The next fabulous romance by New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James. Having made a fortune, Thorn Dautry, the powerful bastard son of a duke, decides that he needs a wife. But to marry a lady, Thorn must acquire a gleaming, civilized façade, the specialty of Lady Xenobia India. Exquisite, headstrong, and independent, India vows to make Thorn marriageable in just three weeks. But neither Thorn nor India anticipate the forbidden passion that explodes between them. Thorn will stop at nothing to make India his. Failure is not an option. But there is only one thing that will make India his . . . the one thing Thorn can't afford to lose . . . his fierce and lawless heart.
my review -
Eloisa
James had me hooked once again – it has been a while since I have read Regency
Romance novels, and I didn’t know I missed it that much until I have read this
one.
Thorn
Dautry is a powerful bastard son of a duke. He had now made a fortune, and is
as rich as Midas. He could have anything he wanted without really lifting a
finger, he could have any woman, but he wanted one thing that had been missing
from his life – he wanted a wife. He wanted to marry a lady – but before he
could, he needed first to get a country estate, and well, polish his ways. He had
acquire an estate, but it was inhabitable, he needed the help of someone to
organize his household, and who better employ but the best?
Lady
Xenobia India is beautiful, headstrong and independent. If anyone can do it –
it was her. But all she have is three weeks – can she do it? She had to
transform his estate, and she had to make him marriageable.
What
they didn’t expect is for flames to ignite, and for their attraction to
unleash. Much as he wanted to make her his, he was already sort-of betrothed. But
he couldn’t just give India up – she was his perfect match. She can carry a
conversation, make him think, make him squirm, and make him crazy all at the
same time. He wanted her – and he will do anything to have her. He was careful
with his heart, and this time, it might be in grave danger.
I
liked Lady X, her strong personality, her steadfastness, except for her aunt,
she had literally on her own. Being left an orphan at an early age, she was left
penniless by her parents and she did all she could to make it through life,
build her own dowry and doing things she loved to do despite her title.
I
enjoyed their correspondence, and it felt like their written foreplay. I got
entertained with their banters, Thorn broke my heart when he broke hers, and I shed
some tears over some scenes. Awww. There was a time when I wished so hard that
he would man up, and offer what she wanted from him. Some men could be just
oblivious to what women want. But everything was forgiven with his grand
gesture at the end of the novel. WOW. Risking his life to give her something
she held dear was really something. I didn’t expect him to do it, and to pull
all efforts for it. Nevertheless, he had my heart by then.
I’m
sure readers will enjoy this installment of Desperate Duchess much as I enjoyed
it and the rest of the series. You will fall in love with the characters, pin
for them and wish for their HEA. I loved it. I was totally hooked and it had
kept me awake all night, I was unable to tear myself from it.
✪Complimentary Copy was given in exchange for an honest review.✪
There were ten statues in all. She waited for a pause in Adelaide’s lecture about Renaissance sculpture, and asked, “Do you wish to keep these pieces, Mr. Dautry?”
He was standing before Leda, who had very large breasts, and looked merry, as if swans were just her cup of tea. “Perhaps I’ll keep this one,” he murmured. But then he glanced sideways at her. He was trying to shock her, the way little boys did when they dropped their breeches.
“She looks like a village barmaid,” she said indifferently. “I find the satyr far more interesting.”
Dautry pivoted and gave the bronze statue a good long stare. India looked again too. The satyr’s hand was curved above his lover in a gesture both exuberant and protective. Unwillingly, she felt another pulse of warmth.
“If they were both female, I would,” Dautry said, with a wicked grin.
He was trying to provoke her again, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of appeared scandalized. “Shall we consign the statues to the barn, and you can decide their fate some other time?”
the author -
New York
Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for
HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A
reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found
herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar;" later People
Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than
this." Her novels have repeatedly received starred reviews from
Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller
lists.
After
graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford
University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor,
publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Currently she is a
distinguished professor and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham
University in New York City. Her "double life" is a source of
fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she's
written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published
everywhere from women's magazines such as Good Housekeeping and More to
writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.
giveaway -
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