Book two-fifty-five: Desperate Duchess

Desperate Duchess (2007)
Eloisa James

Rating: 4.25/5

I knew I shouldn’t have read this. I been deliberately avoiding buying it since it came out because I knew that she would do her usual trick of having a story that goes through all the books in the series, and as there are still four more to be published, I knew that I could just read them all back to back like I have with all her other series.

So, of course I read it. And of course now I am desperate (hardy ha!) to find out what happens with Jemma and Elijah.

I loved Roberta and Damon. I love Teddy. Hell, I may even love Villers (I’m figuring he’s the Mayne of the series, so I’m giving him a fair go).

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?

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Finished: Friday 11/1/08