⋙ [PDF] Gratis This Duchess of Mine Desperate Duchesses Eloisa James 9780061626821 Books

This Duchess of Mine Desperate Duchesses Eloisa James 9780061626821 Books

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This Duchess of Mine Desperate Duchesses Eloisa James 9780061626821 Books

I have read the entire series except for the last. Throughout the series, I enjoyed Jemma's and Elijah's story track the most and was eagerly awaiting this book to resolve their conflcts and produce the requisite HEA.

However, I was very disappointed in this book. Many of the other reviewers have elaborated on the details much better than I can, but here are my issues:

I loved Elijah but Jemma seemed to be too flighty and irresponsible for me, especially in this book. The dynamics between the couple seemed forced and unrealistic.

There was too much Villiers and not enough Elijah.

The rationales for the characters' actions were not convincing but rather inexplicable to me.

The best part of the book was at the very beginning when Elijah realizes that Jemma is in grave danger on the King's boat and he literally races to her rescue. I thought: "Oh, this book is going to be exciting!" But it quickly became boring and started making no sense. Elijah tried at least three times to take her straight to bed, including after the rescue, and each time she found an excuse to do something else--now, REALLY?? By this time she was realizing that she really did love him so I wondering what her problem was. After all, she did return expressly to help him produce an heir, despite their past issues.

As other people pointed out, the plot felt forced and re-hashed, and almost like Ms. James was phoning it in.

Plus, although a good idea for a central theme connecting many of the characters, I got really tired of the chess. I do not play and I got sick of all the narrative being devoted to the game of chess and how that drove Jemma's decisions, when what I really wanted was more interaction between her and Elijah. It was almost as though Elijah was a secondary character instead of the hero.

And am I the ONLY person who found Villiers' character to be weird and not compelling in the least? To me, he was a (very) watered-down version of Sebastian St. Vincent from "Devil in Winter", but not nearly as charming, witty, or dangerous. And if I had read one more description of the outfit-du-jour that Viliers was wearing that day, I felt like I would have screamed. This is not Vogue magazine, and again, I felt that much of this focus on his outfits was frivolous and did not contribute to the dynamics of the plot.

In summary, I felt that the author had a lot of potential with this book which remained totally unexplored, as was the potential love story of a powerful and sexy hero and heroine, who seemed to have more passion for playing chess than for each other. A waste.


Tags : This Duchess of Mine (Desperate Duchesses) [Eloisa James] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <strong>Eloisa James,  <em>New York Times </em>bestselling romance author of <em>When Beauty Tamed the Beast,Eloisa James,This Duchess of Mine (Desperate Duchesses),Avon,0061626821,Romance - Historical - General,Historical fiction,Historical fiction.,Love stories,Love stories.,Married people,Nobility - England,Nobility;Fiction.,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,AMERICAN LIGHT ROMANTIC FICTION,FICTION Romance General,FICTION Romance Historical General,FICTION Romance Historical Regency,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,Fiction-Romance,General Adult,Historical romance,MASS MARKET,Monograph Series, any,Nobility,RomanceHistorical,Romance: Historical,United States

This Duchess of Mine Desperate Duchesses Eloisa James 9780061626821 Books Reviews

I waded through 4 books to finally get to book 5. Elijah, the Duke of Beaumont and Jemma are featured in all the books of the series. I really love the Duke but I was a little annoyed with Jemma. She is so smart & sassy in all the previous books but this book she is too insecure! Plus I hated all the weird plots she planned to trap her husband when she already had him. The story had some really touching scenes.
From the first book in this series (Desperate Duchesses) it was obvious that Jemma and Elijah would end up repairing their strained relationship. This courtship and reconciliation dragged out for hundreds of pages. It took so long to get there that I actually lost interest in them. The side story with the Duke of Villiers is the more interesting part of this book.
"Life should not be measured by time."

THE STORY Jemma and Elijah, the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont, married young. While Jemma was infatuated with her Duke, she was devastated to find her new husband having sex with his mistress just a few weeks after their wedding. Jemma fled to France where she lived for eight years and had several affairs. She returned to England at the request of her husband to produce an heir. A year later (after the events of the prior series books), the two have begun to forge a new relationship. What Jemma doesn't know, however, is that Elijah wanted her to return because he knows that his heart is giving out and he expects to die soon.

