Desperate Duchesses

By: Eloisa James

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Welcome to a world of reckless sensuality and glittering sophistication, of dangerously handsome gentlemen and young ladies longing to gain a title, of games played for high stakes, including - on occasion - a lady's virtue.

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 game player of consummate skill, a notorious rakehell 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?

©2007 Eloisa James (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The first in a sparkling new series set in the scandalously fun Georgian era by best-selling and award-winning James, this is a gracefully written, lusciously sensual, delectably witty, and exquisitely romantic historical romance." ( Booklist)

"If Shakespeare had written an 18th-century romantic comedy, it might look something like this novel." ( Publishers Weekly)

Should have been named scandalous duchess

Another Eloisa James winner. I love the series though I tend to not read any series in order. Reading other books in between allows me to get out of the writing style of that author and when I go back for another book, I find the stories more enjoyable. This was the case with this book and now I am sorry I read “A duke of her own” before this book since I find the Duke of Villiers most fascinating. A great mixture of passion, love and impropriety to add spice to this historical novel. A must read.

More playful than most.

The writing provides a large cast of characters worth the time, and Landor does her usual good job of bringing the story to life. It is a bit less sexually explicit than other writers, and more entertaining in the situations and dialog, and it doesn't suffer as much tedium as many historical romances that endlessly reiterate the reasons why "it can never be." I look forward to continuing the series.

quite a bit confusing

confusing from the beginning til almost the end I couldnt quite grasp what was going on at all until Villiers propose. I felt like I was asleep til he actually told Roberta father he was courting her.

Great book!

I love this author! I didn't care for the reader at the beginning but it's hard to care when the story is so amazing!

great perfornance. good but not great storyline

Good story. and great performance by the reader. I didn't really need the sex scenes but they were very well done.

An outstanding cast of characters!

I thoroughly enjoyed Rosalyn Landor's performance of DESPERATE DUCHESSES. She did a remarkable job with different characters' voices, dialects, inflections; I knew who was speaking (from the performance) prior to the tag (writer telling us who spoke).

This book by Eloisa James was full and rich, a tapestry woven of many different story threads. Separate romances between different duchesses and their dukes. While there was one main love story, the secondary were every bit as entertaining and set up the rest of the series splendidly. It made me want to delve into the rest of them!

I found the storyline very easy to follow, partially because of the superb narration. While there were far more characters of consequence in this novel compared to other books, I found it very well told. Zero confusion. Interlocking plot elements. Enriched story lines because of the progression of the story from different points of view and through different characters' experiences.

I admire Eloisa James's writing....and this book is a gem! Highly recommended.

Another Fun Book from Eloisa James

Firstly, I bought this book already being an Eloisa James fan. So, my opinion was already biased in her favor. This book started out a bit slow. It honestly took me a good 2.5 hours to get into it. So, if you also have that problem, keep listening. The story gets better. Perhaps this was because she already anticipated it being the beginning of a series and wanted to set the characters up appropriately. In fact, in the beginning I felt a bit overwhelmed by the number of main characters. Although the focus of this novel is the love affair between Roberta & Damon, EJ takes a while to actually get their interactions.

Roberta has had an unconventional upbringing in her father's home. The overly demonstrative poet has allowed his courtesans to live in his home with Roberta, and embarrasses Roberta with his poetry (including an ode he wrote re: the fold of her eyelashes). So, when she meets an emotionally remote duke, she's convinced he's the right man for her & considers herself madly in love with him...until she meets the Earl of Gryffyn who seems to be everything she doesn't want in a husband. But she's unable to fight her attraction to him, and ultimately realizes that the aloof duke is exactly what she does NOT need.

Rosalyn Landor does a good job as narrator. I'll be honest and say she's not spectacular, but once you get accustomed to her reading style it's easy to enjoy the story.

It's all about the dialogue

Any additional comments?

If you read much HR, you know there's a plot formula with variation coming from the characters. James is different from other HR writers because she emphasizes dialogue full of complexity and humour. The teasing leading up to the love scenes is lovely. Had to pay close attention in the first half as all the characters are introduced.I'm committing to the series.Gave narration 4 stars only because it didn't stand out (which is actually good - focuses you on the plot) and some of the male characters sounded a bit forced.

CUTE BUT LACKS SOMETHING ESSENTIAL - LIKE A PLOT!

I usually like Eloisa James and Rosalyn Landor is one of my favorite narrators, but Ms. James seemed to phone this one in. The main characters, Roberta and Damon were very cute together, but the plot was minimal and the author chose to fill the holes with descriptions of chess moves. Since I personally have no knowledge of chess, nor interest in acquiring any, it was a waste of time listening to them. It seemed to me that the author's editor needed a book and Ms. James accommodated him/her with this bit of drivel.

A delightful read full of love and laughter

When I started listening to the first part of this story, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. It seemed to contain a batch of confusing characters (I mean real "characters") who I couldn't link together. But it wasn't long before it found its rhythm and clarified how apparently loosely linked characters came together in a tale about games of romance.

The Duke and Duchess of Beaumont have been separated for years, but Lady Beaumont (Jemma) has come home from Paris after her husband, a powerful leader in the House of Lords, suffered a sudden collapse during a speech. While both she and her husband have engaged in a number of affairs during the 8 year separation, it is clear that behind their anger towards each other, there is also a deep level of care trying to make itself known. They both are concerned about the Duke's mortality, though they don't admit it to each other. In fact the game of chess becomes a way for romantic pursuit. The Duchess becomes involved in a chess game with the scandalous Duke of Villers, and in a challenge that shows his determination to compete for his wife's love, the Duke of Beaumont also challenges his wife to a chess game.

Gaming strategies are a large part of the romance between Lady Roberta St. Giles and Damon, the Earl of Gryffen as well. Lady Roberta, the only daughter of an eccentric Marquis, happens to be in love with the Duke of Villers. Damon, also sister to Jemma Beaumont, is interested in Roberta and pursues a romantic strategy to take her away from the Duke. Thus the gaming board is set with all the players vying for each other's love. Damon proves to be a surprisingly apt player as he takes on Villers, who is considered the best chess player in England (ignoring the fact that Lady Jemma Beaumont may actually be the best).

The story also includes Damon's delightful 7 year old son, who adds much joy and humor to his father's maneuvers to win Roberta. Rosalyn Landor, who I think does a fabulous job with children's voices, is the perfect narrator for this story, and her sense of humor renders eccentric characters as funny but endearing. Each character is interesting and richly developed, with many intelligent, strong women, and the chess theme serves to tie them all together in their common search to win the happy ending. Though happy endings are in sight for some, it is clear that the book lays groundwork for development of other stories with these characters.

The story's witty dialogue and plot often had me laughing out loud, and Damon and Roberta,are both clever and charming. I highly recommend this book as an endearing and enjoyable read.