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A Wild Pursuit (Duchess Quartet #3)

by Eloisa James (Goodreads Author), Justine Eyre (Reading)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 1,324 ratings · 52 reviews

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 ton has branded her as unmarriageable, her family has called her a vixen, and Beatrix s...more

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Published March 20th 2012 by HarperAudio (first published February 24th 2004)

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Apr 13, 2012 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romantic-reads

As it turns out, Esme gets half a book to herself and her naughty gardener (she's been slumming a la DH Lawrence, though we are thankfully spared ridiculous sentiments about naming body parts). She and Bonnington provide half the romantic intrigue in the book while Bea and Stephen have the other half (and then the foursome becomes entangled due to everyone's inability to be honest about their feelings and Esme's mommy issues - her mother is dreadful).

I do have to agree with Bea on the subject of...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: estrangement, family, friendship, historical, romance, house, party, mooched, regency

"The romance between Beatrix Lennox and Stephen Fairfax-Lacey was, to me, the least compelling of the plot strands in this novel. That isn't to say that I didn't enjoy it, just that I found the continuing story of Esme and Bonnington, and the dysfunctional relationship between Helene and Rees more interesting. [return][return]Once again James juggles a large cast of characters very well. A house party setting can seem a bit claustrophobic but after having read romances where the characters seem...more

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May 21, 2011 Soteria rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hmmm..
Aku baru menyelesaikan bacaan ini tengah malam kemarin.
Sejujurnya agak berharap banyak pas membaca buku ini, karena aku baca ringkasan di belakang bukunya kelihatannya OK banget. Tapi ceritanya sendiri menurutku seh datar-datar aja. Mungkin karena bagiku chemistry antara Stephen dan Bea kurang terasa dan kisah mereka juga kurang digali secara mendalam. Ini bisa terjadi karena dalam cerita ini sendiri ada 3 kisah cinta dari 3 pasangan berbeda yaitu :
Stephen x Bea, Sebastian x Emme dan Rees...more Hmmm..
Aku baru menyelesaikan bacaan ini tengah malam kemarin.
Sejujurnya agak berharap banyak pas membaca buku ini, karena aku baca ringkasan di belakang bukunya kelihatannya OK banget. Tapi ceritanya sendiri menurutku seh datar-datar aja. Mungkin karena bagiku chemistry antara Stephen dan Bea kurang terasa dan kisah mereka juga kurang digali secara mendalam. Ini bisa terjadi karena dalam cerita ini sendiri ada 3 kisah cinta dari 3 pasangan berbeda yaitu :
Stephen x Bea, Sebastian x Emme dan Rees x Helene..
Bukannya ga bagus seh,cuman karena terlalu banyak tokoh yang diceritakan,Bea dan Stephen malah kekurangan porsi cerita sebagai tokoh utama dalam buku ini. Mereka berdua malah terlihat seperti tempelan saja dan pendamping tokoh utama. Emme dan Sebastian malah dapat bagian lebih banyak dengan kisah perselingkuhan mereka (jujur aku ga begitu suka dengan Emme karena dia wanita tukang selingkuh,meskipun almarhum suaminya juga tukang selingkuh).
Helene adalah kasus berbeda,karena dia benar2 wanita baik2 yang mencoba untuk berselingkuh (dan gagal juga) untuk membalas perlakuan suaminya yang membawa selingkuhannya tinggal di rumah mereka sendiri. 3 wanita ini dengan masalah dan latar belakang yang berbeda diceritakan dalam buku ini berusaha menarik perhatian Stephen untuk kepentingan mereka sendiri.
Helene yang ingin membuat suaminya marah dan menceraikannya,mencoba merayu Stephen dengan smua cara yg diajarkan Bea,dan ternyata tetap gagal total,karena Helene nyatanya memang tidak menginginkan Stephen untuk menjalin affair dengannya,dan begitu pula dengan Stephen (yang anehnya tiba2 saja tertarik kepada Bea). Helene-pun membuat Stephen berjanji agar membantunya membuat suaminya marah dengan berpura2 menjadi simpanannya.
Emme lain lagi,meskipun dia sangaaaaaat bernafsu untuk selalu tidur dengan Sebastian,tapi dia bertekad menjadi wanita baik2 dan tidak mau membuat skandal lagi dengan laki2 yg sama yg paling tidak "menyebabkan" suaminya meninggal dunia karena serangan jantung karena ketahuan sebagai selingkuhannya (ini benar2 membuat aku menjadi makin tidak suka dengan pernikahan para bangsawan yg seringnya saling tidak setia dengan janji pernikahan mereka sendiri). Sebastian yang berniat menikahi Emme yang sedang hamil 9 bulan,membuat Emme ketakutan setengah mati karena dia tidak ingin kalangan bangsawan menggunjingkan-nya lagi sebagai wanita yang tak bermoral seperti dulu dengan menikahi laki2 selingkuhannya semasa pernikahannya dengan almarhum suaminya. Lalu,tiba2 saja dia mengatakan dihadapan semua orang bahwa Stephen adalah tunangannya agar membuat Sebastian mundur dari niatnya untuk menikahinya.
Cerita tidak makin menarik setelahnya,karena Bea seakan terlupakan begitu saja dengan kehadiran masalah Emme dan Helene. Sama sekali tidak diceritakan ttg keluarga Bea atapun masa lalu Bea dan alasan Bea menjadi wanita nakal dengan baju yg hampir selalu menampilkan semua lekuk2 tubuhnya. Padahal aku lumayan suka dengan sifat Bea yang selalu bicara apa adanya tanpa rasa takut,sayang sekali karakternya tidak digali lebih mendalam dan dibiarkan begitu saja sehingga terasa hambar. Begitu juga dengan Stephen yang menurutku walaupun sangaaaaat perfect,tapi terasa seperti laki2 yang kurang menegaskan pendiriannya. Dia mau2 saja diminta tolong oleh 2 orang wanita untuk berpura2 menjadi pasangannya,sehingga membuat banyak kesalahpahaman terjadi. Perasaan dia terhadap Bea menurutku juga hanya kelihatan sbg tempelan cerita,karena aku tidak bisa menemukan suatu alasan kenapa Stephen bisa tiba2 tertarik dengan Bea,pdhl awalnya dia jelas2 tertarik dengan Helene.
Yah,cukuplah aku katakan bahwa buku ini lumayan untuk dibaca,karena aku suka karakter Bea,jadi kukasih 2 bintang deh :)(less)

