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oyceterThese are books 3-6 of James' Desperate Duchesses series. Or: stuff I read on a spree in grad school, even though I knew ahead of time that I'm not a huge Eloisa James fan. Sadly, these books have not changed my opinion.
When the Duke Returns
Lady Isidore was married to Simeom Jermyn, Duke of Cosway, when they were both teenagers, and shortly after, he leaves for Africa before even consummating the marriage. After he finally comes back, Isidore is annoyed by his long absence, the grand ducal house is falling apart, and there might be other plotty stuff I can't remember. All I remember is many annoying passages about the awesome meditation Simeon learned from his Magical Negro mentor in Africa and wanting to bash him over the head (eta: Magical Indian mentor, although Simeon was in Africa as well). I liked that the book has things about rotten plumbing, and that both the hero and the heroine are virgins when they first have sex. There's a hilarious moment in which Isidore doesn't realize what ejaculate is, but I was annoyed that even though they are both virgins, Simeon has enough know-how to not act much like a virgin, and he has amazing control over his reactions thanks to aforementioned meditation lessons from Africa. Overall, boring, annoying race issues, and not enough for me to remember otherwise months later.
-dorothean's much better look at the race issues in the book
This Duchess of Mine
Jemma married Elijah, Duke of Beaumont, years ago, but as of the beginning of this series, she's been living abroad in France, lovers everywhere. However, by book one (I think, having only read a bit of book 2), Elijah has summoned Jemma back because he wants an heir. Unfortunately, she might be more attracted to his chess-loving best friend, Leopold Dautry, the Duke of Villiers. However, they manage to reconcile their differences as Jemma discovers she still loves Elijah.
All this, by the way, takes place before this book even begins. That also sums up my main problem with this book: the largest conflict has already been resolved prior to this book, leaving basically nothing for the book itself save a hokey medical drama. Also, unsurprising to none of the readers, Jemma is not actually as scandalous as rumors would have you believe.
A Duke of Her Own
Now that Jemma and Elijah are happily reconciled, Leopold, Duke of Villiers, must find a mother for his illegitimate children. Eleanor, daughter of the Duke of Montague, is beautiful and intelligent, and Leopold decides she's just fine until he meets Lisette, daughter of the Duke of Gilner, who supposedly cares nothing about appearances and would therefore make a great mother for illegitimate children. He wants Eleanor's body, but unfortunately, so did the man who broke Eleanor's heart so many years ago. This is actually my favorite of all of James' books. I particularly like that Eleanor likes sex and that a lot of the book revolves around her trying to reconcile herself with that, particularly after it looks like two men will abandon her because they think she's great for sleeping with, but not for marrying. That said, I was so frustrated by Leopold's inability to see through Lisette.
I'm not sure what it is, but James just doesn't seem to work for me—I've read other books of hers prior to this, and although I like the outline of them, it's the details I never quite buy. I think the only reason I read so many was because I was in grad school and running out of romances.
When the Duke Returns
Lady Isidore was married to Simeom Jermyn, Duke of Cosway, when they were both teenagers, and shortly after, he leaves for Africa before even consummating the marriage. After he finally comes back, Isidore is annoyed by his long absence, the grand ducal house is falling apart, and there might be other plotty stuff I can't remember. All I remember is many annoying passages about the awesome meditation Simeon learned from his Magical Negro mentor in Africa and wanting to bash him over the head (eta: Magical Indian mentor, although Simeon was in Africa as well). I liked that the book has things about rotten plumbing, and that both the hero and the heroine are virgins when they first have sex. There's a hilarious moment in which Isidore doesn't realize what ejaculate is, but I was annoyed that even though they are both virgins, Simeon has enough know-how to not act much like a virgin, and he has amazing control over his reactions thanks to aforementioned meditation lessons from Africa. Overall, boring, annoying race issues, and not enough for me to remember otherwise months later.
-
dorothean's much better look at the race issues in the bookThis Duchess of Mine
Jemma married Elijah, Duke of Beaumont, years ago, but as of the beginning of this series, she's been living abroad in France, lovers everywhere. However, by book one (I think, having only read a bit of book 2), Elijah has summoned Jemma back because he wants an heir. Unfortunately, she might be more attracted to his chess-loving best friend, Leopold Dautry, the Duke of Villiers. However, they manage to reconcile their differences as Jemma discovers she still loves Elijah.
All this, by the way, takes place before this book even begins. That also sums up my main problem with this book: the largest conflict has already been resolved prior to this book, leaving basically nothing for the book itself save a hokey medical drama. Also, unsurprising to none of the readers, Jemma is not actually as scandalous as rumors would have you believe.
A Duke of Her Own
Now that Jemma and Elijah are happily reconciled, Leopold, Duke of Villiers, must find a mother for his illegitimate children. Eleanor, daughter of the Duke of Montague, is beautiful and intelligent, and Leopold decides she's just fine until he meets Lisette, daughter of the Duke of Gilner, who supposedly cares nothing about appearances and would therefore make a great mother for illegitimate children. He wants Eleanor's body, but unfortunately, so did the man who broke Eleanor's heart so many years ago. This is actually my favorite of all of James' books. I particularly like that Eleanor likes sex and that a lot of the book revolves around her trying to reconcile herself with that, particularly after it looks like two men will abandon her because they think she's great for sleeping with, but not for marrying. That said, I was so frustrated by Leopold's inability to see through Lisette.
I'm not sure what it is, but James just doesn't seem to work for me—I've read other books of hers prior to this, and although I like the outline of them, it's the details I never quite buy. I think the only reason I read so many was because I was in grad school and running out of romances.
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