Review: A Chance on Love by Louise Allen

I'm a huge fan of Louise Allen and I've been catching up on the books of hers I haven't read.

A Chance on Love is a short story/novella of about 30 pages, that should only take about 30 minutes to read.

It is 1809 and Lady Johanna Holt arrives in Calcutta to escape from a scandal, with the full intention of turning right around and heading back home again. Instead of her cousin, she is met off the boat by Sir Alexander Darvell and persuades him to give her a tour of the city.

To say much more than that would spoil the story for you, but it's a sweet Regency romance, with engaging characters and a beautiful setting. Recommended!

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Once Upon a Regency Christmas by Louise Allen, Annie Burrows and Sophia James

Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager

This book caught my eye because of the cover and I'd heard lots of good things about it.

Quincy, Sam and Lisa are the sole survivors of three separate killing sprees, leading the press to nickname them 'the Final Girls'. Each one is beginning to rebuild their lives, when Lisa is unexpectedly found dead in mysterious circumstances. Should Quincy and Sam be worried? Has someone started targeting the Final Girls?  

I'm not reading as much crime as I used to because if you've read as many as I have, the plots begin to feel a little familiar! However, Final Girls is extremely well written, with very engaging characters, and I particularly enjoyed the modern writing style. I have to admit this kept me reading when I was convinced I'd worked out exactly what was going on. But it turned out Riley Sager had some excellent twists up his sleeve and the ending completely threw me. I do love books like that!

I think my favourite character was Sam, because of the way she kept pushing at Quincy to remember the night her friends were killed. And I loved the way Quincy's life began to unravel as her memory came back! I can't say much more because of spoilers, but I really enjoyed Final Girls and would recommend it to anyone who loves twisty thrillers, and references to those old-style horror movies where a bunch of teenagers head off to a cabin in the woods and get killed off one by one!

Review: A Duke in Need of a Wife by Annie Burrows

I love reading historical romances, they are perfect escapism, and I always find myself turning to Annie Burrows when I'm in need of a comfort read - in this case I was in bed with the flu! 

Sofia is an unlikely heiress and has had an unconventional upbringing. She spent the first ten years of her life with her father, a serving soldier (and the second son of an Earl), who had sole responsibility for her after her mother (the daughter of a Portuguese wine merchant) died. When Sofia goes to live with her aunt and uncle after her father's death, they are horrified at the way she has been brought up and work hard to turn her into a proper lady.  

It is sad the way Sofia tries so hard to fit in with the stuffy English, only to keep being rejected. She even hears the man she loves admit he only wants her for her money. So when the Duke of Theakstone invites her to a bride-finding house party, she knows he's never going to want to marry her, no matter how desperate he is to find a wife, because she feels she's just not good enough and never will be.

A Duke in Need of a Wife is a sweet story that's a lot of fun. The antics of the back-stabbing would-be brides are hilarious and I loved the scene where poor Sofia ends up in the lake. Much of the humour comes from Sofia's thoughts and what she really thinks about these awful people. I don't know how she manages to keep quiet! And I adored Snowball the dog.

Recommended to fans of light-hearted historical romances and authors such as Georgette Heyer. This was a five-star read for me.


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The Marquess Tames His Bride (Brides for Bachelors #2) by Annie Burrows
The Major Meets His Match (Brides for Bachelors #1) by Annie Burrows
The Debutante's Daring Proposal by Annie Burrows
Once Upon a Regency Christmas (anthology) by Louise Allen, Sophia James and Annie Burrows

Review: How to Get Ahead in Television by Sophie Cousens

This one caught my eye because of the pretty cover. I'm not sure why I missed reading it when it first came out, as I love romantic comedies, but I think it's because the original cover made it look like a different kind of book!

Poppy Penfold will do anything to get a job in television, even starting right at the very bottom as a temporary runner for RealiTV, who specialise in reality television. To win a permanent job she has to somehow beat the highly competitive Rhidian, who gets on with everyone, is totally organised, and far too good-looking for his own good...

How to Get Ahead in Television is a lot of fun. Poppy is a cute character who transforms herself from a hot mess into someone who actually knows her job, mainly by making a lot of funny mistakes along the way. I loved her mum, who is determined to steer her into a safer career, like banking, and the story is crammed full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, many of which came straight from the author's own experience.

The only thing stopping this book from being a five star read for me is that frankly I'm too old for it! But fans of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones will love it and can give it an extra star.  

