Publication Date:July 1, 2008 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Promotion:Buy 4 eligible items in the 4-for-3 promotion offered by Amazon.com and get 1 of them free.Terms and Conditions Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
DisappointmentAugust 6, 2008 1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was really difficult for me to get through. I found it boring, and I felt the description on the back made the book seem like it was going to be more exciting than it was. Read disappointment.
Duchess pretends to be a man....August 4, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I liked this book , it had solid characters, great dialogue and some interesting plot/history twists. Harriet, Duchess of Berrow is a widow (her husband committed suicide) and she wants some life back. She decides to follow her friends to Lord Strange's home , dressed as a man. Lord Strange starts having feels for Harriet dressed as man.... I read this book on the way up to the Lake - enjoyable. Looking forward to Isidore and Duke's story When the Duke Returns due out November 25, 2008.
duchess by nightJuly 27, 2008 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is another wonderful book by Eloisa James. Reading her books is like visiting with old friends.
Enjoyable masqueradeJuly 26, 2008 4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is dedicated to Georgette Heyer and it becomes apparently fairly quickly why; those who have read Heyer's 'The Masqueraders' will be familiar with the central theme of this book, that of a woman disguised as a man and finding herself befriending a man who eventually sees through her disguise. In this story the disguised woman is the Duchess of Berrow, a widow of 27 whose life has become rather boring and staid. When her friend Isidora wants to create a mini scandal she decides to attend a house party at the home of Lord Justinian Strange, and asks Harriet, Duchess of Berrow, to go with her. They are also accompanied by the Duke of Villiers, a man that Harriet has previously hated but who begins to be revealed as someone rather more likeable than she thought.
Of course Harriet can't attend the house party as herself as her reputation will be ruined. Isidora and the Duke of Villiers together help her to dress as a young man and she is introduced as Mr Cope, a relation of Villiers'. As Harriet settles into her new role she begins to find the freedom that men have - not only in terms of less restrictive clothing and the ability to say what they mean without excessive politeness, but also in discovering enjoyment in galloping horses, learning to fence and more. But can she keep her identity secret, can her growing friendship with Lord Strange survive her eventual unmasking?
What was particularly good about this book was the focus on Harriet and Strange and the gradual way in which they get to know each other. Most of the book is narrated from Harriet's point of view but we get occasional insights into Jem's thoughts, which are rather perturbed at his apparent attraction to another man. We learn more about both characters and how events in their past have shaped the way in which they live their lives today. What I also appreciated was that this was a romance which actually ran fairly smoothly without lots of awkward misunderstandings to irritate the reader, although the story did have a slight blip to this effect at the end.
The author has an excellent writing style with fast pacing but also some depth to the characterisation. The dialogue occasionally let the author down as people spoke in modern American rather than Georgian English but overall it was a very enjoyable story and one that is apparently part of a series about Duchesses. On the strength of this story I will be eagerly looking out for the next one.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book Helen Hancox 2008
Deserves Zero StarsJuly 24, 2008 10 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is one of the worst books of any sort I have ever read. The plot is worn out, shallow and contrived. The book is filled with the dullest and stupidest converstaions one can imagine. The main characters are bland, dull and not particularly appealing. The supporting characters are even more lifeless. There is no electricity between the hero and the heroine. The final confrontation between the two is implausible.
We are told at the beginning of the story that the hero, Lord Strange, is dissipate and runs 24/7 orgies in his house. Then we learn that he has never slept with another woman since his wife died. And - hear this - he is only inviting light-skirts into his house because his dead father would have wanted it!
The dull duchess at the center of the story is a wallflower, but this supposedly attractive male falls for her ont he spot. It is not clear why.
And one can only guess at the purpose of the other two duchesses in the story.
I think this book is an insult to romance readers.
I skipped through till the end just because I wasted eight dollars on it, but this is the last I will ever buy from Ms. James.
