Desperate Duchesses #1 by Eloisa James

Title: Desperate Duchesses

Series: Desperate Duchesses #1

Author: Eloisa James

Publisher: Avon

Rating: 3.5/5

Summary:

A marquess's sheltered only daughter, Lady Roberta St. Giles falls in love with a man she glimpses across a crowded ballroom: a duke, a game player of consummate skill, a notorious rakehell who shows no interest in marriage--until he lays eyes on Roberta.

Yet the Earl of Gryffyn knows too well that the price required to gain a coronet is often too high. Damon Reeve, the earl, is determined to protect the exquisite Roberta from chasing after the wrong destiny.

Can Damon entice her into a high-stakes game of his own, even if his heart is likely to be lost in the venture?

(Goodreads)

My review:

To relax, this kind of books is a go-to. They are easy to read, light and ask for no thinking at all. Sometimes, they are quite good, sometimes, they aren't that much. 

For this one, I have to admit I have been surprised. Not all time in a good way. The romance is cliché (which was to be expected) but the chess games being so important is an originality I liked. Even if I can't stand chess...

Roberta is a young woman I liked a lot. I won't say she didn't annoy me at times, it would be lying. Her way of clinging on to Villiers just plain annoyed me. It was too easy.

Thankfully, there's Damon. He is fun and endearing. His way of being, taking, acting... I liked it a lot. He probably is the only character I really liked. He seemed more... real and developed.

Jemma was too caricatural. She overdoes everything for almost nothing. Her relationship with her husband made me roll my eyes. Nonetheless, I liked her husband (of whom I can't seem to remember the name, shame on me).

The way the author wrapped up the situation was way too easy. It really was the easiest way possible and I'm sure she could have found something else. It blew it for me. It's not because it is an easy romance that it is an excuse

Same goes for Harriet. She appears two times in the whole book. What's the use? She's useless! What she brings could have been brought another way bu another character already introduced. Honestly, I didn't understand why the author brought in Harriet to make her a more cumbersome character than a useful one.

The end didn't seemed useful to me. I'm not sure why the author has included it since her "intrigue" has already been resolved. With or without... It wouldn't have changed anything for me.

Globally, I like the book but I guess, since I liked other books from that author which were more accomplished, I expected to much of this one. Despite this, I enjoyed my reading. I had fun and read it in three hours. That's all I want from that kind of book so... I had what I wanted, somehow!