TLC Book Tours Review: The Ugly Duchess

Author: Eloisa James
Title: The Ugly Duchess
Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: August 28, 2012
Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours & the publisher
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: How can she dare to imagine he loves her . . . when all London calls her The Ugly Duchess? Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects the gorgeous James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But after a romantic proposal before the prince himself, even practical Theo finds herself convinced of her soon-to-be duke's passion. Still, the tabloids give the marriage six months. Theo would have given it a lifetime . . . until she discovers that James desired not her heart, and certainly not her countenance, but her dowry. Society was shocked by their wedding . . . and is scandalized by their separation. Now James faces the battle of his life, convincing Theo that he loves the duckling who blossomed into the swan. And Theo will quickly find that, for a man with the soul of a pirate, All's Fair in Love—and War.

Review: Eloisa James is one of those authors that I've always wanted to read but for some reason put off doing so. I'm glad I finally read one of her books. The Ugly Duchess was superb.

The story is set in Regency England, which is one of my favorite periods in history and it is a re-imagining of The Ugly Duckling fairy tale.

There are many reasons why you should race to the store to grab this book.

1. Theo is such a lovable heroine.

2. I love that Theo and James are close in age. That's something that you don't see that often in historical romance.

3. I loved how James turned into a pirate when things went wrong with his marriage.

4. I love that James didn't totally turn womanizer when he was on the high seas.

5. James wanted her for her. He loved Theo/Daisy even before she transformed herself.

It was great to read a book that didn't have a character that was gorgeous. I liked that she had self esteem issues and that she did things to make herself stronger.

The only gripe I had with the story was that it was too long. Sure it was only about 330 ish pages but the story was really wrapped up around page 300. The epilogue especially felt like filler. Other than that, I really loved the story and it earned Eloisa a place on my must by author list.

Rating: 5 flowers

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 Publisher’s 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 most recent book, Paris In Love, received critical acclaim. Her ‘double life’ is a source of fascination to the media and her readers. In her professional 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.