Coming and going from the house are men who wish to consort with Jemma including the Duke of Villiers who also has a prominent role in the series and meets his match in book six, A Duke of Her Own.ĭesperate Duchesses is somewhat of a farce and kind of comedy of manners with people flirting and consorting, and playing chess which has a strong subtext of consorting and flirting. Also in residence are Jemma’s estranged but co-habitating spouse Jemma’s brother Damon, Marquess of something and Damon’s illegitimate six-year-old son. Lady Roberta has arrived in London looking for a husband – she has one in mind – and throws herself on the hospitality of her cousin umpteen times removed, Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont. In a world in which I am smarter, I would have read this book first instead of last as it lays all of the groundwork for the rest of the series. It seems they are not so thick on the ground as James’s books would suggest. Given this preponderance, I actually ventured to far off Wikipedia to find out exactly how many dukes there really are in the United Kingdom. Everyone in these books is securely entrenched in their status as titled, deeply monied, or likely both. Thus far, I have read seven James books and six of them have the word “duke” or “duchess” in the title. On a down-note, I find the men’s costume of this period off-puttingly effete and the manner in which people flit to France only serves to remind me that their aristocracy had it comin’ and that the English lords could probably have used a housecleaning as well. On an up-note, some of these stories are set in the late eighteenth century which is a departure for me. She gives good smolder, she’s witty, and not afraid of hijinks, but I felt no inclination to buy my own copies of these novels.

James is a consistently good writer but, while her books are entertaining, they lacked emotional resonance for me.

I like Eloisa James, but never as much as I feel like I ought to like her,” which is both succinct and accurate. My friend, Rochelle, an avid and long-term romance reader, described them perfectly, “ Oooo. That means I am unlikely to pay for her books, but will read them if they are available at the library, or very cheaply for Kindle.

Eloisa James has been publishing steadily for sixteen years and my crash course on her novels moves her comfortably to my B+ List. Tired of waiting for new books from authors on my autobuy list and even more tired of trying random new authors, I waded into the back catalogue of one of the most successful writers in the historical romance genre.

This duchess of mine by eloisa james