A Duke of Her Own (Desperate Duchesses, 6)

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.

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 thought with all the five star reviews this book would be outstanding. To say the least, it was boring. I could barely plow through the darn thing. The storyline is boring, the characters are boring, except for Tobias. I can't believe Lisa Kleypas or even Julia Quinn would have their names printed on the covers. I am an avid romance reader, and can't believe I was duped into buying this book. I say pass...

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that the Duke of Villiers, a single man in possession of a good fortune (not to mention six illegitimate children), must be desperately in want of a wife. But Leopold Dautry, the duke in question, knows that not just any woman will fit the bill. So that his children may be launched into society when they come of age, Leopold needs to marry the daughter of a duke, for only such a woman would hold enough clout in the eyes of London's elite to have his children be accepted by the ton. Luckily for Villiers, only two women meet his criteria. Eleanor, the daughter of the Duke of Montague, is sensible, intelligent, and irresistibly sensual. Lisette, the Duke of Gilner's daughter, is vivacious, creative, stunningly beautiful, and as far as most people are concerned, a bit mad. Torn between his instinct and his heart, Villiers must decide which woman will be the duchess he can call his own.

Eloisa James has ended her fantastic Desperate Duchess series on a high note with this engrossing story. A Duke of Her Own is an enchanting mix of romance and fun and I could not put it down.

The Duke of Villiers has grown into a fascinating character over the course of this series. I'll admit I wasn't his biggest fan when the series began, but while he grew on me throughout the books, I feel deeply in love with him in A Duke of Her Own. His transformation has been one of the finest Ms. James has ever written. As to which woman claims the heart of the worldly duke...what fun would it be if I revealed who she is? I will say that Villiers's heroine is among my favorite of Ms. James's characters. She's everything I could wish for in a protagonist and she matches Villiers perfectly; I simply adored her.

A Duke of Her Own is the sixth book in the Desperate Duchess series, but the story stands on its own. I admit that I finished A Duke of Her Own a bit sad that the series has ended and that - barring re-reads - I have to leave the Desperate Duchess heroes and heroines behind. Given the liveliness of these characters, it is my hope that Ms. James writes stories for their children one day, some of whom Ms. James has already revealed to be quite intriguing. Until that wish comes true, I'm content to hop over to the Readers' Pages on Ms. James's site and enjoy a bonus chapter for A Duke of Her Own before I curl up and lose myself in Villiers's story once more.

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This was book was... fantastic. And so different from the usual HR. So different.

For starters, the hero has six illegitimate children. And he is no longer content to let them be raised in orphanages or suffer on the streets. So Leopold, the Duke of Villiers, is finding his children, one by one, and bringing them home with him. To be raised properly and eventually introduced into society... Which is why he needs a wife. And not just any wife will do; he needs one who 1) is willing to raise his by-blows, and 2) has the clout and standing to make others accept them.

Which means that only a Duke's daughter will do, and there aren't many of those available for marriage. In fact, there are only two.

One of which is our heroine, Eleanor, who stated publicly during her debut season that she would only marry a Duke... Though not because she has a thing for status. It was a defense mechanism, limiting her number of suitors by nearly 100%. Eleanor is brash and sarcastic and says what she means, much to the distress of her mother and most men. And though her clothes say that she is dowdy and puritanical, the truth is that Eleanor - at 22 - hasn't been a virgin for six years.

Both Leopold and Eleanor have their issues. Leopold doesn't know love, of any sort, and so he is blind to it. And Eleanor fears the passion inside of her, fears what it says about her.

The passion between Leo and Eleanor developed sweetly and then scorched the pages when it finally ignited. Very romantic, indeed.

But their journey is very bumpy and mired with all sorts of obstacles. Not least of which is Lisette. I'm not sure exactly what her major malfunction is... but she is crazy as a coo-coo. And has the attention span of a gnat. She starts out appearing completely innocent and harmless - but sometimes such innocence in all things is harmful... Or should it be considered obliviousness?

I truly loved this book. I loved Leo and Eleanor's individual journeys as well as their combined one. And the children, Tobias in particular, were adorable... And the Epilogue might be one of my all-time favorites. It was a very sweet conclusion.

Confusion over the heroine? There was never any information - other than in the blurb describing the product here and presumably perhaps the back cover blurb (I wouldn't know, I read the Kindle) that offered any confusion. Hint: when you meet and enter the Point of View of Heroine Option 1 on page one, a scene in which she immediately meets and zings with the hero, and supposed Heroine Option 2 doesn't enter until a quarter of the way through the book and you *never* get her POV, guess what? There's no Heroine Option 2.

The author is not responsible for the *blurb*. The publisher is. She doesn't write the blurb.

Once again, Eloisa James leaves me begging for more.

The Duke of Villiers, whom we've read quite a bit about in the previous Duchesses novels, is looking for a wife. Specifically, he requires the daughter of a duke. His six illegitimate children need a mother, and Villiers is determined to marry a woman of the highest standing in the hopes that his children will be accepted into Society.

Eleanor Lindel is the daughter of a duke--and a beautiful one at that. Once spurned in love by her childhood sweetheart, she has declared that only a duke will do when it comes to marriage. Naturally, when she meets Villiers, he seems to be a practical solution.

But Eleanor has competition in the form of the angelically lovely Lisette. The only other available daughter of a duke in the ton, Lisette is widely believed to be mad. But Villiers ignores such rumors and chooses to forge ahead with his plan to choose between Eleanor and the lovely Lisette. While Lisette proves herself to be quite maternal at least superficially, Eleanor is the one who makes his heart race.

When Gideon--Eleanor's lost love--makes an appearance at the country house, Villiers realizes that the tables have turned and now he faces competition.

One of the things I enjoy most about James's novels is her significant research. I read mostly for entertainment, but I also love to learn along the way. I always come away from a James novel with a new tidbit of knowledge about Shakespeare or the Georgian era or what have you. Because of her efforts to be authentic, her novels are always believable. And because I've read the entire series up to this point--watching Villiers's character develop along the way--it was immensely gratifying to see Villiers finally open his heart to someone other than the Duchess of Beaumont.

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!

There is not too much that I can add that Bluestocking's excellent review didn't already say, except I too loved this book. I was a little leary going into it. Villiers had been engaged and then in love with Jemma and now couldn't decide again between two women? Was he just totally fickle? No, he just finally wants to do the right thing. From the very first chapter I was captivated. The heroine of the book is perfect match for Villers. The writing was witty, the characters engaging, the plot unique and the conflict believable. I think I am going to re-read the whole series again, just so I can appreciate how neatly everything was tied up.

I have never read a book by Eloisa James. This book was a very good place to start, though, as I really loved it. I loved the heroine right from the beginning. Not having read the other preceding books, Villiers' past was hard to reconcile at first, but the more I read the more I liked this character. The dialogue between the H/H, the interactions of the Hero with his son, the sister Anne (the voice of reason and instigator all rolled into one), were the highlights. It really turned into a love a story, that gradual slide from immediate, but undeniable, attraction, to sharp witted interactions to sexual tension and ultimately love, was perfect in my opinion. I was surprised that some other reviewers on romance websites disliked this book, causing me to almost disregard reading it. I laughed, I cried (Oh, Oyster!) and felt this book was a page turner for me. Would highly recommend it. Now I need to see if the other books in this series are just as good.