The Duke is Mine by Eloisa James

Setting: Regency 1812

*Book 3 in Eloisa’s Fairy Tales series*

Summary:

Tarquin, the powerful Duke of Sconce, knows perfectly well that the decorous and fashionably slender Georgiana Lytton will make him a proper duchess. So why can’t he stop thinking about her twin sister, the curvy, headstrong, and altogether unconventional Olivia? Not only is Olivia betrothed to another man, but their improper, albeit intoxicating, flirtation makes her unsuitability all the more clear. 

 Determined to make a perfect match, he methodically cuts Olivia from his thoughts, allowing logic and duty to triumph over passion…Until, in his darkest hour, Tarquin begins to question whether perfection has anything to do with love. 

 To win Olivia’s hand he would have to give up all the beliefs he holds most dear, and surrender heart, body and soul…

 Unless it’s already too late.

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Review:

Eloisa James gets better with every new book. This third entry in her Fairy Tales secrets is the best one yet-a very original adapted fairy tale full of drama, humor, passion and adventure.

I don’t know where to start with telling you how amazing this novel was. From the moment it began, I was so hooked. The writing was so funny and witty and the characters grab you with their exaggerated personalities. Olivia was a joy to read, with her bawdy comments and the naughty twinkle in her eye. Yet, she was so easy to relate to, as she isn’t perfect physically-at least not according to Regency standards. The perfect way to describe her would be a ‘juicy peach’ as her sister puts it. She struggles with confidence issues like all of us and that made her even more lovable.

As for Quin-he was an interesting hero as he was not perfect either-having an Aspergers-like problem of not being able to express emotion. I loved reading how these two ‘imperfect’ characters find each other and the novel had me sighing at how perfect they were together. They had such amazing chemistry!

The implementation of the whole Princess and the Pea thing was very cleverly done as well. To my mind, the original fairy tale is one that is very hard to adapt what with the stack of mattresses and the tiny pea the princess can feel through all of them-how to translate that to Regency England? I won’t spoil things for you, I will only say you will be pleasantly surprised by how well it is written in.

The plot itself was brilliantly done and so full of twists, I didn’t quite know where things were going next! It made me laugh, cry and stay up all night just finish it! Out of the three fairy tales, this novel did stray the furthest from the fairy tale it is based on, but the importance of the original moral is still preserved in this wonderful update. This book is an amazing achievement that pushes the boundaries of what can be done in romance and answers that all important question: “Is perfection really that important when it comes to love?”

I can’t wait to read Eloisa’s next! 😀

Sensuality Rating: HOT! (Love scenes are long and explicit)

Verdict: Fresh, sexy and fun-A must read! 😀

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars