BOTM 1 - January 2021 - A Duke of Her Own

[Susan]

I read this after having read the first 5 books in the series. I like EJ, but I found this series a bit hard going and it was not as good as Wildes for example. Villiers was the one thing that kept me going. I found that whenever the storyline came back to Villiers I sat up and became interested - otherwise I found the other characters in the previous books self absorbed and not always of great interest (Book 4 a possible exception to this). This meant that when I finally read 'A Duke of Her Own' I was fully invested in him as a character and had insight into the plot of this book.

I think to truly appreciate this book and Villiers you probably have to wade through the first 5. I would give it at least 4 stars because I am a little in love with him (regardless of the number of illegitimate children).

I do wonder what EJ was thinking when she wrote the series. I suspect that she wrote book 1 with Villiers as a side character, but then decided that she wanted to ultimately write a book about him, but kept him as a secondary character in the next 4 books. When you read the other books - it is almost like there are 2 stories in each one - the romance and then the continued Villiers plot - in some cases with only a tenuous relationship between the two.

[Petra]

Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Petra wrote: "I have finished this book.
In the beginning, I was not feeling very excited about this book. But I figure it might just be good for me since I am busy right now and can only read few..."

I know what you mean about liking her books but not loving them. I've read few EJ books but none of them stick out as special but I did enjoy reading them. I like her humour and the willingness to try something different.

[Petra]

Susan wrote: "I read this after having read the first 5 books in the series. I like EJ, but I found this series a bit hard going and it was not as good as Wildes for example. Villiers was the one thing that kept..."
Hi Susan, i'm intrigued by what you said about Villiers in previous books. Would you be able to recommend one that you enjyed the most? Or should start from the book 1?

[Susan]

Petra wrote: "Susan wrote: "I read this after having read the first 5 books in the series. I like EJ, but I found this series a bit hard going and it was not as good as Wildes for example. Villiers was the one t..."

I would read books 1 and 2, and then decide whether you wished to pursue the rest of the series. Villiers is quite unlikeable in book 1 (a bit like Sebastian, Lord St Vincent was in the book that he appeared in prior to Devil in Winter (by Lisa Kleypas) and you get a better idea of his character and background in book 2. The main story in book 4 was my favorite, but if you are reading to get a better picture of Villiers, then 1 and 2 (and possibly 5) are the books in which he is most predominant.

Interestingly, books 1,2 and 4 have the lowest scores on Goodreads. The main storyline in book 2 was pretty stupid - and I think I only persisted with it because there were large swathes that were just dedicated to Villiers alone. You could possibly just read those bits and skim the rest.