Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, book 1)

First book in the Essex sisters series. When her father dies, Tess Essex, as the eldest of four sisters, expects to marry and provide for her siblings until they find husbands for themselves. What she doesn't expect is the clueless guardian her father chose, Rafe, Duke of Holbrook. She also doesn't expect instant attraction to Rafe's friend, Lucius Felton. Lucius is estranged from his parents for dirtying his hands in the stock market. He's made a lot of money. A LOT of money. And he has no interest in marriage. Imagine his surprise when he kisses Tess and proposes marriage. Tess, thinking he's not serious, says no. Then she accepts a proposal from another of Rafe's friends, Garrett Langham, the Earl of Mayne. But disaster looms when Tess's sister, Imogen, elopes, endangering the reputations and futures for sisters Annabel and Josie in the process. And there's Tess, engaged to one man when she lusts for another. I didn't skim one page in this book. Liked everything - plot, characters, dialogue, romance, humor, and a few things surprised me. Smartly written, a real romance. Second book in the series, KISS ME, ANNABEL, is out now. I'm getting it.

I really loved this book. This is odd, because I hated the "Duchess" series, which includes "Duchess in Love", "Fool for Love", "A Wild Pursuit", and "Your Wicked Ways". This book turned out to be way better than the Duchess series. Tess Essex and her three sisters (the following books in the series are about her sisters) are left alone in the world after their father passes away. He loved his horses more than anything in the world and each girl has been given a dowry of a horse. The Duke of Holbrook agreed to be their ward before their father passed away. He was expecting 4 young children and did not realize that he would get 4 grown ladies, all of which are beautiful. He immediately asks one of his friends to marry Tess, and the rest of the novel is about Tess and who she marries (she has more than one guy interested in her), and what happens when she falls in love. I liked that the wedding happened before the love (I love marriage of convenience plots). All the characters are well written. I really liked Rafe (the guardian) and if he is not intended for one of the sisters, then Eloisa better write a separate book for him. There is an interesting side-story with her sister Imogene (which will really have an impact on Imogene's book) and I loved Annabel's character. Josie, as the youngest, slightly chubby. youngest sister was also interesting. There are, of course, the trademark "sensual" scenes that James uses in all of her books. Watch out for the scene that take place when Tess and her husband are at the race tracks. All in all, this was a well written book, very engrossing and a great set-up for a quartet. I can't wait until the rest of the series is released.

I'm a huge fan of romantic comedy, and this book is one of the best I've ever read. The basic plot sounds simple, but James's execution is magical: Four sisters, aged 24, 22, 20 and 15, are orphaned when their father, a horse-mad Scottish lord, is flung from one of his horses. Tess, the eldest, has been mother as well as sister to her siblings since their mother died when the youngest was a baby. Tess is greatly worried when she discovers their feckless father has left them to the guardianship of a British duke none of them has ever met. But though 35-year-old Rafe, the Duke of Holbrook, drinks far too much, he is extremely kind, treating the sisters like family. It is obvious to Tess and her two sisters next in line, Annabel and Imogen, that they must marry since they have no money to support themselves and they don't want to take advantage of the duke. But since the only dowry their father left them is one race horse each that cannot be sold, they are afraid only undesirable men as horse-mad as their father will be likely to seek their hands. Fortunately, the sisters are all beautiful, and the duke decides he will have little trouble finding them husbands. In fact, one of his two thirty-something best friends, the Earl of Mayne, immediately volunteers to marry Tess in pursuit of a comfortable marriage of convenience. The only thing standing in the way is the duke's other best friend, the fabulously wealthy and extremely enigmatic Lucius Felton. Before meeting Tess, Lucius had no plans to marry, and he is dismayed to find himself far more interested in Tess than any man who cares about either comfort or convenience ought to be. The heroine and hero, Tess and Lucius, are a great match. They are both intelligent, with a sense of humor, bone-deep integrity, and an enormous capacity for love and loyalty. Because of internal wounds they each bear, the vulnerability they experience as their relationship develops makes the love scenes not only very sexy (and they are hot!) but extremely touching. There are multiple subcharacters, every one of them adding an important element to the book, but the major ones, the tipsy duke, Rafe, and Tess's sisters, are particularly well done. Tess's relationship with each character is important to her story, and the main subplot of her sister Imogen's desperate love for an engaged man contrasts with Tess's relationship with Lucius in a particularly powerful way. I am looking forward with great anticipation to the upcoming three books about the other sisters. I'm especially hoping Rafe will recover from his alcoholism and become a worthy mate for one of the three sisters, because he's simply adorable.

In the latest offering from Ms. James, you meet the four Essex sisters: Tess, Annabel, Imogen, and the youngest Josie. The sisters are left penniless and orphaned when their horse crazed dad dies. Arriving on the steps of guardian that they have never met, the Duke of Holbrook, the sisters feel scared and alone, so the oldest Tess, decides she must marry to ensure her sisters' future. Of course not all goes as planned because Imogen sets her cap for another horse crazed man, who is already taken not only by engagement to another woman, but also by an overbearing mama. Enter Lucius Felton, the long time friend of the Duke of Holbrook, Lucius shows up for a yearly visit to this friend's country estate and is surprised by his friend's charges. This book will have you laughing as you follow the misadventures of Tess and Lucius. I enjoyed watching them fall in love while Tess tried to keep her sisters in line. This story has a few plot twist that I was not expecting, but where good editions to the story, none the less. Anyone that enjoys Ms. James books will not want to miss this book. Ms. James once again wrote a book that has a great mixture of humor and romance.

In 1816 Duke Raphael Jourdain buys four rocking horses so that the orphan sisters that recently became his wards would not fight over toys like he and his brother used to do. He hires a nanny and four nursemaids to care for the children, whom he never met. The quartet arrives to a nursery filled with toys. The oldest Teresa thinks that men will be boys, but a shocked Rafe apologizes for his misconception. Tess introduces her younger siblings (fifteen years old Josie, twenty years old Imogen, and twenty-two years old Annabel). While Rafe drinks too much brandy, Tess realizes she must marry off her siblings; each one's dowry is a renowned racing horse so she figures if men are like her father, besotted with steeds only, she should have no trouble finding a suitor for each of them. However, instead she finds an unsuitable rake for herself as Tess falls in love with Lucius Felton, disowned by his family for his unbecoming of a lord behavior. This is a terrific historical romance that showcases family living in Regency England. The story line predominantly plays out as Tess and her sisters display love and support for one another. On the other hand, Lucius is fabulous as he tries to gain entry into the sisterhood although his reputation as being barred by his parents precedes him; his family relationships are the opposite of the sisterhood especially with his peerage mother. The final discovery by Tess and readers of the cause of his estrangement tells a lot about the times in a few sentences. Fans will appreciate this strong tale that much ado about fantastic writing. Harriet Klausner