Your Wicked Ways by Eloisa James

This is the fourth book in the Duchess quartet following on from A Wild Pursuit.

Helene, the Countess Godwin, knows there is nothing more unbearably tedious than a virtuous woman. After all, she's been one for ten long years while her scoundrel of a husband lives with strumpets and causes scandal after scandal. So she decides it's time for a change -- she styles her hair in the newest, daring mode, puts on a shockingly transparent gown, and goes to a ball like Cinderella, hoping to find a prince charming to sweep her off her feet...and into his bed. But instead of a prince, she finds only her own volatile, infuriatingly handsome...husband, Rees, the Earl Godwin. They'd eloped to Gretna Green in a fiery passion, but passion can sometimes burn too hot to last.

But now, Rees makes her a brazen offer, and Helene decides to become his wife again...but not in name only. No, this time she decides to be very, very wicked indeed.

I think I remember reading somewhere that Eloisa James wrote this book due to popular demand. Now, I am not sure how true that is given that this book was published pretty soon after A Wild Pursuit, but in some ways it does feel a bit disconnected from the other books. In other ways it feels almost as connected to the current series as it was to the other Duchess books. Maybe it really is an in between book!

For me, the biggest down side of this book is that Esme and Sebastian's story that was interwoven within the previous three books was all resolved and so whilst they did make some appearances, they really seemed to me to be just there for the sake of it.

Anyway...about this book. Helene and Rees have been separated for years and she has basically had enough. She has decided that she no longer wants to have a pristine reputation, she is going to take matters into her own hands and find herself a man so that she can have a baby. She decides to revamp her look, and makes an appearance in society with scandalously short hair and dresses. Suddenly, there are suitors, most notably Mayne (who goes on to make a pivotal appearance in Much Ado About You)

All through this series, much has been made of the fact that Helene and Rees can't stand each other. So when Rees decides that if Helene is going to have a baby it might as well be his baby, it was quite surprising. Almost as surprising as the deal that Helene agrees to move back into his home even though his mistress was still going to be there, and slowly the feelings between the two spouses (does that make them spices?) starts to change.

Whereas in the other three books, Esme and Sebastian's story was woven into the background, this time it was the story of Rees' brother Tom and Rees' mistress Lina that provided the alternate story.

I felt that James had to work really hard to redeem Rees from the role that he had in the previous books, and also to suddenly make Helene so completely compelling that she would have two men who both wanted her so badly. She mostly succeeded, but for me the story was not one that captured my imagination in the way that I would have really liked.

Overall I enjoyed these books, and will be reading more by James, but I haven't been completely blown away by the ones in this series. I will need to go back and read the Pleasures trilogy and see how that one links into this series.

Rating 3.5/5

A Wild Pursuit by Eloisa James

The third book in the Duchess quartet, following on from Fool for Love.

It is whispered behind the fans of London's dowagers and in the corners of fashionable ballrooms that scandal follows willfully wild Lady Beatrix Lennox wherever she goes.

Three years before, the debutante created a sensation by being found in a distinctly compromising position. Now, the ton has branded her as unmarriageable, her family has called her a vixen, and Beatrix sees no reason not to go after what and who she wishes.

And she wants Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, the handsome Earl of Spade. Beatrix, with her brazen suggestions and irresistibly sensuous allure, couldn't be more different from the earl's ideal future bride. Yet Beatrix brings out a wildness in the earl he has tried to deny far too long. Still, he's not about to play love's game by Lady Beatrix's rules. She may be used to being on top in affairs of the heart, but that will soon change.

Lady Beatrix Lennox is now the companion to the aunt of Esme Rawlings who we met in the previous two books in this series. When Esme is approaching her time of confinement her aunt descends on her with all her people, and there is aimpromptutu house party. For all that Esme is trying to live a scandal free life for a change, having a house party during confinement is not really the done thing in the ton.

One of the people that Esme's aunt has invited is MP Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, with a view to marrying Esme off to him. There are, however, others who have ideas in relation to Mr Fairfax- Lacy, and before he knows it, he finds himself engaged to one woman, supposedly having an affair with another married woman, and desperately attracted to Beatrix. As for Beatrix, she is willing to have a short fling with him, but when he wants more from her, she is not sure that she can do that.