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Sep 19, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

This is book #3 of the Duchess Quartet, and it was a decent enough book. I think the only reason I didn't rate it higher was because I really didn't like the heroine.

First off, I didn't read the back of the book. With romance novels, it really gives too much away. If you immediately know who the hero and heroine are, you basically can work out the plot. In this case, I was disappointed that I didn't know.

I got way to attached to the girl I decided was the heroine. So, with that understanding, I'...more This is book #3 of the Duchess Quartet, and it was a decent enough book. I think the only reason I didn't rate it higher was because I really didn't like the heroine.

First off, I didn't read the back of the book. With romance novels, it really gives too much away. If you immediately know who the hero and heroine are, you basically can work out the plot. In this case, I was disappointed that I didn't know.

I got way to attached to the girl I decided was the heroine. So, with that understanding, I'm going to flag the rest of my review as being a spoiler.

Beatrix Lennox arrives at Esme's estate with Esme's aunt to attend Esme's confinement. Esme is now hugely pregnant and just praying for her child to be born. Esme is also attended by one of her closest friends, Helene, whose husband basically kicked her to the curb and set up a never ending string of opera singers in her bed chamber.

Bea thinks of herself as being scandalous, as her father has disowned her after she was seduced, but not married. She has perfected her dress and makeup to continue the illusion of sophistication and does not believe that she cares at all what her peers think.

Enter Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, respected politician, and heir to Esme's friend Gina's estate (assuming that Gina does not have a boy). He was scandalously invited to Esme's house party (during her confinement) as a potential husband for Esme.

Stephen then becomes a very willing pawn to Esme, to make Sebastian jealous or convince him to leave (she's not sure her intentions), and a very willing pawn to Helene as a pretend lover to make her own husband jealous and willing to divorce her.

Of course, he falls in love with the "strumpet".

The complex interweaving of relationships, very A Midsummer Night's Dream (in terms of confusion and chaos though not in terms of switching partners in truth, just in appearance) was what made this a fun read. It was a comedy of sorts.

I just didn't really like the "woo me" line from the hero. It was too arrogant and it hurt and confused the heroine too much. The sentiment was right, but I was glad when he realized that he'd gone about setting his snare the wrong way.