OPINION For me, the premise of the Beaumonts' story has always been difficult because I don't tend to like stories with adultery involved. I also believe, however, that if I choose to read a book, I must attempt to accept and understand the characters. While I never really felt that the excuses Elijah and Jemma have for their adulterous actions were justified, I did feel that their reasons made sense to them and that they, in this book, they attempted to actually get to know one another and build a relationship.

There is a misguided attempt by Jemma to give Elijah another woman interested in him. Luckily that part of the story is short and really highlights that Jemma doesn't really understand her husband. There is a great amount of strategy and plotting between these two. Both chess masters, Jemma and Elijah have a tendency to be more strategic than honest. Chess plays an important part in this story, both in the way that the characters relate to one another and also in a very sexy chess match in bed that has been promised for a long time in the series.

For a book that starts somewhat strategic and cold, it quickly becomes deeply emotional as Jemma discovers that her husband is dying. That information burns away the barriers between these two as they despair about all the time they have lost through their foolish choices.

As an aside, there is nothing I love more than a book that can make me cry when I know that there will be a happy ending.

WORTH MENTIONING The Desperate Duchesses series has been like a soap opera with numerous couples populating each of the books. After the four previous books all that remains is the Beaumonts (this book's story) and the Duke of Villiers.

FINAL DECISION Despite the fact that I really dislike stories about couples who have committed adultery, I did love how these two learned to love one another for the first time.

CONNECTED BOOKS THIS DUCHESS OF MINE is the fifth book in the Desperate Duchesses series. The story of the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont has been an integral part of the entire series. I believe this book is best enjoyed as part of the series and not on its own since much of the couple's journey has already occurred by the time this book starts.

STAR RATING I give this book 4.5 stars.
You might enjoy this book if you are a chess aficionado. How else to explain the, er, climax of the book being dragged out by a naked chess scene? I have enjoyed many other books by James, but this one was mercifully slow-paced and dull. I didn't finish this, in part because of the unbelievable plot. What woman in love with her husband encourages another woman to flirt with him because it might be more of a challenge? I will still check out other books by James, but this was a true disappointment.
I have read the entire series except for the last. Throughout the series, I enjoyed Jemma's and Elijah's story track the most and was eagerly awaiting this book to resolve their conflcts and produce the requisite HEA.

However, I was very disappointed in this book. Many of the other reviewers have elaborated on the details much better than I can, but here are my issues

I loved Elijah but Jemma seemed to be too flighty and irresponsible for me, especially in this book. The dynamics between the couple seemed forced and unrealistic.

There was too much Villiers and not enough Elijah.

The rationales for the characters' actions were not convincing but rather inexplicable to me.

The best part of the book was at the very beginning when Elijah realizes that Jemma is in grave danger on the King's boat and he literally races to her rescue. I thought "Oh, this book is going to be exciting!" But it quickly became boring and started making no sense. Elijah tried at least three times to take her straight to bed, including after the rescue, and each time she found an excuse to do something else--now, REALLY?? By this time she was realizing that she really did love him so I wondering what her problem was. After all, she did return expressly to help him produce an heir, despite their past issues.

As other people pointed out, the plot felt forced and re-hashed, and almost like Ms. James was phoning it in.

Plus, although a good idea for a central theme connecting many of the characters, I got really tired of the chess. I do not play and I got sick of all the narrative being devoted to the game of chess and how that drove Jemma's decisions, when what I really wanted was more interaction between her and Elijah. It was almost as though Elijah was a secondary character instead of the hero.

And am I the ONLY person who found Villiers' character to be weird and not compelling in the least? To me, he was a (very) watered-down version of Sebastian St. Vincent from "Devil in Winter", but not nearly as charming, witty, or dangerous. And if I had read one more description of the outfit-du-jour that Viliers was wearing that day, I felt like I would have screamed. This is not Vogue magazine, and again, I felt that much of this focus on his outfits was frivolous and did not contribute to the dynamics of the plot.

In summary, I felt that the author had a lot of potential with this book which remained totally unexplored, as was the potential love story of a powerful and sexy hero and heroine, who seemed to have more passion for playing chess than for each other. A waste.