I had a few issues with this book. The first and most pressing is that I didn't really care about Stephen and Bea. I didn't really get the attraction between them, or feel it when they decided that they could have a HEA only with each other, although I did like the epilogue that had him defending her long lost honour. Strangely enough there were two epilogues in this book...something I don't think I have seen before. Anyway, I digress. The main reason why I didn't really care for Stephen and Bea was that I really wanted to read Esme and Sebastian's story. Their story has been interwoven in the three books of this series so far, and yet it is the story that has most captured my imagination and felt emotionally attached to.

The second issue I had relates to the virginity question.

******SPOILER ALERT******

Beatrix had been compromised at a very young age, and had gone on to be a scandalous persona within the ton, openly flaunting her body, and supposedly her affairs. For all that, she had only had 3 lovers which is fine, and with each of those it only happened once and she had never enjoyed the experience. However, when she finally makes love to Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, his heart sings because she really is a virgin in every sense of the word. HUH? Why would it be so bad for her not to be a virgin. I know that it is important at that time, but he knew that she had been compromised, and this time it was an opportunity for the female equivalent of a rake to be reformed by the love of a good man. Why couldn't it just have been left at that.

******SPOILER OFF******

I would have loved to have a book just for Sebastian and Esme. Sebastian's devotion to Esme was so heart rending, and for me I would have enjoyed this book much more if that had of been the main story. As it is, I have to take marks off because of Stephen and Bea and the virginity thing.

Rating 3.5/5

Fool for Love by Eloisa James

The second book in the Duchess series, following on from Duchess in Love. Due to the way that the stories of several of the characters intertwine their way throughout the first two books this review will include some small spoilers for Duchess in Love, but I have done my best to limit them.

The Woman
Lady Henrietta Maclellan longs for the romantic swirl of a London season. But as a rusticating country maiden, she has always kept her sensuous nature firmly under wraps -- until she meets Simon Darby. Simon makes her want to whisper promises late at night, exchange kisses on a balcony, receive illicit love notes. So Henrietta lets her imagination soar and writes…

The Letter
A very steamy love letter that becomes shockingly public. Everyone supposes that he has written it to her, but the truth hardly matters in the face of the scandal to come if they don't marry at once. But nothing has quite prepared Henrietta for the pure sensuality of…

The Man
Simon has vowed he will never turn himself into a fool over a woman. So, while debutantes swoon as he disdainfully strides past the lovely ladies of the ton, he ignores them all…until Henrietta. Could it be possible that he has been the foolish one all along?

It's interesting to me to see how these first two books link together, and then to wonder how the final two books will link together again as well. In the first book of the series, the main story was that of Gina and Cam, but in the background there were Carola and her husband Tuppy, Helene and her estranged husband and then Esme who during the course of a house party decides to reunite with her husband in order to provide him with an heir. In the meantime though she submits to her desire for Sebastian. When her husband dies, she is left pregnant, but doesn't know which of the two men could be the father, which brings us to the events in this book, and our hero, Esme's husband's heir Simon Darby. It is obvious that Esme is the centrepiece of this series, especially seeing as Gina and Cam barely rate a mention in this book!

Simon is sceptical that Esme and his uncle had reunited and therefore is concerned that if the child is a boy, then the title may be passed onto another man's child. He therefore decides to decamp to Esme's estate to see if he can figure out what went on before his uncle's death. Unfortunately, he has rather recently become the guardian of his two young stepsisters and therefore he has to bring them with them. The two girls are...well...painful. I don't normally mind much when there is kids in a romance but these two are not cute and adorable. The elder girl, Josie, throws tantrums all the time, and her favourite line is that she is a poor, motherless child. Abigail, the younger girl, is apparently less than a year old, makes her presence known by throwing up at the most inopportune moments on a regular basis. The author in her note talks about her own daughter who continued to throw up regularly until she was about twelve months old. Whilst I don't doubt the veracity of the condition, I don't want to read about it!

