If you have read the other books in the "Desperate Duchesses" series, you will have met Leopold Dautry, the Duke of Villiers. This story is about him and his future duchess. It was well worth waiting for. I read it in one day and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Delightful romp. The character development was excellent; both the hero & heroine were interesting and thoroughly believeable. The dialogue was sharp, witty & entertaining.
And the resolution was very satisfying. Recommended.

I closed this book with a satisfied sigh and thought, "Somehow, I'm taking 'A Duke of Her Own' and 'This Duchess of Mine' with me when I go!"

I do so enjoy reading books written by Eloisa James - what with her talent for drawing the reader into her stories. She patiently guides us through a clever maze of characters leaving behind enough clues and (most savory & delicious) breadcrumbs that we easily can retrace our steps back to any secondary character and pick up their story ... already emotionally invested in them! A most singular talent in a genre gutted with characters and inane repartee that's normally immediately forgotten.

There's substance to her writing. It's smooth and seductive and ever-so-satisfying.

So, huzzah for Elijah & Emma & Leopold ... it's been one heck of an enjoyable ending! And huzzah for Eleanor, who had the self-assurance & solid strength to be the *perfect* match for our infamous Duke of Villiers.

Story: 4.5
Romance: 4.5
Overall rating: 4.5

Near perfection! I have very much enjoyed the Desperate Duchesses series. It was agonizing to wait for this book to be delivered to me--finally! Yet, how satisfying to turn the final page.

Every Eloisa James fan knows that her style includes a lot of description to make the characters, home furnishings, landscape and costume come alive for the reader. Combine those vivid images with an interesting storyline and witty dialogue, and it is clear how James is able to deliver winner after winner.

I appreciated that Eleanor struggled emotionally between her new attachment and her former attachment, but I was happy she figured things out so quickly. Leopold, on the other hand, was somewhat dense in his similar dilemma. All the signs were there and he is simply too smart to have missed them as written. That out-of-character portrayal is the only reason I didn't give James a perfect 5.

I would have enjoyed a little more teasing foreplay to accompany the attraction, but overall, a very enjoyable and satisfying conclusion to the series.

By the way, if you go to Ms. James' website (EloisaJames.net), you can read her "Final Chapter" to this story--which takes place between the conclusion of the story and the epilogue and includes all of the characters from the Duchess series.

Enjoy!

A decent and ultimately satisfying wrap to EJ's Desperate Duchesses series, but like the rest of this series (& everything James in general) I found it a little windy. I appreciate the rich detail and strong sense of time & place that EJ puts into her stories, but there are times when I feel like she's talking over my head. IMO, it's tedious to have to stop & think about every subtle nuance of character dialogue and interaction, especially when she's going to rehash all of it two or three pages later through an internal monologue anyway.
As I generally find to be the case with most everything James writes, there's a little too much "richness" for my personal taste. There are times when I like to try some decadent chocolate variety of cheesecake, but there are also times when plain old cheesecake can be quite sinful enough:P In other words, I think her romances get knocked slightly off center stage by just a little too much detail in setting, costume and secondary characters. James can't seem to write a story that doesn't go off into raptures over the details in a dress or frock coat, or the subtleties of hair powdering, and just how much is too much - and in every character's POV, at that.
I also couldn't help but feel that she rewrote Villiers, to a certain extent. He's a well-established character by this point in the series, a bit of a dandy, but he's a dandy with teeth; probably one of the most intelligent & observant characters she has written to date.
EJ, for reasons apparently known only to her, has seen fit to shave off a few of his by now legendary IQ points and turn him into just another nitwit male who couldn't find his own hiney with both hands and a flashlight.
I suppose it's true enough that it's easier for most men to see the little character flaws in a friend's prospective mate than it is to see them in a woman they are considering marrying, but I really feel like he should have been just a little swifter on the uptake here. He shilly-shallies well into the 11th hour, and has to literally have his face rubbed in the evidence. Not only did I find that out of character for Leopold, it was a bit unromantic, and didn't do much service to the heroine either.
Ultimately though, I did enjoy the story overall. The ending makes up for a lot and the love scenes are steamy. I just wish that James would find her own niche and stop channeling Jane Austen:P She can write a good book without the need to echo the greats of yesteryear, and IMO, the chatty/wordy/windy story is a thing of the past and really ought to remain there. I gave it a B-.
Sensuality Rating: R

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great!

Another wonderful story by Eloisa James. Her books are always a must-read for me and this one was no exception. However, I will say that the cover and summary are a bit misleading. This shouldn't be a problem for fans of Eloisa, but for someone wanting the book strictly because they read the back cover, they may be somewhat disappointed- but it is still a wonderful book and very romantic ;)

This is the best (in my opinion)of the Desperate Duchess series. Sometimes with Elosia James, I can get confused trying to follow the different story-lines, but this book was all about Villiers. I know I am not alone in the fact that I have been waiting for him to have his own story for some time.
The relationship is excellent. The banter is witty and fabulous. The descriptions are deliciously detailed. And while the ending may have been a little predictable, you still can't out the book down.
Definately a recommended read.

Expected more from this book. Thought the story line was a little too cold and jumpy. Still a good book but just not as good as the rest in this series.

the duke in this book is not terribly bright. he is supposed to be a master chess player but he cant read people or see waht is plainly written on their faces. but i did like this book a great deal even though i thought leopold was kind of a dud. he was such a good "almost villian" in all the other books in this series i expected him to be more wicked, more strong, more intelligent. and for whatever reasom i expected chess to play a much bigger role. but still a good read and defiantely has some satisfying scenes to keep you turning the page.

An amusing read - great to finally see Villiers story.

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