Roberta St. Giles wants to get married. The trouble is her father is not only known as 'The Mad Marquess', he's also prone to obscure poetry, falling to his knees and bursting into tears in public - as well as falling in love with unsuitable ladies.
But Roberta is twenty-one, and no matter how much she loves her father, she cannot imagine living the rest of her life in the country with him. Nor face marrying a man like him either.
So when she meets the Duke of Villiers at a Christmas party she knows instantly what she wants: him. Cool, collected and exquisitely dressed, Villiers is not a man to ever make unseemly public displays of emotion.
According to Damon Reeve, Earl of Gryffyn, Villiers wouldn't even feel them in private either. Roberta doesn't care. Villiers is everything her father isn't, which makes him perfect. Now, how to make him marry her?
With the help of the scandalous Duchess of Beaumont, a game or two of chess and sparkling wit, Roberta astonishes even herself by getting what she wants. Except Damon's kisses are really rather enjoyable, and the prospect of a cool, emotionless spouse might not be as pleasant as she first thought...
Welcome to the decadent era of Georgian England, where men wear high-heels, everyone dresses to excess and powder and patches are the norm. James begins her new series with her trademark cast of intriguing and amusing characters. In fact, at times Jemma (Duchess of Beaumont), with games of chess against both her husband Elijah and the Duke of Villiers threaten to overshadow the main love story. While the brief glimpses of the Mad Marquess almost steals the show altogether.
Yet Damon's bemusement over Roberta's love for Villiers, and his attempts to win her anyway (while she determindly tries to convince herself that Villiers is her perfect match) keep the central romance spinning. And for me, the burgeoning friendship between Teddy and Roberta is what keeps me from dsmissing her as completely hopeless.
In this series James truly comes into her own, with complex, fascinating characters beautifully balanced by wit, romance and a lot of research. She truly brings the Georgian era to life, and makes chess much more than a game of strategy.