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An Affair Before Christmas Desperate Duchesses Bk 2 Eloisa James Books

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An Affair Before Christmas Desperate Duchesses Bk 2 Eloisa James Books

I don't know what is wrong with Eloisa James' books. Her characters (heroines) especially are so childish and immature that I feel uncomforable reading about them. They react in ways that no logical adult would. They constantly put 2 and 2 together and get 22, then respond with illogical and impulsive reactions that, you would think, would embarrass them on later reflection.

It isn't just this book (my last, I think) but it has become a pattern. Poppy is only one in a long procession of female characters that simply don't ring true. Their logic is non-existent as is their maturity, self-control, and self respect. Yet the author carries on as if this sophomoric behavior was, not only normal, but witty and refreshing as well. It isn't. I don't know if she is cranking out books too fast, or if this is really her take on adulthood and human relations, but the inability to create characters that are believable in any time period is vital to entertaining writing.

It's a shame because her plot ideas and the imaginary world in which she tries to develop them are not badly conceived. If she could flesh out fully-dimensional and relatively intelligent characters with "character" to populate her imaginary world and move her plot along, she could be a fine author.


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An Affair Before Christmas Desperate Duchesses Bk 2 Eloisa James Books Reviews

Before you begin this book, there are several important points for you to know future reader.
The H and h are VERY young, even though they have been married for 4 years they are in their early to mid twenties, this was a norm back in the day, this means they are not super mature.
We begin this story with a marriage that is about to fail, there are many reasons which will be touched in this book, the most wonderful part (for me) is how they take us in this poignant and funny ride to resolve, mature and change to be better personally and in their marriage.
This is a great book that reacquaint subs to many secondary characters that will have their own books, a sure delight.
TITLE An Affair Before Christmas
AUTHOR Eloisa James
SERIES Desperate Duchesses, Book 2

OVERVIEW
Poppy, the Duchess of Fletcher, and her husband (affectionately known as Fletch) have been married for four years, always loving each other, but never quite figuring out how to live together as a married couple, particularly when it comes to their sex life, in which Poppy has never found pleasure, despite Fletch’s determined efforts. When Fletch finally resolves to seek his pleasure elsewhere, Poppy is jarred from her life-long attempt to satisfy her mother’s ideals of perfection—ideals that she assumes her husband shares—and decides to stay with her friend Jemma, the Duchess of Beaumont. With this separation, Fletch realizes just how much Poppy’s love fills his life, and Poppy finds the freedom to unveil her inner passions, which include both an interest in natural sciences and a strong attraction to her husband.

Meanwhile, Jemma, the more scandalous and chess-obsessed duchess, quite newly returned from years in Paris, is busy tantalizing London Society, goading her husband (in a charming prelude to a romance to be explored later in the series), and putting off her chess game with the even more scandalous Duke of Villiers, who lies abed with a serious fever spreading from a dueling wound sustained in the previous book. In a well-developed secondary story, Villiers’s friendship with Jemma is put on the backburner as he develops a sickbed relationship with the savvy but subdued spinster, Miss Charlotte Tatlock, whose name is continually linked with that of Jemma’s husband.

PROS
The issues that drive the split between Poppy and Fletch, namely Poppy’s sexual repression and the overall quelling influence of her mother, are well-developed, particularly in the context of the period. Some of the ways in which James’s characters are scandalous or unusual can sometimes read untrue to the historical setting, but Poppy’s fear of disappointing her mother, her earnest desire to act as a proper lady, and the dire misinformation she has about sex—supplied by her horrendous mother and certainly not corrected by a society that keeps its pleasures and perversions behind closed doors—all come together to make a compelling story out of an issue that is still relevant today what happens when two people are in love but are having trouble making the physical relationship work.

The story outside of Poppy and Fletch’s relationship was probably even more enjoyable than the main romance. We get a bit of tension between Jemma and her husband, Elijah, a little bit of Elijah and Villiers, who were once the best of friends, a little bit of Poppy’s other friends, and a lot of Villiers, who is a fascinating character to follow. He’s presented in the first book of the series as an out-and-out rake—not someone you want to root for—but by the end of the first book, we begin to see some relatable emotion in him, and through this book, we start to see how lonely he is and how desperately he’s looking for love, even if he doesn’t realize it (and not is an obvious, sappy way either!). His journey through this book has him facing his own death and developing a close bond with Charlotte Tatlock, the kind of demure, undazzling woman he never would have been interested in previously.

And, as always, James is a master at tying accurate and interesting historical details into the story that enhance the quality of the characters, plot, and setting.

CONS
The breakdown of the story across a main story and sub-plots, as well as the fact that the sub-stories are continuing across the series, rather than contained within this book, could be seen as cons, though I’m a fan of this setup, which is a style at which Eloisa James excels.

I enjoy a romance between a couple who is already married, but there is a little something lacking in a story where the couple is so in love the whole time and simply has doubts about it. I also have trouble with characters who are “in love” but don’t seem to know much about one another, which is emphasized in this story with Poppy’s never-before-revealed love of sciences and her belief that Fletch only cares about fashion.

The sex scenes aren’t precisely a negative, but they aren’t top-notch, and they were a little too much at the end. There are two major sex sections, and I think having just one big one and limiting the second one to something more suggestive than graphic would have been more effective.

RATINGS
Writing 5/5 Eloisa James is a tremendous writer, as always.
Characters 5/5 Believably complex, imperfect, and entertaining.
Plot 4.5/5 An appropriate progression of the main story, well mixed with secondary events.
Setting 4.5/5 Vibrant Georgian Society with fun, well-integrated historical details.
Romance 4/5 Sweet, strong romance from the start—but no chance to watch it develop.
Sexiness 4/5 Fairly good sex scenes work well with the romance development.
Humor 4/5 James always shines with humor, but it wasn’t noteworthy here.
Average 4.4/5 Delightful, Multi-threaded Piece of a Series

OTHER INFO
This is the second in the Desperate Duchesses series, but unlike the novels in many historical romance series, this book doesn’t stand alone particularly well. It might still be enjoyable without having read the first book already and without intending to read any of the other books, but there’s a lot going on in this book with secondary characters and plotlines that begins in the previous book and will be continued in the following books. Keep that in mind if you plan on reading.
I don't know what is wrong with Eloisa James' books. Her characters (heroines) especially are so childish and immature that I feel uncomforable reading about them. They react in ways that no logical adult would. They constantly put 2 and 2 together and get 22, then respond with illogical and impulsive reactions that, you would think, would embarrass them on later reflection.

It isn't just this book (my last, I think) but it has become a pattern. Poppy is only one in a long procession of female characters that simply don't ring true. Their logic is non-existent as is their maturity, self-control, and self respect. Yet the author carries on as if this sophomoric behavior was, not only normal, but witty and refreshing as well. It isn't. I don't know if she is cranking out books too fast, or if this is really her take on adulthood and human relations, but the inability to create characters that are believable in any time period is vital to entertaining writing.

It's a shame because her plot ideas and the imaginary world in which she tries to develop them are not badly conceived. If she could flesh out fully-dimensional and relatively intelligent characters with "character" to populate her imaginary world and move her plot along, she could be a fine author.