Eloisa James has been publishing steadily for sixteen years and my crash course on her novels moves her comfortably to my B+ List. Someone will have to kindly drop me a note and tell me how things go, because I won't be taking this path in the future.Tired of waiting for new books from authors on my autobuy list and even more tired of trying random new authors, I waded into the back catalogue of one of the most successful writers in the historical romance genre. This felt like the prelude to a far more interesting story - Villiers is a much more compelling character - and I sincerely hope that James takes the time to frame his story in a way that new readers can catch up. Elijah has a fatal heart condition, but the reader who knows James knows that he may Just Manage To Live, so the suspense generated by this is limited. Jemma and Elijah, the Duke and Duchess of Beaumont, have decided to have sex after a nine year hiatus, and James attempts to make them (and the reader) anticipate the event for a long boring while. The story doesn't go anywhere much, just fills the pages. James could easily have written a prologue catching up new readers - and perhaps she would have kept them. It begins in media res - which works only if one has been reading the series. It reads as though it were outlined long ago when the series was conceived and then written quickly at a much later date. Is Duchess of Mine' reminded me why I gave up on most romance novels.

I'm also intrigued enough to checkout the previous books in this series. A secondary character, the Duke of Villiers, has an interesting storyline involving his illegitimate children and I look forward to his book, A Duke of Her Own, which was recently released. There is lots of sexual tension and the plot involves chess (Jemma & Elijah are both chess masters) and some issues with Elijah's heart condition which was all expertly handled in both pacing and dialogue. The beginning of the book felt like I had jumped into the middle of the story so I have a feeling I should have read the previous books, but I did enjoy the story anyway.

Now he wants an heir and Jemma has reluctantly returned from Paris to do her 'duty'. As the story begins Jemma and Elijah are reunited after a 9 year separation after she catches him in the act with his mistress. This is a troubled marriage plot which is one of my favorites. I haven't read many books by James (only 2) but I really must go find some of her backlist because I enjoyed this book. This is the fifth book in the Desperate Duchesses series and I haven't read any of the previous books.

This duchess of mine by eloisa james