A duke must choose wisely . . .Leopold Dautry, the notorious Duke of Villiers, must wed quickly and nobly—and his choices, alas, are few. The Duke of Montague’s daughter, Eleanor, is exquisitely beautiful and fiercely intelligent. Villiers betroths himself to her without further ado.After all, no other woman really qualifies. Lisette, the outspoken daughter of the Duke of Gilner, cares nothing … cares nothing for clothing or decorum. She’s engaged to another man, and doesn’t give a fig for status or title. Half the ton believes Lisette mad—and Villiers is inclined to agree.
Torn between logic and passion, between intelligence and imagination, Villiers finds himself drawn to the very edge of impropriety. But it is not until he’s in a duel to the death, fighting for the reputation of the woman he loves, that Villiers finally realizes that the greatest risk may not be in the dueling field . . .
But in the bedroom. And the heart.
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Why read this book? In a word “Villiers”
I love smart and swoon worthy historical romance, and if there’s a wicked duke involved, then it is pretty much a guaranteed winner for me. Eloisa James’s A Duke of Her Own is one of those romances that checks all the boxes and more, earning it a permanent spot on my “keeper” shelf and making it one of those books that I love to reread over and over again.
What sets this book apart from so many is the exquisite chemistry and banter between the hero and heroine as well as the delightful characterization. Eleanor is one of those heroines I could see myself being friends with in real life and Villiers is the quintessential bad boy redeemed. They are perfect foils for each other and challenge each other to grow and change at every turn. The supporting cast is equally memorable and one of James’s strengths is making the reader feel as though they are guests at a house party alongside the hilarious and engaging characters.
This book is beautifully written and full of some incredibly poignant and romantic moments. I’ve reread it many, many times and each time I finish with a smile on my face and my heart a little fuller. If you love clever, romantic historical romance then I highly recommend this one. In my opinion, it is James at her absolute best.
Georgian hero with a very, very, very bad reputation wants to make amends to his small army of illegitimate children. He’s found the cynical chip off the old block who really needed more page time because their relationship was pretty entertaining as he tries to wangle together the rest of his children. When I say children I’m not talking three or four, but six I believe. The hunt for his own von Trapp family is hampered because his children were from different mistresses.
He’s also in search of a nice and connected woman to be Duchess to help launch his little brood into the social whirl. Normally bastards are beyond the pale, but a man as powerful as Leopold could get it done to some degree. He picks two women as prospects and they could not be more different. Eleanor is rational and cool except when she and the H are rendezvousing aka having sex, and the other is Lisette, a fey, childlike creature that is insane in the membrane.
The dumb Duke makes the error in thinking that because Lisette is a free spirit and can relate to the children at their level she might be a better choice.
Eleanor has to deal with the Duke, mercurial Lisette and an old love who’s wife has conveniently died.
All in all a good read. I enjoyed reading about all of Leopold’s costume changes as he is a Georgian dandy of the first order. Jeweled buttons go by the wayside as his children laugh at him and as he decides how to woo the girl he really loves. His self absorption with his wardrobe reminds me of Valentine in Duke of Sin without all the murdering.
The concept of a powerful man trying to do the right thing was as appealing as the romance as Leopold has absolutely no idea what in the hell he’s doing.
This book is all about Leopold , Duke of Villiers. He overshadows all other dukes. Eleanor and his chemistry truly crackles and their bantering is witty and funny.
Wonderful, witty, fun read. One of my favorite reads (3 times so far). I’d rather reread a great book than slog through a so so one.
I love a good book by Eloisa James, and this didn’t disappoint. At one point I did struggle a little with deciding whether or not I liked it enough to give more than 3 stars as I was struggling with some qualities in regards to the characters of Eleanor and Villiers. However, as I hit the middle part of the book that question went away, and shifts in the characters made me see those traits in a different light — it definitely deserves the 4 stars. It was written beautifully, and these characters(main cast and otherwise) had interesting complexities and secrets that were fascinating. This book is a steamy and sweet read with a whole cast of interesting characters even if I hold the same opinion of Mr. Young-Poet as Villiers himself and the same opinion of Lisette as Eleanor herself. And the cast includes puppies and children that are equally adorable. I probably would’ve finished sooner if not for having other things distracting me in life.
I reread this and Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels every year. It’s time for my historical fix!
Loved this book,,, it’s the end of a series and provides a satisfactory resolution for the worst rake in England. It was wonderful to see him awaken to his true feelings.