these as well as the five M/M books I read for the Challenge, the latest Nora Roberts' Suspense Romance, Black Hills and finally the long-awaited Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh, later on.

So, not too shabby -- I've been a busy bee on the reading front. What about you? What have you been reading? Any good recommendations? I'm looking for some good/great Sci-Fi Romances to add to my list!

Originally posted at Musings of a Bibliophile on July 11, 2009