Review: Not the Duke's Darling (Greycourt #1) by Elizabeth Hoyt

I usually pre-order Elizabeth Hoyt's books months in advance but somehow I missed realising this one was out. When I did get to read it there were already mixed reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads, so I felt a bit apprehensive as to whether I was going to enjoy it! But this is another of those times where, if you know you enjoy a particular style of book and have a favourite author, you should trust yourself, ignore the reviews and make your own decision!

Freya de Moray is the daughter and sister of a duke but is working incognito as a companion. She's also a spy for an organisation called the Wise Women, who help other women in trouble. During one of her assignments she unexpectedly meets the Duke of Harlowe, the man she blames for destroying her brother's life, and she is determined to have her revenge.

There are a lot of characters in this book and a lot of plot. The heroine has a couple of near-death experiences, which don't have anything to do with the villain, and the Duke is being blackmailed, also a plot strand that could have been done away with. I can understand the amount of characters: this is the first in a new series, so I suspect some of them will have their own books later on. It was fun trying to work out which ones these will be, but it was hard to keep track of them all!

Having said that, there is never a dull moment and I did love the main characters, particularly Freya, who was very independent and strong-minded, yet happy to admit when she'd made a wrong decision. I also enjoyed the snippets of the fairy tale that started each chapter. Conclusion? I loved Not the Duke's Darling and I'm happy to give it five stars!

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Review: Once Upon a Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt

Review: Duke of Desire by Elizabeth Hoyt

Review: Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt

Review: The Mistletoe Bride (and other haunting tales) by Kate Mosse

I bought this short story collection back in August last year, with the idea I would dip in and out of it, and it spent the next four months on my desk. So much for that idea! But I picked it up again this Christmas and read each story, one after the other, and really enjoyed them!

This is a collection of seventeen ghost stories, set in different places and in different time periods. Some are traditional in style, others are based on folk stories. Some had a positive ending, others were really sad. Most have been previously published in magazines or other anthologies.

My favourites were The Yellow Scarf, about a woman who visits the ruin of an old manor house and is transported back to the time of the Civil War, and The House on the Hill, about a dolls house and a woman coming to terms with an event in her past. I didn't understand La Fille de Melisande, but that's probably because it's based on a an opera I've never heard of, and Syrinx left me cold, purely because I hate reading stories in script format!

But overall I really loved this collection and will probably read it again next Christmas! I particularly liked the way the author took the time to explain the inspiration behind each story at the end. Five stars!

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The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse 

Review: Evermore (Everless #2) by Sara Holland

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book because I read the first one in the series, Everless, last year and absolutely loved it. However, while I was completely gripped by the sequel, and read it very fast, it wasn't quite a five-star read for me.

Evermore is very much a sequel to Everless and won't make sense to anyone who hasn't read the first book. I did worry that I might have forgotten the story, as I have a memory like a sieve and I read a lot of books, but there is a recap in the first chapter.

Many centuries ago, the people of Sempera learned to turn their blood into 'blood iron' coins that can be dissolved and drunk to extend life. Now the poor work and pawn their valuables for blood iron, and die young, and the rich live forever. And the reclusive Queen, a kind of sinister Countess Bathory figure, rules over them all. Now the Queen is dead and Jules finally discovers the truth about her own past, and how she is connected with the centuries-old legend of the Alchemist and the Sorceress.

Evermore is a very fast read, with Jules constantly on the run for her life while at the same time trying to find a way to finish off the villain. I loved the first book, and the idea of turning the remaining years of your life into 'blood coins'. As I enjoy history, I also liked the way the legend of the Alchemist and the Sorceress was woven into the story. But Evermore didn't have the twists of its predecessor and it didn't quite hit the spot for me.

I think the problem is that there is not enough depth to the story, as though it was written very quickly. The perils Jules faces are skimmed over (we never really feel she is in danger) and we never get to know any of the other characters, even the love interest; they are just names on the page. There is a high price on Jules's head, yet she trusts everyone she meets (with no adverse consequences!), even to the point where she just blithely hands over her most treasured possession to someone she's just met. And while I found the first story highly original, there were moments in this book that reminded me of Harry Potter and Frozen

This all sounds negative but I did enjoy the story and I'm happy to give it four stars.

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Everless (Everless #1) by Sara Holland

Review: To All The Boys I've Loved Before (To All The Boys #1) by Jenny Han

I downloaded this one after watching the Netflix adaptation during the summer, which I loved. This is probably the first YA romance/romcom I've ever read (if I read YA, it's usually fantasy) but I really enjoyed it. The film is mostly faithful to the book, although the ending is slightly different (but not in a bad way!)