I did love Esme's reaction to her baby. Her paranoia and inability to see how how healthy the child was. I could totally relate, and I could even understand, given her brother's history. I could even partially understand her mother's reaction to seeing her grandchild, although, I thought that she should have sucked it up by that point. The wound would still be there, but it had been years and years. I guess grief effects everyone differently.(less)

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Jun 08, 2011 Perdani Budiarti rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, romance, cuma-pinjam, reviewed

Buku ketiga yang kubaca dari 4 buku serial ini. Ternyata di buku ini muncul kembali tokoh baru, Beatrix dan Stephen. Well, Esme dan Sebastian kembali muncul sebagai cerita kedua karena konflik mereka di buku kedua belum berakhir dan bayi Esme belum lahir :D

Jujur, aku tidak merasakan chemistry antara Stephen dan Beatrix sama sekali. Mungkin karena awalnya Stephen awalnya mendekati Helene, istri Rees yang berpisah rumah karena suaminya tersebut tinggal bersama penyanyi opera di rumah mereka (?!),...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Dragana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tower-teams-read-2013, expected-much-more, historical-romance

Another book in Duchess Quartet series that takes place on Esme's estate. Aunt Arabella comes to take care of Esme who is 9-months pregnant and brings'a couple' of friends. And that's how the party started... :)
This book has too many romance plots happening all at once, I think if we count fake engagements and affairs that there was 10 or more at the same time in one house. Very chaotic and of course funny situation happens as plot complicates...
I don't know but I really was not much invested in...more

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Aug 08, 2009 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, romance

I read this out of order. I wish Amazon would have series lists so I don't have to spend 15 minutes figuring out order and then blindly getting whatever. Suffice it to say this book is YUMMALICIOUS! I love loved it, I liked the characters, lots of plots going on and besides a slightly weak ending it was very enjoyable. Will be reading the other 3 around these characters ASAP!

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Jan 12, 2013 Pam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoy Eloisa James' books, and didn't mind this one, but I did find it a bit slow at times. I like the characters and enjoyed reading the next installment in the lives of these duchesses, but did find that I skipped a few pages here and there to get to "the good parts".

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Nov 12, 2011 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

Kind of a double story going on here. A Member of Parliament who’s spent his whole life concentrating on politics is burning out and accepts an invitation to a house party in the country. There, he encounters a heavily pregnant widow, still one of the beauties of the land; her friend the wife of one of the most scandalous noblemen in the country; and the disgraced daughter of a duke who is acting as companion to the widow’s aunt. Things get really complicated, and this MP winds up the “lover” of...more

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Dec 10, 2011 Lori McD rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british-lit, chick-lit, easy-read, female-bonding, favorite-author, fun-fluff, guilty-pleasure, historical-fiction, regency, romance, some-steam, 2011_read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was very satisfying for me, primarily because of Sebastian and Esme. I wondered how the author would get round all the sticky parts of their relationship and be able to allow them a measure of true happiness without too much of a sting from the "ton". Bravo! Some of the original book's comedy of errors and role-playing.

And Stephen Fairfax-Lacy must be overjoyed by being the center of attention for 3 women at once! He's supposedly having an affair with Helene (Lady Godwin) while engaged...more This book was very satisfying for me, primarily because of Sebastian and Esme. I wondered how the author would get round all the sticky parts of their relationship and be able to allow them a measure of true happiness without too much of a sting from the "ton". Bravo! Some of the original book's comedy of errors and role-playing.

And Stephen Fairfax-Lacy must be overjoyed by being the center of attention for 3 women at once! He's supposedly having an affair with Helene (Lady Godwin) while engaged to Esme and chasing Lady Beatrix! But we all know that his heart if following his body straight to Lady B. It's a saucy Benedick-Beatrice combo from "Much Ado About Nothing", but with a twist: Beatrice (Lady B) is supposedly a debauched and "experienced" young woman who is unmarriagable, but knows just how to seduce a man with her dress, her makeup, and her come-hither eyes. Benedick (Stephen) is tired of his life, which up til now has been his seat in Parliament. While she sees him as a Puritan, he sees her as the Devil - what a perfect match!

And mothers make a showing here, too: Esme's mother who's way too prim and proper for her own good, and Sebastian's mother who only seems to be as rigid as her cane.

Esme finally has her baby - a boy, William, who she can't love enough. Everyone is convinced William is so very like his Papa, Miles. But make sure to read the Epilogues, where a certain birth mark comes into play.

