Desperate Duchesses

By: Eloisa James

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

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)

Excellent start to a series!

After reading a few of the reviews, I was hesitant to purchase this book. I am so very glad that I did. The author endears you to the characters and makes you want to continue on the journey with the characters in future novels. I am very excited to get to the Duke and Dutchess of Beaumont's story and to see what happens with other characters that were introduced. The love story between Damon and Roberta is lovely and the Duke of Villers is a perfect character to be humbled by the love of a good woman further in the series. I am only dissapointed that Audible does not offer the entire series. I normally don't have time to read, which is why I adore my audiobooks, but I will make time for this series! Worth a credit!

Wonderful story, great writing, superb narration!

Any additional comments?

It was a pleasure to listen to this interesting, clever, funny story narrated to perfection. I especially appreciated the author's excellent writing skills. The characters were unique, a bit quirky and that made them ever so endearing to me. Very entertaining! Bravo.

Narrator difficult

I had a hard time with the narrator tone. It was mushy and slurpy making it very difficult to listen to. It is the only one of Eloisa James books that I have experienced this.

Fabulous!!!

As always, Rosalyn Landor rocks!!! She brings the characters to life. The novel was wordy and slow in some places but as I hung in there I understood the importance of each part. This novel contained one of the best love seens I have ever heard. I have listened to this novel over five times already. Hope to see more of James and Landor together in the future.

slow start

I felt it took a long time for me to get into this book. Overall it was a nice love story. I always love Rosalynd Landor as a narrator.

Fluffy

My first Eloisa James. Probably my last. Not bad, just very predictable and not that interesting. It is the epitome of what critics find most appalling about the genre. I don't see anything wrong with reading escapist fantasy. But if this book is anything to go by, Ms. James has several contemporaries who write escapist fantasy far better than she does.

Really Great Fun !!

Where does Desperate Duchesses rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is difficult to rate this book because it is not serious literature - but rather an imaginary and long party with semi-royals of the 17th century. Compare it to putting down a book written by John Grisham and picking up People magazine - a change of pace just for the pure fun of it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Gemma - because she is so worldly, hopeless addicted to chess games and inventive in her choice of partners - not withstanding the fact that she is married to a man who spends his life either with his mistress or in the House of Lords. Loved her !!

What does Rosalyn Landor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As usual, her narration brings a different voice to each character - even the small boy - making the story more entertaining. I don't believe anyone would find that experience in the printed version of this book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not especially, but it is not an emotional story so I didn't expect any reaction of that sort.

Any additional comments?

Try it - you'll enjoy !!!

Hard to follow.

I love historical romances and Roslyn Landor but found this very hard to follow. There were too many main characters and the male voices sounded so similar, I couldn't distinguish between Gemma's brother and her husband. If the main character was Roberta, I could not admire her. I liked Gemma much better. She was more intelligent and more interesting. I tried to listen to it again but lost interest and was lost in the many characters. The second book in this series is much better.

Sweet Romance

Sweet, but no surprises. I would recommend for a fun light romance. The narration was very good.

Great performance of a witty romance

I revisited this early James book in audio format after listening to all the later books in the various Duchess series. The narrator used the opportunity provided by the humorous aspects which she hasn't often had with other authors and I was fully satisfied.