Lara Jean Covey is the middle one of the three 'Song sisters', who are extremely close after the death of their mother a few years back. The only gift Lara Jean had from her mother, that was not duplicated to her sisters, is a teal-coloured hat box in which she keeps a bundle of love letters. These are not letters she's received but ones she wrote and never posted, letters written to help her get over the various crushes she has had over the years. Then one day, the letters are mysteriously posted, leading to all sorts of complications.

I'm not usually keen on stories that go into a lot of detail about the characters lives; I prefer to get right to the action! But I absolutely loved this book because of all the detail about Covey family life. I loved the way the sisters try to encourage their hapless father to get out and date again, by ironing his tie and practically shoving him out the door. I loved the down-to-earth humour of Lara Jean's 'fake' boyfriend Peter: "As soon as you and I are done, he's gonna pull some cheesy-ass move and, like, profess his love for you with a boom box. I'm telling you, I know how guys think." I even adored Lara Jean's eccentric best friend Chris, who turns up in the middle of the night for sleepovers.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before is sweet, funny, and heart-warming without even trying. The characters are adorable and I completely fell in love with them. So I have no hesitation in recommending it to fans of contemporary romance, romance and romcoms, whatever their age! One of my favourite reads this year.

Review: The Lost Sisters (Novella) (Folk of the Air #1.5) by Holly Black

I became addicted to YA fantasy over the summer holidays and discovered Holly Black after reading The Cruel Prince, which I loved. The Lost Sisters is a companion novella to The Cruel Prince, so you really need to have read that one first to appreciate it.

Jude and Taryn are twin sisters, of human parents, who have ended up living in the world of the fae after being kidnapped by their step-father. Both have very different tactics to survive this strange new world, tactics that are often in conflict with their sister's. Both crave respect from the fae; is power a way to achieve this?

As this is a novella, it's hard to say more about the story without giving away the plot. So I'll just say that whereas The Cruel Prince was from Jude's point of view, this story gives Taryn's version of events. 

I did enjoy it but this is really one for existing fans of the series - something to keep us going until the next book in the series, The Wicked King, comes out in January 2019. If you can't wait that long, Holly Black's other books - Tithe and Ironside - are set in the same world and some of the characters reappear in The Cruel Prince.

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Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

After discovering YA fantasy over the summer, I have had a lovely time catching up on authors' backlists. I've particularly enjoyed reading Holly Black's urban fairy stories. Each one is set in the same world yet mentions characters from her other books, so  it's like catching up with old friends. The Darkest Part of the Forest is a standalone, so you don't need to have read her other books to enjoy it - which is lucky, because I seem to be reading them backwards!

In the forest outside the town of Fairfold is a glass casket containing a sleeping faerie prince. He's been there for as long as anyone can remember and has become quite a tourist attraction. Ben and his sister Hazel find him fascinating and long for him to wake up ... but the sleeping prince isn't the only faerie creature in the forest.

I loved this story because it took several well-known fairy tales and turned them on their head (Snow White, Kate Crackernuts, etc). I thought it great that it was a prince in the glass casket who needed rescuing and, although there is a bit of a romance, the characters don't necessarily end up with who you think. I loved the way the inhabitants of Fairfold had long since become used to supernatural creatures straying over their boundaries, and the hapless tourists who took selfies of themselves with the prince, but usually ended up becoming faerie fodder!

Recommended for anyone who loves YA fantasy and fairy tales with a dark, urban twist.

Review: The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse

I've enjoyed Kate Mosse's books in the past, but the thing that made me pick this one up was the word 'gothic' on the cover. I do love gothic novels!

The Taxidermist's Daughter is a historical murder mystery, set in the tiny village of Fishbourne (West Sussex) in 1912. It is a tradition that on the Eve of St Mark's the ghosts of those destined to die in the coming year will be seen walking into the church at midnight. The villagers have gathered in the churchyard to wait and watch, despite the pouring rain. At the appointed time the doors open - and hundreds of tiny birds fly out. It is obviously a message - but for whom? - and while watching from the shadows a woman is murdered...

Connie Gifford lives with her father in the dilapidated Blackthorn House. Huge chunks of her memory are missing after a childhood accident. Once famous for his taxidermy museum, Crowley Gifford is now more interested in drinking himself into oblivion while Connie does most of the work. What secret is Gifford drinking to forget - and is it the same one Connie can't remember?

