ARC Book Review-Four Nights With The Duke by Eloisa James

I received this book for free from Avon in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Four Nights With the Duke by Eloisa James
Series: Desperate Duchesses by the Numbers, #2
Published by Avon on March 31st 2015
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Avon
ISBN: 0062223917

As a young girl, Emilia Gwendolyn Carrington told the annoying future Duke of Pindar that she would marry any man in the world before him—so years later she is horrified to realize that she has nowhere else to turn.
Evander Septimus Brody has his own reasons for agreeing to Mia's audacious proposal, but there's one thing he won't give his inconvenient wife: himself.
Instead, he offers Mia a devil's bargain...he will spend four nights a year with her. Four nights, and nothing more. And those only when she begs for them.
Which Mia will never do.
Now Vander faces the most crucial challenge of his life: he must seduce his own wife in order to win her heart—and no matter what it takes, this is the one battle he can't afford to lose.

Summary

Emilia Carrington,  when she was foolish and young, made a poem, but not just any pem for the Duke of Pindar, that she would never lower herself to marry him no matter what. Well karma always has a balance and now Emilia has no choice but to go and marry him. Vander wants his choice of a bride to be of his own choosing, and not forced upon him. But when Emilia blackmails him, and he learns some truths about his father, he knows that he will have no choice. Emilia has a nephew that needs her, and she must protect him, and it is for him she will do anything to see to it that he grows up in a safe home. But what started out as a agreement for four nights a year with the Duke in his bed, has turned into a game of cat and mouse, of pleasure and desire, but which one will come out on top and win?

The Hero

Vander, is Duke of Pindar, and Mia is the first woman to tell him what to do. Vander has had to deal with bullies and friends, but never a woman that stirred him so in a argument. Vander likes to provoke people, to prove their strength and weaknesess. Even though Vander was quite different from other heroes that you see in this trope, I didn’t always like him. He could be downright cruel at times, but his personality is one that he doesn’t see that. He uses his attitude toward others as a way to protect himself. You never know which way is up or down with Vander, or what will come out of his mouth next. He does end up proving to be quite a redeemable hero for me, he fights for Mia and love seeing him chase after a woman that puts him through the ringer.

The Heroine

Mia, has made mistakes where Vander is concerned. She knows that, she admits to it, but with her parents gone, she is the only one left to protect her nephew who is more like her own son, and she tends to be a bit overprotective mama bear when it comes to her nephew. Mia is strong, capable and intelligent, she also tends to close off her emotions, because she has been betrayed in the past. She doesn’t just let anyone in. What I really loved about Mia was the way she handles her situation, which is different in each scenario. She really surprised me in certain ways that I didn’t expect.

Plot and Story Line

It has been a while since I have read this author, but every time I read her I always enjoy myself. Now this story could get me frustrated at times, despite how much I really enjoyed it. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship going on with this one. Now would I recommend this one? Yes, I would. It had many qualities to it, that makes a winning historical romance. But the relationship between Mia and Vander felt a bit off for me, and I just couldn’t completely come to terms with it. Both character had both pros and cons to their characters, but there were times I just wanted to wring their necks, they tended to get a bit frustrating at times, but as the story progresses you can understand why. But it has been a while since I felt a bit more off with the hero than the heroine. He wasn’t very nice at all, and you understand where he is coming from, why they both have issues with each other, and it boiled down to a few misunderstandings…but it all worked out in the end, and what a fun way was it seeing these two work things out. I loved the nephew Charlie (I believe that’s his name), he was adorable and an endearing side character, and he really adds a bit of depth and perception to the story that wouldn’t be there without him. There were a couple other side characters that I fell in love with. Even though its not a major aspect of the story, we do see a bit of a mystery aspect included, and its subtle, but it does add some dramatic flair to the story. What I loved most was how this story seemed very intense at times. There were multiple small characterizations to the story that cultivate the romance in a way you don’t expect or see coming. Eloisa James has a way of writing a romance that isn’t your run of the mill, and keeps you wondering how these two will work their issues out to get their HEA. But by the time I finished I felt fully satisfied after a big meal.

Cover

I actually really love this cover, and its definintely Eloisa James type of cover. The dress is beautiful and elegeant, and the spring colored lettering is a nice tougch.

Overall View

A beautifully written romance that wraps its fingers around you in a delicious wrap of sensation, emotion and desire. DELICIOUS!!

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 repeatedly received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and regularly appear on the best-seller lists.

After graduating from Harvard University, Eloisa got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Currently she is an associate professor and head of the Creative Writing program at Fordham University in New York City. Her "double life" is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professorial guise, she's written a New York Times op-ed defending romance, as well as articles published everywhere from women's magazines such as More to writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.

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