So anyway, when Simon meets Henrietta he can't believe that no-one else has snapped her up and married her before now, and given the attraction between them, and the fact that his mind has turned to marriage is a bonus. After being caught kissing Henrietta up against a carriage in public, Simon does the honourable thing and proposes marriage to her stepmother. However, she strongly suggests that Henrietta should not get married because with her disability of a weak hip, she would not be able to stand the rigours of the marriage bed, and would likely die from the perils of childbirth, as did her mother who shared her weakness of the hip.

Instead of accepting this as her fate, Henrietta arranges a plan with Esme where a letter that she wrote to herself pretending it was from Simon is read in a public dinner party, meaning that she is thoroughly compromised and there really was no choice but for Simon to marry Henrietta. Esme comes to the rescue with a contraceptive device that means that the lovebirds can have a normal relationship... thank goodness!

In the meantime, Esme has a new gardener who she is more familiar with than she should be, and the next book is set up to be her story. I can't wait to read it!

In terms of the characters, I didn't really feel as though I connected with Simon in particular. He was portrayed as a very fashionable man about town, with lace collars and sleeves, a man who is happy to be seen in salmon coloured breeches. Turns out he is the chief importer of lace into London, and whilst he is a bit of fop, he is also a very manly man! As for Henrietta...well, I am bit in two minds about her as well. Whilst she didn't just accept that she should be an unmarried woman which is admirable, her reaction in a couple of situations was verging on hysterical for want of a better word.

The fact of the matter is, that for me, I suspect that this book really is just the build up to the main course, which is Esme and Sebastian's story!

Rating 3.5/5

Duchess in Love by Eloisa James

The first in the Duchess series of books by Eloisa James.

A Duke in Retreat

Gina was forced into marriage with the Duke of Girton at an age when she'd have been better off in a schoolroom than a ballroom. Directly after the ceremony her handsome spouse promptly fled to the continent, leaving the marriage unconsummated and Gina quite indignant.

A Lady In the Middle

Now, she is one of the most well-known ladies in London... living on the edge of scandal -- desired by many men, but resisting giving herself to any one.

A Duchess in Love

Finally, Camden, the Duke of Girton, has returned home, to discover that his naïve bride has blossomed into the toast of the ton. Which leaves Cam in the most uncomfortable position of discovering that he has the bad manners to be falling in love -- with his own wife!

This book was almost a comedy caper. Gina is married to Cam who has in the past had several mistresses, but she is engaged to Sebastian who may or may not be interested in one of her friends who is married to a man who has a mistress. Passions become ignited as four of our main protaganists find themselves casts in the key roles in Much Ado About Nothing forcing them to spend time together.

Gina and her friends Esme, Carola and Helene are all married ladies, but theirs are no happy marriages. Esme's husband has a long standing mistress that all of the ton knows about, and Esme courts scandal by taking the occasional lover, although she does allow the ton to think that there are more than they are. At this time, Esme is often seen in the complany of a handsome but dim actor. Carola is estranged from her husband, having fled from him after just one month of marriage. She does however realised that she still loves him and she wants to get him back, but she has no idea how to go about this.

As for Gina, she has been married to Camden, Duke of Girton since before she was 12 years old. He scampered out the window minutes after their marriage and they have not seen each other since. She is now engaged to the priggish Sebastian, Marquess of Bonnington, who insists on being VERY proper at all times but now that Cam is back could it be that she is developing feelings for him?

Whilst this book is a lot of fun, there are a couple of things that I wasn't 100% sure about. Right at the end it still seemed as though neither Cam or Gina were aware of what was going on, with it even seeming as though Gina ends up married to someone else at very late points in the book. It also seemed as though there were too many different stories being told in one book. Having said that, I can't wait to read Esme's book which comes in the third book in the series! Can't wait! Can't wait! The strange thing is that this is a four book series with the next book being Cam's cousins story, then Esme's story and then Helene's story. The reason why this is strange is that Helene's link in this book is a bit more tenuous than the others. Maybe it will get stronger in the next two books. It does seem from the author's website that the fourth book was almost an after thought so it will be interesting to see if this is obvious.

Lots of fun, in a house party situation that allows for lots of opportunities for sneaking around.

Rating 4/5