Welcome to a world of reckless sensuality and glittering sophistication . . . of dangerously handsome gentlemen and young ladies longing to gain a title . . . of games played for high stakes, including—on occasion—a lady’s virtue.
A marquess’s sheltered only daughter, Lady Roberta St. Giles falls in love with a man she glimpses across a crowded ballroom: a duke, a game player of consummate … of consummate skill, a notorious rakehell who shows no interest in marriage—until he lays eyes on Roberta.
Yet the Earl of Gryffyn knows too well that the price required to gain a coronet is often too high. Damon Reeve, the earl, is determined to protect the exquisite Roberta from chasing after the wrong destiny.
Can Damon entice her into a high-stakes game of his own, even if his heart is likely to be lost in the venture?
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Witty romance at its best. I loved the match between the hero and the heroine. I just wished I’d gotten more resolution with the supporting characters, their stories were just as entertaining!
Overall:
Plot/Storyline:
Feels:
Emotional Depth:
Tension:
Romance:
Sensuality:
Intimate Scene Length:
Steam Scale (Number of Scenes):
Humor: Yes! Lots!
Should I read in order?
This is book 1, but yes, make sure you start here! Don’t be like me – don’t grab a book in the middle of the series and be super confused!
Basic plot
This series has multiple storylines interwoven throughout the books. Jemma, Villiers, and Elijah all have plenty of page time, but the ‘main’ characters here are Lady Roberta St. Giles and Damon Reeve, the Earl of Gryffyn. Roberta has decided she’s in love with Villiers, and with Jemma’s help, plans to marry him. Damon knows she belongs with him instead.
Give this a try if you want:
-1783 time period with all the Georgian fun – wigs, heels and fashion is well noted!
– Mid steam – I believe there’s 2 full scenes and a few fade to black scenes
– Hero loves first and chases the heroine
– You enjoy lots of characters and other characters having their stories built over the course of the book
– Lots of chess!
– Hero is 29, heroine is 21
My thoughts:
I tried a book or 2 from this series years ago and, well, I just hated it! I didn’t know what was going on, there were so many characters and I was lost. I told myself I would someday come back to it, with book 1 and with an open mind. I do not like lots of viewpoints other than the hero and heroine (or a main couple at least), so I purposefully set that aside knowing that’s what was happening here.
And, I found I absolutely adored Damon and Roberta’s love story. Just loved it! Damon was so fun. He was playful and naughty and funny and light hearted and had just the right amount of that lusty possessiveness I adore. He wants Roberta, chases her, he fights for her, convinces her, woos her. And well, I love him. He made my heart pitter patter and it never does that anymore! He made me feel those butterflies.
Roberta I enjoyed, though I so in love with Damon, I was irritated her head wasn’t turned away from Villiers faster. I loved her relationship with Jemma (Is it just me or are girl relationships lacking in romance? I loved it here!) and her father. Her father was a character you can’t forget – I thought I would really dislike him after the beginning scenes but there was a lot of sweetness with their relationship (as well as struggles – it was just real! The love with the flaws.)
Roberta and Damon are actually distantly related. I wanted to point this out because I know it can skeeve some people out – Roberta’s mother was their great-aunt’s second cousin’s child. It is mentioned a few times in the story about them being ‘cousins’ but I thought it was hilariously done, and had no issue with the extremely distant relation.
I really enjoyed the humor in this book. I laughed out loud at quite a few parts and found myself smiling throughout. But, I also found myself bored at parts and eager to get back to Damon and Roberta – and it really feels like they only get a half story here. There is a lot of page time setting up for Elijah and Villiers and Jemma, as well as other characters that will make future appearances. I can’t say I enjoy it, but I’m trying to appreciate it for what it’s worth with the character depth of future books. But I did feel like Roberta and more so Damon needed a bit more character depth.
I actually really loved the earlier Georgian time period – the obsession with chess, the house parties, the CLOTHES! I do love the way James actually takes the time to describe what people are wearing. I’ve noticed it before with her Wildes series, but especially here and it was just fun! The wigs don’t bother me, the heels don’t bother me – I just found this time period absolutely lovely and different (I have been reading endless regency, so it is a welcome change!)
I loved it! I love anything Eloisa James writes. She is so clever and hilarious!
I like this author very much. The book is full of drama, romance, and suspense.
It was a bit lame because it had to set up the characters for the next few books in the series. Also the h was stupidly stubborn wanting to get a duke. Explicit sex scenes get more explicit as the series goes on but at least they do matter to the story.
Not my preferred Era, but Eloisa James is such a good writer I read it it anyway! Made me think how prudish we have become.
I have read all the books in this series and have enjoyed meeting all the characters.
A great series. Complete in itself but gives you more tie ins to people in the other books in the series than usual.
My first Eloisa James book, after which I promptly read everything she ever wrote. Sly humor, steamy love scenes, and unforgettable characters.
I just finished James’s Wilde series and loved them all. So I am reading through her Desperate Duchesses Series. This is book one. I confess that the first few chapters so confused me I had to reread them. I couldn’t figure out who the main characters were supposed to be in the book. So many different names to keep up with left me baffled. I managed to grasp it much better the second time through. It is probably just my over 50 brain and not her writing.
Once the story started congealing ,it moved along at quite a clip. I am not a chess player and so I felt lost in her chess moving terms which run throughout the book and often have sexual innuendos. So I guess in all – this book is well written and has quite a bit of humor in it. However, I found the number of characters to be too confusing to keep up with and the chess terms were lost on me.