An Affair Before Christmas (Desperate Duchesses Book 2)

TITLE: An Affair Before ChristmasAUTHOR: Eloisa JamesSERIES: Desperate Duchesses, Book 2OVERVIEW: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 SeriesOTHER 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 love EJ's work and I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. I don't mind the many parallel and converging story lines, it doesn't confuse me - if anything I love so many side characters normally because I know that means many more books in a series. I just don't like a book that has so much cheating, talking about cheating, getting ready to cheat, hasn't cheated yet but might later, and on and on. I loved Jemma and Elijah but have no desire to read their story now, a better plot would have been both of them just THINKING the other had cheated. This book took too long to get to the point and I found the h a silly ninny and wanted to flat out strangle her mother. Just not my cup of tea.

This is book two in the DD's series, but I've read them out of order (do NOT do that!), and the only reason I finished reading this story was Villiers. I was so glad that at least one third of the story involved him and the consequences he suffered because of the duel he fought. The relationship he cultivated with Charlotte the spinster, was vastly entertaining and I had so much fun following that story.As for the main plot, characters and substance of the story? It left me wanting and I found it lacking in all the areas that makes romance, a romance.I barely liked this couple. The heroine wasn't just naïve, she was downright ridiculous. I had somewhat better opinion of the hero, but even he couldn't salvage this story.My advice to you is to read Villiers parts, and skip the rest.Melanie for b2b

In my review of Desperate Duchesses 1, I mentioned that I wanted to read more about the Duke of Beaumont and his wife Jemma. I discovered that the story is found in Desperate Duchess 5! I truly wanted to immediately buy the book but then my reading OCD took over and I had to read the Desperate Duchesses series in order!! Good thing I did! Jemma and her husbands story seems to be weaving in and out through the entire series as do many of the other characters found in book 1. This book does spotlight the romance between Poppy and the Duke of Fletcher. I would give their romance 3 stars, but with all the other characters and their romances weaving throughout, I bumped it up to a 4. Ms James is doing a great job juggling all the characters in and out throughout the book.

The `Desperate Duchesses' series continues with the Duke and Duchess of Fletcher. They married young and were helplessly in love, but after four years things are less than perfect.In Fletch James portrays a truly sympathetic hero, frustrated by his wife's lack of interest in him, despite the love and loyalty to her he maintains. The lengths he goes to while trying to gain her attention are really quite sweet. In contrast Poppy is naïve and feeble, which might have made her quite unlikeable if not for her mother: Lady Flora.James outdoes herself with Lady Flora - a purely selfish woman who has belittled, manipulated and dominated her daughter her entire life. Whenever she appears it's all too easy to feel sorry for Poppy (not to mention Fletch and his poor staff) and understand how she became the woman she is.But thanks to time on her own - and a little help from Jemma, Duchess of Beaumont - Poppy is given a chance to grow up and learn to appreciate things for herself. Including her husband.But, as always with Eloisa James, this book is not just about Poppy and Fletch. Several characters from  Desperate Duchesses  return, not least the Beaumonts and Villiers. In fact the story thread with Villiers adds some of the funniest and sweetest moment in the book. His valet, Finchley, is a gem.A sumptuously crafted tale about seizing control of your life, growing up and appreciating the things you've got, James adds plenty of wit and intelligence to the mis. With a touch of love, several sensual moments and the glorious Georgian decadence this is a tale to savour.(Oh, and for those who want to know the conclusion to Charlotte Tatlock's tale, check out Eloisa James' website for the bonus chapters. I doubt you'll be disappointed.) Desperate Duchesses

I have read most of Ms James books and generally believe her writing style is descriptive and rich in exploring human emotions. In this particular novel I loved the hero.He was uncomplicated and very sure of himself ,his identity ,sexy,down to earth and very human.I liked the fact that he was sure of his feelings and love for poppy and never wavered from them.It was the heroine who had to undergo self-exploration and change to overcome all the sexual complexes her horrible bitter mother had instilled in her and to finally free herself to demostrate her love to Fletcher. The supporting cast of relationships within this circle of Desperate duchesses and their men is very interesting filled with humor and impending intrigue.The intensity of feeling between the heroine and hero and the cademerie between them was very well executed and realistic.A truly enjoyable read-I finihed it in one sitting ,looking forward to what happens to the Duke Villiers.

This isma good book that entertains, however the heroine is too weak to compete with the others Duchesses in the series , in my opinion. The male character is far more intresting and deep. It adds lots of information needed to the series so therefore should not be missed out.

I am re reading Desperate Duchesses after having read them all a number of years ago out of order . They are just wonderful. I cannot recommend them highly enough- the romance is delightful, the ensemble of characters are brilliant and the dialogue is so witty. Just brilliant

This is one of my favorite authors.