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Desperate Duchesses
 
 
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Desperate Duchesses [Kindle Edition]

Eloisa James (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews) |
Print List Price: £7.99
Kindle Price: £4.99 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Review

'So full of dashing cads in breeches that it's guaranteed to get me hot under the collar . . . Bravo for Eloisa' (Fiona Walker on Much Ado About Nothing )

'Romance writing does not get much better than this.' (People Magazine on Eloisa James )

'I found myself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar' (USA Today on Eloisa James )

'Great fun. I couldn't put it down!'

(Daisy Waugh on Much Ado About Nothing )

'Hurrah! Romance is back in fashion. No grisly body count, no lurking serial killer. The only four-letter word is love. Choc-full of romantic heroes that would give Darcy a run for his money. Sheer joy from beginning to end.'

(Carole Matthews on Much Ado About You )

'If Shakespeare had written an 18th-century romantic comedy, it might look something like this . . . colourful, spirited romance that will leave readers desperate for a sequel'

(Publishers Weekly )

Carole Matthews on Much Ado About You

'Sheer joy from beginning to end.'
See all Product Description

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 484 KB
  • Print Length: 400 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0060781939
  • Publisher: Hodder (1 May 2008)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B003LPV5IW
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #29,342 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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More About the Author

Eloisa James
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I absolutely adore Eloisa James' books. This one is the first in the duchess series, followed by An Affair before Christmas, Duchess By Night, When the Duke returns and This Duchess of Mine. The last in the series is A Duke of Her Own (2009)

Eloisa's duchess series is like having your very special family on the bookshelf, mainly centered around the famouus duchess Jemma. With great love and humourous care Eloisa makes the plots of the books develop around her and her husband, the duke of Beaumont, and their friends - including the duchesses in the following books.

The plots of the books is a wonderful merry-go-round involving a ring of girlfriend duchesses and their trouble with love. In Desperate Duchesses we meet Roberta, who is desperate for escaping the country and her rather excentric father who writes poems. She already have a notorius duke in sight: The duke of Villiers, Jemmas new chess friend - and the one duke that has set out to seduce Jemma, despite her marriage with Beaumont. Roberta is hopelessly in love with Villiers - but is not aware that Jemma's brother have taken a like to her instead... The book is all about the deliciuos Roberta going from admiration of Villiers and to slowly accept that what you want isn't always the same as what you need...

I can't wait to read the last book in the series where the famous, notorius Villiers gets what he deserves when he looks for a bride to take care of seven(!) offpspring children in "A duke of her own". Throughout the books Villiers goes from a cynical rake to a grown man with a conscience. I'm sure it will be an absolutely delicious end to the duchess stories!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Book Gannet TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Entertaining stuff 26 Jun 2007
By CJ VINE™ VOICE
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Eloisa James writes very well and wittily. I recommend this story if you like good and entertaining writing. The plot is reasonably predictable with quirky bits. Girl falls for wrong man, Mr Right tries to show her the error of her ways and eventually they end up together when she finds out that the superficial attraction of her first crush is nothing in comparison to the real lurve and friendship she finds with the right man. Its well done and its fun. You can see the other relationships set up for the rest of the series in the course of the book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Terrible formatting
I would love to be able to review this book but having downloaded the Kindle edition, I didn't get past the first chapter due to the large number of formatting issues in the... Read more
Published 22 days ago by Kymethra
A Historical Romance with Brain
I love the Historical Romance genre. In fact I am very close to becoming an addict, suffering withdrawal pains when I find a certain author has stopped writing, or books are out of... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Alice in Wonderland
Easy and fun to read
This is the first in the series. It introduces the protagonists of the remaining books and follows the story of the main protagonist that helps out all the others. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2010 by Rosemay
Ducheses
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but please can The Duchess series be put in chronological order, I have 5 Eloisa James books and I seem to be going back and forth.
Published on 3 Nov 2009 by Mrs. Jean R. Livingstone
entertaining
very predictable story but its entertaining in its own way. although the show is stolen by Damon (our hero) little boy teddy, who at six years old is obsessed with all things gross... Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2009 by Lindymck
Great if you like chess
The plot of this book was drowned in chess. James's researcher worked overtime and the author put in probably everything she discovered, being fascinated by the game. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2008 by normally a fan
Witty and entertaining
Like the Duchesses trilogy this new trilogy has a pivitol couple who look as though they will be central to all four books; presumably their problems only being resolved in the... Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2007 by LEP
Synopsis
A marquess's sheltered only daughter, Lady Roberta St. Giles falls in love with a man she glimpses across a crowded ballroom: a duke, a game player of consumate skill, a notorious... Read more
Published on 29 July 2007 by R. Wright
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