Limecello’s review of Duchess by Night (Desperate Duchesses, Book 3) by Eloisa James
Historical romance published by Avon on 24 Jun 08
Eloisa James is one of my favorite authors, and I’ve really been enjoying the Duchess books. I like each one more than the previous, and this is probably my favorite thus far. Ms. James is a must read for those of you who love historical romance, and I’d say you should read her books in general.
Harriet, the Duchess of Berrow is a terrific character. She’s smart, funny, caring, has a temper, and yet is vulnerable. It was so much fun reading about her masquerading as a man. I like how Ms. James wrote her to be dissatisfied with her lot – she wasn’t perfect and happy, but she wasn’t maudlin or whiny either. Harriet was a very human character who had her flaws, but a nice pragmatic streak.
Lord Strange, Jem, I imagine was just as much fun to write, as he was to read. A reprobate through and through, he’s so scandalous he doesn’t even consider his actions. He goes forth and does what he wants to do, with no regard for his reputation because he has none. Yet, most of it is smoke and mirrors, and he’s respectable in his own way. Not only are most of what people hear and say rumors, the issue is that Jem is – dare I say it – scatterbrained, and either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care?
Ms. James does an excellent job of immediately giving Lord Strange depth and warmth in the scene with his daughter. I also enjoyed Eugenia very much – too often children are too precocious, or possibly ridiculous, but Eugenia fit, considering how she grew up, and was not only likable, but believable. (Actually, most of the main characters were scary smart.)
The only aspects that bother me, that prevent me from giving Duchess an A+, is the beginning, and… well the end. Let me explain. The beginning jumps right in to the lives of the Duchesses. If you haven’t read the books in a while, it might be difficult to remember exactly who did what, and indeed who each character is. However, that’s taken care of quickly. Next, near the end, it’s clear yet another book is going to come out. While I love Ms. James’ books, I’m rather done with series. Although, I trust Ms. James to write an excellent one, or ten more. (Please, let it not be 10 more in the same series.)
I especially liked, how at the end, once all the characters had experienced their “reality check” – things worked out nicely, but with the happy ending, I didn’t feel that any of the characters had lost anything, or compromised unnecessarily. Generally when the heroine simply (albeit gracefully) concedes, or forgives the hero, I get the sense that she might as well have rolled over and died. This definitely was not the case in Duchess by Night.
The complexity of the novel was a lot of fun as well, with the characters, the subplots, and various stories they each had going on at the same time. It could have been a terrible mess, but Ms. James wove all the elements together masterfully, and left no thread hanging. And even with my current dislike of “series”… I have to admit I’m most eagerly awaiting the release of When the Duke Returns. (November 25th, Everyone!)
Grade: A
The Summary:
Harriet, Duchess of Berrow, is desperate to flee the sadness of being a widow. Whether presiding over the Shire Court of the Duchy of Berrow, or dressed as a prim Mother Goose at an extravagant masquerade ball thrown by one of her wicked friends, Harriet’s in a rut. And she’s beginning to long for something altogether different.
It’s time for a complete change of pace – she will throw off her widow’s weeds and escape…to the famously dissolute house party held at Lord Strange’s country estate? But no duchess can appear at one of Strange’s parties without risking her reputation forever. So when the Duke of Villiers offers to accompany Harriet, she jumps at the chance – even if it means disguising herself as a young man.
Read an excerpt here
Click on the Desperate Duchesses series tag for more reviews of this series.
I just received a package in the mail containing books one and two in this series, won in a charity auction. Yay! How great to know when I’ve read them, this third will be waiting for me! AND – Ms. James is the guest speaker at our chapter meeting in October!!
Maya – I have a proposition for you. Let’s trade lives! 😀
Good for you! I liked the first in the series, but it didn’t blow me away – however, I love Ms. James’s books. The second, I really enjoyed [but I wanted to smack the heroine and her mother.] The third, I really liked (obviously) and can’t wait for the fourth. I hope you like them!
limecello – hee!
it will be fun to find out if i share your views. what is kind of cool for me right now (wearing my own reviewer’s hat) is that i’m reading book 1 simultaneously with another Big Name Author’s work – ‘Mine Till Midnight’ (my boredom threshold is too low to ever just read one book at a time.)
the contrast in writing style and my reactions to them are kind of illuminating, and i’ll probably do a dual review at the end.
Maya – Interesting, you know I don’t think I tend to read books from the same genre at the same time – but generally I’m reading 4-8 books at once, so I know what you mean. I liked Mine Til Midnight – not one of my favorites, but it was fun seeing the cameos from some of the “Wallflower” characters. I’m also eagerly awaiting Seduce Me at Sunrise. I think LK and EJ have different writing voices, but both enjoyable. 😉 You should read The Lost Duke of Wyndham concurrently for a historical triumvirate. 😛
I need to re-read the first two Duchess books, really…
hey! that’s not a bad idea, actually. but the book in my van (for when the baby is napping and i don’t want to wake her) is a kinsale, so that might work, too.
Maya – I’ve actually never read a Kinsale in my life :X. I think it’d be really interesting though – to compare books written “then” and how they hold up to “now.” This may be why I love reading Diana Palmers and seeing how they work (or don’t). Or at least it’s why I check the copyright date of each of her books first thing.