The richest bachelor in England plays matchmaker…for an heiress he wants for himself! For beautiful, witty Lavinia Gray, there’s only one thing worse than having to ask the appalling Parth Sterling to marry her: being turned down by him.Now the richest bachelor in England, Parth is not about to marry a woman as reckless and fashion-obsessed as Lavinia; he’s chosen a far more suitable bride. But … Lavinia; he’s chosen a far more suitable bride.
But when he learns of Lavinia’s desperate circumstances, he offers to find her a husband. Even better, he’ll find her a prince.
As usual, there’s no problem Parth can’t fix. But the more time he spends with the beguiling Lavinia, the more he finds himself wondering…
Why does the woman who’s completely wrong feel so right in his arms?
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The Best Wilde Yet!!!
Parth and Lavinia were so much more than the enemies to lovers story I was expecting. The emotional depth, the banter, and the unstoppable force of Lavinia made this installment of the Wildes of Lindow Castle my favorite so far….although that last chapter sure has me excited for Betsy!
This is my favorite of the three Wilde books so far. It made me smile and tear up a little bit, especially near the end.
I usually love the heroes more than the heroines in my favorite books, but in Born to be Wilde, I prefer Lavinia. Her journey to self-actualization is fascinating and I couldn’t help but cheer her on.
Parth is a typical arrogant male with his reluctance to admit his feelings for Lavinia. I liked that he’s great with his friends and was indulgent with Lady Knowe. I also appreciated his growth from Appalling Parth to Perfect Parth.
He made me laugh with this line:
“Damn, I wonder if other men realize how effective this smoldering business is.”
And, he also made me cry with his grand gesture: (from Lavinia’s POV).
“Like snow and love. Because it turned out that love had a scent. It smelled of fresh wood, of bolts of silk and wool, of boxes of buttons.”
EJ is hitting her stride with this series. The Wildes are an immensely enjoyable family and I cannot wait to read Betsy and Jeremy’s story.
BORN TO BE WILDE by Eloisa James is book Three in The Wildes of Lindow Castle Series. This is the story of Lavinia Gray and Parth Sterling. I have read the previous books (and Loved them!) but feel this can easily be a standalone book.
Lavinia and Parth have known each other for years and both seem to have dislike for the other one. Lavinia has bad nicknames for him and Parth thinks she is frivolous with her spending. Lavinia mother takes her to France but now a few years later Lavinia returns to London. Things have changed though, Lavinia mother has been stealing from her friends. This has put Lavinia in a place where she needs money and will marry to do so. Thinking Parth would be the answer to what she needs, she asked him to marry her. But he said not but later offered to help her. But their feelings start changing and their love for each other starts growing.
I started reading this book and could not put it down until I was done. Loved it as I do all of Ms. Jame’s books!
OMG, you guys, this series. It gets me right here, every time–and then, before I’ve even had a chance to really bask in the glow of the current couple’s HEA (here, Parth and Lavinia), Ms. James has me all but salivating for the next book to come out. I don’t know how she does it.
Okay, I take that back. I know exactly how she does it. Before the book ends (just before the epilogue, here) we get a chapter not from our current hero or heroine’s POV, but from a future one (here, Betsy Wilde) that confirms our suspicions that she’s going to be a future heroine and who her hero will be (Jeremy!) and gives us just enough of a preview of their story to make us want to read it yesterday…before throwing us right back into Lavinia and Parth’s story for an absolutely adorable epilogue with them. But do we have a title? A release date? Not yet. Well played, Ms. James.
But I digress…
Parth and Lavinia’s story was just as delightful as I hoped it would be after Ms. James teased their story in the last book ( Too Wilde to Wed ). Secretly attracted to each other, they’ve each decided that it’s a hopeless cause and hidden that attraction behind disdainful nicknames (her) and seeming indifference (him). Until Livinia’s situation changes drastically and desperation drives her to make him a shocking proposal…which he naturally shoots down. Oh, but he’ll help her find someone else to marry….suuuuuure you will, buddy. (That bit lasts even less time than you think it will going in.)
I really enjoyed some of the places Ms. James took the plot here–addiction, Anglo-Indian relationships, Lavinia’s rather ingenious way of solving her money problems on her own–and absolutely adored all of the relationships: Lavinia and Parth, of course, but also Lavinia and Diana, Lavinia and Parth and all of the Wildes, Lavinia and her maid and the seamstresses…each added an extra dimension to the overall story. Coupled with Ms. James’s delightful writing (lines like “‘I love you.’ The words were so deep and true that they must have been engraved on his heart,” and “It turned out love had a scent. It smelled of fresh wood, of bolts of silk and wool, of boxes of buttons,” got highlighted almost before I finished reading them) they made reading this book an absolute pleasure (and almost allows you to forget about the times that Parth goes above and beyond in being a bit of an alphahole…fortunately, he snaps out of it before long and comes to appreciate the awesome resourcefulness and delightful fashionista that is Lavinia.)
Though it could probably work fine as a standalone, reading this book after you’ve read the first two ( Wilde in Love and Too Wilde to Wed ) will give you a more complete picture of Lavinia’s plight, since her closeness to Willa and Diana factors into why she’s so desperate to marry ASAP. As a bonus, reading them will also help keep you busy until we find out more about when Besty’s story will come out…
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.