A Wild Pursuit

The Duchess Quartet, Book 3

By: Eloisa James

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

It is whispered behind the fans of London's dowagers and in the corners of fashionable ballrooms that scandal follows willfully wild Lady Beatrix Lennox wherever she goes.

Three years before, the debutante created a sensation by being found in a distinctly compromising position. Now, the town has branded her as unmarriageable, her family has called her a vixen, and Beatrix sees no reason not to go after what - and who - she wishes.

And she wants Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, the handsome Earl of Spade. Beatrix, with her brazen suggestions and irresistibly sensuous allure, couldn't be more different from the earl's ideal future bride. Yet Beatrix brings out a wildness in the earl he has tried to deny far too long. Still, he's not about to play love's game by Lady Beatrix's rules. She may be used to being on top in affairs of the heart, but that will soon change.

©2004 Eloisa James (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

Loved it

Enjoyed it Justine did a great job. Very humorous and passionate well worth the credit.love happy endings

Current issues and ideas set in the wrong century.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I enjoyed the development and interactions of the characters. I did not find it believable that the moral issues of today repeatedly appeared in this story.

Have you listened to any of Justine Eyre’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was an excellent performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I enjoyed the performance and the flow of the reader, however I became so exasperated when the story became too farfetched and had to turn it off for a while.

Third installment in a great series

This book features Esne and Sebastian. It wraps up their story, which is one of the best stories of the Duchess Quartet. Also features are Helene and her rascal of a husband, Reece. The main story is probably Stephen and Bea. He is a "puritan" member of the House of Commons and Bea is the daughter of a Duke. Unfortunately Bea was compromised during her first season and suffers a terrible reputation - somewhat deserved. Everyone is gathered at Esne's house party and Esne is on the verge of giving birth to her child, which may be his late husband's child, or her lover Sebastian's child. I enjoyed the book very much and am looking forward to raiding the last book, which should wrap up the Helene and Reece storyline.

My favorite Eloisa James book so far.

What did you love best about A Wild Pursuit?

Beatrice, Esme and the other characters

What other book might you compare A Wild Pursuit to and why?

I really also enjoy Dance Upon the Air and the 3 Sisters Island Trilogy by Nora Roberts and Nora Roberts Bride Quartet, Eloisa James' A Kiss at Midnight, books about friendship and women's lives.

What three words best describe Justine Eyre’s voice?

throaty, husky, deep

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Fun Romp in Regency England, better than Jane Austen!

Any additional comments?

I like this book, it is the 3rd in Eloisa's Duchess Quartet and she has another Duchess series after this series, her other series Fairy Tale, I really enjoyed A Kiss at Midnight and the Ugly Duckling and I have preordered Once Upon a Tower.

Eloisa's writing is witty and in real life she is a Shakespearean professor so there is some poetry and her books are very well written.

My only critique is I wish the love scenes were more like Stephanie Laurens, those will get you hot and bothered and Stephanie Laurens doesn't make them crude with certain vulgar body parts. James' sex scenes aren't hot enough for me but I really enjoy the stories and in the case of this book, I have read it 3x in print and bought the audiobook and I purchased A Kiss at Midnight the other day and really enjoyed it after reading A Kiss at Midnight two years ago.

A lot going on

There is A LOT happening in this book. Can be hard to keep up with. As with much of Eloisa James' work it can be overly verbose. This really seems to be more Esme and Sebastian's story than Stephen and Bea's.

But it is overall a good read. Sometimes funny, often sweetly sad and very sexy at times.

I do recommend overall but you will need to hang in through a ton of unnecessary chatter.

A Deightful Romantic Comedy of Errors

I love this "Duchess Quarter" series, and this book did not disappoint. As with the other books, the stories are about 3 friends and their romances where the story lines get intertwined and then resolved. In this book one character ends up involved with all 3 women romancing one, pretending to romance another to make her husband jealous and pretending to be engaged to another. The book is much richer if the reader is familiar with the story of Esme and Sebastian from the previous book, even though the book stands alone just fine. I love the way that Eloisa James uses classical literature, particularly Shakespeare, to weave into the romances she writes. Here "Romeo and Juliet* plays a role, though it is not necessary to know the classics to enjoy these references. Though some readers were put off by the catty attitudes of some of the women in this book, James is clearly mocking these prudish and even vicious social attitudes just as Shakespeare does, By this technique James enriches her stories with the beauty of classical literature at the same time she shows that love and romance are an important part of all good literature.

Best so Far

While the intimate scenes in this volume are, by far, the steamiest yet, the descriptions of the emotions one goes through during childbirth were spot on. It read authentically, for what we all know, is a lark.

love this Saga!

i love ANYTHING by Mrs. James. This saga is undoubtedly one of her great works.

Continuation of a SILLY story

The first book was a disaster. So why did I buy the second? Not sure. I bought these books a few years ago and finally got around to reading them and boy am I disappointed. The heroine has such loose morals that she tells another she will help her hook up with the hero while she tries to entice him herself. Disgusting. I do hope I am not lucky enough to have friends like this. I wish I had read this book when I got it so I could get a refund. Don’t waist your coins in this one.

BIG Disappointment

What would have made A Wild Pursuit better?

1. A better reader who wouldn't make all the females sound like snobs or prostitutes.2. The story got bogged down right at the beginning with 5 chapters devoted to conversations between snobbish women at parties talking about how to seduce men or cheat on their husbands.3. A smaller age difference between the protagonists (23 years is way too much to take seriously let alone get invested in the outcome of the romance).

What do you think your next listen will be?

I still love Eloisa James' books and this is the first one which disappointed me. I bought it strictly going by the amount of people who thought it was a wonderful story.

How could the performance have been better?

Better reader who didn't exaggerate the accents.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not that I could hear. In fact, I stopped listening after Chapter 6.

Any additional comments?

I learned a lesson - don't trust the reviews. Also, I will not get any more books narrated by Justine Eyre.