A Duke of Her Own (Desperate Duchesses, 6)

Finally we come to Villiers story and you won't be disappointed. Our favorite duke is gathering up his SIX illegitimate children with a singlemindedness that surprises Villiers most of all. He actually finds himself caring desperately about something besides chess. There are NO chess games in this book. Can this really be The Duke of Chess? It is, it is! Villiers has settled on two women, both daughters of dukes that he figures will have the clout to get his children accepted by society. One he lusts after with a passion that shocks him. The other he feels would be a good mother to his children. Which will he choose? This is the rare book where you don't know from the beginning who the hero will end up with so I am not going to give his final choice away as guessing is part of the fun in the story. This book made me smile often. It was really such a pleasure to watch the Duke of Villiers open up so we could come to know him. He is easily one of my favorite characters in this series, his story well worth waiting for. My only complaint about this book is that we didn't learn enough about his children. I found them fascinating. We get to know his oldest son Tobias the best and he looks to be a carbon copy of his father. We also learn a little more about Villiers childhood. He had a trauma when young that goes a long way to explain his rejection of emotion. Unfortunately for him, but wonderful for us, Villiers is getting in touch with his emotions with a vengeance. I really think this is the best book of the series. His ladylove is perfect for him. She sees the true Leopold and brings him to the surface in ways no one else would have. It is just delightful to see love fill his heart for his lady and for his children. I really think we need a sequel just to see this family flower. Don't miss this latest offering from Eloisa James. It is a keeper.

I've read many of Ms. James books, and although I enjoy them I always feel that they require a real commitment. Her novels are usually interwoven, and you often have no idea what is happening unless you have read them all. It can be quite exhausting, and not always fun. Are these stories well written? Yes. Are they historically accurate? Yes. Can you tell that Ms. James is a well known Shakespearean professor and expert? Yes. Do these stories always work as romance? No. So you can understand why I put off reading a "A Duke of Her own", not because I didn't think it would be great, but because I don't look to her for romance, for great storytelling definitely, but romance, she is often a hit or miss. A Duke of Her own was a pleasant surprise. The book is extremely well-paced and focused on the couple at hand. Although Villiers feels confusion, his confusion is paced on his sense of duty and honor, not on his feelings. Our heroine is amazing, and realistic. The book really explores love, and what it means to have a broken heart, in a way that is intimate and realistic. This is a romance novel in the best possible sense. It's one of those books that reminds you of your first love, and may help you realize that first love doesn't always mean best. This is a book for your keeper shelf. The romance isn't scorching, but its heat will keep you warm for days, and the insights into love will last with you much longer. P.S. Although the back of the book doesn't make it clear who Villiers belongs with, YOU will know within the first few chapters.

I loved this book. I meant to 'just start it' but instead I was up till 5 am finishing it. I don't want to spoil any of it for you, which makes it difficult to review. Let's start with what is different about this book, compared to the prior novels. For one thing, Jemma isn't in the focus - she's done, we can move on, and Villiers does. Chess isn't the focus either. With his new interest in life, Villiers isn't filling his hours with the game, as he once did. Reading the series informs your knowledge of Villiers and his history, but the Desperate Duke in these pages isn't tied to the world of the Desperate Duchesses. Most of the book takes place away from London. Eleanor and Lisette have nothing Desperate about them, either. Both are strong willed, with different faults. Both of them decide they want Villiers, which is handy since they're the only women his self imposed rules will allow him to choose a bride from. (Villiers habit of becoming engaged to a woman just as she runs off with her true love isn't forgotten.) It wouldn't be a proper story for Villiers if he wasn't completely confused about which direction to go and stumbling about trying to keep his emotional life tightly contained while indulging his attractions. This is a proper wrap up for him and completely in his character. Eleanor and Lisette are compelling, realistic and fascinating. I know women like both of them, and they are a different type of heroine. If you're coming at this book without having read the series, the quick and dirty summary would be -Villiers is a rake changing his life after a series of disappointments and a near death experience. Having rounded up his six missing children (and no, their parentage isn't confirmed in these pages) he is in need of a mother. Given the disappointments of the past and the social needs of forcing his children into the society in which he lives, only the daughter of a duke will do. Unfortunately, there are only two available. The book is perfect until the last few pages, my only complaint is tiny and miniscule and unfair indeed - in the final pages only 4 of the children are mentioned. I want a series about Villiers children and I want it now!

I was less than thrilled with James' last book. For the first half of that story, This Duchess of Mine (Desperate Duchesses), I entertained the notion that it might be my last in this Duchess series. But, lo and behold, James began to include quite a bit of the Duke of Villiers background and dilemma in the latter half of that book. He was one of her more interesting heroes in this series. So, I bought A Duke of Her Own and started reading with cautious hope. With each page I turned, I was enthralled more and more. This book is brilliant. James is back to her very high standard of writing with this final story in the series. Leopold is a marvelously complex, virile, masculine hero...totally yummy. And the true heroine (like the other reviewers, I won't provide a spoiler here) is one of the most courageous, strong yet vulnerable, wonderful heroines I've enjoyed in a long time. Villier's choice between two women for the role of wife provides the tension in this book, and I'll warn you, it lasts throughout the story. But, the ending is completely satisfying. The plot does include the Duke's search and rescue of his children, but most of the storyline centers on the love story. This is a touching, well-written, stand alone romance. There's no need to backtrack and read the others in this series if you haven't already. A Duke of Her Own is truly one of the best books I've read this year.

Leopold Dautry, Duke of Villiers' story has threaded through each book of the Desperate Duchesses series. And with this, the final book in the series, Eloisa James delivers her most delightful tale yet. Taken separately each element is nothing new, but James breathes new life into old tropes, weaving a tale of secret babies, secret lovers and just plain secrets with lyrical and at times blunt prose. The interaction between Villiers and his son Tobias is funny, but also sweet in that way only dialogue between fathers and sons can be. I won't spoil who the heroine is, but she is more than strong enough to deal with Villiers. After four books of watching him grow from cold, bored aristrocrat into something infinitely more caring and more human, it is a delight to watch Villiers fall in love. I closed the book with a smile on my face. And have been grinning all day at the memory of it. If that's not a great read, I don't know what is.