Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Light-hearted, witty and fun., 15 Dec 2008
I enjoyed this book. It's a well written tale about Isidore and Simeon, the Duke and Duchess of Cosway: "Married by proxy as a child, Lady Isidore has spent years fending off lecherous suitors while longing for her husband, Simeon Jermyn, the Duke of Cosway, to return." A light hearted story about what happens when a passionate, head-strong and beautiful woman collides with her calm, dispassionate (on the surface) and in-control husband. A lot of the story takes place on his country estate, which has been sadly neglected. There is lots of choice detail about Georgian plumbing! I didn't find it hugely emotionally intense but their developing relationship was well described and there is some good, snappy dialogue.
I can't help it though, I confess that in all the books so far I have been distracted by the parts featuring Jemma Beaumont and her husband Elijah. It is very tantalising - I want to read their story and because of the way it's been set up I'm guessing theirs will be one of the darkest books of the series. I'm also looking forward to finding out what happens to the Duke of Villiers.
I do like how Eloisa James writes and "When the Duke Returns" is definitely better than the last two in this series.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable but lacking in substance, 5 Jan 2009
The latest in Eloisa James' "Desperate Duchesses" series focuses on Isidore, the Duchess of Cosway, and her husband Simeon. They have a rather unusual marriage in that, despite being wed for eleven years, they have never actually met. They were married by proxy when Isidore was 12 whilst Simeon was travelling in Africa and India and he has never returned. In James' previous book in this series we learned that Isidore accompanied a friend to a country house party in order to try to get some reaction from Simeon. It works - Simeon arrives at the house party and takes Isidore back to London.
Isidore didn't know what to expect in her husband and finds that he's a man who doesn't conform to society's idea of a gentleman in clothing and general dress. However she does find hm very attractive and knows that she, herself, has many admirers. However when Simeon's initial plans to have a 'proper' wedding change to suggestions of an annulment, Isidore has to decide whether she wants to continue with her marriage with its many inconveniences, not the least of which are the problems at the Ducal seat and with his mother, or whether she wants the freedom she has never really had. And can Simeon, who has learned self control and calmness on his travels, ever get to grips with his fiery wife?
Eloisa James writes well and the interest is always kept up in this book. There were some rather unusual plot events (having the water closets cleaned out in the house, for example) and the side plot of Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont, and her troubled marriage was explored further although unresolved. Where the book falls down is depth of plot (this was actually a fairly simple story and I wasn't always convinced by the interactions between Simeon and Isidore) and historical accuracy where characters used American words in the time of George III (such as 'diapers' for 'nappies' and various American sentence structures which aren't used in England). I had looked forward to this book as I enjoyed the previous one but felt somehow as if it didn't quite satisfy and some of the improbabilities in the plot were too much to ignore.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Duchesses Return, 24 May 2009
Lady Isidore Del'Fino was married by proxy when she was just twelve years old, and always assumed her husband would fetch her when she came of age. Eleven years on, Isidore is tired of waiting. But when her presence at a scadalous house party achieves the desired result, Isidore isn't altogether sure her duke is what she bargained for.
Simeon, Duke of Cosway, abhors chaos and has spent more than a decade exploring ways to avoid it, and ignoring his responsibilities. On his travels the one thing he's come to prize above all else is his control. So when he comes home to an unpleasant mother, years of unpaid bills, a rotting house and a wife designed to wreck his self-control, it's not surprising he soon wishes he hadn't bothered.
Isidore is a passionate, hot-blooded Italian woman who is used to taking care of herself. Simeon is a rigidly self-controlled man used to being in command of any situation, at any given time. In this fourth book of the 'Desperate Duchesses' series opposites attract in an explosive combination. Made all the more delicious when control is thrown to the wind.
In typical James style humour and realism collide with blocked water closets, decadent dresses and discussions of virginity. While the return of the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont and the Duke of Villiers not only developes the overall series, but provides confidants and refuges for the main couple when things inevitably go wrong.
Yet, in a book filled with funny, charming, sexy and romantic moments I couldn't help being more interested in what was happening with Elijah, Duke of Beaumont. The scenes where Jemma visits his office, and where Villiers and he talk were my favourites in the entire book, making me eager for the next (This Duchess of Mine).
(That's not to say Isidore and Simeon aren't interesting, but after four books I'm really quite fond of Elijah.)
Thankfully, James has a gift for handling ensemble casts and presenting several storylines at once, while still making the reader (well, me anyway) care about all of them. And she's not afraid of strong heroes and even stronger heroines. When it comes to the end her books are always great fun and leave me with a smile on my face.
Oh, and the epilogue is perfect. I love this series.
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