The book is a far cry from the romance novels I usually read. The hero isn't some boring guy that just runs around being a rake. Instead, he's traveled the world, found the source of the Blue Nile, and most strangely for a romantic hero, he's a virgin at age 29. He's returned from his world tour to discover that his home is a disgusting mess that's fallen apart under his late father's and now his mother's control. His wife that he married by proxy is a demanding, spirited thing that alternatively loathes him but is also attracted to him. I read this one quickly because I adored the strange hero. As for their love story, I could leave it behind, because the heroine is kinda standard "super pretty" fare. I'm also coming around to Eloisa James writes about two couples at a time in her works. Once again, I could throw the main heroine aside because I want to know what's going to happen to the background couple. So it looks like I'll be doing some research to finish that story... It was a cute read though the first part was really excruciatingly tedious. I hated the main character and his beliefs while Isidore was vivacious, confident and as opposed to most heroines of that era, remarkably intelligent.The points that lowered the rating for me:1. It was really a two-person story with the ancillary characters either superfluous or living disjointed lives that were described for the sole purpose of setting the ground for a sequel. So Jemma's story ended on a pretty serious cliff-hanger, which was incredibly frustrating.2. Isidore cannot make up her mind about whether she wants to stay with Simeon or not so it is a broken-record type replay of this tension which dissipates too quickly o be realistic.The ending was super cute though cheesy. I'm not sure whether its a hormonal thing or an age thing but any story that contains babies and young children makes me go all 'awww' and I was tempted to increase the rating just because of the last chapter.
What do You think about When The Duke Returns (2008)?
This book is very great and have a veru unexpected turns of event.
—azi
I liked this one. Probably more than I should have.
—frances0204
What an awesome novel !!Honestly, I loved it ..
—Mary