Helene's estranged and wandering husband Rees also makes an appearance, as Helene attempts to make Rees jealous by throwing her "affair" with Stephen in Rees' face. Rees remarks that he wishes for what his friend Cam and his wife Gina have; Helene wants a child, but how will she ever have a child if Rees won't even touch her?

At the end of this book, Helene is determined to get a child however she has to, even if it means scandal. She's almost torn apart watching Esme with William, and Gina's called Helene to stay with her for her (Gina's) last part of her pregnancy. Helene is surrounded by mothers and children, while her own arms and heart ache. From the description of the last book in this series, "Your Wicked Ways", it appears as if Helene and Rees figure dominantly. Will Helene get her child? Will she and Rees reconcile or finally just call it quits and go their separate ways? If divorce is out of the question (it takes an act of Parliament), will Helene find the lover she wants and needs to not only give her a child but to fill her heart and soul, too? Let's find out!(less)

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May 25, 2012 Laura de Leon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, romance, review-copy

This one didn't work all that well for me. Eloisa James is an excellent writer, but I just didn't like the characters, and I didn't find their antics entertaining.

I'll start out by saying this: The complexity of the relationships in this book were fun to follow-- there was a lot going on, and the intricacies were well constructed. I loved Arabella, even if I didn't agree with, well pretty much anything she did. I hated Esme's mother exactly as much as was intended. The writing was fantastic, as...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Elysal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an excellent addition to the Duchess Quartet, though I did not find myself all that interested in the supposed main characters, Bea and Stephen. Instead, I was mostly captivated by the ongoing drama between Infamous Esme and Marquess Bonnington. The relationship between this pair was my real reason for continuing to read the books in this quartet. I felt that Bea's character was never fully developed...the motivations for her outrageous behavior never seemed sufficient. The supporting c...more

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Sep 29, 2007 Dev rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2006, historical-romance

http://imaromancereader.blogspot.com/...

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Nov 10, 2012 Vina Raintree rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, historical-romance, love

Lord Stephen Fairfax-Lacy bosan dengan kehidupannya sebagai politikus di majelis rendah. dia sudah berumur lebih dari 40 tahunan tapi belum punya istri dan berkeluarga. ia lalu diundang ke pestanya Lady Esme yang terkenal sebagai infamous esme. ia berpikkiran kalo disana dia akan menemukan wanita yang cocok sebagai wanita simpanan.

tidak sangka ia bertemu dengan Lady Beatrix Lennox yang berpakaian minim dan memakai kosmetik diwajahnya yang cantik. seketika stephen terpikat. ia mengetahui sisi la...more

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May 21, 2011 Lelyana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Awal nya agak lambat ya, samapai halaman 80an masih bete baca nya...
Stelah nya mulai bergerak juga, biar pun ternyata disini ada puisi (OMG !)...Menceritakan tentang Beatrix dan Stephen. Bea, gadis muda yg di cap slut di seluruh London (mirip2 Esme ya) bertemu Stephen yg di anggap orang suci anggota parlemen yg tdk pernah tersangkut skandal apapun selama 10 tahun terakhir. Sementara Bea di usir org tua nya krn tdk tahan dg "reputasi" nya, akhirnya tinggal dg Arabella, bibi nya Esme yg juga punya...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Ilze rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: eloisa-james

Hard to rate this book - I'll probably have to give it a re-read to answer some of the questions and loose ends that I felt after the first reading.

The story actually has 2 couples - Bea-Stephen, and Esme-Sebastian. Bea I don't understand at all - she's very immature and insincere, and I don't understand what Stephen, who is almost twice her age, sees in her. Lust seems to be the only motivation there, on both sides. Esme and Sebastian's story is mostly lovely, except for the fact that Esme is...more Hard to rate this book - I'll probably have to give it a re-read to answer some of the questions and loose ends that I felt after the first reading.

The story actually has 2 couples - Bea-Stephen, and Esme-Sebastian. Bea I don't understand at all - she's very immature and insincere, and I don't understand what Stephen, who is almost twice her age, sees in her. Lust seems to be the only motivation there, on both sides. Esme and Sebastian's story is mostly lovely, except for the fact that Esme is always playing emotional games with Sebastian that are the opposite of what she really feels for him. After Fanny, Esme's monster of a mother, appears in the story in the last part of the book, Esme's actions become easier to understand, but up until then I was just wondering "why on earth is Esme doing this?", especially when she announces that she and Stephen are engaged. At this point Stephen is in lust with Bea, "engaged" to Esme, and pretending to be having an affair with yet another woman in the story - I certainly couldn't follow all these threads and I'm not sure that Stephen could either. I also didn't understand Stephen's insistence that Bea "woo" him, followed by his total capitulation when Bea decides that she doesn't have a chance with him.