I loved this story! It is so atmospheric - downright creepy at times - with the sinister house, the constant rain, the encroaching flood waters, the increasing body count and the very creative murderer! It is a bit gory at times though. At the beginning of each chapter is an 'extract' from a history of taxidermy, there are detailed descriptions of Connie's work, and that's before we get to the murders! So, not one for the faint-hearted but definitely recommended! 

Review: Born to be Wilde (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #3)

Eloisa James is one of my favourite authors. I love her warm-hearted, witty stories that usually have a group of friends or a family at their heart - in this case, the Wildes.

Parth has made his fortune, several times over, and is about to propose marriage to an Italian contessa. So when the beautiful but 'shallow' heiress Lavinia Gray asks him to marry her he turns her down flat, suspecting her motives. But perhaps things aren't all what they seem?

I think this is my favourite of the series so far. I loved Lavinia and the way she decides to turn her fortunes around by playing to her strengths - fashion - and not taking the easy way out: a wealthy husband, despite Parth's best efforts at trying to hook her up with a prince! The story is mostly told from her point of view and I would have liked a bit more from Parth, who I found a fascinating, if shadowy character. I'd have also liked a bit more of a hint about what he looked like from the start, as I'd somehow got it into my head he was red-haired - probably because of the heroine's comments that (with his beard) he was trying to look like Henry VIII!

I particularly liked the way laudanum addiction was handled - a nice change from those stories I've read where the characters seem to knock it back with no ill effect! And of course I loved all the lush descriptions of Georgian fashion!

Recommended for those who love the lighter, romantic comedy style of historical romance, and fans of authors such as Julia Quinn. And if you subscribe to Eloisa's newsletter, there is an opportunity to read a prequel novella, featuring Parth's adoptive father, the Duke of Lindow.

Related Reviews:

Wilde in Love (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #1) by Eloisa James

Too Wilde to Wed (The Wildes of Lindow Castle #2) by Eloisa James

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James

Review: Reckless by Amanda Quick

Reckless is another book that has been lurking on my Kindle completely forgotten about - something I'm trying to rectify!

In this story Phoebe Layton is obsessed by ancient illuminated manuscripts, particularly ones about knights and chivalry. She is desperate to find a particular manuscript, which she gave to a childhood sweetheart when he left the country to seek his fortune so that he might marry her. The book went missing about the same time he was murdered. Phoebe thinks that when she finds the book, she'll find the murderer. She enlists the help of Gabriel Banner, the only other person she knows who is as obsessed by old manuscripts and tales of knights of old as she is. 

Gabriel, however, has become a lot more bitter and twisted since Phoebe knew him as a child. After trying to elope with Phoebe's older sister some years ago, their father ruined him financially and he still bears a grudge. Maybe 'ruining' Phoebe will be the perfect revenge?

I've never been very keen on the 'using the heroine to get revenge' romance trope and while I liked Gabriel I found all the Knights of the Round Table stuff palled very quickly. I also didn't really warm to the the heroine, although I loved her eccentric family, so this is just a four-star read for me.

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Review: Ravished by Amanda Quick

Review: With This Ring by Amanda Quick

Review: Deception by Amanda Quick

Review: Scandal by Amanda Quick

Review: Ravished by Amanda Quick

I have a bad habit of buying books and then forgetting about them. I probably downloaded this one to 'try' when it was a 99p deal on Kindle (the Kindle version no longer seems available) but I rediscovered it recently after reading a stack of Amanda Quick books I brought home from the charity shop. 

Ravished is a slightly tongue-in-cheek historical romance; I do prefer this genre when there is humour! Harriet Pomeroy, daughter of a recently deceased Vicar, is obsessed with fossils, particularly the ones she has discovered in the caves owned by Gideon Westbrook. When she discovers thieves have been using 'her' caves to store their ill-gotten gains, she is furious and demands that Gideon gets rid of them. Gideon, meanwhile, has been nicknamed The Beast of Blackthorne due to his scarred face and dubious past. He's not happy at being drawn out of seclusion to capture these thieves but decides he might as well go along with it - anything for a quiet life. Except once he becomes involved with Harriet and her plans, a quiet life is the last thing he has.

