The Reluctant Countess, Eloisa James
The Reluctant Countess, Eloisa James
2 Rating(s)
List: $27.99
On Sale: $6.99

The Reluctant Countess
A Would-Be Wallflowers Novel

Author: Eloisa James

Narrator: Susan Duerden

Unabridged: 9 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 11/29/2022


Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James returns to the Would-Be Wallflowers series with an enemies-to-lovers romance between a proper earl and an entirely improper lady—whom he can’t stop thinking about.Giles Renwick, Earl of Lilford, has never made a fool of himself over a woman—until he meets Lady Yasmin Régnier. Yasmin is ineligible for his attentions in every way: not as a wife, certainly not as a mistress (she is a lady!), nor even as a friend, since they vehemently dislike each other.  Her gowns are too low, and her skirts are dampened to cling to admittedly lovely thighs. She loves to gossip—and giggle. She isn’t dignified, or polite, or even truly British, given that her father’s French ancestry clearly predominated. Not to mention the fact that her mother had been one of Napoleon’s mistresses, a fact she makes no effort to hide.So what—in heaven’s name—possesses him to propose?And what will he do if she says yes?

About Eloisa James

To say, it runs in the family, is an understatement when referring to the writing career of author, Mary Bly. Her credentials are impeccable with degrees from various prestigious schools, such as Harvard, Oxford, and Yale. She is a tenured professor on William Shakespeare, and has published with the Oxford University Press.

While attending the University of Virginia on a humanities fellowship, Bly began writing romance novels. Granted, the novels are not modern day romance, but set in England's Regency Period, where her incomparable knowledge of William Shakespeare serves as an added bonus in her works. She began this genre of writing to expedite paying off her student loans. Her first attempt was very well received.......The Pleasure Trilogy......and sold many copies in hardback, and her advance payment from the book paid off that student loan debt. After that, she decided to publish under the pseudonym of Eloisa James and to only publish in paperback format. It was more of a mass-market plan. Both worked in her favor.

Most of Bly's novels are not typical in character for the romance genre. Most have a very beautiful female character and a romantic interest in a handsome male character. Bly deviates from the norm by featuring a plump female character, or a hero who annulled a marriage because of impotence. Women friends or sisters play important roles in a Bly novel, because she places importance on those relationships in her own life. Most of her novels are in trilogy form or groups of four. That format gives her more story line time to develop interesting characters.

It was several years before Bly uncovered her secret second career to her intellectually snooty colleagues. She even disguised her appearance when she addressed each group, readers of her novels, and colleagues. When she realized how popular her novels were with her readers, she revealed her secret by giving each faculty colleague a copy of her latest novel. It was well received by all. And for the fact that the talent runs in the family, Mary Bly's (Eloisa James) Father, Mother, and Uncle were writers. Her romance novels are very popular all around the world.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) on December 03, 2022

Note: My goodreads shelves can be spoilers Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (would be 2 stars but I loved the heroine and her grandfather so I bumped it up!) Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖 Feels: 🦋🦋 Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔 Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡ Romance: 💞 Sensuality: 💋💋💋 Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥 Humor:......more

Goodreads review by Angela Hates Books on September 05, 2022

Give me an earl who only smiles for his lady 👏🏻🤤 Lady Yasmin has got some crazy scandals surrounding her. Her mom was Napoleon’s mistress (what?!) and a shady AF dude tricked her into thinking they were married only to blackmail her family. Now she’s outta France and trying to live her best life and......more

Goodreads review by Melanie on March 03, 2023

Delicious I read every new release by Eloisa James, and this is my favorite of her newest books. The conflict between Giles and Yasmin was subtle, but so well done. 😍😍 And my god! The intimacy. Eloisa James is a master at creating bonds between her characters. The long, seemingly inconsequential conve......more

Goodreads review by PlotTrysts on May 22, 2023

Four solid stars for this low(ish) angst romance focusing on reputation, appearance, and authenticity. Our two lovers, Giles and Yasmin, are that classic romance pairing: sunshine/grump, whimsical/starchy, carefree/serious. Not a lot of time is spent on the love story. Giles is uncomfortably pining......more

Goodreads review by Meghan on July 16, 2023

I’m really enjoying this series! I was excited after Cleo’s book to find out what happens with Yasmin and I wasn’t disappointed. I really loved Yasmin’s character. I did not love Lydia’s character but I think that was the point. Giles was interesting for me because I really liked him in Cleo’s book......more