Say Yes to the Duke by Eloisa James
Series : Wildes of Lindow Castle #5
Genre : Historical Romance
Publisher : Avon
Publication Date : May 19th, 2020
Genre : Historical Romance
Publisher : Avon
Publication Date : May 19th, 2020
Miss Viola Astley is so painfully shy that she’s horrified by the mere idea of dancing with a stranger; her upcoming London debut feels like a nightmare.
So she’s overjoyed to meet handsome, quiet vicar with no interest in polite society — but just when she catches his attention, her reputation is compromised by a duke.
Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter, will stop at nothing to marry Viola, including marrying a woman whom he believes to be in love with another man.
A vicar, no less.
Devin knows he’s no saint, but he’s used to conquest, and he’s determined to win Viola’s heart.
Viola has already said Yes to his proposal, but now he wants her unruly heart…and he won’t accept No for an answer.
So she’s overjoyed to meet handsome, quiet vicar with no interest in polite society — but just when she catches his attention, her reputation is compromised by a duke.
Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter, will stop at nothing to marry Viola, including marrying a woman whom he believes to be in love with another man.
A vicar, no less.
Devin knows he’s no saint, but he’s used to conquest, and he’s determined to win Viola’s heart.
Viola has already said Yes to his proposal, but now he wants her unruly heart…and he won’t accept No for an answer.
I guess this is one of those series that gets better with every subsequent book because I liked Viola's story way more than the others(with the exception of Parth and Lavinia of course). It's nowhere close to Eloisa James' older books, but I'm learning to put aside my expectations and enjoy this series!
Filled with the trademark EJ wit and close familial relationships, Say Yes to the Duke follows the story of Viola Astley, who is a part of the Wilde clan because of her mother's marriage to the Duke of Lindow. Even though she loves her step-siblings immensely, she is nowhere close to being a trademark Wilde because of her shyness and anxiety. After throwing up at her first ball due to a crippling case of anxiety, she prefers to avoid social gatherings and linger along the edges. She was more comfortable talking to the elderly vicar than to the nobles, but now that he has passed away, her step-father hires a new vicar, Mr. Marlowe.
After meeting him she believes that she's in love with him! She's able to converse with him and if she marries him she wouldn't have to lead a Society life. The only problem is that he's already engaged to a daughter of a bishop!
And on the other side we have Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, the Duke of Wynter, who is search of a wife, preferably a duke's daughter. In a Darcy-esque moment at a ball, she overhears Devin telling his uncle that she's not a real Wilde(confirming her fears) which causes her anger to spike and verbally spar with him.
Devin is intrigued and dangerously attracted to the young woman his uncle called a 'little mouse', while Viola believes that they are not suitable for each other. It's upto Devin now to convince Viola about their 'compatibility' ;) and that Viola may not be Wilde by blood but she's a Wilde at heart!
"You're little but fierce," Devin murmured.
"Not a mouse?" Viola asked.
The story was pretty cute with little to no angst and with most of it's focus on the development of the relationship between Viola and Devin! I loved their first meeting and how Devin made her feel comfortable so effortlessly. She didn't have her initial case of nerves because she thought she knew what Devin felt about her. Lol! It was so much fun watching Devin woo her while simultaneously drawing her away from the vicar. I loved watching her confidence grow and how she finally accepted that she's a Wilde too!
I had no complaints in the steam department either, because the chemistry between Viola and Devin was so good! Though they didn't have much in common, they were great at being there for each other! There's also a tiny sub-plot that follows the vicar, Mr.Marlowe, his shrewish fiance and Lady Caitlin. I was also grateful that there was no big, bad secret that the H or h were keeping from each other. The small problem about that scene at Viola's first ball was also deftly handled. (I didn't understand why Viola kept bringing that thing up at random points! It was a man(Devin) being angry at a lady who wanted to trap him in marriage. I didn't really understand why she had to remember it every time though? *shrugs*)
Also, will we have a book for Joan? I'd love to see her and the prim-and-proper Thaddeus paired up! Lol!
Sidenote : Look how cute is the stepback for the book!
*I was provided with an ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*
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 being a finalist for a RITA—the top award in the genre of romance fiction awarded by the Romance Writers of America—over ten times, she won in 2013.
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