Harriet and Gideon are very likeable characters and it was easy to become engaged with their story. I loved the way the author pokes fun at the Beauty and the Beast trope, and also the running joke about heroines being 'ravished' in the kind of gothic romances that were popular at this time. I do sometimes find Amanda Quick's stories a bit over-the-top, but Ravished was not one of them and I really enjoyed it. Recommended - provided you like this kind of thing!

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Review: Beyond Scandal and Desire (Sins for All Seasons #1) by Lorraine Heath

I downloaded this one because it was on offer at 99p and I've enjoyed some of Lorraine Heath's novels in the past. Unfortunately, I read it too soon after Sarah MacLean's Wicked and the Wallflower, which has the same revenge trope, and I couldn't help comparing the two.

Mick Trewlove is now a successful businessmen but was abandoned at birth by his aristocratic father. In revenge, he targets his father's legitimate son, intending to bankrupt him and seduce his betrothed.

The characters were likeable enough but there wasn't enough of an original twist on the trope for me.

Review: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

I chose this book because one of the book bloggers I follow (Chelsea at The Suspense is Thrilling Me) was raving about it and we have similar taste in books. Anyway, I absolutely adored it and now Naomi Novik is one of my favourite authors.

When I began reading Uprooted it reminded me at first of a cross between Beauty and the Beast and Howl's Moving Castle. It starts, very cleverly, with the tale of a village by a wood, guarded by a Dragon who chooses a maiden every ten years to take back to his tower. Our heroine, Agnieszka, is confident he won't choose her, because she's messy and clumsy and outspoken - surely he'll pick her pretty friend Kasia instead?

The first trick the author plays on us is that the Dragon is actually a very powerful wizard, and the plans he has for those girls he's taking from the village are not quite what everyone believes...

As the story develops it grows into something different, into its own fairy tale, about a Wood that corrupts and why, and the battle between what lives there and those who want to raze it to the ground. Rather than having a beginning, middle and end, Uprooted is almost episodic, detailing Agneiszka's adventures as she learns to work with the Dragon to help her people and solve the mystery of the Wood's power.

Uprooted is a YA fantasy with crossover appeal, and while there is a bit of a romance it is mainly about Agneiszka's journey as she learns more about her surroundings and herself. It is a thoroughly enchanting story and I loved the characters, especially Agneiszka and Sarkan, and the unusual ending, which I won't spoil for you. The only parts that left me cold were the battle scenes, because that's not my thing, and sometimes Agneiszka seemed a bit immature - but then Uprooted is YA and I'm not the target audience!

One of my favourite reads this year! 

Review: Ruin Beach (Ben Kitto #2) by Kate Rhodes

When I read the first book in this series of mysteries set on the Scilly Isles (Hell Bay), I fell in love with DI Ben Kitto - so I was eager to read Ruin Beach as soon as I saw it!

Although a native of the islands, Ben's career was based in London until the death of his partner forced him to transfer back home - along with his partner's dog, Shadow, a Czechoslovakian wolfdog. In this story Ben is investigating the death of professional diver, Jude Trellion, who has been found deliberately tied to a cliff.

I love these stories because of the characters: Ben, his enthusiastic if rather naive sidekick Eddie, and the disloyal Shadow - who will go off with anyone who feeds him! The books have a terrific sense of place; the Scilly Isles are so brilliantly described they are practically a character themselves and make me long to visit. I love history, so I found all the legends of the shipwrecks around the islands fascinating, and the parts about diving were well-researched and sounded authentic. Running alongside the main plot is also the story of a character who knows why Jude was killed, putting them firmly in the sights of the murder. This gives the book a thriller-like edge, leading to a nail-biting finish.

The only negative for me, as for the first book, is the character of Ben's boss, although he does seem to be gradually warming up to him!

I loved Ruin Beach; it's my favourite of the series so far and I'm thoroughly looking forward to the next one, Burnt Island, due to be released in 2019.

Recommended to anyone who loves traditional murder mysteries, and authors such as Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, and Caroline Graham.

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Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes 

Review: Deception by Amanda Quick

I was in the mood to read something completely escapist, ideally along the lines of Romancing the Stone, but unfortunately no one seems to write/publish those kind of books! So I had a rummage through my 'to be read' pile (all 5 crates of it) and found a selection of historical romances by Amanda Quick that I'd recently picked up from a charity shop. This particular one caught my eye because it mentioned pirates and buried treasure, but although it does (sort of) have a pirate, the action takes place entirely in Dorset and London.

Olympia Wingfield spends her time tracking down old books, journals and letters that deal with travel and exploration, and has become something of an expert in treasure maps - even though she rarely leaves the library of her home. However, her life has been recently turned upside down by the arrival of her three orphan nephews, who are completely out of control. The arrival of a new tutor seems like a gift from the gods, even if he does bear a remarkable resemblance to a pirate...

The hero, Jared Ryder, is a fascinating character. His very flamboyant family are descended from a notorious 17th century privateer (legal pirate) and have been searching for his missing treasure ever since. Think: National Treasure, except Jared is the only sensible one, forever bailing his family out of trouble, and he has no interest in long-lost treasure maps. Until he meets Olympia.

Deception is a completely unbelievable, thoroughly over-the-top romp - and I absolutely loved it. The characters are a delight: Jared the 'sensible' pirate, his eccentric 'Captain Jack Sparrow' father, the grumpily impertinent housekeeper, the hooligan nephews, the mad dog. It's totally brilliant - provided you like that kind of thing! The only negative for me was that sometimes the nautical-themed dialogue got a bit daft and the word 'siren' was severely overused. Recommended for fans of authors of the romantic-comedy style of historical romance, such as Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. 

Related Review:

Scandal by Amanda Quick

Review: Scandal by Amanda Quick

I'd had a rather rubbish weekend so I was looking for some pure escapism to cheer me up. I had a rummage through my 'to be read' pile (all 5 crates of it) and came up with Scandal by Amanda Quick. I had bought this from a charity shop a few months ago, along with four others by the same author as I'd heard good things about her. These turned out to be to true, because I absolutely loved this book!

Emily Faringdon is firmly on the shelf at twenty-four, due to an Unfortunate Incident five years previously (the 'scandal' of the title). But she is happy enough, organising the finances of her gambling-mad family to keep them from ruin, and slowly falling in love with her mysterious penpal, 'S. A. Traherne'. She is completely unaware that he is really the Earl of Blade: a ruthless, cold-hearted man, who would quite happily see her family ruined in revenge for the death of his father.

Scandal is a slightly tongue-in-cheek historical romance. The plot mainly concerns the various scrapes the heroine manages to get herself into (and inventively out of), and the style reminded me of Georgette Heyer's novels, particularly The Convenient Marriage (although there are several sex scenes, so watch out if that's not your thing). Considering the book was written in 1993, the story isn't dated and actually seems ahead of its time with the heroine's attitude to the would-be alpha male hero (ie: not taking him remotely seriously). 

The story is a bit silly in places, and the heroine is sometimes a bit of a twit, but she's completely lovable with it. If you prefer your historical romances slightly more serious, this probably isn't for you. But I absolutely adored it and have already started on the next one in the pile. Fans of authors such as Julia Quinn will love it. 

Review: Too Wilde to Wed (The Wildes of Lindlow Castle #2) by Eloisa James

I love Eloisa James's historical romances, and I am so pleased she has gone back to the Georgian period for this new series, as her Desperate Duchesses books are favourites of mine. Eloisa's particular strength is her ability to write lovable characters, even in small roles. They are usually part of a close family or group of friends, and you can almost believe you know these people in real life - and wish you did! The Wildes of Lindlow Castle are a particularly lovely bunch. However, there are an awful lot of them so, if you are considering reading this book, you might benefit from reading Wilde in Love first.

This story is about Lord Roland (known as 'North'), who is the eldest surviving son of the Duke of Lindlow but his reluctant heir. Prior to the start of this story (another reason to read Wilde in Love first!), North fell madly in love with Miss Diana Belgrave but she promptly jilted him at their betrothal party. Now he has returned home from war in America to find her employed by his family as a governess - along with a young son, who everyone believes is his!

I absolutely loved North. In fact I loved him so much there were times I felt Diana didn't deserve him. All through the book he makes compromises for her, yet she doesn't seem to make any sacrifices in return. Also, although I really, really enjoyed the book, I did find the ending a little unsatisfying.

Too Wilde To Wed has some interesting things to say about how love sometimes isn't enough to make a happy marriage, and that two people have to be completely right for each other and able to move freely in each other's world. It seemed particularly timely that I read this book shortly after the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and could consider how someone from a show business background, used to dealing with both the public and the media, would fit perfectly into the royal family. In Too Wilde To Wed, as much as Diana loves North, she has no confidence in her ability to make a good duchess.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Born to be Wilde, which will be out in the UK on the 31st July - whoop! 

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Wilde in Love (The Wildes of Lindlow Castle #1) by Eloisa James

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Eloisa James