TBR Day: Desperate Duchesses by Eloisa James

Today's review is courtesy of Keishon's TBR Challenge. (It has nothing to do with me - LOL - I have no blogging mojo!) This month's challenge was to pick a novel featuring a tortured hero or heroine. I made a nice little list of the books in my tbr pile (Anne Stuart was on it, so was Linda Howard) but I didn't make it to those books. I got caught up by an author I have never read before - Eloisa James.

Title: Desperate Duchesses
Author: Eloisa James
Publisher: Avon
Published: May 2007
Series: Desperate Duchesses book #1

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 chess player of consummate skill, a notorious rake 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?

Reason for Reading: I have read quite a number of favourable reviews of Ms. James' work over the last couple of years. So I buy her books and put them in the jaws of the monster TBR Pile where they collect dust. Her latest release, This Duchess of Mine, just came out and I really wanted to buy it. I read a review somewhere and it planted a seed. That seed finally took root and I dusted off Desperate Duchesses so I could read this series in its entirety. The only book I didn't have was When the Duke Returns. Nath kindly sent it to me (thanks sweetie!) and today I finally bought This Duchess of Mine. Yay - there's my HEA. LOL

My Thoughts: Hot damn can Eloisa James write! Desperate Duchesses was this wonderful mix of all these characters and it really appealed to me. Central to this whole series (since they're in every book) are Jemma and Elijah. They are not the central couple of this book, but they are the central characters. That and chess. Chess plays a big part of this book - which was interesting. But back to the Beaumonts - they are central.

The central couple starts with Roberta - the sheltered daughter of the Mad Marquess, so-called due to the fact that he loves poetry and weeping in public. He raised Roberta very unconventionally so in a bid to escape his household (she loves him, but she needs to spread her wings, which is something I can understand) she falls for the perfect man - a Duke, a proper dignified gentleman.

To capture her duke (Villiers), Roberta crashes at her cousin Jemma's in London. Which is another unconventional household so Roberta fits right in. Also living in Jemma's mansion is Roberta's brother, the Earl of Gryffyn - as unconventional as you can get.

Needless to say, Roberta may want Villiers, but someone else captures her attention.

Honestly, I thought Roberta was going to be silly. But she wasn't. When those kisses with the non-Villiers started taking place, she didn't really try to stop them. She figured she'd learn from them and take her pleasure where she could. - especially when Villiers let her know that he was not interested in her virginity. And Roberta wasn't terribly fond of children, which I thought an interesting attitude for a historical character to have.

All of these quirky characters and unconventional attitudes made Desperate Duchesses a refreshing read. A solid B from me.