The Duchess of Cosway yearns for a man she has never met . . . her husband.

Married by proxy as a child, Lady Isidore has spent years fending off lecherous men in every European court while waiting to meet her husband. She's determined to accept him, no matter how unattractive the duke turns out to be. When she finally lures Simeon Jermyn back to London, his dark handsomeness puts Isidore's worst fears to rest—until disaster strikes.

The duke demands an annulment.

Forsaking his adventuresome past, Simeon has returned to London ready to embrace the life of a proper duke, only to find that his supposed wife is too ravishing, too headstrong, and too sensual to be the docile duchess he has in mind. But Isidore will not give up her claim to the title—or him—without a fight.

She will do whatever it takes to capture Simeon's heart, even if it means sacrificing her virtue. After all, a consummated marriage cannot be annulled.

Yet in forcing Simeon into a delicious surrender, will Isidore risk not only her dignity—but her heart?

Customer Rating:
Summary: Fun, Entertaining, Slightly Different
Comment: So the hero and heroine are both virgins. Big deal! Their conversations and reactions to each other are both heart-warming and amusing at the same time.

My big complaint was that Eloisa James bogged down this book by having too many sub-plots. The Jemma-Villiers storyline was just too much for this love story; it overshadowed the innocent and carefree feeling of Isidore and Simon's relationship.

Not her best work, simply because there was just too much going on.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but lacking in substance
Comment: The latest in Eloisa James' "Desperate Duchesses" series focuses on Isidore, the Duchess of Cosway, and her husband Simeon. They have a rather unusual marriage in that, despite being wed for eleven years, they have never actually met. They were married by proxy when Isidore was 12 whilst Simeon was travelling in Africa and India and he has never returned. In James' previous book in this series we learned that Isidore accompanied a friend to a country house party in order to try to get some reaction from Simeon. It works - Simeon arrives at the house party and takes Isidore back to London.

Isidore didn't know what to expect in her husband and finds that he's a man who doesn't conform to society's idea of a gentleman in clothing and general dress. However she does find hm very attractive and knows that she, herself, has many admirers. However when Simeon's initial plans to have a 'proper' wedding change to suggestions of an annulment, Isidore has to decide whether she wants to continue with her marriage with its many inconveniences, not the least of which are the problems at the Ducal seat and with his mother, or whether she wants the freedom she has never really had. And can Simeon, who has learned self control and calmness on his travels, ever get to grips with his fiery wife?

Eloisa James writes well and the interest is always kept up in this book. There were some rather unusual plot events (having the water closets cleaned out in the house, for example) and the side plot of Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont, and her troubled marriage was explored further although unresolved. Where the book falls down is depth of plot (this was actually a fairly simple story and I wasn't always convinced by the interactions between Simeon and Isidore) and historical accuracy where characters used American words in the time of George III (such as 'diapers' for 'nappies' and various American sentence structures which aren't used in England). I had looked forward to this book as I enjoyed the previous one but felt somehow as if it didn't quite satisfy and some of the improbabilities in the plot were too much to ignore.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Too much sequel bait
Comment: Actually my first book by this author. It was a pretty good story when she concentrated on the main characters. The main problem is that every other chapter she switched over to two secondary characters that you need to have the previous book in the series to appreciate. Also, it became clear very quickly that she was writing a sequel with those same characters. Why bother - she spent 1/2 of this book telling their story already! very annoying to read, as I said if she contrated on the main story - it was a pretty interesting story (although I learned more about bathroom drains than I really wanted to know)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: No, no, NO!
Comment: The author I think chose to try something new in this book and for me it did not work.

I don't want to spoil the story for others who wish to read it other then to say--your typical romance novel has a very attractive, masculine hero--in this story you have a hero near to 30 years old who is a virgin...I didn't get any alpha male vibes in this character--I did not understand his celibacy tendencies other then he did not want to give his 'future bride' any STDS upon marriage. Please-- this was not romantic!

I did not care for the heroine either- I will leave it at that.

It was just wrong-- this one was not, 'my cup of tea'.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: a bit of a let down
Comment: I awaited this book with baited breath as I found the others in the series rather delightful. So when I started I had great expectations. While I enjoyed the story, which I sort of read in two parts - most the pages with Isidora first and then the next day the chapters dealing with Jemma. No I did not find this interfere with my comprehension as for the most part they were two different parts of a whole. The whole being the series and the fact that this book is in fact a continuation of the previous of in a way if you wish the characters and story to make sense. So while I enjoyed both parts, I found Jemma's parts seemed to have more substance to them than Isidore, which was a shame.
Still it is an enjoyable book worth a read. I look forward to Jemma's and Villiers books

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