There are many literary allusions in the book. Some of them are quite enjoyable and understandable, but others a lot less so. In particular, I have the feeling that the book's plot follows the plot of some classic English comedy (Shakespeare or Sheridan or Congreve?), but since I don't know which comedy it is, nor the plot of that comedy, I was left feeling rather "out of it", especially in the middle section of the book where there are some confusing plot elements going on.

There are a couple of really awful female characters in the book: Mrs. Crane, a Bible-spouting moralistic hypocrite, and Esme's mother Fanny, the archetype of the passive-aggressive bitch mother/stepmother/mother-in-law who appears in many of Eloisa James' books. I wonder why James uses this character so often in her books - it almost seems personal.

* Impressions after the second reading *

I mostly enjoyed the book while I was reading it a second time - the scenes in the book are beautifully written, full of beautiful descriptions and witty or funny conversations. The problem is the continuity - there is too little of it, unfortunately. James was trying to give the 2 love stories equal time - Esme and Sebastian's, and Bea and Stephen's - and the chapter breaks to cut to the other story (and even a third one - Helen's) just disrupted the continuity of the book and made it very frustrating for me as a reader to keep track of what was going on. This may have been why I felt the book was following a plot that I didn't know the first time I read it. It also made it harder to stay emotionally involved in the story.

I've read quite a few of Eloisa James' books now and I must say that the ones where the story is mainly about a single couple are a lot more successful than the ones with multiple love stories going on in parallel. Single couple stories I've loved: Duchess In Love, A Wild Pursuit, Kiss Me Annabel, The Taming of the Duke, A Duke of Her Own, When Beauty Tamed the Beast. Multiple couple stories I haven't loved very much: the Desperate Duchesses series (excepting Duke of Her Own and Duchess by Night), this one.

(less)

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Jul 24, 2011 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

This book got off to a slow start. There were a lot of characters and their previous history to absorb. I found out later than this is the third book in a loosely connected series of four. I never really believed in any of the characters as actual people. Maybe Helene, but Bea and Esme were supposed to be so gorgeous and charismatic and their problems were pretty trumped-up. But the story was still fun. She did a good job with the pacing of multiple storylines. I intend to read more of her books...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Brenda Margriet rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read

One of the things I like best about EJ's novels, is that she does an excellent job of keeping you guessing about who is getting together with whom. You know who should be together at the end, but it is never who the characters think it will be.

Lady Beatrix was found in a distinctly compromising position and is now unmarriageable. Stephen Fairfax-Lacy is a do-gooder politician who is burning out. Despite being 20 years older than her, he has never married, and is only looking for a fling, but wit...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The only reason this book got four stars was because of Esme/Sebastian's relationship. I really couldn't get emotionally involved with the Beatrice/Stephen relationship, mostly because I didn't really like Beatrice. Oh boo hoo, you have daddy issues so you're a slut to get attention! DON'T CARE. And Stephen was idiotic for going after a girl half his age. She wasn't mature in the least, and I didn't understand his attraction except for the fact that she was barely dressed the entire book. Happy...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Claire rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Vaguely reminds me of the Decameron, assorted people assembled in a country villa where they passed time exchanging tales of nonsense, in case of this book however, sampling lives of nonsense. Like, if author thought this out, there's nothing remotely romantic and everything absolutely insane, making love in the field where the goat, sheep and other farm animals gambol. (Think dung in the unmentionables.)

Too many secondary characters cluttering up the plot.

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Jan 29, 2013 Alissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: love-triangle, pregnancy, ripped-athletic-perfection

I wasn't as happy reading this third book in the series. Love was being thwarted left and right. Lots of game playing and trickery. It was clever plotting and sometimes fun but mostly everyone was miserable. Even my favorite pair of Esme and Sebastian didn't please. Esme kept pushing him away. I guess I missed a sweeping all encompassing passion to thread through the novel. Bea and Stephen were the closest to that kind of relationship and the pair I liked reading about most.

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Apr 20, 2013 Elvy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: discontinued

I only read 30% of this book and I can't bear it anymore so I discontinued to read it...I just can't connect with the character no matter how much I tried...Esme and Sebastian is getting boring...I feels like the author been dragging their story and character for nothing...I mean this is the third book of Duchess Quartet! and the pair still in the book...It's distracting! The wholes series is more like about the Esme/Sebastian pair than the actual hero and heroin the book mention in the synopis....more

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Feb 25, 2010 Meggie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, fiction, historical-romance

My third Eloisa James book. I still love her writing, and all the literary allusions (English major ahoy!), but the extensive subplots are starting to bother me.

For instance, while Stephen and Bea are presumably the main protagonists in A Wild Pursuit, so much time was spent on the Esme/Sebastian relationship--not to mention Helene's problems, and Esme's aunt & mother...that I frankly skimmed their chapters. (This may also have been due to the fact that I found Bea both too modern and too o...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Carolyn F. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, historical-romance

I enjoy these audiobooks but what's getting me is how loosey goosey these women are at a time when that would absolutely ruin a woman. I guess this is an idealized vision of what life would have been like without so many judgmental people around. I keep forgetting this is fiction and isn't supposed to be used for legitimate historical purposes. (slap to forehead)

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May 13, 2013 L8blmr rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I will state first that I still really like the way this lady writes. Now you know something negative is probably coming next. I did not like any of the women in this book with the possible exception of one of the main characters' aunt (for, despite the synopsis of this story, it is as much Esme's as Bea's).

The leading men, who possessed seemingly infinite patience with the harridans whom they were pursuing, were all they should be and I actually wished for better women for them to choose from,...more

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Dec 25, 2011 Julee Johnson-Tate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I could see a marked improvement from the first two books in this series. It's good to revisit old friends and get some resolution on a couple of story lines. No real surprises here, but then it's a romance isn't it?

Yeah, there are times you want to reach into the book and smack the characters for doing stupid stuff or being whiney. Fewer times than some other books, but still.

So, I recommend it. You can read it by itself, but it's better if you read it in its place in the series.

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Jun 02, 2010 Bree rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, regency

Way too much going on this book. James should have done a better job letting the h/h of this book have center stage, rather than working so hard to set up future books and give cameos to previous characters in the quartet.

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Jun 06, 2011 Henna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, historical-romance, liked-it

I didn't like Stephen and Bea's romance that much.But I liked this book because it had Esme and Sebastian. I was just reading the book for them and it was so good and happy ending for them.
feels like i read three books in the series just for Esme's story.

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Apr 28, 2011 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

Didn't really care about the ostensible "main couple" in this one. Still more interested in the relationship of Esme and Sebastian (and to a lesser degree Helene and Rees who are the focus of the next book).

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Sep 26, 2011 LaToya Davidson-Perez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the best book in the series thus far. I have loved the Esme character throughout and am glad that her story had an appropriate conclusion. Her relationship with Sebastian has been engaging and a true delight to read. In this book I particularly love the introduction of Arabella. There were several moments in which I chuckled out loud. Truly a pleasurable read!

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About Eloisa James

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James writes historical romances for HarperCollins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great acclaim. A reviewer from USA Today wrote of Eloisa's very first book that she "found herself devouring the book like a dieter with a Hershey bar"; later People Magazine raved that "romance writing does not get much better than this." Her novels have repeat...more

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Books by Eloisa James

When Beauty Tamed the Beast (Fairy Tales, #2)

Duchess By Night (Desperate Duchesses, #3)

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Quotes from A Wild Pursuit

“In fact, you should take a nap this afternoon, because there won't be much sleep tonight. I
mean to have you every way I can. I mean to intoxicate you and torment you so that you know precisely
how I feel about you." His finger trailed down her cheek and tipped up her chin.
"Don't mistake what is going to happen tonight." His voice was sinful, dark and hoarse. "You will never
forget the imprint of my skin after tonight, Esme. Waste your life chitchatting with ladies in lace caps.
Raise your child with the help of your precious Sewing Circle. But in the middle of all those lonely nights,
you will never, ever, forget the night that lies ahead of us.” — 2 people liked it

“That sleepy, sensual smile of hers ought to be outlawed. It said
everything, without saying anything.” — 1 person liked it

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A Wild Pursuit (Duchess Quartet #3)

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